Budapest Expo Attracts Buyers

Organisers of the international content market DISCOP EAST, which was held in Budapest, have reported a very successful 18th edition as new dates are announced for next year.
They said two new fiction projects were also selected as winners of the DISCOPRO 2010 pitching sessions.
The three-day DISCOP EAST market saw a blend of major local and international companies in attendance, with a number of deals concluded and announced at the market.
Over 300 companies participated as sellers from 36 countries, including 12 CEE countries alongside 406 companies participating as buyers from 31 countries, including 26 CEE countries.
Of these, 265 companies represented TV stations and Pay-TV platforms with additional representatives from territorial agents, home video distributors and alternative new media platforms.
Organisers have already confirmed details of the 2011 event, which will again take place at the Sofitel Hotel, Budapest.
The market will be held from Tuesday 21st June to Thursday 23rd June and the DISCOPRO conference and pitching sessions will now take place after the market on Friday 24th June.
Training and pitching program DISCOPRO saw delegate attendance up by 20% in 2010.
A highlight of the schedule included co-production pitches from Serbia, Hungary, France and the US for television drama projects all with a connection to the region.
Six short-listed producers pitched their projects to a panel of commissioning executives, including Emmanuel Eckert (M6, France), Katalin Schulteisz (HBO Holding, Hungary), Philipp Kreuzer (Bavaria Fernseh Produktion, Germany) and Helge Koehnen (Bavaria Media Television, Germany).
The two winning projects were announced as Paradis Perdu (Lost Paradise) from Shooting Prod in France and The Institution from Szupermodern Studio in Hungary.
Six-part mini series Paradis Perdu, written by Suzanne Fenn, centres on the story of two blood brothers growing up in Beirut whilst TV Movie, The Institution, written by Krisztina Goda, is a comedy drama portraying a group of young men fighting addiction.
These two projects will benefit from further development and visibility support at other major pitching events.
Patrick Jucaud, General Manager of DISCOP commented: "The 18th edition of DISCOP highlighted the increasing importance of the region’s local programming both on the domestic and international stage.
"All attendees reported strong business activity on the market floor and we also saw more attendance from the production community looking for investment opportunities.
"DISCOPRO also continues to grow in popularity, with the pitching sessions proving the vibrancy of the region’s production sector.
"We are delighted to be able to respond to attendees comments by moving the 2011 DISCOPRO event to after the market," he continued, noting that many have indicated will be more convenient.
(BMcC/GK)