Conecta Fiction presents the keys to its 8th edition

The eighth edition of Conecta Fiction, an audiovisual event with a global vision that in its 2024 edition will have Brazil and Portugal as focus countries, has been presented in Madrid with the aim of continuing to increase its reach on the agenda of the European and American industry, and enhance the attraction of filming and investments to Spain, a work led by ICEX-Invest in Spain.

The office of tourism promotion of Castilla-La Mancha in Madrid has hosted the presentation of this event that will take place on June 18 to 21 in it El Greco Congress Palace in Toledo. Patricia Franco, counselor of economy, business and employment of the Community Board of Castilla-La Mancha; Geraldine Gonard, directora de Conecta Fiction & Entertainment; Javier Yraola, project director of ICEX-Invest in Spain, and Silvia Pérez de Pablos, institutional director of audiovisuals of the SGAE Foundation, have participated in an event in which the consolidation of the event in its eighth edition has been highlighted, which will have a complete program that will transversally address many of the hot topics of the audiovisual industry Europe and America. Just like Gonard He would later remark in his speech: “It will mark a before and after in the producers' agenda.”

Franco has inaugurated the presentation event by highlighting “the opportunity” of being able to hold a third edition of the event in Castilla La Mancha. “We like to have an active participation in Conecta-Fiction,” he said, highlighting the ambition of the event and its ability to bring together the industry: “It brings together the audiovisual industry in all its aspects, bringing together great production companies and players with young people who are making their way in the audiovisual industry.” The Minister of Economy, Business and Employment took advantage of the occasion to highlight to the attendees the commitment of the Autonomous Community to be the setting for filming Spanish and international films and series.

Next, Javier Yraola has taken the stage to highlight the firm commitment of ICEX con Conecta Fiction: “One more year, we revalidate our support, since we consider it to be a focus for generating projects between America and Europe.” In what will be the eighth collaboration between both organizations, the focus will be on filming attraction and in the investments in the audiovisual sector through several mechanisms: Spain Audiovisual Bureau, a one-stop shop for the industry to turn to; the empowerment of alliances between international producers and companies service Spanish, or the presentation of the operation of the incentive system, described as an “achievement”.

For its part, Silvia Pérez de Pablos, institutional director of Audiovisuals of the SGAE Foundation, has highlighted the celebration of one more year of the specific program of mentoring and pitching, a real window for the authors of the six winning projects of the XI Television Series Creation Laboratory promoted by the Foundation. "At first it was a risk, but in the end it has had a greater impact on us. Our talent has found in Conecta Fiction a unique showcase to present your projects. (…) See you in Toledo and I hope that our talents can sell a lot to producers, because we believe that in this global industry we have to be in all possible markets,” he stressed.

A complete program with 71 activities and parity in the presentations

The director of Conecta Fiction, Géraldine Gonard, has offered a complete summary of the contents of the program, highlighting that in its 71 activities they will intervene 175 speakers, of which 86 women and 89 men: “That balance between the speakers is something we have always worked hard on,” he said.

The delegations of the focus countries will be made up of 50 Portuguese and 30 Brazilian participants, countries that together represent “a market of more than 217 million of potential viewers and an extensive history of content production.” In addition to the already famous sessions of pitching, which this year have the extra incentive of the Council of Europe Award, headquarters of Eurimages, for the Development of Series Co-production valued at €50,000 in cash, the conference agenda will analyze the wealth that audiovisuals generate in adjacent sectors such as tourism and services; the numerous attractions that, together with one of the most competitive tax incentives in Europe, position Spain as a preferred destination for international filming; the sessions Pitching de Commissioners, in which spokespersons for the biggest global entertainment brands will detail their content needs; premieres and premiere presentations of fiction titles that will soon hit screens around the world, as well as numerous moments of networking in breakfast and cocktail format afterwork that will put the finishing touch to the three intense days of work.

Another key to the Conecta Fiction program is the reinforced presence of RTVE, which beyond offering as a prize a development contract for the best project of the sessions pitch, will offer panels in which some of its upcoming projects will be detailed in depth: the historical police series Internal affairs, produced by Mediacrest; the international thriller Scar of Plano a Plano; the docuseries Megamix Brutal of Neighborhood Productions, and the multi-award-winning co-production This is not Sweden. Likewise, the Toledo event will offer its usual awards gala; the premiere of the first images of the Spanish-German co-production Weiss & Morales, and the premiere on the part of The Walt Disney Company of Thug lives y Ayla and the MIrrors;

The event has ended with a small advance of Connect Digital, a new parallel section within the official programming that will offer round tables, keynotes, workshops, networking meeting spaces and project pitching sessions, to analyze and demonstrate how resources such as artificial intelligence, immersive experiences, metaverse or reality extended can lead audiovisual production to still unimaginable limits.