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23 January 2023
Newen Studios launches the META PITCH CONTEST

Newen Studios launches its first pitch contest in the Metaverse! The opportunity for participants to win the support of the group in the development of their project!

PARIS – France – Newen Studios announces the launch of the META PITCH CONTEST. This contest is organized in 3 rounds: selection of projects, pitch in the Newen Meta Sky on March 7, 2023, and the final on March 21, 2023 as part of the Series Mania Festival via the Series Mania Institute, of which Newen Studios is a partner.

The Newen Meta Sky is the first immersive experience for creating, financing, and distributing programs. Launched during the Cannes Film Market last May, it is a virtual marketplace dedicated to European creators and producers. This Metaverse is a virtual space composed of several rooms for work and creation, located in a Zeppelin that flies in the sky of European capitals. As the first European Meta Hub for program production and distribution, this project is part of the desire of the group and its shareholder TF1 to accelerate access for our teams and partners to the dynamics of innovation that will drive the future of the audiovisual and film market. It is supported by the European Union’s Europe Creative Media program.

To participate to the META PITCH CONTEST, candidates will be able to register from January 23 to February 20, 2023, by sending their original short program pitch. The selected 20 will present their project in front of a jury of professionals in Newen Meta Sky. At the end of this first round, the three finalists will have the opportunity to travel to Lille for the Series Mania Festival where they will present their project on stage. The winner will have his or her project supported in development by Newen Studios’ teams.

This contest is free of charge and open to all adult individuals residing in European countries participating in the MEDIA section of the Creative Europe program (list of countries concerned here: https://culture.ec.europa.eu/resources/creative-europe-desks).

To register, go to the Newen Studios website from January 23 at 6pm, on the following link: https://metapitch.newenstudios.com where you will also be able to read the terms of participation.

Marianne Carpentier, Chief Innovation Officer – Newen Studios: “Developed for our distribution entity Newen Connect 12 months ago, the Newen Meta Sky is now open to European talent. This is a great opportunity to showcase European creativity and innovation. We haven’t finished exploring the possibilities offered by virtual worlds, nor AI for that matter, but one thing is certain, the more we know how to use them, the more we will be able to unleash the creativity of the talents we support and reinvent the way we work”

Rodolphe Buet, CEO – Newen Connect: “The Newen Meta Sky is infinitely scalable – it’s a playground for limitless creativity in pitching projects. Through this more immersive and engaging 3D expression space, talents have an extra degree of creativity to share their vision & universe. This technological innovation is a complementary tool for Newen Connect teams to meet the right partners and accelerate pre-financing.”

Lucia Recalde, Head of the MEDIA Unit – European Commission: “We are very pleased to contribute to this project through the Innovative Tools and Business Models support of the Europe Creative MEDIA sub-program. As mentioned by the President of the European Commission Von der Leyen during her State of the Union speech, the Commission is indeed paying particular attention to the development of virtual worlds. The Newen Meta Sky will allow to explore new horizons in terms of content creation and distribution.”

The participants of the META PITCH CONTEST will be able to pitch their projects in front of an exceptional jury headed by Romain Bessi – CEO of the Newen Studios group:

  • Karine Atlan, Director of Acquisitions – NEWEN CONNECT (distribution)
  • Jean-Benoît Gillig, Producer -LEONIS (FRANCE)
  • Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, Producer – JOI PRODUCTIONS (UK)
  • Vanessa Dijan, Producer – DAI-DAI FILMS (FRANCE)
  • Ivy Vanhaecke, Producer – DE MENSEN (BELGIUM)
  • Mikael Govciyan, Head of Acquisition and Coproduction – TF1 STUDIO (FRANCE)
  • Miira Paasilinna, Producer – ANAGRAM (SWEDEN)