Danny Cohen joins C21 Drama Summit

CONTENT LONDON: Danny Cohen, president of Access Entertainment – one of the most significant funders of international drama – will share his vision for investment in television drama, film and digital at C21’s International Drama Summit in November.

Danny Cohen

Since joining Access, his early investments have included a film deal with House Productions and a play for Broadway. He will also be executive producer of the next Fantastic Beasts movie, from JK Rowling.

Prior to joining Access in May 2016, Cohen was director of BBC Television, where he led the BBC’s television networks and BBC Productions – Europe’s largest TV production group with a workforce of 3,000.

His role encompassed the greenlighting and production of all of the BBC’s drama, comedy, entertainment and unscripted programmes. He also oversaw the BBC’s film label BBC Films and provided editorial leadership for the BBC’s digital platform, iPlayer. He was a member of the board of the BBC.

Previously, Cohen was controller of both the BBC’s main network BBC1 and BBC3, head of E4 and oversaw documentaries at Channel 4.

His commissions included Skins, The Inbetweeners, Call The Midwife, Happy Valley, JK Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy, War & Peace, Blood Sweat & T-Shirts, Russell Howard’s Good News, Supernanny, Our War, The Voice, Car Share and many others.

Cohen will headline the Drama Summit’s Coproduction, Finance & Investment strand, which runs throughout the three-day event.

Sessions in this strand include:

Alternative sources of finance for TV drama
From bankers and financiers to brands and advertisers, many new players are now moving into the TV space. We talk to a selection of these about alternative financing models for independent TV drama.

Drama finance after Brexit
What does the international coproduction landscape look like as the UK leaves the EU? What are the implications for partners with UK companies and for the UK drama sector as a whole?

Drama investment strategy
Whether buying into a show or a company, some of the world’s leading drama investors outline their future strategy to ensure they build progressive businesses equipped to cope for the next generation of international scripted entertainment.

Coproducing next-generation hits
Outlining their current coproduction and investment strategy, a cross-section of international drama financiers discuss the future and how they are changing their approach as the drama business evolves.

Cohen is the latest high-profile executive to join the speaker line-up, which will include 150 of the drama industry’s leading players.

Below is a small selection of other speakers announced to date. You can find other announced speakers for the 2016 Drama Summit here.

Earlybird Rate ends in one week – register now.
The International Drama Summit takes place at Picturehouse Central in London’s West End, with the venue opening for registration and the opening-night party on November 28. You can find out more about the event and register online by clicking here.

Content London takes place at Picturehouse Central (click to enlarge)

The three-day event features an unrivalled conference agenda, drama premieres, screenings programme, coproduction marketplace, networking lounges, drama series case studies, broadcaster briefings, writers room strand, craft workshops, coproduction and finance sessions, kids’ content futures and much more.

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