MipFormats reveals pitch finalists

The five finalists in the annual MipFormats International Pitch competition have been named ahead of the presentation and judging of the pitches in Cannes next month.

Stephen Lambert

Backed by All3Media International and judged by a panel of industry experts chaired by Studio Lambert founder and CEO Stephen Lambert, the competition will take place at MipFormats across the first two days of April.

I Sang It My Way, a shiny-floor music competition show from the UK’s Malarkey Media in which contestants interpret well-known songs in different musical genres, has made the short list.

Colombian prodco Esuna Casa Audiovisual has also made the final five with its reality show Loro Viejo, which features senior citizens as contestants.

Never, from Israel’s Anat Nir, sees pairs of people challenge each other to carry out tasks they never dreamed of performing but always fantasised about.

Popular Belief is the lone finalist from the US. Produced by The Concept Collective, the gameshow sees contestants faced with a multiple-choice question and being shown which answer the majority of the audience believes is correct. The player must then decide whether to trust the audience.

Finally, The Best in History comes from Spain’s Pausoka Entertainment and attempts to find the greatest ‘contestant’ ever by assessing challenges overcome by historical figures from different countries.

The MipFormats jury includes Fabrizio Battocchio, head of formats and factual at Mediaset RTI in Italy, Karin de Groot, channel manager for SBS6 in the Netherlands, and Nick Smith, senior VP of international format production at All3Media International.

The winning pitch will be awarded a €5,000 (US$5,363) cash prize from All3Media International, as well as a package worth €15,000 aimed at further developing the winning format to be ready to pitch to broadcasters.