Armed with a catalog that’s led by the big-budget European series, Around the World in 80 Days, and the beautiful animated film, Ainbo, CDC United Network is arriving at MipCancun with a standout catalog that ticks all the right boxes when it comes to content demand and trends.
In the midst of a global pandemic that has led to quarantine measures being mandated in most countries around the world, the need for entertainment has increased notably, more specifically, light-hearted content that can be watched by the whole family.
Led by two titles that fully embrace these important trends, CDC United Network is headed for MipCancun with a slew of new titles and a standout catalog suited for international audiences.
First is Around the World in 80 Days, an eight-episode series based on the bestselling novel by Jules Verne, starring David Tennant. “It’s a very big budget European co-production, developed and produced by major European broadcasters,” said Erik Jensen, Managing Partner at CDC United Network. “It’s a timeless classic, created with very high production value on screen.”
The distributor will be showing it to clients for the first time during the event in Cancun, where they will unveil the first images and a full-length trailer.
Around the World in 80 Days also stands as one of the first series to be distributed by CDC, which after having established itself as a leading player in the film distribution industry, has now been investing more and more on TV series.
Around the World in 80 Days
“It’s something we’re very excited about. Slowly but surely we’ve been getting more and more involved in TV series. We did it first with the Dean Devlin produced procedural crime series ‘Almost Paradise’, which we placed with NBCUniversal, and now we are going to launch this series, which we are thrilled about”, he explained.
In addition to being a high-end series for the whole family, Around the World in 80 Days, being a major European co-production, also falls into another major trend to come out of the pandemic: the rise in demand for international ‘borderless’content.
“What we’ve noticed as a trend is how so many international products that in the past wouldn’t get much attention are doing very well now. Whether it’s from Russia or Sweden or Turkey, or of course the Korean series and movies that are now number one on Netflix. This is definitely a major trend”, he said, adding: “While in the past it was all about local productions or American titles with American stars, now there’s room and opportunity for films and series from different countries.If the content is good, there will be strong interest”
“I think Around the World in 80 Days is a very good example of a major European series that will have tremendous international appeal, because it’s a very well produced series with a universal story,” he added.
Starring David Tennant, the series follows gentleman adventurer Phileas Fogg, who sets out on a quest to travel around the world and back home in a period of 80 days.
The second title to be introduced to international buyers at MipCancun is Ainbo, an animated feature film that follows the epic journey of a young hero and her Spirit Guides, “Dillo” a cute and humorous armadillo and “Vaca” a goofy oversized tapir, who embark on a quest to save their home in the spectacular Amazon Rainforest.
Ainbo
“It’s beautiful animation, Disney-Pixar type quality of animation. The characters and production are so fantastic,” the executive highlighted. “It’s a very local story, about an indigenousgirl from the Amazon, and her family as they try to navigate the outside world encroaching in on them. It takes place in the Peruvian amazon, but since the story is so universal and timely, it could just as easily be taking place in Brazil, or Colombia, or Ecuador. It’s a real Latin American story.”
“It has great messages about family values and where we come from, and also about protecting the environment, because she’s a warrior girl who’s trying to save the rainforest from outside forces who are trying to destroy it. It’s a great family movie with a great message,” he added.
The distributor has released it theatrically, with notable results across Latin America (over $2 million box office in Latin America to date), and will now be introducing it to buyers at the event for the premium window.
CDC will also be presenting an array of additional films at this year’s MipCancun, ranging from animation to action, thrillers, comedy, sci-fi and more.
The list includes titles such as the animated comedies Rock Dog 2: Rock Around the Park, Bigfoot Family and The Ogglies, the action titles The Misfits, The Doorman, Rogue Hostage and The Marksman with Liam Neeson; and the Bruce Willis sci-fi film Cosmic Sin.
As far as the future goes, the executive explained CDC United Network remains focused on bolstering its catalog with high-quality movies and to continue to invest in new series. “We want to keep investing in big movies and we also want more series. We believe we will do very well with Around the World in 80 Days and our idea is to buy more of these TV series, getting involved early with the projects,” he concluded.
