Fiction
MIP London set to welcome over 2,000 delegates
MUMBAI: MIP London is on track to welcome more than 2,000 delegates from 75 countries for its inaugural edition, with strong representation from Europe, North America, Turkey, MENA, Latin America and Asia, said RX France entertainment division director Lucy Smith in an interview to World Screen News.
The event has confirmed country pavilions from Belgium, China, France, Korea and Spain, alongside more than 30 Canadian companies supported by Telefilm Canada and SODEC. Major companies including Boat Rocker, DLT Entertainment, Electric Entertainment, Global Agency, Moonbug Entertainment, Movistar Plus+ and Raw Cut have joined previously announced participants A+E Networks, Al Jazeera, Beta Film and others.
“More than 900 buyers are registered across all genres, with approximately one-third being first-time visitors to London,” said Lucy. “The event has attracted significant interest from digital-first players, FAST channels, AVoD platforms and CTV operators.”
The conference programme features over 50 speakers from major media companies including BBC, TF1, ZDF, Prime Video, Netflix, YouTube and TikTok. Highlights include Talpa Studios’ launch of new talent format The Headliner, showcases of Asian formats, and a world premiere screening of crypto-currency drama Paper Empire.
A special fireside chat with David Beckham and Netflix’s Bela Bajaria will take place on the main stage, while the opening cocktail event will feature performances from West End shows including Hamilton and The Lion King.
The five-day event, priced at £500 for registration, aims to complement existing industry gatherings in London and create additional business opportunities for the content industry.
MUMBAI: On Christmas morning, whilst most of Mumbai slept off festive cheer, Satyam Tripathi’s heart gave out. 25 December proved cruelly ironic for a man who’d spent his career crafting drama—this time, there would be no second take. He was only 57.
Tripathi was a scriptwriter’s scriptwriter. Within India’s chaotic television industry, where writers are treated rather like spare parts, he’d carved out something rare: respect. For years, he sat on the executive committee of the Screen Writers Association, helping transform along with other leaders, what was once a talking shop into an organisation with teeth. When writers’ rights were little more than punchlines, Tripathi helped pen a different ending.
His credits read like a greatest hits of Indian telly: Hitler Didi, 12/24 Karol Bagh, Ek Mutthi Aasman, Parvarrish Kuchh Khattee Kuchh Meethi. Millions laughed, cried and switched channels to his work. He also championed the association’s Screen Writing Awards, ensuring that good writing didn’t go unnoticed in an industry obsessed with ratings and revenue.
Those who knew him speak of an affable soul, generous with time and advice. In a cut-throat business, Tripathi was that rarest of creatures: genuinely helpful.
His remains were cremated the same evening in the presence of industry associates and friends. The credits rolled quickly. But his final script—a better deal for India’s writers—continues to play out. That’s the sort of ending he’d have appreciated.
(Scriptwriters, producers and friends will be getting together to honour Satyam Kumud Tripathi’s memory and to hold a prayer meeting on 29 December. The location: Shri Guru Singh Sabha Gurudwara, 4 Bungalows, Andheri West, Mumbai. The time: between 3:30 PM and 5:00 PM.)
