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Row 0
Row 0 is a selection of representatives of regional broadcasters and international and national distribution companies with great interest in documentaries.We present this initiative with the aim of generating bigger synergies within the industry. Below are the representatives confirmed so far:
Oriol Baquer
Managing Director, Slot TV, Spain
Oriol Baquer began his career as a Production Assistant for different feature films with the production companies FIGARO FILMS S.A. and ESTUDI 16/35 S.A. He later became an International Sales Executive for FIGARO FILMS S.A. and TELEVISIO DE CATALUNYA S.A., and has served as the Head of Sales for CYRK S.A. Since 1994, Oriol has been the Managing Director of SLOT, SERVEIS AUDIOVISUALS S.L. He also the Co-founder of the DOCUS Association and the Head of Acquisitions at TV3.
SLOT Serveis Audiovisuals was created in Barcelona in 1994 as a distribution company and has become a key player in the Spanish audiovisual market.
SLOT takes part in the most important international markets, including MIPTV, MIPDOC, MIPCOM, MIPCOM JUNIOR, NATPE, SPAIN TV EXPO, IDFA, DISCOP, SUNNY SIDE OF THE DOC and MERCADOC. Moreover, it has established excellent relations with the television acquisitions departments of the National Film Board of Canada, Granada Media, All3Media, S4C, Films Transit, GA&A and TV Loonland, just to name a few of the companies listed in the SLOT catalogue.
Slot has also handled the international sales for some of the most important Spanish companies and television channels, including Ovideo, Kepry Films, Tibidabo Films, K-2000, Plural Entertainment and Euskal Telebista. Since 2006, Slot has been negotiating the sales for the TVC department.
Kathryn Bonnici
Marketing and Acquisitions Executive, Java Films, France
Kathryn Bonnici is an acquisitions and marketing executive for Java Films. At Java, her responsibilities include developing and sourcing documentaries from independent directors, handing pre-sales and co-productions and overseeing all sales to America, Iberia, Germany, Australasia and the Middle East. Recent Java Films include ’20 Seconds of Joy’, ‘Killing Girls’, ‘Escaping North Korea’ and ‘Secret History: The Gulag Archipelago’.
Java Films is a boutique independent distributor, specialising in documentaries and current affairs. Founded by former producer, Roch Bozino, they represent relevant and high quality documentaries amongst them, a number of award-winning programmes, like France 2’s ‘Envoyé Specialé’ or the documentaries 'Blood Coltan', 'A Journey Through Hell' and '20 Seconds of Joy'.
Anton Calleja
Project Manager, Eurimages, France
Anton Calleja is a graduated Doctor of Law with a thesis on fiscal and financial incentives for the film industry. He also pursued studies in Film Production in Rome (EMAM).
He practiced as an lawyer in Malta and also worked in London and Luxembourg. As a lawyer he advised and represented producers and other players of the film industry.
Since August 2006, Anton has been working as a Project Manager at Eurimages.
Eurimages is the Council of Europe fund for the co-production, distribution and exhibition of European cinematographic works. Set up in 1988 as a Partial Agreement it currently has 34 Member States.
Eurimages aims to promote the European film industry by encouraging the production and distribution of films and fostering co-operation between professionals.
At Eurimages, Anton takes care of feature films and feature-length documentaries.
He is also a visiting lecturer in Entertainment Law & Film Financing at the University of Malta.
Melissa Caron
VP International Sales Europe, Spain
Echo Bridge Entertainment, USA
Echo Bridge Entertainment is a premiere independent content company that acquires and distributes motion pictures, television series, specials, documentaries, home entertainment, PC games and digital and video-on-demand content throughout the world. With its recent acquisition of Alliance Atlantis International Distribution Ltd., Echo Bridge has added over 7,500 hours of programming to its existing library – creating a combined portfolio of more than 5,000 titles.
Melissa Caron is responsible for the distribution of their portfolio in France, French speaking countries, Spain and Portugal. Her responsibilities also include looking out for new projects that may interest EBE either on a global basis or for specific territories.
Before joining EBE, she worked for 15 years at BBC Worldwide. She was the Director of Sales for Western Europe and during that time also developed a children’s documentary series called “All About Animals” and was Associate Producer on the BBC Theatrical film “Earth” ,which was developed in parallel to the series” Planet Earth”.
Zuri Fermín
Development and Training Coordinator, IBERMEDIA, Spain
Of Venezuelan nationality, she has been living in Spain for over 10 years.
After finishing her university studies in the United States, she went back to Venezuela where she worked on international cooperation programs in various public institutions. She joined IBERMEDIA Program from its inception in 1998. Currently she’s responsible for project development, training initiatives and preservation of film archives within the Madrid-based Program’s Technical Unit.
The IBERMEDIA Programme was created in 1997 after decisions taken in the Iber American Summit of Heads of State that took place in Venezuela concerning the implementation of a program to promote the coproduction and distribution of Iber American films.
IBERMEDIA, through its various funding calls, aims to promote the creation of an Iber American audiovisual platform.
Currenlty, its members states are 18: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, Ecuador, Espanya, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Al the different funds are aimed at independent production companies registered in one of the member states.
The areas that are being promoted are the following:
- Project Development
- Coproduction (there is a 300,000 euro fund for documentaries)
- Distribution
- Sales
- Exhibition
- Training
Gemma Gallén
Production DOC'S, BTV (Television of Barcelona), Spain
As a journalist she has worked in written press, radio and TV. She’s currently part of the team of the TV slot DOC’s, which airs in Barcelona TV. It’s a 60 minute slot devoted to documentaries, that opens an opportunity to see students and young directors’ new work. Themes vary from social interest, arts, science, history. And the team is constantly searching for new material to screen and select. Doc’s has been broadcasting in Barcelona TV since 2004.
Barcelona Televisió – BTV was first conceived as proximity channel for Barcelona residents, offering quality programmes, while placing special interest on culture and local viewer participation and focusing on local and innovative programmes. As a result, a number of the channel’s programmes have been honoured by international and domestic institutions.
Pere Gibert
Content coordinator, XTVL, Spain
With a Masters degree in Audiovisual Communications from Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, he started his professional career as a radio broadcaster for a local station, Matadepera Radio. He worked for 8 years at Canal Terrassa (local TV station) and Ràdio Municipal de Terrassa, another local radio station. Between 2002 and 2005 he was Head of Current of Affairs of these two media. In 2006 he became part of the team of the programme “Matins.COM” of COM Radio. Currently he’s the Content Coordinator of the Xarxa de Televisions Locals (Network of Local TV stations), and is responsible for a new audiovisual formats project.
XTVL is a body of coordination and cooperation within the audiovisual media, especially local TV stations. Its goal is to strengthen the chain value of local communication in the areas of news contents, programmes and services, in order to make them available to citizens. It also aims to implement technologies that will allow a larger diffusion of these contents and services. At the same time, it complements activities such as technical consultancy, training, promotion, exploitation and innovation that local resources cannot take on their own.
Jaume Grau
Head of Programming, IB3 (Television of Balearic Islands), Spain
Programming Director
Jaume Grau is the Director of Programming for IB3 TV. With a background in Biological Sciences, Jaume has contributed to La Vanguardia newspaper, Ràdio Barcelona, Catalunya Ràdio, the RAC Channel and the magazine Sapiens. He has been the Director of Mercuri SGP for seven years, creating and directing documentary series such as "Conviure amb el risc", "L’aigua en joc", "Propera parada Mart", "Canvi", "Cents anys del Palau" and the fake documentary, "Viva la República". He has also directed entertainment programmes including "El Favorit" and "Made in Barcelona", and he has created programmes such as "Connexions" and "Crònica d’avui". As a Creative Director at Interactive Television and Kanal de Televisió, he directed and wrote the "LottoShow", and he wrote and co-directed the quiz show "Setciències". He is also the author of popular science books including "La Natura no té drets" and "Carlinades, el Farwest a la catalana".
Radio Televisió de les Illes Balears, IB3 is one of Spain’s younger regional television channels. Since its foundation in 2005, IB3 has become particularly strong in the broadcast of news programmes, sports and fictional home production fiction. Since 2007, IB3 has been broadcasting in Catalan. This year IB3 has launched a 1 hour documentary slot, and therefore, coproduction agreements will be increased.
José Manuel Pinillo
Content director Canal Cultura TVE-Catalunya, Spain
Joan Salvat
Head of Documentaries, TVC (Television of Catalonia), Spain
For the past 24 years, Joan Salvat Saladrigas (Sant Feliu de Llobregat, 1956) has been directing Televisió de Catalunya’s news magazine show 30 Minuts, which has won numerous awards, both nationally and internationally. As a reporter, he has travelled to some twenty countries worldwide. For 15 years, he has also been directing another programme by Televisió de Catalunya, 60 Minuts, which broadcasts the best reports produced by other television channels. Joan earned a degree in Information Sciences at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). Before making his debut in television, he worked as an editor at different newspapers, including El Correo Catalán, which no longer exists, the magazine Oriflama, and he worked as a correspondent for Avui newspaper, as well as other magazines.
He’s currently the Head of Televisió de Catalunya’s new Documentary Department, and as such, he directs and presents "Sense Ficció", a program that aims to screen the best documentaries produced around the world, as well as in-house landmark documentaries. It’s the first slot of this kind to come from the first channel of a public broadcaster.
Iñigo Trojaola
Head Editor of Documentaries, Sogecable, Spain
Iñigo Troajola studied Audiovisual Communications at Madrid’s Complutense University, as well as Documentary Film at the University of Westminster in London. After a brief time at the Spanish National Radio in Tenerife, he went to work for Canal +, first as a producer and later as the Chief Editor of the short film programme La Noche +Corta, where he was also responsible for the selection of international short films and animations. For three years, he worked as the Acquisitions Manager for the channels Documania and Estilo. For the past two years, he has served as the Chief Editor for documentaries at Canal+, where he is responsible for both the documentary selection and the channel’s inhouse special programming production.
Canal + is the most important pay Spanish TV channel. Financed by subscription, Canal + / Sogecable primarily offers sports and the latest films, series and documentaries.
As regards documentaries, Canal+ purchases 120 documentaries each year. Whilst the broadcaster primarily looks for documentaries on nature and society, there is also a clear interest in all kinds of genres, as well as comical and entertaining documentaries on fashion, people, social and adult issues.
Joan Vila
Managing Director, COMUNICÀLIA, Spain
Since September 2008 he’s been Managing Director of the Local and Regional Communication Consortium and Managing Director of Comunicàlia S.A., a public enterprise that gives support (services and contents) to local radio and TV stations (nearly a hundred public and associative radio stations and around forty public and private TV stations).
He’s an Associate Lecturer of the Department of Audiovisual Communications of the UAB.
For 15 years he’s been involved with local communication, amongst other positions, as Manager of the Local Catalan TV Stations, between 2003 and 2007. This organization, together with the Council of Barcelona, was the originator of the Network for Local Catalan TV Stations. He’s also worked as a journalist for Barcelona TV, El Temps, COOB’92, TVE-Catalonia, and Radio City of Badalona, amongst others.