Unifrance on Tuesday unveiled the nine nominees for its TV export awards, which honor the French television shows that have sold the most worldwide.
This year’s fiction contenders include Marie Antoinette, a historical epic on the iconic French queen, produced by Canal+ and the BBC and sold internationally by Banijay Rights; the art heist drama Cat’s Eyes, from TF1, Amazon Prime, Germany’s ZDF and Rai in Italy, which was a strong seller for Newen Connect at Mipcom in October; and Of Money and Blood, a crime thriller from Canal+ based on a real-life carbon tax swindle, which StudioCanal launched at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year.
In non-fiction, the France TV documentary Eiffel Tower: Building the Impossible, on the Eiffel Tower’s untold origin story, goes up against Newen Connect’s Russia: Indoctrination of a Nation, about Russians living under the Putin regime; and D-Day: 100 Days for Freedom, from Zed Productions, a deep dive into the military campaign that liberated France from the Nazis. Animated contenders include Jade Armor from APC Kids, Miam! Distribution’s Brazen and Xilam Animation for season 3 of Zig & Sharko.
International sales of French TV programs dipped slightly last year, down 5.3 percent from a record 2022 to around $215 million (€203.4 million), according to Unifrance’s figures. The group remains bullish, however, noting that 2023 is just the third time in 30 years that sales exceeded the symbolic €200 million threshold.
Unifrance will present the 21st Unifrance TV Export honors as part of the French Television Producer Awards at a ceremony at the Trianon in Paris on Dec. 16.
2024 Unifrance TV Export Award Nominations
TV Export Awards — Animation
APC Kids for Jade Armor Season 1 (26×22’)
Miam! Distribution for Brazen (30×3’30”)
Xilam Animation for Zig & Sharko Season 3 (78×7”)
TV Export Awards — Documentary
France TV distribution for Eiffel Tower: Building the Impossible (52’ & 90’)
Newen Connect for Russia: Indoctrination of a Nation (52’ & 70’)
Zed for D-Day: 100 Days for Freedom (2×45’ & 90’)
TV Export Awards — Fiction
Banijay Rights for Marie-Antoinette Season 1 (8×60’)
Newen Connect for Cat’s Eyes (8×52’)
Studiocanal for Of Money and Blood (12×52’)
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