A press conference was held on Monday at the prestigious Brach Hotel in Paris, during which Laurent Puons, CEO and Cécile Menoni, Executive Director of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, outlined the exciting plans for the 61st Edition of the Festival which will take place 17-21 June 2022.

OPENING CEREMONY

The Opening Ceremony, hosted by Genie Godula, will be held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on Friday 17 June. Following a Red-Carpet arrival featuring a host of talented actors and leading showrunners and creatives, she will present the members of the Fiction and News & Documentaries Juries on stage.

Festival Honorary President, H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco will then bestow the very first International Golden Nymph for Most Promising Talent to French actor Théo Christine (War of the Worlds, SKAM, Suprêmes). This brand-new award recognizes the brilliant and exceptional rising talent of an actor who has elevated the bar of excellence to international acclaim.

Rola Bauer, President of MGM International TV Productions, joined the press conference to announce that the first evening of the Festival will then continue with the world premiere of the first two episodes of the five-part thriller Last Light, produced by MGM International TV Productions, in association with Peacock, Viaplay, MBC Group, Stan and internationally distributed by MGM. Based on the highly successful novel by Alex Scarrow, Last Light is directed by Dennie Gordon (Jack Ryan) and stars Matthew Fox (Lost), Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey) and Tom Wlaschiha (Game of Thrones) who will be in attendance at the special screening.

GOLDEN NYMPH AWARDS AND OFFICIAL SELECTION

The hosts for the Golden Nymph Awards of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival 2022, Miss France 2021, Amandine Petit and magician, comedian, actor and author Eric Antoine also joined Laurent Puons at the press conference in Paris. They will both be on stage at the Salle des Princes in the Grimaldi Forum on Tuesday 21 June to introduce the laureates and to celebrate the highlights of what promises to be a magical Festival in Monaco.

The 2022 Official Selection of the Golden Nymph Awards Competition, which recognises the very best in international television production, was also announced, with 21 programs from 12 countries, in the Fiction Category, the Documentary & News Category and the Prince Rainier III Special Prize.

For the first time Official Selection Series in the Fiction Category include three world, one international and one European premieres.

The press conference in Paris then continued with Laurent Puons announcing a brand-new initiative for the 61st Edition of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival – the creation of the Prix du Public in partnership with BetaSeries. This innovative inaugural award gives fans the opportunity to participate in a festival as real jurors and reward a program in competition within the Official Selection.

Official Selection: https://www.tvfestival.com/en/competition/nominees

JURY MEMBERS

Fiction jury member Darko Peric (Money Heist) joined the press conference to announce the full line-up of Jury members for this year’s Festival.

The American Actor and Producer, Neal McDonough will lead the Fiction Jury as its President and Jill Tiefenthaler, CEO National Geographic is President of the News and Documentaries Jury.

Full list of Jury Members: https://www.tvfestival.com/en/competition/juries

BUSINESS CONTENT

For more than 60 years, the Monte-Carlo Television Festival has been a forward-thinking and progressive event which takes an in-depth and considered view of all aspects of the production business. This year is no exception with the “Business Content” strand, a strong line-up of business focused panels (18-20 June) taking place at the Grimaldi Forum, at the end of each day. Moderated by a number of highly-regarded trade journalists, each session will include legendary showrunners, international producers and exceptional executives who are collectively shaping the future of production and creativity. Topics to be covered in the “Business Content” strand include Soap & Telenovelas: Building a Success Story Across Decades; Scripted Formats; the Unscripted Production Boom; International Co-Production; New Formats and Fan Engagement with OTT and The Shift Towards Sustainable Production.

Business Content program: https://www.tvfestival.com/en/professionals/programme

PUBLIC EVENTS

This year’s Festival will host a series of events for the public to enjoy each day.

Each nominated program within the Official Selection for the Fiction and Prince Rainier III Special Prize categories will be presented to the Festival's attendees via free to enter public screenings at the Grimaldi Forum.

Other screenings will include the documentary Souffles De Vie, an eye-opening film which highlights the human impact on a marine environment as fragile as the Mediterranean, with particular focus on cetaceans.

The Festival will also screen the world premiere of the first two episodes of a StudioCanal series based on Marc Levy's bestseller, All Those Things We Never Said, in the presence of the cast and the book's author.

Talent from four of the leading daily French TV shows will take part - including a signing session for Un Si Grand Soleil, as well as a joint signing session for hit French shows from the TelFrance Group - Demain Nous Appartient, Ici Tout Commence and Plus Belle la Vie.

French TV Channel M6 will offer two unique events with a Behind the Scenes of Pekin Express as well as a joint signing session with Scènes de Ménages and En Famille.

Two famous American soap-operas will be back at the Festival. Talent and creative executives from The Bold and the Beautiful will celebrate the iconic show’s 35th anniversary with a special and exclusive screening followed by a signing session. There will be a “meet up” with talent from the Young and the Restless.

As each year, an informal Behind the Scenes will feature leading talent from international hit series created by Dick Wolf such as Chicago Fire, Law & Order: Revival, Chicago Med and FBI: Most Wanted. Finally, especially for fans, there will be exclusive make-up demonstrations by artists from the Festival’s official partner SLA Paris.

Laurent Puons concluded, “After two years affected by the global health crisis, the Festival has returned to the highest international level with a very strong competition which includes many world premieres. The digital platforms have reconfirmed their commitment and we are looking forward to an extremely exciting edition in June. Yet again the Monte-Carlo TV Festival is set to be the best in Europe.”