Paris – BuzzFeed Motion Pictures President Ze Frank will be joined by Oscar-nominated producer Michael Shamberg to deliver a joint keynote at MIP Digital Fronts, MIPTV’s ground-breaking online content showcase.
Frank is the driving force behind BuzzFeed’s expansive video division and a pioneer of online video. Shamberg is an advisor to BuzzFeed Motion Pictures with experience in producing innovative Hollywood movies and TV. The pair will discuss “the future of digital Hollywood” and address the exciting shifts in production and distribution that are challenging traditional TV and studio models. The keynote will take place on 14 April at 5.45pm in the Grand Auditorium of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, as part of the MIPTV 2015 global entertainment content tradeshow.
Frank joined BuzzFeed in 2012 as the site’s EVP of video, where he focused on finding new formats in social video. A web pioneer since 2001, he is known for creating viral projects like Earth Sandwich, Young Me/Now Me and Chillout Song. In 2006, he created The Show with Ze Frank, which was an early template for the modern video blog. In August 2014, BuzzFeed launched BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, of which Frank is President. The video division focuses on all moving images from a GIF to a feature film.
Michael Shamberg is a movie and TV producer, and advisor to BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. With a string of credits across a wide range of genres, four of his films have received Best Picture Oscar nominations: Django Unchained, Erin Brockovich, Pulp Fiction, and The Big Chill. His other movie credits include Contagion, Gattaca, World Trade Center, Get Shorty and A Fish Called Wanda. Shamberg was an Executive Producer of Reno 911 and he is in preproduction on a futuristic martial arts series for AMC called Badlands.
“We are very excited that BuzzFeed is featured in our MIPTV 2015 programme, as they are at the forefront of reshaping the media landscape of tomorrow. Ze Frank represents this new generation of producer/creator and Michael Shamberg, has a dazzling track record as a producer. This makes for a terrific pairing to drive the digital transformation of Hollywood,” said Laurine Garaude, Director of Television at Reed MIDEM, organiser of MIPTV.
The exclusive international screenings showcase for multi-channel networks, digital studios and online publishers, the MIP Digital Fronts was created by MIPTV in 2014 to establish the industry’s first global distribution and acquisition market for high-quality original online productions and web series for adaptation across all screens and platforms.
MIP Digital Fronts 2015 features two-and-a-half days of showcases of new online productions during MIPTV. These presentations will be followed by on-stage interviews with the producers and creative executives, as well as appearances by the talent behind the content, plus matchmaking sessions with the new breed of content creators.
