Banijay Group is the world's largest independent content creation Group for television and multimedia platforms. Banijay Group is present in 16 territories.
Banijay Group is the world's largest independent content creation Group for television and multimedia platforms. Banijay Group is present in 16 territories.

Tag Archive: Steve Matthews

  1. Banijay Unveils New Scripted Initiative Banijay Bootcamp

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    Media and entertainment powerhouse, Banijay, today announces Banijay Bootcamp, a new creative programme for scripted talent, set to facilitate collaborative storytelling by pairing in-house development executives with emerging writers in a dynamic residency.

    Led by Steve Matthews, Content Executive at Banijay, Banijay Bootcamp is facilitated through the established MIDPOINT Institute’s Series Launch programme which Matthews has been part of since its inception in 2015. Working with Matthews is Portocabo’s Head of Content Nina Hernández along with guest tutor Tatjana Samopjan.

    Starting this week in Prague, with two residencies across three months, a cohort of five Banijay development executives from Mexico, Spain, France, Israel, and the Netherlands, will each be mentored with a writer to develop an idea, storyline, plot and script.

    Participants in the inaugural Banijay Bootcamp include Clara Machado (Endemol Shine Boomdog) with Carl Zitelmann, Anita Pico (Zeppelin) with Carlotta Dans and Lucía Estévez (Portocabo), Héloïse Ridoux (Banijay Studios France) with Quentin Elles, Adi Bar Yossef (Endemol Shine Israel) with Elad Laor, and Claire Zhou (NL Film) with Leon Golterman.

    Steve Matthews, Content Executive at Banijay, says: “Banijay Bootcamp will see our in-house development storymakers and their chosen writers sharpen skills to further understand the deep structure of an idea and how to make it the very best version possible. They’ll expertly demolish and rebuild to make projects sharp and – yes, commercial. In an increasingly competitive market, productions need to be really, really, good, so this is really about supporting development executives and writers, strengthening the next-generation across the footprint.”

    Banijay is home to a diverse range of over 60 labels working within scripted. Highly-anticipated forthcoming titles include Ripley, This Town, Supersex, Ronja the Robber’s Daughter, Carême, Elixer, Supporting Actor, Like Water for Chocolate, series two of The Golden Hour and many many more.

    Banijay Bootcamp is one of many of the group’s initiatives designed to accelerate and support talent and supercharge creativity, including Banijay Launch, which supports women creators with promising unscripted formats, providing in-house mentorships to aid them in developing bold new formats from concept to pitch to sale.

    Based in Prague, MIDPOINT Institute is an international centre for audiovisual training and networking which offers comprehensive professional support in film and series development, individual skills development, and post-production. MIDPOINT is devoted to helping emerging and mid-career professionals advance their projects and improve their craft.

  2. Banijay Bolsters Scripted Division with Steve Matthews

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    Content powerhouse Banijay today announces the addition of Steve Matthews to its central scripted department. Appointed Content Partnerships Executive, the HBO Europe alumni will report to recently announced Global Head of Scripted, Christian Wikander. In the newly devised role, which commences on 1 February, he will act as a key facilitator in the group’s production development process, supporting in driving co-production opportunities across the Nordics, Spain and beyond, and generally building out the business’ pipeline and creative partnerships primarily across drama.

    Matthews joins the 22-territory organisation from HBO Europe, where he most recently served as VP, Executive Producer, Scripted, having joined the business back in 2014. In that post, he partnered with local teams across Central Europe, Spain and Nordics, to spearhead the development of original series and miniseries, as well as international adaptations. There he worked on productions including Pustina, Umbre, Blinded By The Lights, Uspjeh, The Sleepers, Foodie Love, Gösta; and from Banijay’s footprint specifically, 30 Coins (Pokeepsie), Beforeigners (Rubicon), and Beartown (Filmlance).

    Marco Bassetti, Chief Executive Officer, Banijay comments: “Scripted very much remains an area in which we want to grow our business, and over the past few years, we have really focused on nurturing a solid premium pipeline, further building our position reputationally in the market. Through organic growth and M&A, we will continue to strengthen our capabilities in this arena and in Steve, we have vast amounts of knowledge, and hands-on experience, which will be invaluable as we continue to expand our portfolio.”

    Steve Matthews comments: “Banijay has an impressive collection of scripted labels and some of the most anticipated and enjoyed titles in the world. Both locally and internationally, it has carved a name for itself as a go-to for quality and creativity. It will be great to be reunited with Christian in continuing to spur on the group’s catalogue potential and support its fantastic talent in taking even more shows from development to commission worldwide.”

    Prior to his eight-year stint at HBO Europe, Matthews was at Octagon Films in Dublin, where he produced four seasons of RTE’s award-winning gangster series, Love/Hate, and was Consulting Producer on all three runs of Showtime’s The Borgias starring Jeremy Irons. With a strong track record in premium scripted, he has also enjoyed periods as Head of Development at Ray Winstone’s Size 9 Productions, a script editor on the BBC’s long-running drama, Silent Witness, and as co-creator and producer of Urban Gothic for the UK’s Channel 5. Beyond the screen, he teaches regularly at the Midpoint writing programmes and has lectured at Serial Eyes and Series Mania.