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2020 Producer to Watch!

2020 Producer to Watch!

I am truly honored and privileged to be selected for the prestigious MIPTV Producers to Watch list—an exclusive recognition of independent producers with global potential.

This year has been incredible. Not only was my new series selected for MIPTV, the world’s largest television market, but I was also chosen as one of the most talented and promising producers on the planet. Wow!

One of the most important lists of 2020: MIPTV Producers to Watch
Featured in this 2020 Producers to Watch list (Page 96)

MIPTV (Market of International Programs of Television) is held annually in Cannes, France, sharing its world-renowned facilities with events like the Cannes Film Festival and Cannes Lions. As the largest content market, MIPTV brings together the global industry to co-produce, buy, sell, finance, and distribute entertainment content across TV, film, digital, and audiovisual platforms. It’s the ultimate space to network, trade, and uncover future trends.

A heartfelt thank you to Reed MIDEM, MIPTV, and the jury for this incredible honor. See you in Cannes!

#ProducersToWatch #InDevelopment #MIPTV

HBO: Upcoming TV Creators

HBO: Upcoming TV Creators

What an amazing honor to be selected to be among the most talented television creators of 2018 from all over the world by HBO and Primetime Emmy Awards… This year for the second time the HBO event is happening in the cutest town of Manchester, Vermont which makes everyone feel like they are constantly walking in a movie set.

During the seven days of the event, we have met with the top executives of the industry including HBO, Netflix, Comedy Central, Fox, ABC and many more; attended the panels and watched the amazing series in the selection.

As far as our show the Elevator, even though it was one of the only 3 Non-English speaking shows in the Festival, it was received brilliantly among the audience and the executives. One of my favorite quotes after the screenings was from the Director of the Festival Philip Gilpin Jr. as he described the show as ‘genius’ and talked very generously about my unique approach to storytelling, which in fact was surprising for me since I was more used to hear the word ‘crazy’ about my series until that time. But maybe in hindsight they are the two different sides of the same coin.

Walking around the cutest town of Manchester, Vermont.
Waiting in line for the Award Ceremony.

Overall the seven day event was one of a kind experience for me. Being around so many high level executives and so many multi talented creators, gave me a unique inside look to the industry at its highest level and how it works in the States. I think I have accomplished my first introduction handsomely to so many of these very important people and also after spending so much time drinking with ridiculously talented people I have managed to create an amazing team of creatives for my next project.

So thank you Philip, thank you Vermont and finally thank you HBO and Primetime Emmy Awards for a great event and even greater experience!

Winner: ‘What’s Next Award’

Winner: ‘What’s Next Award’

What an honor! I have been awarded with the most prestigious ‘What’s Next Award’ of @Webfestberlin as the Writer to Watch, as the creator expected to shape the near future of storytelling..! What!!

It was truly one of the most important and memorable nights in my life. Even now I am having real hard time expressing how I feel about that evening.

In my humble experience, every festival always has a perspective and a purpose that reflects on their selections. In Berlin, in the heart of Europe the focus of the festival is to find the next trends and the next big thing in storytelling!

…and the award goes to Bora Omeroglu.

Therefore every year they present their most important award as ‘What’s Next Award’ to one writer, one director and one producer. And this year I was fortunate enough to be named the ‘What’s Next Award: Writer to Watch’ to have that privilege.

This award was particularly important and extremely emotional for me because since I have decided to follow the career path to be a writer, I’ve been spending so much time trying to create stories that offer something entirely new to storytelling and the overall narrative in the industry, which has not been the easiest and the most rewarding task to take on…

My dearest ‘What’s Next Award’ up close.

But this special award not only rewarded my series The Elevator as ‘the next thing’ but also recognized my entire efforts to be original since the beginning of my career. It’s really hard to express how good it felt to hear my name in the ceremony and to know that all my efforts so far were paid off at some level!

It also didn’t hurt that this emotionally special award came with a €1500 cash prize which will definitely come handy considering the long journey ahead of us. So, grateful for this!

Finally, I want to promise to all the jury who found me worthy of such prestigious award that I will go further than any alumni of this award and I will make you proud of your decision every step of the way! Thank you so much for this honor! This night was for life!

You can also check out this article to find out more about for more about Webfest Berlin and the prestigious What’s Next Award.

An Interview in Spain

An Interview in Spain

As a part of the buzz that the Elevator has created over the 33rd Valencia International Film Festival Cinemajove, I was selected as one of two short-form creators for an official interview.

It was simply a pleasure to meet the kindest Gerardo in this process. We’ve talked about the show, my career, my inspirations and also my past visit to Valencia, when I was just a young student in Universidad Politécnica de Valencia studying Audiovisual Communication.

Check out the full interview here by Gerardo Léon.

Official Selection MIPTV

Official Selection MIPTV

This is HUGE! A long-time career goal of mine has come true: being selected for the biggest television market in the world—MIPTV! My latest show, Xolenia, has been chosen for the In-Development Creative Talent Pitch 2020 out of hundreds of projects.

6 finalist of the MIPTV Creative Talent Pitch

Every year, this prestigious event selects just 6 projects from hundreds of submissions. We have spent over a year developing Xolenia, and being recognized at MIPTV—the world’s leading television market—makes all the effort feel truly worthwhile.

A huge thank you to Reed MIDEM and the esteemed jury!

Thank you for this incredible honor, it feels absolutely unreal! See you in Cannes!

Torino Short Film Market

Torino Short Film Market

Selected as one of the Final 5 Short-form Series for the very exclusive pitch session at Torino Short Film Market Vol. 3, I had the incredible opportunity to present my long-standing series Sex and the Sixteen.

Here’s a picture you can only find in Italy.
Check out the amazing Venue of the Film Market in Torino, Italy.

It was a fantastic experience that allowed me to showcase my vision, connect with industry professionals, and gain valuable feedback.

My pitch went significantly better than the one in Marseille Web Fest and immediately after, we dove into speed meetings with producers. My overall impression is that they were genuinely excited by what they heard, with most eager to continue the conversation. Follow-ups are already in the works.

Last but not least, even though it was my first time in Italy, I can easily say that it had an huge impact on me… I totally fell in love with the city! The amazing architecture, extremely polite people but most of all the vibe of everything was just right for me! I wish one day I will have an other opportunity to come back and spend more time here.

A heartfelt thank you for the invitation and for allowing me to be part of this special market!

Marseille Writing Residency

Marseille Writing Residency

One of the most prestigious residencies in Europe, the Marseille Writing Residency invites 13 writers from across the continent to join Professor Rich’s writer’s room.

Pitching Sex & the Sixteen in Marseille, France.
Great talk with Frank Spotnitz, the Creator of the Man in the High Castle.
Final Day of the Residence with our Certificates.

You directly feel that an organization cares for the writers when they fly you all the way from Boston, pay for your stay plus expenses for the whole week… And that’s how Marseille Writing Residence has started. Thirteen writers from all over Europe all expenses paid, invited to be in the writer’s room of Professor Rich for four days of intense work to perfect their pitch and ultimately present it to the producers who are attending the Pitch Sessions.

I have to admit it was challenging… Not only being in the spotlight and pitching is a b*tch for us writers but being in a room with twelve other extremely smart storytellers and make your story bulletproof to their questions required more work than I’ve anticipated. But in the end it was all worth it since after a whole week I have found myself feeling very confident about my pitch.

The other interesting part of the Residence was the panels… We’ve attended truly interesting talks with Frank Spotnitz, the showrunner of the hit series the Man in the High Castle and Anthony Horowitz, the author of the last James Bond novel. I always find these panels with established industry writers very interesting, since more often than not when you get into a conversation with them you realize that they went through the exact same troubles that you as a writer go through everyday and it always helps me to hear that from people that I look up to.

Cathédrale de la Major Marseille, France.
My favorite… Connection between the Old City Walls and the Modern Art Museum.

Lastly I want to mention a couple of things about the city… Every city that I visit have a character, a motto or something that they identify themselves with and in Marseille that was multi-culturalism. As a port city located in the South of France, Marseille apparently has always been the place where cultures meet and live together. And you can feel that diversity everywhere around the city; in the streets, in the architecture and in their approach to everything.

Overall one week in Marseille in Professor Rich’s writing room was genuinely one of a kind experience. I perfected my pitch for my new series, met with some of the greatest writers of my generation plus we also had the chance to be part of the biggest web festival of Europe, Marseille Web Fest.

So thank you Professor, thank you Jean-Michel Albert and thank you @marswebfest for this great honor! I will remember this forever.

Wow! We’re in ‘El Cultural‘

Wow! We’re in ‘El Cultural‘

This week The Elevator was in the the biggest weekly culture magazine of Spain, ‘El Cultural’. Check out these amazing quotes from @EnricAlbero‘s exclusive article reviewing some of the best works of Valencia International Film Festival – including our very own comedy show The Elevator.

”The crazy vein of the the 33rd International Valencia Film Festival is exploding in The Elevator by Bora Omeroglu. It is the story of a baby with a moustache, raised in an elevator by a superhero who looks like Batman with osteoarthritis…”

”With an aesthetic that at times can remind the Jeunet-Caro duo, this Turkish comedy is between the bizarre explosion and the technical filigree without mitigating a feeling of dejà-vu…”

Check out the full article by Enric Albero.