Israeli TV Execs Cancel MIPCOM Plans Amid Hamas War Fears

With Israeli producers and their breakout TV hits like Fauda and On the Spectrum in recent years dominating international TV markets and audiences, MIPCOM this year is set to see a far reduced presence by that Middle Eastern nation in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attacks on southern Israel.

“Along with the rest of the world, we have watched in horror as the situation has unfolded. We are in touch with our representative in Israel who is safe and keeping us posted. Any delegates from Israel no longer able to attend MIPCOM Cannes will of course be able to receive full refunds,” a MIPCOM spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday.

Around 70 Israelis have been accredited for the Cannes TV market, and MIPCOM has yet to establish how many will remain at home this year. But few if any are expected to fly to Cannes for the Oct. 16-19 festival.

Adar Shafran, a co-founder of Firma Films and chairman of the Israeli Producers Association, told THR he canceled his own flight to Cannes on Sunday and the Israeli production sector had shuttered in the wake of Israel mounting a full-scale military retaliation against Hamas, including widespread reserve soldier call-ups.

“All our industry is completely shutdown. We are working to help our soldiers that stand in the front line. No Israeli that lives in Israel will go to MIP,” Shafran reported. After Israel declared a formal war on Hamas on Sunday, Israeli TV executives have gone into survival mode, he added.

“This is the worst time for Israel since the 1973 (Yom Kippur) war, but we will stay together and win. Nothing will be the same again for us. It’s a scar that will stay with us,” Shafran insisted.

Yes Studios managing director Sharon Levi also canceled her trip to MIPCOM in the wake of the Israeli-Hamas war, as talk of content production and sales has dramatically given way to thoughts on Israel’s immediate future.

“We are staying close to our families and glued to the news 24/7, shocked and heartbroken by the number of casualties that keeps rising, the uncertainty of the well being of our hostages, young children, babies, women and elderly Holocaust survivors who were kidnapped from their homes. We pray for the safe return of all 130-plus hostages, for the recovery of over 2000 wounded and mourn the loss of over 1200 innocent lives,” Levi, who represents the distribution and co-production arm of the Israeli streaming platform, told THR.

Israeli companies are expected to have a skeleton presence in Cannes.

Adi Bar Yossef, an executive producer with Endemol Shine Israel, may attend MIPCOM, but only if she can get her children out of Israel and to safety via a flight booked to Portugal – even as most Israeli airplanes have been grounded.

“We have booked a flight to Portugal and we hope the flight would be able to depart, as the situation is very unstable,” Bar Yossef told THR. Other Endemol Shine Israel execs will stay close to home and their own families.

“This is a big dilemma for me, because I’m leaving my country at this difficult moment. But at the same time, it’s important for me to be there (Cannes) and keep on creating, despite these terrorist attacks,” Bar Yossef said.

Another major Israeli player, Keshet International, will see all of its Israeli-based executives bypass MIPCOM and continue to work from home in Tel Aviv, THR has learned.

At the same time, Keshet International executives based in satellite offices in in Buenos Aires, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Warsaw and Munich are expected in Cannes to do deals at the TV market.