'Hypnotic' looks to mesmerize auds
Series to consist of short films in 26 one-hour formats
Hypnotic, backed by investors Vivendi Universal, Knowledge Universe, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, Windsor Media and Entertainment Media Ventures, produces for film and TV.
It also manages a large library of short films and animations including the American Film Institute library for distribution to television, movie theaters, airlines, pay-per-view, video-on-demand and broadband channels.
Claxson, whose main shareholders are Latin American media and industrial conglom Cisneros Group and U.S. investment firm Hicks Muse Tate & Furst, programs and operates pay TV channels in Latin America, Spain and Portugal. It also has broadband, Internet and broadcast interests.
"Hypnotic Shorts" will consist of short films packaged into 26 one-hour formats.
Hypnotic and Claxson will jointly curate the series, Claxson will oversee production and Hypnotic will exclusively distribute.
"Hypnotic Shorts is an important step in the evolution of our distribution business, in that, it allows us to offer film buyers a fully packaged, episodic series in addition to stand-alone short films," said Daniel Gossels, COO of Hypnotic.
Separately, Claxson will announce today in Cannes the signing of distrib accords with Tepuy Intl. and CDC United Network for Claxson's docu catalog.
Claxson has 100 documentaries produced for its Infinito feevee, which features programming on the mystical, the occult, alternative sciences, the paranormal, crimes and unsolved mysteries.
Claxson is aiming to broaden its revenue base away from Latin Ameican subscription TV to include intl. TV sales.
Docus include "Fortune-tellers of Leaders", "Jack the Ripper", and "Maya: Time Scientists".
Miamib-based distrib and TV project incubator Tepuy will offer the catalog in Latin America, and Brussels-based CDC will handle the rest of the global distribution.
Finally, Claxson is in negotiations with Spain's Telefónica Audiovisual Services (TSA) to form a strategic alliance to develop a digital television broadcasting platform. The goal is to distribute digital channels from the Americas - North and South -- directly into Europe - and vice versa.
