Hollywood Creator Issa Rae Named MIPCOM 2018 Personality of the Year

Rae to be Featured Guest in Keynote Interview In Cannes

Paris, 19 July, 2018 – Issa Rae, creator, producer and star of HBO’s hit show “Insecure,” has been named MIPCOM 2018 Personality of the Year. The Peabody Award winner and vanguard Hollywood actress, writer, director and producer will be honoured at a gala dinner for leading international television executives at the Carlton Hotel, Cannes, France, on Wednesday 17 October, and will take part in a keynote interview.

MIPCOM, the world’s entertainment content market, takes place in Cannes from 15-18 October 2018.

As part of MIPCOM 2018’s conference theme “The Big Shift,” Reed MIDEM will again bring focus to the topics of diversity and inclusion to reflect the global movement towards equality behind and in front of the camera. Through celebrating Rae’s ground-breaking series and powerful artistry, MIPCOM propels the conversation of inclusive storytelling beyond Hollywood to reach 14,000 entertainment executives from 100 countries.

With her own unique flare and infectious sense of humour, Rae has received an Emmy® nomination and two Golden Globe® nominations for Best Actress for her hit show, HBO’s “Insecure.” Issa Rae’s web series, “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl,” was the recipient of the coveted Shorty Award for Best Web Show and her first book, a collection of essays, is a New York Times Bestseller. Rae’s upcoming feature films include an adaptation of Angie Thomas’s bestselling novel “The Hate U Give,” and “Little,” with Regina Hall and Marsai Martin.

Rae will take part in a keynote interview on Wednesday 17 October, in the Grand Auditorium of the Palais des Festivals, in which she will discuss her career and share her commitment to helping increase opportunities for women and minority TV writers and encouraging the entertainment industry to take action to improve representation on all levels. The keynote interview will be followed by a gala dinner at the Carlton Hotel bringing together top members of the television and entertainment industry.

“Issa Rae is one of most brilliant creative minds in Hollywood.  She is shaping the present and future of on-screen storytelling through her authentic comedic writing and her uncompromising commitment to inclusion,” said Paul Zilk, CEO of Reed MIDEM, organiser of MIPCOM. “In recognition of her generation-defining influence on the entertainment industry, we are honoured to welcome her to Cannes as the MIPCOM 2018 Personality of the Year.”

Past MIPCOM Personality of the Year honourees include:
•    David Zaslav, President & CEO, Discovery Inc. (2017)
•    Shonda Rhimes, Founder, Shondaland (2016)
•    Dana Walden & Gary Newman, Chairmen & CEOs, Fox Television Group (2015)
•    Simon Cowell, TV & Film Producer, SYCO (2014)
•    Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO, DreamWorks Animation (2013)

MIPCOM – MIPCOM is the year’s most anticipated global market for entertainment content across all platforms. Each October, the industry’s major players from TV and film – converge in Cannes to create a new world of entertainment. MIPCOM turns every moment into an opportunity, transforming four days of meetings, screenings and conferences into deals, from blockbuster programming to ground-breaking partnerships. And MIPJunior –  the leading showcase for kids programming which takes place  the weekend before MIPCOM – unites the world’s most influential buyers, sellers, producers, digital players, publishers and licensing executives who  present, discover and screen the very latest content.

About Reed MIDEM – Founded in 1963, Reed MIDEM is an organiser of professional, international markets that are essential business platforms for key players in the sectors concerned. These sectors are MIPTV, MIPDOC, MIPCOM, MIPJUNIOR in Cannes, MIP China in Hangzhou and MIP Cancun in Mexico for the television and digital content industries; MIDEM in Cannes for music professionals; Esports BAR in Cannes and in Miami for the esports business; MIPIM in Cannes, MIPIM UK in London, MIPIM Asia Summit in Hong Kong and MIPIM PropTech Summit in New York for the real estate industry; MAPIC in Cannes, MAPIC Russia in Moscow, MAPIC Italy in Milan, MAPIC China Summit in Shanghai and IRF brought by MAPIC in Mumbai for the retail real estate sector.

About Reed Exhibitions – Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organiser, with over 500 events in over 39 countries. In 2017 Reed brought together over seven million event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa and organised by 38 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events. It is part of RELX Group, a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries.