SILVIA STEFANESCU

Silvia StefanescuI am a media & entertainment savvy and I have always been doing it out of passion for the industry. I have spent roughly the first two thirds of my life spellbound in front of the small and big screens and the other third working for the most powerful media company in the country, Media Pro.

I have embarked on this mesmerizing quest when I was still a student, full of high hopes and dreams and willing to start from bottom and work my way up. Shortly after, I joined the market research team of the local branch of the print press business division, PubliMedia. After two years of cultivating competitive intelligence skills, consumer insights and deep understanding of the business, I switched off to various other media channels, from online, to radio, cinema and finally reaching the almighty TV.

In the beginning of 2010, my professional path became even more pronounced as I have joined the central content division of one of the most powerful media companies in Central and Eastern Europe, CME, as Content Development Research Analyst. I was in charge of coordinating the activity of local content researchers in CME subsidiaries and worked closely with the content development teams in Romania and Czech Republic. I got to meet and fall in love with both local and international content market.

Throughout my evolution, I had the chance to inspire our decision makers and guide them in their format acquisition process and adaptations. I have created and implemented clear working procedures for including research as a clear milestone in every stage of the development process.

It has brought me closer to the people I have always been looking up to, the people involved in the creating process of TV and cinema content. I have truly enjoyed the next 4 years of my life, as it was quite similar to a virtual roller coaster.

Nevertheless this job also offered me many rewards and satisfactions, personally and professionally. I had the chance not only to participate but also to hold sessions in a series of workshops that were meant to refine us as professionals and to build up our knowhow. I have been part of a Game Show workshop held in Prague in June 2010, mentored by Stephen Leahy, CEO of Ludus Entertainment Ltd, an independent TV production company, specializing in the creation and creative management of game show formats and entertainment series. In August of the same year I have participated in a Long-running series workshop, meant to fine-tune the formats developed inside the company. Later on I have attended a new workshop called Everything about TV Formats, held by the Absolutely Independent professionals. The last experience of a kind was also the most valuable for me – I have attended and contributed to The Scriptwriting Workshop held in Romania and mentored by Gareth Brooks, a highly experienced British script writer.

This chapter of my life was not nearly close when I took on a new challenge and got involved in the content development division of Media Pro. It was in my responsibility to develop feasible formats suited for the local TV market and beyond. I highly considered branded entertainment and cross-media content, and prepared presentations for pitching to the clients. This has been a truly rewarding stage of my life as my balance sheet was positive.

During this time I have brought my contribution to the first Romanian teenage music series on the market (Bet With Life), which easily became a mass phenomenon in Romania and got sold abroad in various countries.

Another success was the fact that I have contributed to the development of campaign and a branded content format called La Veeta e bella, aired by Pro TV and sold to a cosmetic brand.

When we entered 2014, I was ready to embark on a new and hopefully the most exciting of my quests so far. I am enthralled I have joined Adenium Film as a Creative Producer, with an open heart to new adventures and challenges. It is an independent and relatively new company on the market, but with a good team of professionals and an already proven track record. I am confident this new experience will allow me to continue my work and follow my passion and in the same time I will bring my devotion and expertise to the company. I was assigned to two fiction projects inside the company and, however short, during my work with Adenium Film, I already got the chance to represent one of these projects at Sofia Meeting, held in Bulgaria during 13-16 of March and realize once again I have found my comfort zone working closely to industry talents.