in the early 1980s, hansen and hertzberg went to cannes for the first time, attending would later become mipcom. during the festival, the two cinetel executives found themselves with entertainment shows that they "literally couldn't give away" with the exception of hansen's film acquisition "the courier of death", which sold out quickly; observing hansen's success, cinetel films switched its business focus from tv programming to feature film production—a turning point in the company's history.