ZDF gives greenlight to Off The Fence's "Iceland from above" doc

Off The Fence has announced that ZDF has commissioned "Iceland From Above", the latest travel and adventure documentary from OTF Studios and award-winning Icelandic production company Sagafilm. The documentary, which is currently in production, will air in the third quarter of 2025 on ARTE, before its official launch on ZDF’s Terra X strand.

OTF has also announced two new documentary series in its Wild… collection, again to be co-produced by OTF, its parent company ZDF Studios and ARTE. The two new documentaries — "Wild Medics" and "Wild: Senses" — follow "Wild Talk" (5 x 50 mins), which was unveiled in July.

The documentary has been produced on location in Iceland for its prestigious Terra X strand, which produces around 50 premium history, nature, archaeology and science documentaries a year. The two-part documentary will showcase the Land of Fire and Ice as it has never been seen before — from high above its dramatic topography, which ranges from glittering glaciers, blue lagoons and steaming geysers to towering waterfalls, lunar landscapes and some of the world’s angriest and most active volcanoes. But Iceland is more than Volcanic amusement park: it is also home to a hardy and intrepid people, who choose to share a corner of the world with nature at her most unpredictable and extreme. 

Stefanie Fischer, OTF’s managing director, distribution, praised their partners:"Terra X is not only a byword for quality factual programming, but it’s also the showcase for Germany’s finest documentaries. As a non-domestic producer given the greenlight for a coveted Terra X slot, it is a major accomplishment and a real tribute to Sagafilms’ filmmaking excellence. Of course, we should also thank Iceland for its help in securing this milestone commission — if ever a country was created to be filmed from above, it’s the stunning, and stunningly varied, Land of Ice and Fire," stated.

The two new Wild… titles will be produced by the same creative team behind "Wild Talk", which explores the rapidly evolving science of animal communication. Wild Medics again listens to animals — in this case, to discover what they can teach us about the natural remedies and techniques they use to alleviate pain and suffering. At a time when antimicrobial resistance is seen as the single biggest threat to global health, the documentary asks whether the medical wisdom of animals could help humans to find new cures for infections like malaria, perhaps even cancer. Each episode focuses on a specific medical issue — wounds and parasites, getting high, fertility, aches and pains, energy boosters, and depression and anxiety — to create a complete casebook of natural pharmacology. 

"Wild: Senses", meanwhile, takes viewers on a vivid sensory journey into the mysterious world of animal perception. Each of the five episodes focuses on one key sense of perception, drawing on next-generation technology, the latest research and immersive graphics to explain how creatures see, hear, touch, taste and feel the world around them. How can a bald eagle spot a rabbit from three miles away? How do elephants use their feet to communicate over vast distances? And why can’t dolphins smell, but can recognise friends and family through taste? These are just some of the intriguing questions that the series will set out to answer.  

"Wild Medics" and "Wild: Senses" are executive produced by Debbie Hinnigan and Andrew Zikking for OTF, Petra Boden for ARTE, and Nikolas Hülbusch and Ralf Rückauer for ZDF Studios. The series producer is BAFTA-winning filmmaker Ben Holder.