"Welcome to Babel"
During its participation in Sunny Side of the Doc, TVF International secured several sales deals in Western Europe. The distributor announced pre-sale deal with German-French public broadcaster, WDR/Arte, for their wildlife co-production with bilibili, "China’s Wild Secrets" (5x45), narrated by Sir Stephen Fry.
The distributor has also licensed a package of world affairs titles to French public broadcaster, Arte, including "China’s Abandoned Daughters" (1x48) from Mediacorp for CNA, "China: Preparing for Dangerous Storms" (3x48), and "Mandate for Murder: Britain's Struggle in Palestine" (1x56). Arte also licensed two science programmes from the distributor: "AI & You" (1x52) from Animo TV for RTÉ, which explores the impact of AI on the everyday, and "Rain: The Untold Story" (3x60) produced by Cwmni Da TV for BBC and tg4, exploring the science, impact, and future of rain.
In Germany, Hearst Networks licensed three seasons of the BBC’s flagship archaeology series, "Digging For Britain", as well as Cosmote-commissioned, "Wings of the Great War", Series 2 (5x48) which explores aviation tactics of WWI. Hearst Networks Germany also licensed true crime series "Satanic Panic: The Peter Ellis Story" (8x25), a deep-dive into one of the most controversial cases of the 90s, in which mass hysteria led to accusations of satanic ritual, child abuse, and cannibalism, and ultimately, a wrongful conviction that took 30 years to overturn. German news network, Deutsche Welle, licensed "Indigiqueer" (1x44) exploring the intersection of queerness and Indigeneity, featuring Drag Race’s Illona Verley.
In Iberia, the distributor secured deals for a number of titles with Spanish streamer, Movistar Plus+, including a pre-sale for "The Ozempic Effect" (1x60) for CBC. The documentary is the first in-depth investigation into the meteoric rise of this “wonder drug”. CBC Nature of Things documentary "Fluid: Life Beyond the Binary" (1x48), hosted by comedian Mae Martin, is also making its way to Spanish screens on Movistar Plus+, as are history documentaries: "How the Second World War Became a Global War" (1x52) and France TV and Mediatika’s "Ulysses: From Myth to Science" (1x60). Movistar Plus+ also acquired "Theodor Herzl: The Man Who Made Israel" (1x60) which is hosted by David Baddiel and features diary entries voiced by Sir Stephen Fry.
For TV3, the distributor sent two world affairs programmes to the continent: "My Dad the Sex Tourist" (1x49) from Clover Films for Channel 4 and ABC, which uncovers the consequences of a booming sex tourism industry in the Philippines, and "Walk the Line: Escaping From China to the USA" (1x58), which follows Chinese migrants as they cross the infamous Darién Gap, in the hope of entering the United States.
Also in world affairs, TVI Portugal and CNN Portugal licensed "Arming the Arctic" (1x50) from Wildcat Films and TVF International, about rising geopolitical tensions in the Arctic, fast turnaround current affairs doc "The Myanmar Earthquake" (1x47) from Mediacorp, "Silent Soldiers: Russia's Foreign Mercenaries" (1x47) and "When Titans Clash: The Tariff War Hits Asia" (1x48).
In Benelux, the distributor licensed true crime documentaries to DPG Media: "Stalking: State of Fear" (1x54) from Clover Films for ITV and "The Trials of Kyle Rittenhouse" (1x85) which follows the trial of the 17-year-old accused of carrying out a mass-shooting at a Black Lives Matter protest. Avotros in Benelux acquired "Welcome to Babel: Painting Communism" (1x54) for Close Up strand.
The distributor licensed a number of titles to TVMonaco, including health documentaries "Burnout: The Truth About Work" (1x52) and "Your 100 Year Life" (1x60). The broadcaster also took two high-profile crime documentaries "Bali Bombing: The Untold Story" (2x48) from Mediacorp and "The Reckoning: Hollywood's Worst Kept Secret" (1x78) from Melbar Entertainment, about sexual abuse in Hollywood. TVMonaco also took a selection of arts titles, including "Keith Haring: Street Art Boy" (1x53), "Quentin Blake: The Drawing of My Life" (1x60) and "Keeping the Music Alive: In Defiance of the Taliban" (2x48), and a selection of lifestyle titles including the BBC’s "Secrets of the Aquarium" (6x60), "The World's Greatest Sporting Arenas" (3x60), and surfing travelogue, "Brilliant Corners" (5x52).
Ben Nohr, Senior Sales and Acquisitions Executive: Europe comments: “At a what has been a bustling Sunny Side of Doc, we are happy to announce such a broad range of recent deals across Western Europe. From a host of pre-sales to a long list of finished tape acquisitions, these deals demonstrate the enduring appetite for diverse, fresh and timely storytelling across the region. It has been a pleasure to celebrate and consolidate our partnerships in La Rochelle this week, while launching our new Summer Slate of over 80 new hours.”