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MUMBAI:
The National Film Board of Canada has announced DVD and television
distribution deals.
Canada's
public producer and distributor has inked a new deal for DVD
sales in the US market, as well as agreements with private
and public broadcasters around the world – including
Italy's RAI, SBS Australia, Discovery/Animal Planet cable
networks in Europe and Asia as well as Turner Broadcasting
in Latin America.
The
NFB concluded a new DVD distribution agreement with BFS Entertainment
& Multimedia Limited for 10 acclaimed NFB documentaries
for distribution in the US. Films include Under the Hood,
A Voyage into the World of Torture as well as Confessions
of an Innocent Man. The last film tells the story of William
Sampson, imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for a crime he did not
commit.
Then
there are documentaries that explore environmental issues
like Whale Mission: Keepers of Memory, on the trail
of the endangered northern right whale, and Being Caribou,
where a husband-and-wife team follow a herd of caribou on
an epic adventure.
With
the current credit crisis hammering world stock markets, one
thing that has gone up is a renewed interest in what life
was like during the Great Depression. The Dark Years
is a three-part series on life in the Depression era, combining
animation, documentary and film noir, purchased by SBS Australia.
International
TV highlights also include Italian public broadcaster RAI's
purchase of Up the Yangtze. This is a dramatic feature
documentary on the impact of China's massive Three Gorges
Dam. Italian distributor GA&A acquired television rights
to Paris 1919, a documentary based on the bestselling
book by Margaret McMillan, telling the story of the Paris
Peace Conference that re-made the world. Up the Yangtze was
also purchased by EBS of South Korea.
Discovery/Animal
Planet acquired Wild Horse Redemption for the British,
Italian, German, Japanese and Taiwanese markets. Triage:
Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma, The Invisible
Nation and Under the Hood: A Voyage into the World
of Torture were all sold to Al Jazeera.
Turner Broadcasting System Latin America purchased Miracle
Body, Confessions of an Innocent Man, Triage:
Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma and Hannah's
Story, along with several animation titles including Jeu
and Uncle Bob's Hospital Visit. NFB animation was also
in demand at Poland's TVP, which scooped up Sleeping Betty,
Uncle Bob's Hospital Visit, and the Oscar-nominated Madame
Tutli-Putli.
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