Africa Archives - Documentary Business

President Awards Nation’s Highest Honor to Indie Director, DP and PBS NOVA

2023 April 12 / Africa, Case Study, Commissioning Process, Terra Mater Studios

President Macky Sall awarded the National Order of the Lion, Senegal’s highest honor to director Ruth Berry, NOVA’s Chis Schmidt and DP Bernhard Popovic in Dakar. The occasion? The packed theatrical premiere screening of Star Chasers of Senegal, a Terra Mater Studios / NOVA co-production. Star Chasers features the story of astronomer Maram Kaire and his …

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STAR CHASERS OF SENEGAL: Indie Producer’s Terra Mater Studios / NOVA Copro. A MIPCOM Case Study

2022 November 23 / Africa, Case Study, Commissioning Process, Conferences & Markets, Distribution, Documentary Budget, Funding a Documentary, Inclusivity, Interviews, MIPCOM Case Study, Network Profile, Panels, Public Television, Sunny Side of the Doc, Terra Mater Studios, Webinars

Independent producer / director Ruth Berry creates for Terra Mater Studios and PBS’s NOVA series, a fast-track special that navigates the many cultural challenges to successful field production in Africa while revealing that space exploration is for everyone – not just for the wealthiest countries. Watch our MIPCOM 2022 Coproduction Case Study panel video here. …

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Love Nature Gives Back: “Chasing The Rains” and more at Wildscreen Festival

2022 October 4 / Africa, Conferences & Markets, Distribution, Love Nature, Wildscreen Festival

Momentum is building for the natural history filmmaking industry to play a role in global conservation. Increasingly, producers and platforms are building conservation messages and sustainability practices into wildlife and nature content. A great example of this is a new social responsibility initiative from Love Nature, called Love Nature Gives Back. It launched earlier this …

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Documentary Decision-makers Guide. New and Updated from Sunny Side. 260 Buyers. 42 Countries! Save $69.95!!!

2021 August 9 / Africa, Australia, Canada, China, Commissioning Process, Conferences & Markets, Distribution, Foundation Funding, Funding a Documentary, Netflix, Network Profile, Pitching, Sunny Side of the Doc

Who are key documentary buyers worldwide? What programs and series do they want? How can you reach them? 260 decision-makers / 137 companies / 42 countries The expanded and updated Sunny Side of the Doc Guide to Documentary Decision Makers is now available for $99.95. That’s a 33% instant savings of $50 off the regular …

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Selling OCTOPUS to Netflix. A podcast with executive producer & distributor Ellen Windemuth (reposted)

2021 January 17 / Africa, Case Study, Commissioning Process, Distribution, Documentary Production, Funding a Documentary, Netflix, Off The Fence, Podcast, UK, VOD, Women and Film

Ellen Windemuth executive produced Craig Foster‘s beautiful film MY OCTOPUS TEACHER, a new Netflix release. (Now OSCAR-shortlisted, I’m republishing my popular September 2020 podcast with Ellen in response to the undiminished hit-level appeal of “OCTOPUS” to Netflix subscribers of all ages and territories.) She describes the years’ long journey of her friend, South African wildlife …

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Today’s discovery+ launch spotlights David Attenborough’s 10 years of ratings dominance

2021 January 3 / Africa, discovery+, Internet Economy, Netflix, Public Television, Ratings, Streaming Video, UK

David Attenborough is a promotional hook for Monday’s long-awaited launch of discovery+. The 94-year old legend narrates A Perfect Planet, a blue chip series that stands out among the new streamer’s higher quality programs. I am in awe of Attenborough’s lifetime contribution to documentary filmmaking. I earned a credit on one of his hit series. …

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The Making of Netflix’s Hit Wildlife Documentary: MY OCTOPUS TEACHER

2020 September 18 / Africa, Case Study, Commissioning Process, Distribution, Documentary Production, Funding a Documentary, Netflix, Off The Fence

I’m pleased to write that My Octopus Teacher, just released by Netflix, went immediately on to my All-time Favorite Wildlife Documentaries list. Trailer My Octopus Teacher is built on the foundations of any successful doc: Huge Characters, human and cephalopod. Unique Access. Risk… to life and limbs. Then there’s more: The original and relatable humanity …

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The Woman Who Loves Giraffes. Case Study of an inspiring theatrical documentary that blends Wildlife & the Archive

2020 April 1 / Africa, Archive, Case Study, Commissioning Process, Conferences & Markets, Documentary Budget, Foundation Funding, Funding a Documentary, Off The Fence, Pitching, Sunny Side of the Doc, Theatrical Documentary, Women and Film

It was standing-room-only at the East Village premiere that I attended for The Woman Who Loves Giraffes. The Q&A that followed resembled a celebrity speaking tour: the star in the spotlight was the sparkling 87-year old, Anne Innis Dagg. This Canadian feature combines several of my favorite genres: Archive-based History Wildlife Science Plus a bit …

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