Sunny Side of the Doc | 19-22 June 2023

Documentary Business

Peter Hamilton Consultants, Inc

Sunny Side of the Doc

BBC History Strategy: Sunny Side interview with commissioner Simon Young, buyer of 70+ hours / year

For my Sunny Side of the Doc Meet the Executive interview, the BBC‘s Commissioning Editor for History Simon Young, shared his vision, priorities and three notable examples. Pipeline BBC History: 70-80 hours. Specialist Factual: 400 hours. History’s broad remit: Ancient to Early 21st century. The BBC’s Documentary unit also commissions recent History programs. Simon Young …

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CuriosityStream Strategy. 3,000 Titles: What do they want? Meet Jorge Franzini. (Video + Notes)

CuriosityStream is the highly regarded streamer dedicated to traditional factual programs, and launched by Discovery founder John Hendricks: What is CuriosityStream‘s unscripted strategy? What do they want? What are examples of recent hits? For a Sunny Side Meet the Executive session, Jorge Franzini shared CuriosityStream’s vision and programming priorities. Watch our informative and exclusive Sunny …

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France Télévisions’ Documentary Strategy for 1,900 hours: An interview with Catherine Alvaresse for Sunny Side. Watch the video!

France Télévisions is France’s multi-channel public broadcaster, buying 1,900 hours of documentaries / year. For a Sunny Side Meet the Executive presentation, Catherine Alvaresse shared France Télévisions’ vision. Watch my informative and exclusive conversation with Catherine Alvaresse: FRANCE TÉLÉVISIONS: CATHERINE ALVARESSE Recorded June 15, 2020 Overview What is the big picture for France Télévisions? Describe …

France Télévisions’ Documentary Strategy for 1,900 hours: An interview with Catherine Alvaresse for Sunny Side. Watch the video! Read More »

Netflix 2023 What You Need To Know Now


Smithsonian Channel’s Unscripted Strategy: What are the trends? A Sunny Side interview with Chris Hoelzl. Watch the video!

Smithsonian Channel is a partner of the Smithsonian Institution, and is recognized for its carefully curated factual schedule: What is Smithsonian’s documentary and unscripted strategy? What do they want? What are examples of recent trend-setters? For a Sunny Side Meet the Executive session, SVP Programming & Development Chris Hoelzl shared Smithsonian’s vision and programming priorities. …

Smithsonian Channel’s Unscripted Strategy: What are the trends? A Sunny Side interview with Chris Hoelzl. Watch the video! Read More »

Channel 4 Unscripted Strategy: What do they want? What do they pay? An ‘exit interview’ with Fatima Salaria. Watch the video!

Channel 4 is Britain’s youth-targeted, edgy broadcast network.: What is C4’s unscripted strategy? What do they want? What are examples of recent hits? What does C4 pay for programs? For a Sunny Side Meet the Executive session, Fatima Salaria shared Channel 4’s vision and programming priorities. Fatima announced today that she is departing C4 to …

Channel 4 Unscripted Strategy: What do they want? What do they pay? An ‘exit interview’ with Fatima Salaria. Watch the video! Read More »

What producers need to know about the virtual film festivals and online markets. A podcast with Peter Broderick

Virtual documentary festivals and markets are here to stay! Online offerings won’t replace LIVE events after Covid. But virtual formats and features will enrich live programs and can dramatically extend their reach. Two Different Documentary Events: Distribution consultant Peter Broderick has written the definitive special report on CPH:DOX, the Copenhagen-based documentary festival. I helped with …

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Netflix 2023 What You Need To Know Now


Non-fiction Programming in the Time of BLM, COVID & Netflix. A podcast with veteran consultant Ed Hersh

Veteran media industry consultant Ed Hersh returns to my podcast platform to explore the multiple seismic changes shaking the Documentary / Unscripted sector and what producers need to know. We discuss how the term ‘Perfect Storm‘ captures the confluence of: Covid impacts, The shift by viewers from channels to direct-to-consumer (DTC) platforms like Netflix and …

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“26 Days to Kill de Gaulle”: A Case Study of a French archive-based production that blends facts and speculation

“26 Days to Kill de Gaulle” is a unique French production made possible by the discovery of a hidden archive that suggested a dramatic documentary format which blends facts with speculation. Talweg Productions’ Vincent Gazaigne shared the story of his project from concept to delivery for Sunny Side of the Doc. The Case Study is sponsored …

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