Here are our top stories for December ’19, curated with our friends at Sunny Side of the Doc.
Losing Yves Jeanneau:
Read a selection of tributes to Yves Jeanneau, Sunny Side of the Doc co-founder, executive director and our friend, who passed away on November 14 // Sunny Side’s Official Announcement // Peter Hamilton // Realscreen // TV France International // Telerama and many more.
Development & Production
- Apple TV+ features The Elephant Queen, blue chip wildlife from Victoria Stone & Mark Deeble // Macworld
- Disney+ commissions are one-third factual // Ampere Analysis
- Discovery commissions new series from Youtube star and ex-NASA engineer // World Screen
- Disney+ scores ITV Studios, Spoke Studios docuseries with LeBron James // Pop Culture
- Sexual abuse remains a frequently covered industry topic, notably in a recent BBC report on Spain’s Big Brother // BBC.com
- Asia TV Forum: key takeaways from this year’s edition by Amanda Groom // TBI
Winners + Nominees
- IDFA award winners led by In A Whisper (Spain/France/Switzerland/Cuba) // Cineuropa.org
- Oscar Documentary nominee shortlists: features & shorts // Academy press release
Distribution & Platforms
- Diego Buñuel : Resignation of Netflix Documentaries’ top European exec // Variety
- Netflix’s promise of endless subscriber growth is questioned by Wall Street // DocumentaryBusiness.com
- Netflix Is Ad Free, but It Isn’t Brand Free // The New York Times
- TCB Media Rights’ Paul Heaney on the shifting doc distribution business // World Screen
- 100+ PBS stations now stream on YouTube // PBS Press Release
- YouTube is the world’s most-watched platform // RapidTV News
- Disney+ signed 24 million US subscribers in November (but how many are free?) // Variety
Digital
- TikTok: The world’s hottest video app is a Washington scapegoat // Politico
- The TikTok Invasion: Massive Success, Massive Mistakes, Massive Risks // Forbes
- The challenge of XR distribution: Interview of Diversion Cinema co-funders // XR-Must
- The Antarctica Experience: Why there’s nothing virtual about the potential of VR // TBI
PODCAST PREDICTIONS
Listen to compelling podcasts on key trends for 2020!
- A year of innovation and change; What’s next? // VideoNuze
- Veteran factual producer Michael Hoff’ shares his 5 Big Takeaways for 2020 // DocumentaryBusiness.com
History Inside/Out at Sunny Side of the Doc 2020
The 31st edition of Sunny Side of the Doc (22-25 June) will shine a light on the imminent opportunities of history-telling which tirelessly questions the collective memory, explores the hybrid trends of the genre, introduces new narrative forms, extends the use of archival materials, and is still of intense interest to international broadcasters, SVOD platforms and distributors.
Season’s greetings
Sunny Side says: “As the year 2019 draws to a close, we would like to take the opportunity to say a huge thank you to the industry leaders who have sponsored our activities and all Sunny Siders around the globe. Engaging with you and helping your stories to be told globally remains the most interesting part of what we do. Wishing you and your families a happy, healthy holiday season and all the best in 2020!”
