Channel 4 Buys ‘Hitler: A Life In Pictures’; ITV Studios Signs Drama DoP; EOne ‘Newsreader’ Sales; Starzplay Nordics App; Netflix UK TikTok Showcase – Global Briefs

By Max Goldbart, Tom Grater

February 16, 2022 2:14am

Channel 4 Pre-Buys ‘Hitler: A Life In Pictures’

Channel 4 has pre-bought Hitler: A Life in Pictures, an archival behind-the-scenes doc series exploring the public and private life of Germany’s infamous dictator. Woodcut Media is producing the four-part series and has struck a co-production and finance agreement with distributor Rainmaker Content. The doc features photos and videos from two photographers who dedicated their lives to documenting Hitler – Heinrich Hoffmann and assistant Eva Braun. The archive footage includes 1300 recently digitized, rarely-seen photos taken by Hoffmann and material garnered from Braun’s personal photo collection, along with more than four hours of her home videos mostly filmed at Hitler’s fortified chalet in the Bavarian Alps. “A picture paints a thousand words and the unique images we have procured for this Hitler series speak volumes about the depth of psychological manipulation that led to the rise of the Nazi regime,” said Woodcut Exec Matthew Gordon.

ITV Studios Signs Drama Director Of Production

ITV Studios has signed a Director of Production for its UK drama labels. Julie Clark joins from Studio Lambert and has most recently been working on Disney+’s live action series Nautilus, Amazon Prime’s The Feed and BBC One’s Three Families. She will oversee a range of labels in the growing ITV Studios drama division including Jeff Pope’s Factual Drama, Patrick Spence’s division, Tall Story Pictures, Silverprint Pictures and Nicola Shindler’s Quay Street Productions. Ian Hogan will take on the role of Production Executive on Nautilus.

European Buyers Swoop For ‘The Newsreader’

A raft of European buyers have acquired Australia’s ABC drama The Newsreader after striking deal with distributor eOne. The BBC, France and Germany’s ARTE, Ireland’s RTE and Viaplay are just some of the buyers for the show, which centers around the frantic, busy heart of a commercial TV newsroom in the 1980s and stars Mindhunter’s Anna Torv and Prime Suspect 1973’s Sam Reid. EOne said The Newsreader, which is produced by Werner Film productions and created by Michael Lucas, was ABC1’s most watched drama of 2021, and the show picked up 16 nominations at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards. “The response to this series has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Stuart Baxter, President, International Distribution, eOne.

StarzPlay Launches Standalone App In Nordics

Starz’ international streaming service StarzPlay is launching as a standalone app in the Nordics. The move supplements the existing offering, with the streamer currently available in all five Nordic territories through local service Viaplay. That deal will now evolve, with StarzPlay launching a branded area on Viaplay, alongside the continued integration of its content into the Viaplay catalogue. StarzPlay will also launch a dedicated channel on Apple TV.

Netflix UK Doc Fund Sets TikTok Showcase

Netflix is launching the first 10 shorts from its UK Documentary Talent Fund, with the films showcased at a premiere in London yesterday, before they head to TikTok for the streamer’s first live launch on the social platform. Netflix’s 22 million TikTok followers will be able to view the films on February 18 from 7pm GMT. The shorts will then head to Netflix’s Youtube Channel from February 20. The filmmakers come from across the UK and each received £40,000 ($54,000) in production financing.