ITV

Category: Documentary

  • Fox Traveller returns with an all new season of ‘Style & the City’

    Fox Traveller returns with an all new season of ‘Style & the City’

    MUMBAI: Fox Traveller is set to bring back one of its successful series – Style & The City – a fashion based travel show. Style & The City Season 2 will bring together fashion designers – Rocky S, Nikhil Thampi and Shantanu & Nikhil and Bollywood style icons like Shilpa Shetty, Kalki Koechlin, Harman Baweja, Richa Chadda, YamiGautam, to give fashion an all new definition. The new season is presented by Lawman Pg3 and powered by Lotus Mattegel.

    Talking about the new season of Style & The City, Fox International Channels  VP marketing Debarpita Banerjee said in a press statement: “At Fox Traveller we are constantly evolving our content and programming to bring alive the different facets of travel. With Style & the City, we are discovering fashion through travel. Season 2 promises to be bigger with more cities, bigger Bollywood celebrities and more importantly an interesting challenge for the ace designers of India – creating outfits inspired by a personal memento from the celebrity’s life. We are sure the new season will be a hit among travel and fashion enthusiasts alike.”

    The new season will feature designers on a fashion journey through the various cities of India, to create a unique outfit for a celebrity, inspired by a personal memento from their life. The show will air on Fox Traveller starting 16 April 2014, every Wednesday and Thursday and 10:00 pm.

    In this new season of Style And The City – the designers along with the show host – Kirat Bhattal will tour the cities of Kutch, Pune, Kohlapur, Goa, Sawantwadi, Hyderabad, Pochampoli, Chennai, Pondicherry and Kanchipuram to find inspiration for their designs. From hand-woven kunbi sarees of Goa, to the marbling technique on fabric in Pondicherry, to traditional saaj jewelry of Kolhapur, torare art form called ‘Rogan art’ of Kutch, and ancient card game called ‘Ganjifa’ of Sawantwadi – the designers will have a lot to pick from to add a zest of life in their outfits. The show will be an exciting mix of ‘tanga’ rides through the streets of Kolhapur, eating traditional sit-down South Indian meal on a banana leaf in Kanchipuram, riding the Harley Davidson through the White Runn of Bhuj and many such enthusing experiences.

    Talking about his second stint with Style and the City, Rocky S said in a statement; “This is my second season with Fox Traveller’s Style and the City and I had a blast all over again. New cities, new challenges, delving deep into markets, streets and artisans’ workshops has been yet another exhilarating and amazing experience.”

    Expressing his thoughts about the show, Nikhil Thampi added: “Being part of Style & the City has been a life changing experience! For someone who has never had a formal training or been to fashion school, this felt like it was my chance to catch up on all those missed opportunities. From travelling to new cities and exploring the local culture tovisiting bazaars, interacting with the locals, and understanding& incorporating their techniques, weaving fabric and treatments in my own creations, it’s been a fabulously exciting challenge.”

    Sharing their experience, Shantanu & Nikhil said: “The show, Style and the City on Fox Traveller is an amazing way for us to explore incredible places in India and use it as the background to create fashion.”

  • Nat Geo presents ‘A Short Story of a Long Pipeline’

    Nat Geo presents ‘A Short Story of a Long Pipeline’

    MUMBAI: Have you ever found yourself intrigued by the ease with which you turn a knob on your stove and gas flows out? Ever felt curious about the origins of the fuel that you fill your car with, ever so often? Have you ever found yourself wondering about the lifeline of an entire nation? On 12th January 2014, National Geographic Channel, in association with Cairn India, will give you the opportunity to witness the realities of the fuel that drives our lives, on “A Short Story of a Long Pipeline”.

    A half-hour special documenting the resurrection of a jaw-dropping ~700 km long pipeline by Cairn India Limited, the film takes a look at the completion of the mammoth project that would be the resolution to the ultimate challenge faced by the biggest onshore oil discovery in India in the last 25 years. And while the engineers must put their skills to test in order to build a technological marvel that would have to ferry crude oil through the extreme weather of the Thar Desert, what makes the entire task even more daunting is that ~700 km of the line would make up the longest heated section of pipeline in the world.

    Speaking on the spirit of technology innovation that led to building this pipeline, Dr. Sunil Bharati, Head – Corporate Affairs and Communication, Cairn India, said, “Technological innovation is at the heart of everything we do at Cairn. This is aptly showcased by the technical ingenuity involved in building the world’s longest continuously heated and insulated pipeline – the Mangala Development Pipeline. The pipeline passes through two states and eight districts to transport precious crude oil from our Rajasthan block to various oil refineries, and in the process, brings the nation closer to its dream of attaining energy security. The Mangala Development Pipeline highlights Cairn India’s expertise in quick project delivery against all odds, apart from being the fastest growing energy company in the world.”

    Talking about the documentary, in light of the energy crisis, Ms. Debarpita Banerjee, Vice President, Marketing, National Geographic and FOX International Channels, said, “The global energy demands are on the rise and its impact shall be more on developing countries such as India. At a time like this, for Cairn India to have spearheaded the process of providing access to India’s monumental onshore oil discovery is genuinely commendable. We, at Nat Geo, are excited about being privy to this extraordinary event and giving our viewers the exclusive opportunity to witness history being made.”

    From the finer details & intricacies, to the realization of the entire construction process, catch it all on “A Short Story of a Long Pipeline” premiering on Sunday, the 12th of January 2014 at 6 PM only on National Geographic Channel.

  • NYF’s TV & Film Awards 2014 calls for entries

    NYF’s TV & Film Awards 2014 calls for entries

    MUMBAI: New York Festivals International Television & Film Awards, honoring the World‘s Best TV & Films, is calling out for entries.

    NYF‘s TV & Film Awards ED Rose Anderson initiated multiple updates in this year‘s competition, among them expanded categories and a website redesign. Updated categories for 2014 edition include: Best Nonfiction Series, Best Screenplay, Best Host, Business & Finance Documentary, Human Concerns Documentary, Financial & Legal Reporting, Legal Issues Documentary, Corporate Social Responsibility and Student Online Program.

    Speaking on the changing landscape of the television and film industry Anderson said: “NYF continues to be responsive to current world-wide creative trends by updating categories as well as creating new ones. Our competition honors and celebrates exceptional and imaginative programs created around the globe. Broadcast, online, exhibition – we welcome all platforms.”

    The 2014 Television & Film Awards will take place at the annual NAB Show in Las Vegas on 8 April 2014. This official partnership with NAB Show, now in its fourth year, showcases the competition to more than 93,000 media and entertainment professionals from 156 countries, including more than 1,700 industry press representatives.

    2013‘s Grand Trophy winning entry director of Paul Simon‘s Graceland Journey: Under African Skies Joe Berlinger said, “To receive the Grand Award from New York Festivals International Television & Film Awards this past year, from such a strong group of internationally acclaimed nominations was truly a privilege and memorable moment for me as well as a testament to the strength and quality of the films and shows being produced around the globe.”

    Specialty awards for 2013 included: ESPN USA earned Broadcaster of the Year, The Edge Picture Company UK was awarded Production Company of the Year, and Susan Zirinsky, Sr. executive producer of the CBS News broadcast 48 Hours, was the NYF Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.

    The deadline to enter the 2014 Television & Film Awards competition is 15 October 2013. Entry details and competition rules and regulations can be found on the NYF Television & Film Awards website www.newyorkfestivals.com.

    All Entries in the 2014 competition will be judged online and screened by New York Festivals Television & Film Awards Grand Jury of 200 plus producers, directors, writers, and other creative media professionals from around the globe. Winning entries will be showcased on the NYF Television & Film Awards website.

  • Eight documentary makers to participate in ‘International Trailblazers’ at Mipdoc

    MUMBAI: Mipdoc, the international documentary market, which takes place in Cannes France in April 2007 has announced that eight visionary documentary-makers have been chosen for the second edition of the International Trailblazers.

    This is an initiative designed to recognise creativity and innovation in the documentary field.

    For the second consecutive year, the event is sponsored by the Sundance Channel and organised with the support of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). The International Trailblazers will take place at Mipdoc, which will be held on 14 and 15 April 2007 in the Intercontinental Carlton Hotel, Cannes.

    The eight selected works have been drawn from Europe,Asia /Pacific, the Americas and Africa and chosen by an international selection panel made up of well-known documentary associations and festivals. The selection panel is made up of: The International Documentary Association (IDA – USA), Hot Docs (Canada), The European Documentary Network (EDN – Denmark), Encounters (South Africa), EBS International Documentary Festival (EIDF – South Korea) and the association of all Japan TV Programs (ATP – Japan).
    The eight candidates were selected according to:

    – Innovation and Creativity: the use of new techniques in filming and story-telling, setting trends, opening new pathways for others…

    – Originality: Content that provides a model, which is “different” or risk-taking.

    – Breakthrough: Where there is a significant difference made in the genre, such as increased audience for documentaries, press coverage, public reception…

    The 2007 ‘International Trailblazers’ are – Marshall Curry (USA, selected by IDA), Larry Weinstein (Canada, selected by Hot Docs), Paolo Trombetti (Italy, selected by EDN), Uldis Cekulis (Latvia, selected by EDN), Jean-Marie Teno (Cameroon, selected by Encounters), Vincent Moloi (South Africa, selected by Encounters), Gan Chao (China, selected by EIDF) and Nao Kubota (Japan, selected by ATP) – All eight Trailblazers will attend Mipdoc, where a special Mipdoc Opening Lunch will be given in their honour, bringing together the documentary professionals at Mipdoc and the ‘International Trailblazer’ organisers.

    Reed Midem director of the television division Paul Johnson said, “The second edition of the International Trailblazers will honour eight emerging and acknowledged filmmakers who through their creativity and desire to tell a story in their own way are pushing the documentary genre forward. Mipdoc delegates will have the opportunity to share the vision of some truly exceptional documentary producers.”

    Following the first edition of the International Trailblazers at Mipdoc 2006, two films have been acquired by the Sundance Channel, Conversations on a Sunday Afternoon directed by Khalo Matabane (South Africa) and the documentary Georgi & the Butterflies produced by Martichka Bozhilova (Bulgaria).

    Commenting on her selection as an International Trailblazer, Martichka Bozhilova said, “It is very encouraging to have been chosen as a Trailblazer and to have our work acknowledged by such key documentary specialists. Making documentaries is a passion and a challenge. I am delighted to receive this tribute for what I have always tried to achieve – to be creative and take risks in a documentary world that is becoming more and more standardised and commercially dependent.”

    Mipdoc 2006 saw a 13 per cent rise in participation with 432 companies from 57 countries. 385 acquisition executives attended and production and sales companies sent 1,189 programmes to the digital screening library of which 769 were appearing at the market for the first time. There were a total of 26,000 screenings over the two days.

  • Miditech’s documentary on Tihar Jail wins Intl Gold Panda Award

    MUMBAI: Delhi-based production company Miditech has won the International Gold Panda Award for its documentary ‘Inside: Asia’s Largest Jail’ at the Sichuan TV Festival, 2011.

    The documentary is part of National Geographic Channel’s ‘Inside’ – a series which enters the world’s most restrictive places, unraveling the non stop drama helmed by a compelling cast of characters.

    Inside: Asia’s Largest Jail goes behind the walls of Asia’s largest jail complex in New Delhi, India. Through stories of several prisoners and staff, the film explores the challenges, fears, anxieties, hopes and disappointments of those who live and work inside Tihar. It’s a world set apart, on the one hand, with dreaded criminals who are prone to violent conflict with each other and with the staff. On another it is a correctional facility with a range of educational facilities and meditation programs, designed for reform and rehabilitation of prisoners.

    Miditech president Niret Alva said, “This film is restless, roving, ever present, the camera is at once ubiquitous, yet seemingly invisible. Why, because Tihar jail inmates seem completely oblivious of it. The stories of different characters intersect and sometimes merge, so beautifully that you feel you have a ring side view of a big living thing called Tihar. We at Miditech enjoyed making this film and are truly thrilled by this news.”

    Miditech MD and CEO Nikhil J Alva added, “Documentaries are an important part of Miditech’s DNA as a production company. With this win, Miditech’s documentary division has once again proved it can create compelling documentaries on Indian subjects that appeal to audiences all over the world because of their universal themes, strong research, innovative storytelling and high end production value.”

  • Singapore, China intensify partnership in TV, documentaries

    MUMBAI: Television audiences in China and Singapore can look forward to more programmes co-produced by the two countries, including telemovies, documentaries and a televised concert featuring film and TV theme songs.

    These were among the outcomes of a business mission organised by the Media Development Authority (MDA) to Beijing, China, aimed at helping Singapore’s media companies gain further inroads into China. Fourteen Singapore companies – with a mix of content producers, channel operators, platform owners and media fund managers – took part in the four-day trip.

    China and Singapore had begun exchanges in TV more than 20 years ago. Singapore dramas shown in China in the 80s and 90s and their theme songs are fondly remembered by Chinese till today. And the popularity of Little Nyonya in China when it was shown earlier this year has helped to re-kindle Chinese interest in Singapore TV productions.

    Said MDA Chairman Dr Tan Chin Nam, “With a rising global demand for entertainment and media, there is immense potential for China and Singapore to join forces to harness the opportunities in the fast expanding international media space, especially in presenting content from New Asia to the world.

    We hope to build on this traction and ignite a new wave of China-Singapore media collaboration that is broader and deeper in scope. Other than paving the way for Singapore media companies to enter into China, we also hope to position Singapore as a key partner for Chinese media enterprises going international.”

    Altogether, nine agreements were sealed during the business mission, paving the way for industry collaborations, ranging from financing, pre-production, production to distribution and marketing.

    The first was a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between MDA and China International TV Corporation (CITVC) and China Radio Film TV Program Exchange Centre (CPEC) to exchange programmes, co-produce content and participate in annual TV trade markets hosted by the other party, namely the China Radio, Film & TV International Expo hosted by CITVC in Beijing, and the Asia Media Festival hosted by MDA in Singapore. Both CITVC and CPEC are wholly-owned subsidiaries of China Central Television (CCTV).

    Next was a tripartite MoU between MDA, Central Newsreel Documentary Film Studio (CNDF) and China Information Business Network (CIBN) to co-produce a slate of five TV documentary series for global distribution. CNDF, part of the CCTV group of companies, specialises in producing TV and movie documentaries, backed by a treasure trove of archival footage on China dating back to 1938. CIBN is a professional new media network operating in the digital broadcast, mobile TV and internet space.

    Combining the strengths of each party, the documentary slate resulting from the partnership is expected to feature rich moving visuals of past and contemporary China packaged in a way that will appeal to the international market.

    Asia Media and Technology Capital Management, part of the Singapore delegation, signed a MoU with CIBN to collaborate on media industry venture investments in China. AMTC manages the $500 million Asia Media & Technology Capital Fund, which invests into media and technology companies in Asia, with a particular emphasis on China.

    During the trip, MDA enhanced its collaboration with China Education TV (CETV), with whom it first established a partnership in 2008 to co-produce a 20-part half-hour documentary series titled Our Children. Reflecting contemporary children’s lifestyles in Singapore and China, the series is scheduled to simulcast end of this year on MediaCorp Channel 8 and CETV, a channel under China’s Ministry of Education.

    Under the new MoU, MDA and CETV agreed to expand the scope of filming to cover subjects of different age groups, and extend the property across different programme formats and platforms. Both parties hope to develop Our Children into a landmark project that heralds more collaboration in the media-in-learning space.

    MDA also signed a letter of intent with the China Film Foundation (CFF) to co-produce a slate of 10 telemovies over the next three years. The telemovies will potentially be shown on CCTV’s movie channel, CCTV-6. This marked the first time that Singapore and China are collaborating on telemovies. Led by legendary Chinese filmmaker Li Qian Kuan, CFF is a non-profit organisation under the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) that promotes film exchanges between China and foreign countries. MDA and CFF will match-make Singapore and Chinese filmmakers to undertake the production of the telemovies.

    In addition, the Singapore delegation had fruitful meetings with the State Council of Information Third Bureau and its affiliated company China International Communication Centre, during which preliminary discussions to collaborate in both the traditional and new media space were broached.

    Upcoming television, music and film events: On the immediate horizon, audiences in China and Singapore can look forward to a series of co-produced TV, music and film events taking place from September to November this year.

    MDA CEO Dr. Christopher Chia signed a letter of intent with China Broadcasting Performance Arts Group (CBPAG) General Manager Mr Wang Shu Wei, to co-host the China-Singapore Film and TV Golden Melodies Concert. The concert, which is tentatively slated to take place in Beijing on 19 September 2010, will feature singers and artistes from both countries performing popular drama theme songs. The TV recording of the concert will be broadcast in China and Singapore at a later date.

    The concert will be executive produced by Singapore broadcaster MediaCorp, together with China Radio Film and TV Culture Performance, a company under CBPAG. The two parties signed a letter of intent on their collaboration at the press briefing.

    MDA and CBPAG also agreed to incorporate a China-Singapore youth pianist showcase to the programme line-up for the Second Beijing International Piano Festival opening on 18 November, where young promising pianists from both counties will perform alongside music maestros from around the world.

    CBPAG is a state-run professional performing arts group under Sarft. These two events are supported by Sarft and Singapore’s Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts.

  • Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob” ready for documentary

    MUMBAI: Nickelodeon has partnered with the O’Malley Creadon production company to produce a documentary on SpongeBob SquarePants.

    The film will be directed and written by Patrick Creadon. Creadon will also produce the film along with Christine O’Malley.

    This one-hour and yet-to-be titled “SpongeBob” television documentary will attempt to chronicle the ascent of the character’s journey to pop culture stardom.

    The documentary will be telecast across MTV Networks’ various TV platforms in July to commemorate the anniversary of the series’ first episode.

    Says Nickelodeon executive vice president development and original programming Marjorie Cohn, “Patrick and Christine have a talent for finding a greater cultural significance in their film subjects. We’re excited to see how they will explore SpongeBob’s 10-year evolution from a cartoon character to an international pop-culture phenomenon.”