Zhang Series Debut
Zhang Yimou, China’s most enduring filmmaker, is joining the worldwide shift by feature film directors into the streaming arena.
Zhang, who directed “Full River Red,” the most successful film of 2023 in China, is to be involved with his first TV series. He will executive produce “The First Shot,” his representatives confirmed to Variety.
The show is to be directed by Xing Lu and is backed by Tencent Video. It is currently in development, with a tentative air date in 2025. That’s because Zhang has a film directing project with an anticipated Chinese New Year release date, due to begin shooting this summer.
Sakamoto Deal
Award-winning Japanese screenwriter Sakamoto Yuji will partner with Netflix over the next five years to develop a range of titles to premiere only on the streaming platform. “In Love and Deep Water,” set to be released later this year, promises to be...
Zhang Yimou, China’s most enduring filmmaker, is joining the worldwide shift by feature film directors into the streaming arena.
Zhang, who directed “Full River Red,” the most successful film of 2023 in China, is to be involved with his first TV series. He will executive produce “The First Shot,” his representatives confirmed to Variety.
The show is to be directed by Xing Lu and is backed by Tencent Video. It is currently in development, with a tentative air date in 2025. That’s because Zhang has a film directing project with an anticipated Chinese New Year release date, due to begin shooting this summer.
Sakamoto Deal
Award-winning Japanese screenwriter Sakamoto Yuji will partner with Netflix over the next five years to develop a range of titles to premiere only on the streaming platform. “In Love and Deep Water,” set to be released later this year, promises to be...
- 6/29/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Acquisition
U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 has picked up South African detective drama “The Cane Field Killings” starring Kim Engelbrecht (“Bullet Proof”) and Iain Glen (“Game of Thrones”). The eight-episode series, which launched last year in South Africa, will launch on Channel 4 on Apr. 10. The drama tells the story of a brilliant criminal profiler, Reyka Gama (Engelbrecht), who is struggling to comes to terms with her dark past. Having been abducted as a child by farmer Angus Speelman (Glen), Reyka now channels that traumatic experience to enter into the mindset of Africa’s most notorious criminals. The series follows her investigation into a string of brutal murders committed by a serial killer in the sugar cane fields of Kwa-Zulu-Natal.
The show is produced by Serena Cullen for Serena Cullen Productions and Harriet Gavshon for Quizzical Pictures. “The Cane Field Killings” is a co-production between M-Net and Fremantle and is distributed internationally by Fremantle.
U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 has picked up South African detective drama “The Cane Field Killings” starring Kim Engelbrecht (“Bullet Proof”) and Iain Glen (“Game of Thrones”). The eight-episode series, which launched last year in South Africa, will launch on Channel 4 on Apr. 10. The drama tells the story of a brilliant criminal profiler, Reyka Gama (Engelbrecht), who is struggling to comes to terms with her dark past. Having been abducted as a child by farmer Angus Speelman (Glen), Reyka now channels that traumatic experience to enter into the mindset of Africa’s most notorious criminals. The series follows her investigation into a string of brutal murders committed by a serial killer in the sugar cane fields of Kwa-Zulu-Natal.
The show is produced by Serena Cullen for Serena Cullen Productions and Harriet Gavshon for Quizzical Pictures. “The Cane Field Killings” is a co-production between M-Net and Fremantle and is distributed internationally by Fremantle.
- 3/17/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The U.K.’s film and television bodies celebrated their compatriots’ winning streak at the Emmy Awards on Sunday evening, with British talent taking home dozens of gongs, including Michaela Coel’s win for best writing in a limited/anthology/TV movie for “I May Destroy You” and Josh O’Connor’s Emmy for lead drama actor for “The Crown,” along with wins for Ewan McGregor, Kate Winslet, Peter Morgan, Olivia Colman, Tobias Menzies, Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein and John Oliver.
So over-represented were British talent on the podium that on social media, Twitter users nicknamed the event the “British Emmys.”
That’s despite the fact that the show was not even broadcast live in the U.K. Audiences who wanted to watch the 73rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards from the British Isles were forced to either livestream it via the official Emmy website or Facebook page in the middle of...
So over-represented were British talent on the podium that on social media, Twitter users nicknamed the event the “British Emmys.”
That’s despite the fact that the show was not even broadcast live in the U.K. Audiences who wanted to watch the 73rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards from the British Isles were forced to either livestream it via the official Emmy website or Facebook page in the middle of...
- 9/20/2021
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
‘Gogglebox’ Co-Creator Leaves Studio Lambert
Tania Alexander, a 12-year Studio Lambert executive who oversees Gogglebox, is leaving the All3Media-owned producer. The director of factual entertainment’s somewhat abrupt departure comes part-way through Gogglebox’s current series on Channel 4, during which it has chalked up some record audiences. Studio Lambert said Alexander is leaving to pursue fresh challenges, with a spokeswoman adding: “We wish Tania success with her future projects.” Studio Lambert’s deputy creative director, Mike Cotton, will oversee the remainder of Season 16 of Gogglebox, alongside the show’s executive producer Leon Campbell.
Women In Film & TV UK New CEO
Women in Film and Television UK (Wftv) has appointed Katie Bailiff as CEO. Bailiff joins from TV firm Century Films, where she has worked for two decades. Her credits as an executive producer include TV shows Feltham Sings, The Secret History Of Our Streets, Abused By My Girlfriend,...
Tania Alexander, a 12-year Studio Lambert executive who oversees Gogglebox, is leaving the All3Media-owned producer. The director of factual entertainment’s somewhat abrupt departure comes part-way through Gogglebox’s current series on Channel 4, during which it has chalked up some record audiences. Studio Lambert said Alexander is leaving to pursue fresh challenges, with a spokeswoman adding: “We wish Tania success with her future projects.” Studio Lambert’s deputy creative director, Mike Cotton, will oversee the remainder of Season 16 of Gogglebox, alongside the show’s executive producer Leon Campbell.
Women In Film & TV UK New CEO
Women in Film and Television UK (Wftv) has appointed Katie Bailiff as CEO. Bailiff joins from TV firm Century Films, where she has worked for two decades. Her credits as an executive producer include TV shows Feltham Sings, The Secret History Of Our Streets, Abused By My Girlfriend,...
- 11/26/2020
- by Andreas Wiseman and Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Bailiff has been executive producer on shows including ‘Feltham Sings’, ‘Lifers’.
Membership organisation Women in Film and Television UK (Wftv) has appointed Katie Bailiff as its new CEO.
Bailiff joins from UK television production company Century Films, where she has worked for two decades, most recently as creative director.
Her credits as an executive producer include TV shows Feltham Sings, The Secret History Of Our Streets, Abused By My Girlfriend, Lifers and Camila’s Kids Company: The Inside Story.
She was recently an executive producer on Terms And Conditions: A UK Drill Story for YouTube Originals, which was awarded a...
Membership organisation Women in Film and Television UK (Wftv) has appointed Katie Bailiff as its new CEO.
Bailiff joins from UK television production company Century Films, where she has worked for two decades, most recently as creative director.
Her credits as an executive producer include TV shows Feltham Sings, The Secret History Of Our Streets, Abused By My Girlfriend, Lifers and Camila’s Kids Company: The Inside Story.
She was recently an executive producer on Terms And Conditions: A UK Drill Story for YouTube Originals, which was awarded a...
- 11/26/2020
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Film and TV advocacy body Women in Film and TV (Wftv) U.K. has appointed award-winning producer Katie Bailiff as CEO.
Bailiff’s credits include Channel 4’s BAFTA-winning “Feltham Sings,” BBC Two’s Rts and Grierson-winning “The Secret History of Our Streets” and BBC Three’s “Abused by My Girlfriend.”
For the last two decades, Bailiff has worked at independent producer Century Films, where in her most recent role she was creative director. Working together with managing director and co-owner Brian Hill, she developed a company with a reputation for producing high-quality documentaries and dramas for all the major U.K. channels and platforms.
“I am enormously excited and honored to be taking on the role of CEO at Wftv and continuing to build on the hard work and success of the last 30 years,” said Bailiff. “It is such a privilege to lead an organization which makes a real difference within the industry.
Bailiff’s credits include Channel 4’s BAFTA-winning “Feltham Sings,” BBC Two’s Rts and Grierson-winning “The Secret History of Our Streets” and BBC Three’s “Abused by My Girlfriend.”
For the last two decades, Bailiff has worked at independent producer Century Films, where in her most recent role she was creative director. Working together with managing director and co-owner Brian Hill, she developed a company with a reputation for producing high-quality documentaries and dramas for all the major U.K. channels and platforms.
“I am enormously excited and honored to be taking on the role of CEO at Wftv and continuing to build on the hard work and success of the last 30 years,” said Bailiff. “It is such a privilege to lead an organization which makes a real difference within the industry.
- 11/26/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Nominations have been unveiled for the 48th edition of the Grierson Awards, the UK’s top documentary awards.
A total of 52 films are nominated across 14 categories. Of those, 21 were broadcast on BBC channel, while Netflix has nine nominations and Channel 4 has five. ITV and Al Jazeera have two apiece whilst nominations newcomer YouTube Originals joins Channel 5, National Geographic and Discovery with one each.
Tiger King is up for Best Entertaining Documentary alongside fellow Netflix title Love is Blind. Netflix’s Don’t F**k With Cats and The Devil Next Door are also both up for Best Documentary series.
The Best Cinema Documentary nominees are American Factory, which won the Oscar this year, alongside the Oscar nominated Honeyland and For Sama, with Midnight Family completing the field.
Full list of nominations:
Best Single Documentary – Domestic
The Family Secret
Anna Hall, Sally Ogden, Luke Rothery & Brian Woods for Candour Productions...
A total of 52 films are nominated across 14 categories. Of those, 21 were broadcast on BBC channel, while Netflix has nine nominations and Channel 4 has five. ITV and Al Jazeera have two apiece whilst nominations newcomer YouTube Originals joins Channel 5, National Geographic and Discovery with one each.
Tiger King is up for Best Entertaining Documentary alongside fellow Netflix title Love is Blind. Netflix’s Don’t F**k With Cats and The Devil Next Door are also both up for Best Documentary series.
The Best Cinema Documentary nominees are American Factory, which won the Oscar this year, alongside the Oscar nominated Honeyland and For Sama, with Midnight Family completing the field.
Full list of nominations:
Best Single Documentary – Domestic
The Family Secret
Anna Hall, Sally Ogden, Luke Rothery & Brian Woods for Candour Productions...
- 9/21/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Nominations for the 48th annual British Documentary Awards, known as the Griersons, include episode two of Netflix docuseries “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts’ Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning “For Sama,” and a best presenter nod for David Olusoga for “The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files.”
The awards are given by The Grierson Trust. Of the 52 nominated films, 21 were broadcast on BBC channels. Netflix has nine nominations and Channel 4 has five. ITV and Al Jazeera have two apiece while YouTube Originals, Channel 5, National Geographic and Discovery have one each.
Lorraine Heggessey, chair of The Grierson Trust, said: “This has been a difficult year for the production community and particularly for freelancers, so it’s more important than ever to recognize and celebrate the excellence of so many talented filmmakers, whether they are newcomers or established global names. These nominations demonstrate the relevance and versatility of documentaries,...
The awards are given by The Grierson Trust. Of the 52 nominated films, 21 were broadcast on BBC channels. Netflix has nine nominations and Channel 4 has five. ITV and Al Jazeera have two apiece while YouTube Originals, Channel 5, National Geographic and Discovery have one each.
Lorraine Heggessey, chair of The Grierson Trust, said: “This has been a difficult year for the production community and particularly for freelancers, so it’s more important than ever to recognize and celebrate the excellence of so many talented filmmakers, whether they are newcomers or established global names. These nominations demonstrate the relevance and versatility of documentaries,...
- 9/21/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Well folks, after a rather long and brutal winter (at least for me here in Buffalo), we are finally heading into the wonderful warmth of summer, but with that blast of sunshine and steamy humidity comes the mid-year drought of major film fests. After the Sheffield Doc/Fest concludes on June 10th and AFI Docs wraps on June 21st, we likely won’t see any major influx in our charts until Locarno, Venice, Telluride and Tiff announce their line-ups in rapid succession. In the meantime, we can look forward to the intriguing onslaught of films making their debut in Sheffield, including Brian Hill’s intriguing examination of Sweden’s most notorious serial killer, The Confessions of Thomas Quick, and Sean McAllister’s film for which he himself was jailed in the process of making, A Syrian Love Story, the only two films world premiering in the festival’s main competition.
- 6/1/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
The BFI Film Fund has revealed the two feature documentaries it will support following its first ever pitching session at Sheffield Doc/Fest.
The first is Louise Osmond’s Dark Horse, which is produced by Judith Dawson and tells the true story of a group of friends from a working men’s club in a Welsh village who decided to take on the elite ‘sport of kings’ and breed themselves a racehorse.
The second is Brian Hill’s Thomas Quick: The Making of a Serial Killer, produced by Katie Bailiff, which examines the case of Sweden’s most notorious murderer whose story shocked the country - but who may not be a killer at all.
The BFI has also committed to further engagement on Jerry Rothwell’s multi-textured “hippy heist” story of the mystics and mechanics who founded Greenpeace, How To Change the World, produced by Al Morrow, which was highly commended by the panel.
The BFI held...
The first is Louise Osmond’s Dark Horse, which is produced by Judith Dawson and tells the true story of a group of friends from a working men’s club in a Welsh village who decided to take on the elite ‘sport of kings’ and breed themselves a racehorse.
The second is Brian Hill’s Thomas Quick: The Making of a Serial Killer, produced by Katie Bailiff, which examines the case of Sweden’s most notorious murderer whose story shocked the country - but who may not be a killer at all.
The BFI has also committed to further engagement on Jerry Rothwell’s multi-textured “hippy heist” story of the mystics and mechanics who founded Greenpeace, How To Change the World, produced by Al Morrow, which was highly commended by the panel.
The BFI held...
- 6/18/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Read about how broadcasters view Live Earth
Having backed the Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth, progressive-minded Participant Prods. said Monday that it is embarking on a new, environmentally friendly documentary inspired by Saturday's Live Earth concerts.
Participant CEO Jim Berk said that British director Brian Hill will helm the project, to be produced by Hill and Katie Bailiff through their Century Films. Although it will include footage from the concerts, the currently untitled feature will move on to focus on the stories of individuals around the world who are working to combat the effects of global change.
Live Earth, a series of eight concerts taking place worldwide, is being overseen by Kevin Wall, executive producer of Live 8, and Al Gore and the Alliance for Climate Protection. All of the film's proceeds will be donated to the Alliance for Climate Protection, Berk said.
"As a result of our relationship with Al Gore and the success of 'An Inconvenient Truth' in altering the public's perceptions and the dialogue about global warming, we are excited about the Live Earth events," Participant president Ricky Strauss said.
Having backed the Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth, progressive-minded Participant Prods. said Monday that it is embarking on a new, environmentally friendly documentary inspired by Saturday's Live Earth concerts.
Participant CEO Jim Berk said that British director Brian Hill will helm the project, to be produced by Hill and Katie Bailiff through their Century Films. Although it will include footage from the concerts, the currently untitled feature will move on to focus on the stories of individuals around the world who are working to combat the effects of global change.
Live Earth, a series of eight concerts taking place worldwide, is being overseen by Kevin Wall, executive producer of Live 8, and Al Gore and the Alliance for Climate Protection. All of the film's proceeds will be donated to the Alliance for Climate Protection, Berk said.
"As a result of our relationship with Al Gore and the success of 'An Inconvenient Truth' in altering the public's perceptions and the dialogue about global warming, we are excited about the Live Earth events," Participant president Ricky Strauss said.
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.