Extra: Hollywood Suite and CBC acquire WWII doc

Extra: Hollywood Suite and CBC acquire WWII doc

Hollywood Suite acquires No Roses on a Sailor’s Grave documentary

Canadian broadcaster Hollywood Suite acquired the award-winning documentary No Roses on a Sailor’s Grave, production company Go Button Media announced on Monday (Aug. 23).

CBC & Radio-Canada Distribution, meanwhile, took the worldwide rights, excluding Canada, for the documentary (pictured). The CBC will soon announce the film’s launch into the global market.

The documentary tells the story of a lost World War II ship, and how a young archeologist and the last survivor of the wreck work together to recover the ship from forgotten history, more than 70 years later.

The ship, LCH185, was part of the first wave on Sword Beach on D-Day. It helped protect the landing beaches from German attack for two weeks, until it was struck by an acoustic mine. LCH185 sank, taking all but a few surviving crew members with it. Patrick Thomas, a veteran telegraphist in the British Royal Navy who was on that ship, has lived with the memory ever since then.

John Henry Phillips, a 25-year-old British archaeologist, promised Thomas that he will find the lost, wrecked ship and see that a memorial is built for its missing crew. The documentary film follows this work.

“With only a small number of World War II veterans still among us, it is critical we help tell and record these stories before they move on from living memory,” said Daniel Oron of Go Button Media, and the director and executive producer of the film, in a news release.

Sharon Stevens, vice president of programming at Hollywood Suite, added that the film mixes history and personal testimony, and that with time running out to hear WWII stories first hand, opportunities to see a film like this are becoming rarer.

No Roses on a Sailor’s Grave was an official selection at several film festivals, and won Best Feature Documentary at the Sweden Film Awards, Best Narrative at the Amsterdam World International Film Festival, Best Director: Documentary at the Berlin Indie Film Festival and Angeles Documentaries Festival, as well as Best Feature Documentary at the Rome Independent Prisma Awards and Angeles Documentaries Festival.

The feature documentary is scheduled for a worldwide TV premiere on Nov. 11 at 9 p.m. ET.

Read the full article on Realscreen.

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Go Button Media greenlit for two new series by Cineflix Rights, Super Channel
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Go Button Media greenlit for two new series by Cineflix…

As it celebrates 10 years in business, Canadian independent producer Go Button Media is going into production on two new factual series: ‘War Trains’ and ‘Ancient Disasters’. Both have been recently greenlit by long-standing Go Button collaborators, international distributor Cineflix Rights and Canadian broadcaster Super Channel, and form part of a 60-hour slate deal announced last year.

‘War Trains’ takes an unprecedented look at the importance of the train in shaping the outcomes of modern conflict. From heroic freight missions to the mobilisation of great armies and from daring rescues to trains as weapons, the series examines defining moments in railway history that prove the train’s significance as a vital cog in the military machine.

‘Ancient Disasters’ is a visually stunning and cinematic series that revisits the earthquakes, fires, floods and plagues endured by ancient civilisations and reveals new evidence that shows, while these natural catastrophes were beyond their control, their responses could be complex and often chilling.

Felicia Litovitz, VP, Acquisitions North America, Cineflix Rights, says: “Go Button has been a great partner for Cineflix Rights, consistently providing high-quality ideas which we can work together on to deliver multiple series with global appeal, and whose continuing success is demonstrated through these latest deals with National Geographic.”

Kim Ball, chief content officer at Super Channel, adds: “Our partnership with Go Button Media has grown stronger over the past decade. We’re delighted to continue to work alongside Daniel and the team, who consistently deliver compelling, high-quality series, and remain a valued partner. Congratulations on 10 successful years.”

Read more on Advanced Television

Go Button Media grabs new greenlights, Nat Geo Int’l pickups
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Go Button Media grabs new greenlights, Nat Geo Int’l pickups

Mysteries of Ancient Medicine

Cineflix Rights and Super Channel have greenlit two new factual series from Toronto’s Go Button Media, War Trains (8 x 60 min.) and Ancient Disasters (10 x 60 min.), both of which are now heading into production.

The series orders are part of Go Button’s 60-hour slate deal with the two companies, which was announced last June. Cineflix Rights, the U.K.-based distribution arm of Cineflix Media, functions as the international distributor, while Super Channel is the Canadian broadcaster.

War Trains explores the role of the train in modern warfare. The series combines archival footage, interviews with historians and engineers and CGI recreations to cover the evolution of trains and their impact in landmark battles and conflicts around the globe.

Ancient Disasters examines natural catastrophes that devastated ancient civilizations, and how each society responded. It combines CGI, dramatizations and testimonials from experts to explain the science behind disasters such as the Great Fire of Rome, and analyzes why some societies could recover from these calamities while others could not.

Go Button has also announced that two previously greenlit series under the slate deal — Mysteries of Ancient Medicine (pictured, 10 x 60 min.) and Oracles and Prophets (10 x 60 min.) — have been bought by National Geographic International.

“It feels right to mark the start of Go Button’s 10th anniversary year by going into production on two such powerful series, in collaboration with two of our most enduring partnerships,” said Daniel Oron, co-founder and executive producer of Go Button Media, in a release.

(From Jamie Casemore, Playback Daily; Fire in Rome painting by Hubert Robert)

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