Official trailer, featuring Ewan McGregor’s iconic voice, unveiled today
Theatrical screening event at Jackson Wild Summit 2020 this Fall; World broadcast premiere scheduled for November 2020 on Love Nature
Stormborn is produced by Maramedia, in association with Smithsonian Channel, ARTE France, BBC Scotland and Screen Scotland
Blue Ant International oversees licensing of the series, available at MIPCOM 2020
Press Kit: https://blueantmedia.com/stormborn-media-page/
Password: blueantmedia (case sensitive)
(Washington, D.C. – August 17, 2020) – Love Nature, a family-friendly wildlife and nature brand with online and linear platforms reaching 200 million homes around the world, announced today that Golden Globe® Award winner Ewan McGregor will lend his iconic voice to its highly anticipated, blue-chip natural history series, Stormborn (3×50’; 4K and HD). Created by Scotland-based Maramedia, the three-part, story-led drama, filmed in Norway, Scotland and Iceland, captures some of the world’s most hardy animal characters, over one dramatic breeding year. Earlier today, Love Nature released Stormborn’s official trailer, featuring McGregor’s narration, ahead of its theatrical screening event at Jackson Wild Summit this fall. Love Nature will host the series’ world broadcast premiere on its international linear and streaming video platforms in November, followed by premieres on Smithsonian Channel (USA), BBC Scotland and ARTE (France and Germany).
Stormborn is produced by Maramedia, in association with Smithsonian Channel, ARTE France, BBC Scotland and Screen Scotland. Blue Ant International oversees licensing for the series, which will be available at MIPCOM 2020.
Ewan’s involvement in the series production, during the pandemic, was made possible by Vaudeville Studios in LA. The company converted a caravan, in Ewan’s garden, into a bespoke studio. By installing a high-grade microphone and a strong wifi connection, Maramedia was able to record the narration directly into their facility, while patching the production team in using software that converted laptops into a console with talk-back facilities.
“I was so happy to work with Nigel and Jackie [Maramedia] again to narrate another breathtakingly beautiful series about the tough animals of the North. It’s special for me to do work that focuses on Scotland’s majesty and with Norway and Iceland included too it makes for such cinematic drama,” said Ewan McGregor.
Greenlit in June 2019, Stormborn is the first collaboration between Love Nature and Maramedia and features a cast of charismatic, tenacious animals surviving and thriving in the remote, northern edges of the Atlantic Ocean. Audiences will join these animals as they race against darkness, before winter begins, breeding and raising their young during a short, harsh season. The trilogy includes several instances of animal behaviour, in the rarely explored latitude of Subarctic, that have never been seen by scientists or captured on film, including:
- Arctic Foxes in Iceland developing and mastering a new hunting technique to catch kittiwakes
- Drone footage of an Orca catching a porpoise
- First-ever 4K footage of a seal killing a pup
- The most detailed footage ever recorded of a reindeer fjord crossing
Production crews worked with local scientists and wildlife experts at every shooting site to advise on locations and animal behaviours.
“Stormborn shows how Love Nature is playing in a different sphere now with story-led dramas that provide intimate portraits of animal characters in some of the most beautiful and remote locations on the planet,” Carlyn Staudt, EVP, Love Nature Programming & Development. “Love Nature strives to bring fans content that will connect them to the natural world at a heartfelt level. By pulling back the curtain, and bringing to light the many challenges Stormborn’s cast is up against, viewers will learn first hand how special and resilient these animals are.”
“Faced with every possible obstacle, Stormborn’s cast is now tasked with surviving the effects of climate change, which has made weather in these shooting locations more unpredictable than ever before. We hope the series, with its real and emotional storylines, will encourage people everywhere to engage with the natural world and understand the challenges these animals face,” said Jackie Savery and Nigel Pope, creators of Stormborn and Directors of Maramedia.
Love Nature is available via its branded linear and streaming platforms in 114 countries on traditional pay-TV platforms such as Sky, Rogers, Virgin, Starhub, Bell, Ziggo Vodafone, Tricolor, TVB MySuper TV, Startimes and many more as well as growing streaming outlets like The Roku Channel, Amazon Channels, Bilibili, Apple Plus, Pluto TV and Samsung TV Plus.
Jackie Savery and Nigel Pope serve as executive producers and directors of the series. Alison Barrat, VP, Development & Production is Executive Producer on behalf of Love Nature. Executive Producers for the Smithsonian Channel are Tria Thalman and David Royle.
Love Nature is a family-friendly wildlife and nature brand that brings audiences powerful stories about the natural world that foster a deeper understanding of and connection to the planet we call home. Our award-winning library of 4K natural history series and documentaries are available on Love Nature’s branded linear and streaming platforms available around the world and through partnerships with top-tier pay-TV platforms and streamers, reaching over 200 million households globally. Love Nature is a joint venture between Blue Ant Media and Smithsonian Networks.
Engage with us at lovenature.com / Twitter / Facebook / YouTube / Instagram
Based in Scotland UK, Maramedia create award-winning world-class Natural History content for broadcast across a variety of platforms for international clients, including the BBC, Blue Ant Media, ITVG, PBS, National Geographic, France Televisions, Arte and ORF, working with key talent like David Attenborough, Ewan McGregor and David Tennant. Multi award-winning, Maramedia’s productions have a hallmark of quality – showcasing the natural world in a spectacular way, as well highlighting the issues it faces. We like to be social! Follow us: www.maramedia.co.uk / twitter / Facebook / Instagram
Smithsonian Channel™, a ViacomCBS Inc. network, is where curiosity lives, inspiration strikes and wonders never cease. This is the place for awe-inspiring stories, powerful documentaries and amazing factual entertainment, available in HD and 4K Ultra HD across multiple platforms. Smithsonian Channel, winner of Emmy® and Peabody awards for its programming, is the home of popular genres such as air and space, travel, history, science, nature and pop culture. Among the network’s offerings are hit series including Aerial America, America in Color, America’s Hidden Stories, Apollo’s Moon Shot, The Pacific War in Color and Air Disasters, as well as critically-acclaimed specials that include The Green Book: Guide to Freedom, Black Hole Hunters and Princess Diana’s Wicked Stepmother. Smithsonian Networks also operates Smithsonian Channel Plus™, a subscription video streaming service delivering over a thousand hours of the Channel’s stunning and diverse library of documentaries and series in HD and 4K Ultra HD. Smithsonian Channel is also available internationally in Canada, Singapore, Latin America, the UK and Ireland. To learn more, go to smithsonianchannel.com, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
ARTE
A French-German channel that showcases Europe’s rich cultural diversity. Founded by an interstate treaty signed by France and Germany in 1990, ARTE is a public service television channel and its mission is to strengthen understanding and ties amongst people in Europe with culture and inspiring innovative programs. The ARTE Group is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE GEIE plus two member companies acting as editorial and program production centres, ARTE France in Paris and ARTE Deutschland in Baden-Baden. These two companies provide three-quarters of ARTE’s programming in equal proportion, the remainder being provided by ARTE GEIE and the channel’s European partners. 65 % of the programs are documentaries, which represents 91 hours a week. ARTE is available in six languages, so 360 million Europeans can watch in their mother tongue. All the programs go out in French and German, and hundreds of hours of factual programming are subtitled in English, Spanish, Polish and Italian. More information on arte.tv
BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and is the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It launched its own bespoke channel in Feb 2019 commissioning many hours of original content.
Screen Scotland is the dedicated partnership for screen in Scotland. With funding from Scottish Government and the National Lottery, Screen Scotland is driving the cultural, social and economic development of all aspects of the sector in Scotland, through enhanced funding, services and support. Screen Scotland sits within Creative Scotland and is a partnership with Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Funding Council, working in close collaboration with the sector to ensure its success. www.screen.scot @screenscots
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