Blue Ant International’s refreshed slate includes 100+ hours of new programming, from top tier producers around the world
Distributor sets up online catalogue with newly launched titles ahead of MIPCOM 2020
(Toronto, ON – September 21, 2020) – Global distribution group, Blue Ant International, unveiled today its diverse new slate of premium programming across some of its tentpole categories including: High-Impact Documentaries, Factual, Specialist Factual and Kids & Family. Debuting at MIPCOM next month, the new slate includes several high-impact documentaries that deal with pressing contemporary issues in today’s world including 9/11 Kids, No Responders Left Behind, The Two Lives of Li Ermao, and The Shadow of Dumont. New factual content includes: Christmas At Chatsworth House, which looks inside the inner workings of an historic British estate; Hotel Paranormal, a 10-part supernatural docu-series narrated by Dan Aykroyd; and Aging Well Suzuki Style, which follows 83-year old David Suzuki as he determines how well he is aging. New natural history series from Love Nature’s celebrated slate of original 4K programming include Stormborn (narrated by Golden Globe winner, Ewan McGregor) and A Bee’s Diary. Rounding out the offering is a crop of new series in the distributor’s Kids & Family category, including fan favourites Detention Adventure Season 2 and Nikola Tesla and the End of the World. Blue Ant International has created a bespoke online portal for its entire slate of newly released titles, which is available HERE.
Blue Ant International’s new slate of titles amount to over 100 hours of content and joins three significant programming acquisitions that were announced earlier this summer, including 140+ hours of content from David Rocco’s Dolce Vita series, 30+ hours of content from ITN Productions that includes more than 20 Royal documentaries and several iconic biographies; and the exclusive international rights to the high-profile documentary film, No Responders Left Behind, featuring the work of former The Daily Show Host, Jon Stewart, to help get compensation for 9/11 first responders.
“Blue Ant International has an incredible amount of newly acquired premium content from a variety of production companies ranging from single series to large library acquisition deals,” says Ludo Dufour, SVP, International Co-Productions and Sales, Blue Ant International. “We’ve been in constant contact with our international buyers over the last several months and are heading into this year’s fall market season with a carefully selected array of premium, compelling content that will appeal to audiences everywhere.”
Blue Ant International’s full 2020 MIPCOM Slate:
High Impact Documentaries
9/11 Kids (1 x 90’ or 1 x 100’; 4K & HD; Saloon Media) – This award-winning, high-impact documentary delves into the lives of the second graders who were reading with George W. Bush when a plane hit the second tower of the World Trade Center. For the 16 kids and their teacher, this iconic moment in American history is forever etched in their minds. Now, almost 20 years later, the film reveals what has become of this classroom of gifted, predominantly African American children. 9/11 Kids catches up with many of those present on that fateful day and reflects on the theme of race in America as well as what the American Dream means today.
Shadow of Dumont (1 x 120′ HD, 2 x 60′ HD, 1 x 100′; HD; KarmaFilm) – This compelling documentary follows Trevor Cameron, who since the loss of his mother, has never felt so detached from his Métis roots. As he examines his childhood hero, Gabriel Dumont, Trevor realizes that he knows very little about the buffalo hunter turned freedom fighter outside of the textbook history of the 1885 Métis uprising in Canada. Backed with decades of research and kin folklore, Trevor follows the nomadic path of his great-great-great-uncle across North America in his dusty 80s camper van to visit the things, places and times that defined Canada’s last rebel.
The Two Lives of Li Ermao (1 x 90’; HD; Spring Films) – Filmed over 17 years across Southern China, The Two Lives of Li Ermao is the intimate and heart wrenching story of Li Ermao, a transgender migrant worker, transitioning from male to female, then back to male. In this touching tale we witness Li Ermao’s search for identity, struggle for love and fight for survival. The film was selected for the 32nd edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.
Factual Entertainment:
Hotel Paranormal (10 x 60’; HD; Saloon Media) This paranormal series follows the terrifyingly true stories of people who have come face-to-face with otherworldly hotel guests. Acclaimed writer, actor, musician and filmmaker Dan Aykroyd, who is no stranger to the unexplained, narrates each episode featuring spine-tingling stories of paranormal encounters told from stays at grand hotels, highway motels and short-term rentals around the world. From objects flying across rooms to ancient spirits trapped in lobbies to demonic guests, Hotel Paranormal brings to life terrifying encounters with dramatic recreations and paranormal expert insights.
See No Evil Season 6 (20 x 60’; HD; Arrow Media and Saloon Media) The sixth installment of this ground-breaking, hit series continues with more harrowing stories showing how real crimes are solved with the help of surveillance cameras. Police reveal how CCTV footage has unlocked the answer to cases that otherwise might have remained unsolved, leaving dangerous killers at large. The series features real footage and dramatic reconstructions, combined with first hand testimony from police, witnesses and families.
Legends vs Modern Icons (6 x 60’; HD; Maximus Film) – This series pits the world’s latest engineering achievements, high-tech vehicles and modern constructions compete against their legendary, world famous equivalents that are milestones in their own field. Can a modern luxury cruise ship outperform the Titanic? Is Wembley Stadium superior to the Colosseum? Each episode showcases one battle between a legend and its modern equivalent through a mix of high-quality authentic imagery, re-enactment footage, point-of-views and 3D-CGI paired with uncovered statistics, facts and dimensions.
Giant Pop-Up Constructions (5 x 60′; 4K & HD; Maximus Film) – A fascinating look at large-scale constructions that seem to appear within weeks, sometimes even within hours. Each episode reveals what it takes for these gigantic constructions to take shape, which includes highly accurate planning, perfect teamwork and 24-hour shifts. This series shows the most amazing record constructions of our time; unbelievable buildings, which are unique in their kind.
Aging Well Suzuki Style (1 x 60’; HD; Rezolution Pictures and Handel Productions) – takes viewers on a quest about aging with beloved Canadian presenter David Suzuki, who, at eighty-three, sets out discover if he’s still alive and in good health because of the choices he’s made or if he’s just been lucky to have inherited good genes. His perspective is that aging is not a disease, it’s a natural part of life and while everyone would like to have a long life span, David Suzuki is more interested in a longer health span. Along the way he meets scientists who put him through a battery of physical and mental tests and he meets a group of seniors who have one thing in common – they are all living life to the fullest. Their enthusiasm for life is infectious as they share their secrets for aging well.
Big Weather (and how to survive it) (3 x 60′; HD or 2 x 60’; HD; DMA Creative in association with Northern Pictures) – From the frontlines of Australia’s Black Summer of 2019-20, this series delivers an urgent and entertaining message of how our weather is changing and what we can do to survive it. Presenter Craig Reucassel uncovers stories from frontline disaster crews, experts and communities dealing with the effects of the world’s escalating climate emergency. The episodes seek to answer the big questions: Why are these events becoming less predictable and more intense? And what can we do to prepare, survive and adapt into the future?
The Weather Files: Total Impact (8 x 60′; HD; Saloon Media) – This series takes viewers inside extreme weather events and natural disasters like never before. Through the eyes of real life survivors, first responders and scientific experts, viewers go inside the disasters with gripping, first-hand accounts, dramatic original footage, cutting-edge science and graphic animation. The series also offers a new twist on the genre by examining aspects of natural disasters that most people have never heard about, including the unexpected and surprising ripple effects of disasters.
Christmas At Chatsworth House (1 x 60’; HD; ITN Productions): This one-off documentary reveals the sheer scale of work that goes on behind the scenes to transform Chatsworth House into such a magical and enchanting place for over 200,000 visitors for the Christmas season. In just five days, housekeepers, designers, gardeners and foresters transform Chatsworth with traditional and nostalgic Christmas displays. The house alone is decorated with over 30 Christmas trees, 60,000 baubles and a million fairy lights. As family and staff rally across the estate, they face torrential rain and a countryside crippled by unprecedented flooding. Will this festive season be remembered for all the right reasons?
Me and My Sugar Daddy (2 x 60′; HD; Zeppelin Films) – This two-part series delves into the relationship dynamics of Britain’s young 20-something sugar babies and their older sugar daddies, men in their fifties who often pay for tuition, bestow lavish gifts and buy expensive dinners in return for companionship. Sugar babies can earn thousands of dollars a month living a very glamorous lifestyle, and although they usually aren’t looking for anything beyond friendship, on very rare occasions they can be surprised by what cupid has in store for them.
Specialist Factual:
Stormborn (3 x 60′; HDR, 4K & HD; Maramedia) – Narrated by Golden Globe® Award Winner Ewan McGregor, Stormborn is an epic, story-led drama, filmed in Norway, Scotland and Iceland, that captures some of the world’s most hardy animal characters, over one dramatic breeding year. The three-part series follows tenacious animals, including arctic foxes, otters and reindeer, surviving and thriving in the remote, northern edges of the Atlantic Ocean as they raise their young during a short, harsh season before winter begins. Against a backdrop of ice-carved rock, towering seas and fierce storms, in the rarely explored latitude of the Subarctic, the trilogy includes several instances of animal behaviour that have never before been seen by scientists or captured on film.
A Bee’s Diary (1 x 60′; HDR, 4K & HD; Taglicht Media) – In a beehive, tens of thousands of tiny animals work toward a common goal: the survival of the colony. This series explores what is life like for an individual honeybee. Narrated from the point of view of just two bees, an elderly winter bee who nurtures the new generation and then a young forager who grows as the colony expands, this documentary reveals the secrets of a bee’s life from a completely new perspective. Through an alpine spring and summer, the film follows two star bees as they tend to their colony, forage, scout, get lost and fight off invaders, each with her own unique style and personality.
Wild Tales From the Farm (4 x 60′; HDR, 4K & HD; Blakeway Productions) – Narrated by acclaimed UK actor Hugh Bonneville, this four part docu-series reveals the secret lives of farm animals in ways never seen before. Shot on a 500-acre farm in a beautiful corner of southern England, the domesticated animals live alongside their wildlife counterparts across the estate’s organic landscape. This is an unprecedented look through the natural history lens, revealing new scientific discoveries and unseen insights into animal personalities and behaviour that includes great escapes, epic battles, doting parents and lifelong friendships.
America’s Wild Border: Northern Exposure (1 x 60′; HDR, 4K & HD; MBM TV) – America’s northern border with Canada is the longest international boundary in the world. Its borderlands encompass a remarkable range of habitats and weather extremes, including searing desert, freezing tundra, desolate grassland, lush rainforest, frigid oceans and freshwater lakes. The lands are home to epic migrations and a surprising diversity of wildlife that follow challenges of the terrain and the changing seasons. A year in the northern borderlands reveals that even in the absence of a physical border, the political boundary poses many problems for wild residents.
A Wild Year on Earth (6 x 60’; 4K and HD; Northern Pictures) – This epic, six-part documentary series, narrated by actor, Laura Carmichael, takes viewers on a visually stunning journey of the natural world’s most awe-inspiring seasonal events including migration, rebirth and transformation. Dramatic 4K footage, shot across Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa, North America and South America provides breathtaking spectacles such as black kites hunting in the flames of wildfire. Over the course of a turbulent year, the series reveals how the natural world and all of its creatures are profoundly connected to the Earth’s seasonal patterns, which, in the 21st Century, are becoming more extreme and dangerously unpredictable. Month by month, the series also charts the rhythms of the human calendar, through ritual and celebration
Equator’s Wild Secrets (6 x 60′; HD; NHNZ) – This breathtaking series explores the Equator’s wildest and most diverse ecosystem, featuring a cornucopia of exotic animals in habitats ranging from steamy rainforests and great grasslands to snowy mountains and great reefs. Although there is access to plentiful food, fierce competition is still part of daily life on the equator. Great currents and trade winds also drive animals to adapt and behave in ways not seen in other wildlife hotspots. Welcome to the jungle, the mountain, the savannah and the rich reef that are all part of the Equator’s greatest hotspots.
South America’s Weirdest (3 x 60′; HD; NHNZ) – This series profiles the seemingly bizarre wildlife in South America that have learned to thrive by adapting to the continent’s many landscapes like the mighty Amazon, the spectacular Andes, the great Cerrado and the ferocious Pantanal. Life here is a challenge and being able to adapt is key to survival. In this quest to change, adapt and survive, the South American wilderness has turned its back on conventions, creating creatures who evolved into a myriad spectacular forms to become South America’s weirdest animals.
Wonders of the Ocean (2 x 60′; HD; NHNZ) – This series showcases the many incredible creatures that have evolved to call the Pacific home. The largest, deepest ocean on our planet encompasses an extreme range of environments nature has to offer, from deep ocean trenches to undersea volcanoes and from tropical lagoons to wave-tossed sub-Antarctic waters. The most remarkable thing about the Pacific is that life has managed to gain a foothold in all these environments. Viewers discover the unique and often bizarre creatures have adapted below and above the waves to make the most of every situation.
After the Wildfires (1 x 60’; HDR, 4K & HD; Northern Pictures) – This one-hour special is a gripping account of the wildfires that ravaged Australia in 2019, the animals that struggled to survive the disaster, and the people who gave their all to save them. Available to air in time for the one-year anniversary of the fire season in Australia, the program explores the calamitous toll the devastation had on the continent’s mega-diverse habitats and wildlife, and the monumental effort to recover. Viewers see how the fires have magnified the need for more meaningful environmental protections with a hopeful look toward the future.
Kids & Family:
Detention Adventure Season 2 (10 x 11’; HD; LoCo Motion Pictures & Broken Compass Films) – Following its debut award-winning season, this hit live-action kids series is back. Framed for a new prank, the Detention Adventure Four team up with a new ally to hunt for the legendary lost fortune of Ignatius Cockshutt. When it becomes clear that an unknown foe is racing them to their treasure, they have to work against the clock, which involves some uneasy alliances and hard truths.
Nikola Tesla and the End of the World (6 x 10’; HD; Zoot Pictures) – This charming, award-winning series takes kid viewers on a time travelling adventure. It begins with Dr. Sophie Clarke, who has found a lost design for an invention by Nikola Tesla, a turn-of-the-century inventor. When student Harriet Goldring helps Dr. Clarke test the device, Tesla suddenly appears. Tesla, who has been lost in the multiverse trying to find his way home, has built up a huge debt to the agency that manages inter-dimensional travel. Harriet is recruited by the agency to help Nikola in a confusing and sketchy sales job between worlds to help him repay his debts and bring him home.
News of the Wild Season 3 (80 x 30’; HD; Northern Pictures Kids) – The third installment of this light-hearted, animal-focussed news show continues the adventure with returning kid co-hosts, Maya and Finn, who introduce stories from a number of different locations and reporters. Sometimes the segments are factual and other times a parody of news-style bulletins or current affairs programs, but News of the Wild is always bursting at the seams with animals, laughter, and enthusiasm.
Leo’s FishHeads (26 x 11’; HD; Fifth Ground Entertainment) – This science adventure series explores what is going on under the waves and around the shorelines, discovering these amazing ecosystems and the beings that call them home. Our young hosts Sayat and Christian are passionate about fish, turtles, water bugs, frogs, really any and all creatures that make water their home. Along with Leo The Catfish, their animated, sassy sidekick, they’ve formed the FishHeads Explorer’s Club and their mandate is to get to know as many aquatic creatures as they can and find ways we can all protect them.
How Do You Feel? (21 x 7′ & 21 x 2′; HD; Riverbank Pictures) – This series explores mental health and along the way, uncovers how fun the journey can be. The series host, Akin, loves talking about his thoughts and feelings so much that he spends every episode breaking down a problem from a real kid. He discusses the problem with an expert, asks his young friends what they think and shares positive mental health coping strategies. All while pondering his favourite question, how do you feel?
Mimi on a Mission Season 2 (5 x 30’; HD; Peggy Pictures) Mimi Missfit is at it again but this time she takes seven teenagers who have faced different mental health challenges to experience a week in the wild and go back to basics. They’ll swap their phones and home luxuries for the benefits of the great outdoors where they’ll be encouraged to open up about their own life and what they’ve dealt with (from self-doubt and lack of confidence to bullying, anxiety and depression).
Blue Ant International is a leading worldwide distributor of high-quality, creative content that engages audiences worldwide and across multiple platforms. The company offers a full-service approach to production partners with sales operations in London, Toronto, and Los Angeles. Blue Ant International has a growing slate of over 4,000 hours of premium content, including distinctive series and formats in five key genres including factual entertainment, specialist factual, high-impact documentaries, kids and family, and scripted. Blue Ant International also has one of the world’s largest offerings of 4K natural history content. Blue Ant International is a division of Blue Ant Media.
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