Blue Ant International’s refreshed slate includes 60+ hours of new programming, from top tier producers around the world
A crop of blue chip series and documentaries from NHNZ have also landed in the distributor’s Specialist Factual offering for the first time
(Toronto, ON – March 10, 2020) – Blue Ant International is unveiling a new slate this spring that includes over 60 hours of new premium content across its tent-pole categories including high-impact documentary series, factual entertainment and specialist factual. Highlights of the new slate include a second season of the award-winning, docu-series Prison (3 x 60’; HD; Spring Films), season two of Rich Kids Go Homeless (6 x 60’; HD; Zeppelin Films) as well as Malawi Wildlife Rescue (6 x 60’; 4K & HDR; Icon Films). Blue Ant International also announces that it has taken over distribution activity for 70+ hours of premium, blue-chip programming from global natural history and factual production house, NHNZ. The distributor’s catalogue can be viewed here.
“Our new slate is a carefully curated selection of premium content from some of the best production partners in the world, reflecting our commitment to offering diverse and compelling programming across key factual categories,” says Ludo Dufour, SVP, International Co-Productions and Sales, Blue Ant International. “We’re seeing a renaissance of the specialist factual genre on a global level, so the addition of NHNZ’s premium content strengthens our position as a go-to provider of top-tier natural history programming and allows us to super serve our clients’ ever-growing appetite for best-in-class nature programming.”
The NHNZ agreement significantly bolsters Blue Ant International’s catalogue of specialist factual content with over 70 titles including: Extreme Animals (4 x 60’; HD), a series that takes a look at the most extreme personalities and behaviours in the animal kingdom; Inside the Pack (1 x 60’; HD) an inside look at the survival skills and power struggles within wild animal packs; Siberia’s Wild Year (1 x 60′ HD), which reveals the challenges animals face in Siberia’s unrelenting winter; China From Above Seasons 1 & 2 (4 x 60′; HD | 2 x 60′ 4K & HD), which takes viewers on an exploration of China as never seen before; World’s Deadliest Seasons 1 & 2 (7 x 60; HD) reveals the struggle that species face every day just to survive; Wild Peru: Andes Battleground (2 x 60′; HD) which explores the fascinating animals that live in the country’s diverse habitats; and Mexico Untamed (3 x 60′; HD) a series that follows the extreme measures animals go to survive in the rugged landscapes of Mexico.
Additional specialist factual series Blue Ant International is debuting this spring include: Pridelands: Wilderness Reborn (1 x 60’; 4K & HDR; Alleycats), which follows a family as they transform a derelict farm in South Africa into a sanctuary; Amazing Animal Friends (6 x 60’; 4K & HDR; Oxford Scientific Films), a heart-warming look at unlikely animal friendships like a rhino and a lamb and an elephant who thinks she’s a buffalo; Malawi Wildlife Rescue (6 x 60’; 4K & HDR; Icon Films) a look inside the country’s only wildlife rescue centre that cares for injured and abandoned animals until they are ready to be released back into the wild; and a tenth season of the beloved Hope For Wildlife (10 x 60’; 4K & HDR; Arcadia), featuring ten new episodes that follow wildlife advocate Hope Swinimer and her staff who rescue, rehabilitate and release thousands of animals each year. All ten seasons include 124, hour-long episodes, available at MIPTV.
New high-impact documentary series include the highly anticipated second season of Prison (3 x 60’; HD; Spring Films), which won Best Documentary Series at the Grierson Awards, the Royal Television Society Awards, and the Broadcast Awards and also received a 2019 BAFTA nomination for Best Factual Series. The second season shifts its focus from a men’s UK-based facility, to HMP Foston Hall, a women’s prison, also in the UK. Season 2 highlights the unique challenges incarcerated women face. Also joining this category is Hate Crime: Uncensored (1 x 60’; HD; Zeppelin Films) is a one-hour documentary revealing disturbing accounts of religious and racist hate crimes.
Blue Ant International is also bringing a new slate of diverse factual entertainment series including: Rich Kids Go Homeless, Season 2 (6 x 60’; HD; Zeppelin Films), a look at what happens when privileged young adults experiment with being homeless for three nights; Ultimate Supercar (6 x 60’; HD; Cry Havoc Productions), a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the design and engineering of the world’s most lust-worthy, luxury cars; Best Cake Wins, Season 3 (10 x 30’; HD; Architect Films), which sees two cake-masters compete to design confectionery delights based on a child’s own colourful drawings; Coolest Places to Stay, Season 2 (6 x 30’; HD; Architect Films), a peek inside some of the most unique and charming short-term rentals that feature beautiful handcrafted touches and stylized decor; Expat, Season 2 (12 x 60’; HD; Authentique Productions), which takes viewers to exotic and legendary locations where expatriates are creating new lives for themselves.
Blue Ant International’s 2020 full spring slate:
Prison Season 2 (3 x 60’; HD; Spring Films) The second installment of the Grierson Award-winning and BAFTA-nominated docu-series Prison shifts its focus to female offenders at HMP Foston Hall, a women’s prison in the UK. The series deals with women whose terms range from a few weeks to decades and the complex and powerful bonds with the officers and the prison itself. At Foston Hall, more than 300 women are incarcerated for everything from non-payment of fines to murder. Many of the women have experienced extreme trauma before coming inside, but at Foston Hall they are sustained by a progressive regime which puts rehabilitation at its heart. While drugs and violence are inherent in the everyday life of the prison, the biggest challenges revolve around children, relationships (inside and outside of the prison), self-harming and depression. For men, jail can be simply the loss of their liberty and they return home to a house and family cared for by their partner. For women, prison can be the destruction of their family, the loss of their children and their home.
Hate Crime: Uncensored (1 x 60’; HD; Zeppelin Films) This sobering new documentary features testimony and real footage from a variety of religious and racist hate crimes that have taken place on Britain’s streets. The film reveals an uncensored look at the shockingly offensive, abusive and racist language and behaviour that occurs every day.
Rich Kids Go Homeless Season 2 (6 x 60’; HD; Zeppelin Films) Today’s rich kids live a life of luxury that most of us can only dream of. In the second installment of this six-part series, wealthy and privileged young adults swap their pampered and lavish lives to sleep rough on the pavements of London. They want to prove that it’s possible to escape homelessness for good in just three nights. With nothing but a sleeping bag, the rich kids will have their eyes opened and quickly discover what it’s really like to be poor and homeless.
Ultimate Supercar (6 x 60’; HD; Cry Havoc Productions) High-end, high-performance supercars are an amazing combination of art and science. This series goes behind the scenes to offer an insider look at the design, engineering, manufacturing process of the world’s most lust worthy cars. Each episode explores how these remarkable machines come to life and the hidden engineering secrets they use to push the boundaries of speed and technology.
Best Cake Wins Season 3 (10 x 30’; HD; Architect Films) This series shows the ultimate way to make a child’s most awesome birthday cake a reality—by letting two cake-masters design a confectionary delight based on the child’s own colourful drawings. Expert bakers are tested to their limit as they create complex and intricate birthday cakes for the most demanding judges of them all: young kids with wild imaginations! Watch as the competition unfolds and the best cake wins.
Coolest Places to Stay Season 2 (6 x 30’; HD; Architect Films) This enchanting series explores the popularity of short-term rentals by giving viewers a peek inside some of the most unique and charming homes. Audiences will meet homeowners who have figured out how to use handcrafted touches and stylized decor to turn their bedrooms into money-making boutique hotels.
Expat Season 2 (12 x 60’; HD; Authentique Productions) This series takes viewers to exotic and legendary locations, where expatriates are creating new lives for themselves. These modern day explorers and long-term travellers have faced challenges and have fascinating stories to tell. The series is about the expats, the true heroes of the show, and they are just a sampling of the ever-increasing number of people who choose to pick up their entire lives and move abroad.
Pridelands: Wilderness Reborn (1 x 60’; 4K & HDR; Alleycats) Join the Hutchinson family – and some amazing elephants, rhinos, lions and leopards – as they take the first step in their mission, transforming a derelict farm in South Africa from a place where animals are hunted to a land where animals rule.
Amazing Animal Friends (6 x 60’; 4K & HDR; Oxford Scientific Films) This heart-warming and fascinating returnable series brings you the most surprising animal friends from around the world. Stories include a duck that won’t enter the water without her Labrador retriever guardian, a very special friendship between a rhino and a lamb and an elephant who thinks she’s a buffalo. The series travels the globe to track down the cutest, funniest and most unusual animal relationships. Audiences will be delighted by the compelling stories behind these bizarre animal bonds, why they have formed and how they help animals find a brighter future.
Malawi Wildlife Rescue (6 x 60’; 4K & HDR; Icon Films) This observational docu-series follows the work of American veterinarian, Dr. Amanda Salb and her colleagues at the country’s only wildlife rescue centre. The team cares for injured and abandoned animals until they are ready to be released back into the wild. The series is shot in Malawi’s rainy season when the centre receives most of its orphans and the staff have their hands full looking after baby vervet monkeys and baboons. Head of Animal Care is Dutch-born, Alma Van Dorenmalen who has years of experience and runs a tight ship. She prides herself in knowing every single one of the two hundred animals at the Centre. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in Africa and resources are hard to come by. The team has to make do with what they can get and often improvise. Power cuts are common and the rains can wreak havoc. Visiting British Vet, Dr Sophie Widdowson, holds the fort whenever Amanda is called away from base – which is fairly often.
Hope For Wildlife Season 10 (10 x 60’; 4K & HDR; Arcadia) Hope Swinimer, her staff and volunteers rescue, rehabilitate and release thousands of animals each year, while struggling to make ends meet. This fan favourite series is an emotionally charged look at what goes wrong when humans encroach on the natural environment. There isn’t always a happy ending, but there is always Hope. All ten seasons include 124, hour-long episodes.
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 3,500 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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