MIPTV: London-based indie distributor TVF International are in Cannes for the last ever MipTV this week with a factual slate that includes history, true crime and celebrity biography projects.
TVF’s slate includes science documentary hosted by comedian Mae Martin, Fluid: Life Beyond the Binary (1×48’). The CBC Nature of Things commission comes from Kensington Communications and explores the science of gender and sexual fluidity in both the natural and human world.
The Good Virus (1×52’/ 1×80’) from ID Productions and Matter of Fact Media, is an observational documentary commissioned by Canadian telco Telus which takes viewers to the frontlines of phage therapy research.
Expanding its aerial catalogue, TVF is welcoming a new 4K series from Zona Mixta, Castles From Above (4×52’). The series takes viewers on an aerial journey through France, Italy, Austria, and Romania, visiting their castles from the air.
From New Zealand disability-first production company Attitude Pictures comes new factual entertainment format, Four Go Flatting (5×45’). The TVNZ series follows four young men with intellectual disabilities as they move out of their family homes for the first time, to live with flatmates.
TVF are launching two new true crime series from Law&Crime Productions. Behind the Crime (4×60’) uses real case footage to take viewers behind the scenes from crime to investigation and trial to verdict in some of the USA’s most high-profile murder cases, including the murder of Grammy Award-winning rapper, Nipsey Hussle.
The Trials of Kyle Rittenhouse (2×45/1×85) examines the infamous case of teenager Kyle Rittenhouse, who fatally shot two people at a Black Lives Matter protest in Wisconsin in 2020, but was found not guilty of murder. The investigative documentary uncovers new evidence and features exclusive interviews with Rittenhouse himself, and his mother.
In History, TVF’s slate includes 1979: The Year of the Islamist Revolution (2×50’) from OR Media, a miniseries chronicling the critical events of 1979 in the Middle East from the Iranian Revolution to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, which marked the beginning of a global jihadi uprising and culminated in the 9/11 attacks. A+E Networks’ series Weird Britain (12×45’) explores the strange legends, unsolved mysteries, and supernatural histories of Britain.
Crowning TVF’s new wildlife slate is new 4K underwater series from Gran Angular, Weird Ocean Creatures (10×48’), showcasing a variety of weird and wonderful underwater creatures.
Returning for MipTV is the second season of wildlife and conservation series Shamwari Untamed (10×29’) from Tracks Multimedia, and new episodes of Eco-Heroines (2×52’) from Pronto Prod.
In celebrity and biography, TVF is revealing the lesser-known side of Hollywood icon in Marlon Brando: In Paradise (1×52’) from Berlin-Producers, in time for what would have been his 100th birthday.
TVF’s world affairs slate includes the ZDF/Arte commissioned Supernova: The Music Festival Massacre (1×32’/1×52’) from award-winning production company Gebrüder Beetz, which combines first responder and survivor testimony with eyewitness footage to provide a harrowing account of the October 7 massacre carried out by Hamas at the Supernova music festival.
Elsewhere in world affairs, documentaries from Singapore-based Mediacorp include MH370: A Decade On (1×48’) which investigates the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370, Panda Power: Rise of the Furry Diplomats (2×48’) about live-animal diplomatic gifts, and China and the Global South: China’s Role in the Middle East (1×48’). Investigative docuseries, VeraCity (14×44’) returns with four new episodes, featuring new episodes on illegal cosmetic surgery and romantic fraud, among others.
Sports documentary from Good Thing Productions, Australia’s Open (2×45’/1×90’), which premiered on ABC and ESPN early this year, goes inside the Grand Slam tournament and relives its most electrifying moments including the Williams sisters’ finals clash, the controversial deportation of Djokovic in 2022 and the treatment of its Indigenous players.