In today’s Global Bulletin, Screen Ireland gets a 52% budget boost for 2021, Ovation TV picks up four Canadian series, Fremantle will distribute “Day Zero” and All3Media sells “Roadkill” in key territories.
FUNDING
Catherine Martin, Ireland’s minister for tourism, culture, arts, Gaeltacht, sport and media, has announced a €9 million ($10.56 million) increase in funding to Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, the national development agency for film, television and animation industries. It’s the largest funding award the agency has ever received, and a direct result of the impact COVID-19 has had on the region’s audiovisual industry.
The agency’s capital budget now sits at €26.2 million ($30.75 million) for 2021, an increase of 52% from its 2020 budget allocation. Including administration, the full budget now comes to €30.09 million ($35.31, million).
Additionally, the Regional Uplift tax credit has been extended to help elevate production activity and create jobs within the industry.
Ireland has experienced a tremendous period of growth in both the live action and animation sectors in recent years, with the animation industry quadrupling in size over the past decade and scoring several Oscar nominations. Recent successes take in Element Pictures’ TV series “Normal People” for Hulu and RTÉ One, Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart’s animated feature “Wolfwalkers” for Apple TV Plus, Lorcan Finnegan’s Cannes Critics’ Week player “Vivarium” and many others.
Normal People
Endeavor Content
DISTRIBUTION
Munich-based distribution company Beta Film has signed its first deal with Ovation TV in the U.S. for linear and AVOD rights to four Canadian scripted series, expanding on the broadcaster’s strong tradition of importing high-end drama from their northern neighbors.
The deal includes two seasons of CBC’s real-life inspired police-medical series “Cracked,” detective drama “King,” and “Remedy,” set in Toronto’s Bethune General Hospital. Ovation also picks up one season of “Street Legal,” a courtroom drama reboot of its eponymous 1980s-1990s predecessor, featuring returning lead actor Cynthia Dale.
In total, Ovation TV is getting 68 hours of content that the network will air in 2021.
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Fremantle has closed an international distribution deal on Tencent, Keo Films and OoS Pictures’ prestige conservation documentary “Day Zero.”
Co-directed by Emmy winner Kevin Sim and Virginia Quinn, Chiwetel Ejiofor narrates the film, shot over a three-year period with the aim of shining a light on the frontline workers devoted to addressing the rapidly building global water crisis. Will Pugh (“McQueen”) was DoP and Marcy Cox produced for Keo Films.
“Day Zero” features interviews with top scientists and experts in the field of water conservation to emphasize how large the problem has already become and forecast a desperate future without drastic and urgent intervention.
PRE-SALES
All3Media International has closed a raft of pre-sales for “Roadkill,” an upcoming political thriller produced by The Forge and starring Hugh Laurie and Helen MaCrory, commissioned by BBC One in the U.K. and PBS Masterpiece in the U.S.
Programme Name: Roadkill – TX: n/a – Episode: Roadkill – Generics (No. n/a) – Picture Shows: Peter Laurence (HUGH LAURIE) – (C) The Forge – Photographer: Robert Viglasky
BBC/The Forge/Robert Viglasky
“Roadkill” was picked up by HBO in the CEE region, Nordics and Portugal and ABC in Australia for first window, ABC Commercial for home entertainment and Stan for SVOD. KT Hitel has picked up the series in Korea, TVNZ for first window in New Zealand, NPO (Netherlands), Magenta TV (Germany) Intervision (Greece and Cyprus), Kinopoisk (Russia and the CIS), Siminn hf (Iceland), Telefónica (Spain). In the U.K. and Eire Dazzler Media picked home entertainment rights.
Set to premiere in the U.K. on Oct. 18, the series also features as part of this year’s Mipcom online screenings.