DISCOP and Sunny Side of the Doc 2010: a thrilling reception for united docs’ historical documentaries
Cologne/Budapest/La Rochelle, 7 July 2010 – The united docs sales department is very satisfied with its reception at the 2010 DISCOP, Eastern Europe’s most significant TV trade fair, where it again found favorable conditions for its offering of documentaries. Historical documentaries sold particularly well. The Czech Republic bought ten hours of programming, including “The 1990s: Reunification of a Nation” (2 x 52’). Russia licenced seven hours of historical documentaries. A total of 27 hours of programming – including nine episodes of mare TV – were sold to Croatia. The most successful offering was the five-part HD series “Pioneers Turned Millionaires” (5x52’), which was sold to Australia, New Zealand, China, USA, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Italy and France. united docs’ latest productions also generated a great amount of international interest, including the current affairs documentary “Golden Age? The Duplicitous Gold Trade” (45’) and “The Jewish Lobby” (45’), which examine aspects of the global economic crisis. Among historical documentaries, highlights included “American Germany” (45’) and “To Russia with Jazz” (45’/90’).
“Our historical documentaries are popular with international programming buyers,” said Silke Spahr, managing director of united docs. “Relations between the East and the West are a very interesting topic. And there is still a great need for information – not only in the countries formerly behind the Iron Curtain. TV documentaries examining historical events in an international context can play an important role in bringing the world’s peoples together and promoting understanding.”
The best example of this is the success of the documentary “To Russia with Jazz”, which deals with the first concert tour by an American big band in the Soviet Union. Back in 1962, at the height of the Cold War, 19 jazz musicians under the musical direction of Benny Goodman thrilled some 180,000 fans in Moscow, Sochi, Tiflis, Tashkent, Leningrad and Kiev. The 30 jazz concerts were the Americans’ answer to Kruschev’s “culture offensive,” which had dispatched Soviet dancers and pianists to destinations around the globe. It was a power struggle between the two arch enemies, each of which was attempting to expand its socio-cultural influence and win over the hearts and minds of the people.
