NITV have announced that they have agreed on a deal with the London-based production company Rankin Film Productions (RFP) that started in 2011 as the Collabor8te scheme. Initially eight projects from writers, and writer/directors in both the UK and Ireland were selected and given production finance. These titles have now reached the end of their run on the international festival circuit, some of them, like the animated short ‘The Hungry Corpse’, with considerable success. NITV will now be handling these films for international distribution to TV and VOD platforms worldwide.
Managing Director, Derry O’Brien explains, “We saw the first series of Collabor8te shorts 9 months ago because two of our filmmaking clients had been selected to make their new films under this scheme. I was immediately impressed with the overall quality of these shorts and approached Rankin Film Productions in London about representing them. They wanted the first series of films to complete their festival run before any sales effort was started. This has now commenced and NITV are confident in the commercial appeal of these superior shorts, featuring such well known actors as Bill Nighy, Toby Jones, Stephen Mangan, Marc Warren and rising stars like Laura Haddock and Robert Emms.”
There is also a four part TV series that has been built around these eight Collabor8te films, a which Sky Arts will broadcast this summer. Each 45 minute programme of ‘Rankin Presents Collabor8te - The Television Series’ features a screening of two shorts, followed by the acclaimed photographer and director Rankin interviewing two of the filmmakers from each film in the Sky Studios (interviewees include either the Director, Writer, Director of Photography, Producer or Actor). These insightful interviews go behind the scenes on each production to give a unique insight into the craft of filmmaking. Following its premiere on Sky Arts this summer, the series will be available for international broadcast.
Under this deal just agreed, not only will NITV handle sales distribution for the first season of Collabor8te, but they will also be co-ordinating the initial festival distribution for the second season of the scheme which has just completed production, two of which are directed by Irish writers/directors and produced in Ireland and a third stars Brian Gleeson.
O’Brien says, “It is a pleasure to work with such a professional outfit which puts the needs and interests of the filmmakers first, and strives to find and fund accessible and stylish short films with built in audience appeal.”
NITV also had success at MIPTV this year, with interest expressed by several broadcasters in a number of new documentaries which the firm launched. The 13 part series, Science Squad has just been acquired for distribution in the MENA (Middle East, North Africa) territories among other areas, while 2x1 hour documentary Scottish Travellers was also considered by a number of international broadcasters. Olympusat agreed on a deal for four independent features, including Irish produced titles ‘Cupcake’ and ‘The Pier’. Foxtel Australia finalised a deal to license the docudrama series, ‘Convict Women’ and ‘Orphans’. Last but not least, NITV agreed to license a large package of short films (up to 10 hours) to London-based Shorts International, for their HD shorts channels in the US and in Europe.
