The world’s best documentary filmmakers tell the world’s greatest stories:SKY ATLANTIC DOCUMENTARY FILMS
SKY ATLANTIC DOCUMENTARY FILMS, a season of brand new documentaries from award-winning filmmakers, will receive their UK premieres on Sky Atlantic HD from early November.
From exploring the online identity of today’s young people to probing the mindset of a mass murderer, the season will uncover some of the most compelling stories in our world today, as told by acclaimed filmmakers such as Lucy Walker, Joshua Oppenheimer and Beeban Kidron.
The first season of SKY ATLANTIC DOCUMENTARY FILMS launches with THE CRASH REEL, from double Academy Award nominated director, Lucy Walker. An intimate portrait of American champion snowboarder, Kevin Pearce, the film opened the Sundance Film Festival to widespread critical acclaim.
Following this is Joshua Oppenheimer’s hallucinatory journey deep into the imaginations of mass-murderers, THE ACT OF KILLING. The third film in the strand is BAFTA-winning director Beeban Kidron’s INREALLIFE, an exploration into how modern youths create a sense of identity, both sexual and social in an increasingly connected online world.
The fourth film to receive its UK television premiere is AI WEI WEI: NEVER SORRY, in which first-time director Alison Klayman gains unprecedented access to China’s most famous international artist.
The penultimate film, SEDUCED AND ABANDONED, follows the efforts ofAcademy Award nominated director James Toback and actor Alec Baldwin as they travel to Cannes to attempt to secure financing for a movie, armed with only an idea. Closing the season is MANHUNT, the real story behind the 2011 raid which led to the death of Osama Bin Laden.
Sky Atlantic is spearheading Sky’s commitment to factual programming, as part of its significant commitment to original content with this major new investment in feature-length documentary films for customers. The films will be shown each year in two-blocks of six, in Autumn and Spring, and will be directed and produced by some of the leading lights in the global documentary field.
Customers will be able to watch the films on the channel as well as via Sky’s On Demand services, and through Sky’s multiplatform TV service Sky Go, offering customers greater choice over when, where and how they watch.
Elaine Pyke, Director of Sky Atlantic commented:
“Sky Atlantic is the home of great storytelling, and it was important to me that we didn’t forget documentaries when presenting our customers with world-class, cinematic stories. The six films in the first block of Sky Atlantic Documentary Films are diverse and compelling, but most importantly they all have a great story to tell; stories that needed a feature length documentary to do them justice. ”
Celia Taylor, Head of Factual, added:
“Breaking into the world of theatrical feature documentaries from a cold start was a huge, and daunting, challenge. But in a relatively short time we have achieved an incredible line up for the first batch. The film maker talent and producers we are working with are of a stellar quality and the films are extraordinary and brilliant. I am extremely chuffed and proud to be able to premiere these films for our customers on Sky Atlantic where they will be valued and cherished.”
SKY ATLANTIC DOCUMENTARY FILMS: BLOCK 1
THE CRASH REEL
An eye-popping, yet intimate story of American champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce, THE CRASH REEL opened this year’s Sundance Film Festival to huge critical acclaim.
A hot contender for the 2010 Winter Olympics, Pearce took a massive fall during a training run on the half-pipe, leaving him with a traumatic brain injury. His tight-knit Vermont family flew to his side, and helped him rebuild his shattered life. Kevin’s determination and the unstinting support of family and friends meant he made huge strides in his recovery, but when he insisted he wanted to return to the sport he loved, his family objected, knowing that even a small blow to the head could kill him.
Using years of verité footage, two-time Academy Award nominated director Lucy Walker sets out to expose the potentially high price of participating in extreme action sports and sheds light on the alarming trend of athletes pushing the boundaries of their sports past the limit in their pursuit of sporting glory.
Winner: Audience Award, South by Southwest Film Festival
Winner: Audience Award, 2013 Dallas International Film Festival
Official Selection: 2013 Sundance Film Festival
THE ACT OF KILLING
The documentary sees filmmakers examine a country where death squad leaders are celebrated as heroes. The filmmakers challenge unrepentant death squad leaders to dramatize their role in genocide in whichever cinematic genre they wish. The hallucinatory result is a cinematic fever dream, an unsettling journey deep into the imaginations of mass-murderers and the shockingly banal regime of corruption and impunity they inhabit.
THE ACT OF KILLING is a film by Joshua Oppenheimer, executive produced by Errol Morris, Werner Herzog and André Singer
Berlin Film Festival 2013 – Panorama Audience Award
Berlin Film Festival 2013 – Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
Sheffield Doc/Fest 2013 – Grand Prize
INREALLIFE
BAFTA winning director BEEBAN KIDRON (Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason) explores what it is like to grow up in public, and how modern youths create a sense of identity. In a world where each western teen is the subject of their own virtual world, an object of others and, at all times, a spectator of all, the film poses the question of how the scrutiny and public nature of the modern world impact on the creation of identity.
BSKYB and The British Film Institute present INREALLIFE, a Cross Street Films/Studio Lambert production.
AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY
The film tells the inside story of a dissident for the digital age who inspires global audiences and blurs the boundaries of art and politics. First-time director Alison Klayman gained unprecedented access to China’s most famous international artist, Ai, while working as a journalist in China. Her detailed portrait provides a nuanced exploration of contemporary China and one of its most compelling public figures, as well its most outspoken domestic critic.
AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY is an Artificial Eye film, in association with Sky Atlantic, directed by Alison Klayman.
Winner: Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize 2012
Winner: Nantucket Film Festival Best Documentary Storytelling 2012
SEDUCED AND ABANDONED
Shot at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, SEDUCED AND ABANDONED follows JAMES TOBACK, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Bugsy, and his friend ALEC BALDWIN as they embark on a troublesome and hilarious journey on the Croisette, trying to raise financing for a new project whilst assessing the current state of the film industry. The film provides a unique look behind the curtain at Cannes, shining a light on the bittersweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and features insights from the likes of Martin Scorsese, Bernardo Bertolucci, Roman Polanski, Francis Ford Coppola, Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain.
SEDUCED AND ABANDONED is a Michael Mailer Films production, directed by James Toback and produced by Michael Mailer, Alec Baldwin and James Toback.
MANHUNT
Directed byEmmy®-nominee and former war correspondent Greg Barker (Sergio), MANHUNT tells the story of the 2011 raid on Abbottabad, Pakistan that culminated in the killing of Osama bin Laden took 40 minutes. The CIA’s hunt for bin Laden took two decades. An official selection of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, MANHUNT tells the remarkable true story of the nearly 20-year pursuit of the world’s most notorious terrorist.
Produced by Passion Pictures and Motto Pictures for HBO Documentary Films, MANHUNT is based on the book Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden – from 9/11 to Abbottabad by author and executive producer PeterBergen, produced by John Battsek (Searching For Sugar Man, The Imposter), Julie Goldman (Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry) and Greg Barker.
Official Selection: Sundance Film Festival
Nominated: Emmy Award, Outstanding Documentary or Non-Fiction Special, 2013
Nominated: Emmy Award, Outstanding Cinematography for Non-Fiction programming, 2013
The new documentary films for SKY ATLANTIC form part of Sky’s on-going drive to bring more high-quality, exclusive content to customers and are supported by its commitment to increase investment in home-grown programming to £600 million by 2014, an increase of more than 50% over three years.
Notes to editor
For more information please contact:
Luke Morrison
Publicity Manager, Sky Atlantic HD
T : +44 (0)20 7032 1479
M : +44 (0)7584 580 026
luke.morrison@bskyb.com
www.skypressoffice.co.uk
Follow us on Twitter @skyatlantic
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