Banijay Group is the world's largest independent content creation Group for television and multimedia platforms. Banijay Group is present in 16 territories.
Banijay Group is the world's largest independent content creation Group for television and multimedia platforms. Banijay Group is present in 16 territories.

Tag Archive: Scenery

  1. Banijay Unveils Compelling Slate Ahead of London TV Screenings

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    Media and entertainment powerhouse, Banijay, today announces a compelling offering for its dedicated London TV Screenings event – Banijay @ BAFTA.

    Hitting the 2024 line-up is the highly-anticipated high-end scripted series Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light; and premium documentary Front Row. Elsewhere, the powerhouse will also be celebrating travelling formats with adventure reality, The Summit; and spin-off, Deal or No Deal Island. Packed with distinct, high-quality programming across all genres, the group’s event will span three sessions on Wednesday 28 February.

    On the scripted front, Banijay’s premium offering includes UK dramas Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light for the BBC and Masterpiece PBS, based on the final novel of Hilary Mantel’s multi award-winning trilogy; The Hardacres for Channel 5; Steven Knight’s This Town for the BBC; Welsh drama The One That Got Away (Cleddau) for S4C; and Invisible Boys for Stan. Buyers can also expect a preview of eagerly-awaited second seasons of Marie Antoinette for Canal+ and the BBC, and Rogue Heroes for the BBC and MGM+.

    Supercharging its documentary offering, Front Row takes centre stage with Anatomy of a Murder and Four Kings for Prime Video.

    To complement the scripted and documentary offering, Banijay will showcase a blend of fresh and highly-entertaining formats including adrenaline-fuelled travelling success The Summit for Nine Network; new spin-off, Deal or No Deal Island created for NBC; adventure reality format and ratings winner Shaolin Heroes for TV2; recent Channel 4 factual reality VOD hit Banged Up; innovative game show Upside Down for RTL4 and The Fortune Hotel for ITV1 and ITVX. A light will also be shone on global superbrands and prized returning formats like Survivor, Big Brother, Star Academy, and reality formats Love Triangle and The Fifty.

    Cathy Payne, CEO at Banijay Rights says: “This year’s line-up for Banijay @ BAFTA truly illuminates the breadth of our catalogue and ability to showcase outstanding content across multiple genres. From high-end dramas to acclaimed factual series, we look forward to coming together later this month to celebrate great talent, captivating storytelling and stand-out IP. We really do have something for everyone…”

    James Townley, Chief Content Officer, Development and Lucas Green, Chief Content Officer, Operations at Banijay comment: “The London TV Screenings provides an incredible opportunity for Banijay to demonstrate its commitment to delivering exciting emerging IP as well as tried and tested formats and reboots, which continue to compel audiences globally. From Shaolin Heroes to The Summit, and iconic format Deal or No Deal, we are sure to enthral buyers seeking fresh, innovative, and proven formats.”

    For its scripted slate, Banijay Rights is highlighting Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, a Playground and Company Pictures co-production directed by Peter Kosminsky, and adapted for television by Peter Straughan, which follows Thomas Cromwell as he navigates the moral complexities of the Tudor court following the execution of Anne Boleyn. Another period drama from Playground in association with Screen Ireland, Red Berry Productions and Newgrange Pictures is new returnable six-part series –The Hardacres- based on CL Skelton’s novel series, The Hardacre Saga.

    Meanwhile, from Kudos and Nebulastar, and co-produced with Mercury Studios, in association with Kudos North, Stigma Films, and Nick Angel for the BBC, the much-anticipated This Town tells the story of an extended family and four young people who are drawn into the world of the ska movement and two-tone music.

    BlackLight Television (a Banijay UK company), in collaboration with Banijay Rights and Creative Wales for S4C, are delving into Welsh drama with The One That Got Away (Cleddau), which combines a gripping murder mystery with an electrifying love story.

    Crossing over to Australia, Invisible Boys from Feisty Dame Productions, Screenwest and Lotterywest, WA Regional Film Fund, Screen Australia, and Banijay Rights for Stan Originals, is a powerful drama created for television by director Nicholas Verso on the challenges faced by a group of gay teens in the remote coastal town of Geraldton.

    In factual, the feature-length premium documentary from Scenery and Pretty Matches, Front Row, Executive Produced by award-winning actor and producer Sarah Jessica Parker, and directed by Miriam Guttmann (Sundance Film Festival selection Seeds of Deceit), highlights the resilience of Ukrainian ballet dancers during wartime, where an unlikely friendship forms between a dancer and a front-line soldier.

    From Workerbee comes two gripping documentaries, Anatomy of a Murder, a feature length true-crime story centring around the daughter of an Iranian family, who has spent over thirty years and millions of her fortune to try and find her mother’s killer; and Four Kings for Prime Video, exploring the history of British boxing through four men coming from the same London neighbourhood who heralded a golden era and changed the way Britain viewed its black athletes.

    Meanwhile, on the reality competition front, The Summit, a 9Network and Endemol Shine Australia original series, produced by Endemol Shine Australia, continues to climb through the ranks with a second season in the works, and a first international adaptation for CBS by Endemol Shine North America with more to come soon.

    From Endemol Shine North America, Deal or No Deal Island completely reimagines the iconic game show as an epic adventure. This new spin-off series for NBC is set on the Banker’s private island as he searches for his ultimate opponent in a high stakes competition with over $200,000,000 up for grabs.

    From Metronome is Shaolin Heroes for TV2 Denmark, where celebrities undertake the ultimate test by embarking on a transformational journey alongside world-class Shaolin Masters.

    Joining Banijay’s factual offering is Banged Up, created by Shine TV for Channel 4. In this fact-ent format social experiment, which veers into the documentary space, six male celebrity inmates are incarcerated in a UK prison environment alongside their reformed criminal cellmates. The series explores the question, ‘does prison work’?

    From EndemolShine Nederland, Upside Down sees two celebrity teams undertake all kinds of topsy turvy challenges and Q&A games unlike anything they have seen before, because everything in this innovative format, is upside down.

    Highly-anticipated reality series The Fortune Hotel from Tuesday’s Child for ITV1 and ITVX invites viewers into a luxury Caribbean resort filled with glamour, opulence and deception. Contestants are paired up and compete to win a briefcase, one holding the ultimate cash prize and another an Early Checkout Card.

  2. Scenery Announces Formula 1 Docu-Series Max Verstappen – Off the Beaten Track

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    Media and entertainment powerhouse, Banijay, today announces Scenery, a joint venture with Banijay Benelux, will produce Max Verstappen – Off the Beaten Track for Viaplay. The series, a collaboration between Scenery, Viaplay and Verstappen, offers unique glimpses into the life of the three-time Formula 1 world champion, and comes off the success of last year’s acclaimed documentary, Max Verstappen- Anatomy of a Champion.

    Max Verstappen – Off the Beaten Track presents a unique opportunity for viewers to explore Verstappen’s passions beyond the F1 circuit, providing intimate insights into his character and race craft. Through three 30-minute episodes, director Nick Hoedeman unveils a hidden side of Verstappen not captured by other cameras ever before. Each episode highlights a different aspect of Verstappen’s passion beyond the F1 track, and in this more intimate setting, the series gains a deeper understanding of this global superstar and his love for racing.

    Max Verstappen: “This series shows a side that often remains unseen during the moments on the Formula 1 circuit. ‘Off the Beaten Track’ gives a glimpse of my life, my love for different forms of motorsport and the people who inspire me. I’m proud to collaborate with Viaplay in bringing this unique series to viewers.”

    Isidoor Roebers, Scenery Founder and Producer comments: “We reflect with immense pride on the remarkable journey of creating this series for Viaplay and Max Verstappen. Together with director Nick Hoedeman, our dedicated team crafted a truly distinctive series, filmed on location in Monaco, Las Vegas, Austria, Italy, and Amsterdam. Through this captivating documentary, it has been an honour to delve into the life of Max, a perspective that few have had the privilege to witness.”

    Peter Nørrelund, Viaplay Group EVP and Chief Sports & Business Development Officer says: “Our collaboration with Max Verstappen on Off the Beaten Track is a testament to our commitment to delivering exclusive and captivating content. In this series, we’ve opened the doors to a side of Max that goes beyond the fast-paced world of Formula 1. This isn’t just about racing; it’s about uncovering the essence of a global superstar. We are thrilled to offer viewers an intimate look into Max’s passions and pursuits outside the circuit, highlighting the depth of his character, and the fervour that fuels his success. We’re proud to present this unique and compelling series that adds another dimension to Max Verstappen”.

    The news follows Banijay’s recent launch of Banijay Sports, which signalled its ambitions to grow across sportainment, documentary and digital, via new partnerships, content investments and M&A.

  3. Scenery Partners with Sarah Jessica Parker and Banijay Rights on Front Row

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    Scenery, a joint venture with Banijay Benelux, today announces it is partnering with Sarah Jessica Parker’s Pretty Matches Productions on Front Row, a feature-length premium documentary following a group of talented Ukrainian ballet dancers, produced in collaboration with Banijay Rights. The Emmy-award winning producer and actress will serve, alongside The Ruderman Foundation, as Executive Producer with Scenery (Human Playground for Netflix) producing.

    Front Row is directed by Miriam Guttmann (multi-award-winning director of Seeds of Deceit) and is represented globally by Banijay Rights, the global distribution arm of media and entertainment powerhouse Banijay.

    In this extraordinary feature, Guttmann follows a group of Ukrainian dancers in exile, as they form a new ballet company, ‘United Ukrainian Ballet’. While performing Alexei Ratmanskiy’s version of ‘Giselle’ in Washington D.C., Alexis, one of the leading ballet dancers, befriends Oleksandr, a front-line soldier, who lost both his legs in battle on the Ukrainian border with Russia. A friendship forms and Oleksandr is welcomed into the rest of the ballet company. Subsequently joining the ballet company, he remains even more determined to dance with his disability.

    A tale of adversity, the devastation of war remains evident through video calls between the dancers and their families back home, contributing to a deep sense of survival guilt among the dancers, especially given Oleksandr’s condition. Through collaborative choreography and performances, the Front Row, and the front line, symbolically merge, emphasising the strength and resilience of everyone involved.

    Sarah Jessica Parker is an award-winning actor, producer, and businesswoman. Parker starred as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City (1998-2004), a role she reprised on the HBO Max show And Just Like That which premiered in 2021. Parker served as an executive producer for both series. She recently starred on Broadway opposite her husband, Matthew Broderick, in the revival of one of the great American comedies, ‘Plaza Suite’, which will be showing at London’s Savoy Theatre for the very first time from Wednesday, January 17th through Sunday, March 31st.

    Parker also currently serves as a Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors for the New York City Ballet.

    Sarah Jessica Parker, Executive Producer, Pretty Matches Productions: “Front Row puts perseverance and the human condition on display against the punishing backdrop of war. Giving these dancers an international platform to tell their stories through the power, beauty and grit of ballet is a profound honor.” 

    Isidoor Roebers, Founder and Producer Scenery: “Front Row is set to be a fascinating insight into the world of ballet, showcasing the unwavering determination and dedication of a group of dancers from Ukraine. Front Row is a nuanced and multi-layered piece, giving a sneak peek into an untapped world of dance and adversity. Sarah Jessica’s involvement in the project, thanks to our partnership with CAA, will undoubtedly add an enriching and inspiring dimension, making it an unmissable title for buyers around the globe.”

    Simon Cox, EVP Content & Acquisitions, Banijay Rights, said: “We were captivated to join Scenery in producing this incredible story from the outset and now with the equally passionate Sarah Jessica Parker on board, we are excited to present this feature documentary to the international market.”

    Front Row is made possible with the support of the Netherlands Film Production Incentive and Banijay Rights, which will globally distribute the title. Sarah Jessica Parker and Alison Benson executive produce for Pretty Matches Productions, with co-executive producer Claire Demere and associate producer Gaby Edwards. The film is supported by executive producers The Ruderman Foundation and Bart Meuter.

    The film is currently in postproduction and is expected to be complete in early 2024.

    The project joins Banijay’s prestigious slate of documentaries unveiled for MIPCOM 2023.

  4. Scenery Bolsters Management Team

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    Content powerhouse Banijay Benelux, today announces a new senior appointment at Amsterdam-based documentary label, Scenery, with Anouk Kamminga joining the acclaimed producer’s management team as Head of Non-Scripted in October.

    In this new position, Kamminga will be responsible for building the company’s strategy together with Founder/ Producer Isidoor Roebers, Partner/ Producer Lea Fels and Strategy Director Naique Tanate, and will have a specific remit to ensure the continuity and quality of all productions.

    She joins Scenery from VPRO, where she was a Chief Editor, and during her time at the company she developed and produced a wide range of programmes across multiple genres including knowledge and education, youth and drama. Credits include compelling documentaries Obada and Pisnicht the Movie, among others. During her time at VPRO, Kamminga championed talent development and led the successful talent project Dorst.

    Lea Fels, Partner/Producer at Scenery says: “Anouk has enormous passion and expertise in developing original and innovative programmes, with an eye for detail, and the ability to discover and nurture talent. She has an excellent industry reputation and we’re extremely pleased she is joining Scenery this autumn.”

    Anouk Kamminga, Head of Non-Scripted at Scenery says: “Scenery has an impressive portfolio of titles, both under its belt, and currently in production. The company is known for its high-quality programmes and documentaries which highlight the important issues of our time. Each project ambitiously pushes the boundaries, and I’m excited to become part of the story by joining Isidoor, Lea and Naique on the management team.”

    The Amsterdam-based media company is behind a range of high-profile projects across multiple platforms including Netflix, Universal, Amazon Prime, NPO, Videoland and Youku. Credits include Human Playground, Spaceship Earth, Ruud Gullit and the Mysterious of Ancient Egypt, Floortje Travels Along, Front Row and Lara.

  5. Banijay Rights and Scenery Join Forces on Lara vs. Escobar

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    Banijay Rights today announces a partnership with Banijay Benelux joint venture Scenery on Lara vs. Escobar, a brand-new premium feature documentary that recounts the extraordinary reconciliation story behind Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar’s most famous assassination.

    From BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning director Mags Gavan, Lara vs. Escobar delves into the investigation of the 1984 Escobar-backed murder of Colombia’s Minister of Justice Rodrigo Lara – seen through the eyes of the politician’s son, Jorge Lara.

    Upon learning of his father’s death, Jorge was initially out for revenge. But a twist of fate led him to reconcile with his father’s murderer’s son – Juan Pablo Escobar – and discover they had more in common than they thought: united through childhoods that were ruined by the dark worlds of narcotics.

    Told in a double narrative weaving between past and present, this premium film combines a story of compassion and hope between the two men’s sons as they strive to change the legacies they were dealt as children, while following Jorge’s mission to close the case of his father’s assassination.

    Lara vs. Escobar is produced by Scenery, a joint venture with Banijay Benelux, and is distributed globally by Banijay Rights. The feature will be presented to buyers at MIPCOM in Cannes next week.

    Simon Cox, EVP Content Acquisitions, Banijay Rights, said: “Our expansion into the premium feature documentary space is led by this extraordinary modern-day story as told by Scenery and amazing director Mags Gavan – and with no hesitation we decided to take this gripping project to market. Escobar vs. Lara is a reconciliation tale like no other, bringing two of the unlikeliest of friends together to find common ground, with a plot as powerful of some of the world’s best dramas. We’re excited to present this project to our potential partners at MIPCOM next week.”

     Mags Gavan, Director, Lara vs. Escobar, said: “This film was a passion project which I knew I had to make. I dedicated over a decade to getting access to this important story. I started the most inspiring journey which also took me through the worst tragedy whilst developing this film. It’s going to take the audience on the same emotional rollercoaster but hopefully leave them in better, more hopeful place”.

    Lea Fels, Partner at Scenery, said: “The combination of this special project, the collaboration with Mags Gavan and this unique story that we want to bring to a worldwide audience, fits seamlessly with Scenery’s portfolio. We are therefore very proud that Mags entrusted us to start this project with her.”

    Lara vs. Escobar comes on the heels of Scenery and Banijay UK-owned Workerbee’s six-part Netflix docu-series, Human Playground, which launched in 193 territories last month. Narrated by Idris Elba, the high-end docu-series focuses on the origin and evolution of exceptional sports around the world.

    At MIPCOM, Banijay will unveil an impressive range of titles for its autumn slate including format highlights Starstruck, Blow Up, Love Triangle, Le Plus Grand Karaoké de France and MasterChef: Young Talent and Banijay Rights-fronted premium scripted titles: Marie Antoinette, Rogue Heroes, Bali 2002, Serial Lover, and third-party dramas Stonehouse and Riches. These break-out autumn highlights complement the 130,000 hours of globally renowned, stand-out IP within Banijay’s expansive travelling catalogue.

     Visit us at C.20 in front of the steps of the Palais des Festivals.

  6. Human Playground Narrated by Idris Elba Launches on Netflix

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    Human Playground, the six-part Netflix docu-series about the origins and evolution of the most unique sports around the world, will launch internationally in 193 countries on Friday, September 30, 2022. Dutch label Scenery and Manchester- based company, both Banijay companies, have joined forces to co-produce the high-end series, which is narrated by Idris Elba, who also serves as an Executive Producer. The series also brings together editor of BBC Earth & Our Planet, director Tomas Kaan and photographer and creator Hannelore Vandenbussche.

    The high-end docu-series is about the origin and evolution of exceptional sports around the world. From centuries-old rituals to billion-dollar businesses. In six episodes, narrator Idris Elba takes viewers around the world to discover: Why We Play.  The visual spectacle Human Playground dives into the world of, among others, the unique robot camel races in the United Arab Emirates, Big Wave surfing in Nazaré Portugal and Eagle Hunting in Kyrgyzstan.

    Tomas Kaan, Director of Human Playground says: “I knew we had something to grab when we decided to use play as a lens to examine ourselves – the playing human being. However, I could not have imagined in advance how many sides this story has to it. All those smells and colors, emotions, and cultures. Blood and sweat splashing against the lens. Human Playground was an unforgettable adventure in every way.”

    Isidoor Roebers, Producer Human Playground and founder of Scenery says: “After four years of shooting under all kinds of conditions in 25 countries during a pandemic, we are extremely proud of the end result of this Netflix docu-series. The thought that this series will soon be shown all over the world still feels unreal.”

    Rick Murray, Executive Producer and Managing Director of Workerbee says: “When Scenery introduced us to this project it felt like a perfect fit for Idris as narrator, and for Netflix. We are delighted to have helped get the project off the ground, the team in Amsterdam are world class and we hope to work with them again in the not-too-distant future”

    The idea for the series started originally in the form of a book by creator Hannelore Vandenbussche, who was inspired during her work as the assistant photographer on the highly successful photobook: Before they pass away. She has made it her mission to portray the most special sports in the world. “Human Playground takes a look at the most impressive playing fields in the world and shows how far people are willing to go when it comes to playing a game. Human Playground is not just about sports, it’s about what makes us human,” says Hannelore Vandenbussche.

    Thanks to Scenery’s partner in China, Content Connected, Human Playground will also launch on the largest Chinese streamer Youku later this year, bringing the docu-series to more than 1 billion people. It is the first Dutch-produced documentary series to launch worldwide on Netflix. In line with the series, there will also be an exclusive coffee table photo book (published by TeNeues), various art prints, and several art exhibitions will be organized. Among others during UNSEEN, the international photography fair.