Vienna (OTS) – From June 24th to 27th, 2024, La Rochelle once again became a center of attraction for the broadcaster and content world at the 35th edition of the “Sunny Side of the Doc” festival. For more than 30 years, the festival has been an important event for the international documentary scene and an established platform for initiating and financing co-productions. At the anniversary edition of this leading festival for documentary films, ORF Enterprise impressed the international audience with ORF “Universum History”.
In terms of content, the founders, Olivier Masson and Yves Jeanneau, dedicated the anniversary edition to the future of the documentary genre and dealt with new trends such as immersive experiences or augmented reality that will shape and transform the industry in the coming years. More than 2,000 trade visitors from more than 1,000 companies from 70 countries spent four days focusing on the future of documentary films in around 80 panels and discussions. More than 330 current productions were presented as part of the festival and provided an overview of current trends.
ORF and ORF-Enterprise are sought-after cooperation partners
At the popular aperitif, the ORF Enterprise Content Sales International team, led by Armin Luttenberger, got the experts in the mood for new ORF “universe” highlights. What caused a stir this year was the glossy productions from ORF “Universum History”, which have been informatively classifying and explaining historical events and personalities for more than ten years.
“High-quality productions such as the ORF “Universum” nature and history documentaries, whose quality is internationally recognized and in high demand, are prime examples of multinational collaboration between public broadcasters. ORF-Enterprise’s excellent networking through its long-standing presence at events such as the ‘Sunny Side of the Doc’ contributes to such cross-border collaboration, from which both the audience and the domestic production landscape benefit,” emphasizes ORF-Enterprise CEO Oliver Böhm.
“With ORF ‘Universum’, Austria has made a name for itself in the world of TV documentaries for more than 30 years. The demand from broadcasters and streaming providers worldwide for these high-gloss productions remains high. The ORF and the ORF Enterprise are sought-after partners for co-productions and reliable suppliers of content in the highest quality segment. ORF’s ‘Universum History’ makes an important contribution to understanding, experiencing and classifying human history, especially in turbulent times marked by multiple crises,” says Armin Luttenberger, Head of Content Sales International at ORF Enterprise.
“Our history does not stop at national borders, it is interwoven with major global events. In ORF’s ‘Universum History’ we explore this together with our international partners and examine its regional significance for the Austrian audience. “In this way, together we are able to take a multi-perspective look at the major historical turning points,” adds Caroline Haidacher, head of ORF “Universum History”.
ORF “Universum History” highlights are making waves on the Atlantic coast with this year’s focus on piracy
In La Rochelle, the international experts gained insights into “Pirates of the Mediterranean – Piracy, Kidnapping and Slavery” (co-production by ORF, ARTE, e&a film and Urban Canyons with support from Fernsehenfonds Austria, VAM, Creative Malta and Screen Malta in collaboration with ORF -Enterprise), the two-part series “Rebels on the High Seas – Women under the Skull Flag” (co-production by ORF, NDR/ARTE, RTBF, France 3 Corse, Amour Fou and Goyaves SAS with the support of Filmfonds Luxemburg in collaboration with ORF-Enterprise) , “The Eternal Emperor – The True Story of Franz Joseph” (co-production by ORF, ZDF/ARTE, pre TV and Berlin Producers with the support of the Austrian Television Fund), “Maria Theresa’s Dark Side – The Expulsion of the Jews from Prague” (co-production by ORF, BR, Česká televize and epo-film in collaboration with ARTE and ORF-Enterprise and with the support of Filmfonds Austria and Filmfonds Wien), the two-part series “Forbidden Desire – Milestones of Queer History” (co-production by ORF, ZDF/ARTE and V- Set in collaboration with the ORF-Enterprise and with the support of TV Fund Austria, Filmfonds Vienna and the State of Lower Austria) as well as “Uprising in the Brothel” (co-production by ORF, NDR/ARTE and NGF Geyrhalter Film in collaboration with the ORF-Enterprise and with the support of Film Fund Austria, Film Fund Vienna and the State of Lower Austria).
Further information about “Sunny Side of the Doc” can be found here https://www.sunnysideofthedoc.com
About ORF Enterprise
As the ORF’s marketing subsidiary, the ORF Enterprise is exclusively responsible for marketing all national media offerings from the leading Austrian media group. The portfolio includes, among other things, four television stations (ORF 1, ORF 2, ORF III Culture and Information, ORF SPORT +), three national radio stations (Ö1, Hitradio Ö3, radio FM4), the print magazine ORF gleanings, and the entire digital offering on ORF .at, the streaming platform ORF ON and the ORF TELETEXT. In the Content Sales International and Licensing and Media Cooperations division, ORF content and brands are licensed worldwide. The ORF-Enterprise also operates the ORF-Enterprise music publishing house and its own record label. The company is the national representative of leading international creative festivals such as “Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity” and organizer of the national award ORF-AWARDS. The management consists of Oliver Böhm (CEO, advertising marketing, content exploitation) and Heinz Mosser (CFO, finance and administration, music publishing & label, sound & vision, ORF review). ORF Enterprise is a 100 percent subsidiary of the ORF media group. Further information on https://enterprise.ORF.at, https://contentsales.ORF.at and https://musikverlag.ORF.at
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