PRESALES / SPRING 2019 CONTENTS HISTORY & CIVILIZATIONS 4 SCIENCE & KNOWLEDGE 14 NATURAL HISTORY 20 DISCOVERY 23 INVESTIGATION & POLITICS 25 ART & CULTURE 26 4 HISTORY & CIVILIZATIONS BRINGING THE GREATEST CITIES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD BACK TO LIFE. Athens, Alexandria, Tikal and Rome: these legendary cities are some of the world’s most famous archaeological sites. And yet, they still have not revealed all their secrets. Built as temples of knowledge, these extraordinary cities were the MEGAPOLIS, THE ANCIENT beating heart of the ancient world. WORLD REVEALED How did they come up to life? What was it like to live there? How did they become such centers of learning and invention? Documentary Series 4x52’ From the 5th century BC to the Roman Empire, this compelling Directed by Fabrice Hourlier documentary series will bring back to life the greatest ancient Produced by Indigènes Productions for RMC Découverte cities at the height of their powers. Delivery: Spring 2020 Combining stunning CGI reconstructions with contemporary footage of the vestiges of these sites, and with the contribution of renowned experts, this series will shed a new light on these architectural treasures and lost civilizations that laid the foundations of our modern world. 5 6 HISTORY & CIVILIZATIONS A LANDMARK SERIES THAT TELLS THE ENTIRE STORY THAT LED IRAQ TO CHAOS. After years of war and chaos, Iraq has been destroyed materially and culturally. Almost two million Iraqis have died since 1980. How could this happen? From the very first days of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980, the war in 2003 to the fall of Daesh, this compelling series retraces the IRAQ, DESTRUCTION destruction of Iraq over the past 40 years. OF A NATION To understand what lies behind such a tragedy, one has to go back to the start, in the early 1980s, and examines geopolitical Documentary Series 4x52’ relations between Iraq, the United States and the major By Jean-Pierre Canet international powers who clashed due to national interests. Produced by Tohubohu & Slug News for France Télévisions Lies, betrayal, manipulation, and fabricated information all Delivery: November 2020 played a part in the downfall of this nation. Through the testimonies of some key figures – high ranked politicians, historians, civilians – the downfall of Iraq will be entirely told for the first time. Thanks to some exclusive access and recently declassified documents, this geopolitical thriller will throw a fresh light on a tragedy that reshaped the world we live in. 7 HISTORY & CIVILIZATIONS A GRIPPING HISTORICAL INVESTIGATION ON THE EXERCISE OF POWER TO MARK THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF JFK’S HISTORIC 1960 ELECTION. The Vietnam War forever changed the image of America. When one looks for those responsible for this debacle, one name often comes up: President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, accused of leading his country into disaster. Yet initially, he firmly believed that American intervention in Vietnam would be a mistake. He knew that war was lost in advance. But he let it happen… What made the 35th President of the United States engage his country in an interminable conflict? How did JFK become one of the main politicians responsible for American troops becoming bogged down in Vietnam? WHAT HAPPENED Like a political thriller, thanks to unique footage, audio, stills, and excerpts from diaries, declassified documents and other MR. KENNEDY? correspondences, this film offers an immersion into the mind of John F. Kennedy and the inner workings of the White Documentary Film 2x52’ & 90’ House, to understand one of the most terrible conflict of the Directed by John Maggio Cold War. Produced by ZED & Ark Media Delivery: November 2020 8 HISTORY & CIVILIZATIONS HISTORY & CIVILIZATIONS RELIVE THE THREE DAYS THAT PLUNGED GERMANY INTO ONE OF THE MOST TERRIFYING DICTATORSHIP OF THE 20TH CENTURY. 1934: From June 29 to July 2, Hitler achieved a wave of killings within his own camp, and even eliminated his only real friend, the SA emblematic leader Ernst Röhm. But what really happened during «The Night of the Long Knives»? Was Hitler in full control of the destructive power he personified? Through the historical reconstruction of the three nights that marked Hitler’s final steps to absolute power, this film sheds light on a major turning point in the history of Nazi Germany, documenting how events unfolded, with the help THE NIGHT OF THE of historians, archive footage and motion graphic design. LONG KNIVES: HITLER’S Contributors: Ian Kershaw & Richard J. Evans (UK), Volker FIRST CRIME Ullrich, Peter Longerich & Götz Aly (Germany) Documentary Film 52’ & 90’ By Gérard Puechmorel Produced by Les Films en Vrac for ARTE France Delivery: Early 2020 9 HISTORY & CIVILIZATIONS WHAT ROLE DID ANIMALS PLAY AT THE FRONT? THE LITTLE-KNOWN STORY OF ANIMAL SOLDIERS WHO SERVED IN WWII. Fifty million people died in the Second World War, the biggest massacre in the history of humanity. But the animal kingdom also paid a heavy toll, despite no official numbers being compiled for the victims. This included combat animals, animals that backed up humans, those that entertained or consoled them, some that fed people, and other animals that were symbols. On all fronts and on all continents, at all points of the compass, beasts accompanied mankind in this global conflict. This full archive documentary - partly colorized - shows how dogs, horses, elephants and pigeons became WW2 soldiers’ best friends in battle. ANIMALS AT WAR, WILD HEROES OF WORLD WAR II Documentary Film 2x45’ & 90’ By Jean-Christophe Rosé Produced by Kuiv Productions for France Télévisions Delivery: August 2019 10 HISTORY & CIVILIZATIONS A LANDMARK SERIES THAT TELLS THE STORY OF THE GULAG THANKS TO PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED DOCUMENTARY SOURCES. A major political, historical, human and economic fact of the 20th century, the Gulag, the extremely punitive Soviet concentration camp system, remains largely unknown. The history of the Gulag is long, complex and in many ways out of the ordinary. From the Revolution of 1917 to Gorbachev, touching on the civil war, the Great Terror, World War II, the Cold War and the death of Stalin, this series describes the workings of the Gulag. How and why did the USSR create this system of forced- labour camps in which 20 million prisoners were exploited and worked to the bone? Through the exceptional fates of numerous protagonists, both executioners and victims, the history of the Gulag is GULAG, THE STORY deciphered with previously-unreleased documentary sources and the help of renowned historians and Gulag experts Documentary Series 3x52’ (Nicolas Werth,..). By Patrick Rotman Produced by KUIV Productions for ARTE France Delivery: Fall 2019 11 HISTORY & CIVILIZATIONS THE EPIC STORY OF THE HOUSE OF FABERGÉ, FROM THE RISE OF AN ‘ARTIST JEWELLER’ IN 19TH CENTURY IMPERIAL RUSSIA TO THE ENDURING LEGACY OF FABERGÉ TODAY. For over a century, the name Fabergé has evoked the world’s most extravagant Easter eggs. Today, the Imperial Eggs, as they came to be called, continue to enjoy an unmatched position in the history of the decorative arts. But the work of Fabergé goes well beyond that. He designed a range of other work of high quality and intricate details, that took the art world by storm, provoking the passion of thousands of collectors across the planet. Fabergé broke the codes of traditional jewellery and created an exceptional industry. To mark the 100th anniversary of his death, this film immerses us into the incredible universe the House of Fabergé invented. Above the eggs, it retraces the destiny of the Fabergé Clan, FABERGÉ, THE MAKING and explores its entire work. An exceptional human adventure that took place in a declining Russian Empire about to be OF A LEGEND swept away by the revolution. Documentary Film 52’ 4K By Jean-Pierre Cottet Produced by Martange Production for ARTE France Delivery: Early 2020 12 HISTORY & CIVILIZATIONS HISTORY & CIVILIZATIONS THE DEATH OF A QUEEN. THE BIRTH OF A LEGEND: PLUNGE BEHIND THE SCENE OF A FASCINATING TRIAL, WHICH LED THE LAST QUEEN OF FRANCE TO HER INEXORABLE FATE. It only took three days and two nights to convict the last Queen of France. But the outcome was known in advance, the result of political wrangling and power struggles. Previously unseen documents have revealed a shocking truth about the trial: It was rigged. When, Marie Antoinette was led to the Tribunal, her fate was already sealed. While France was surrounded by hostile foreign powers, threatened by civil uprising, and sinking into a climate of fear and hatred, conspirators firmly believed that killing the Queen was the only way to save their Revolution. And yet, barely two years later, all Marie Antoinette’s tormentors followed her to the scaffold. TO KILL A QUEEN To Kill a Queen decodes the fateful years in which the Revolution spiraled inexorably to its tragic fate. An ambitious Fiction 110’ & Docudrama 52’ 4K film that unveils how Marie Antoinette was transformed into By Alain Brunard one of the greatest symbols of France. Co-produced by ZED & Be-FILMS for ARTE France With the support of the Creative Europe program of the European Union Delivery: June 2019 13 SCIENCE & KNOWLEDGE A NEW SCIENTIFIC DOCUMENTARY THAT TACKLES THE ISSUE OF ASTEROIDS’ IMPACT ON OUR PLANET. 65 million years ago, asteroids contributed to the disappearance of 80% of animals on Earth, including the dinosaurs. Today, they pose a real threat. In 2019, NASA has an inventory of more than 20,000 asteroids larger than 140 meters across. Every day, an average of 230 asteroids are on a collision course with our planet and are undetected by radars. Are we prepared for asteroids? How can we prevent future disasters? Today, scientists around the world try to map space in order to catalogue the most dangerous asteroids. For the first time in our history, mankind is taking samples from asteroids and even moving them off course.