AI companions doc among six Sideways titles being shopped at Mipcom

Bot Love: The Rise of AI Companions

MIPCOM: UK-based factual distributor Sideways Film is taking six new documentary acquisitions to Mipcom this week, including one about AI companions.

Bot Love: The Rise of AI Companions (1×52′ and 1×44′) explores how artificial relationships are reshaping human connection.

It is joined by Relax, Open Your Eyes (1×52′ and 1×85′), which delves into the world of cryonics and follows a young Canadian family on a mission to build a facility in the hope of living forever.

Also on the slate is Cruelty for Clicks (1×52′), which investigates animal abuse on social media, including staged events featuring fake “rescues,” plus Congo: Price of an Elephant (1×52′ and 1×76′), about the illegal ivory trade in Central Africa.

Shamed: The Vigilante Suicides (1×58′ and 1×85′), meanwhile, examines the human cost of online vigilantism and how the pursuit of clicks, outrage and public shaming blurs the line between justice and entertainment.

Completing the slate is Spreadsheet Champions (1×58′ and 1×86′), which follows six students as they put their Excel skills to the ultimate test in Microsoft’s most prestigious and difficult category.

Sideways Film recently sold Spreadsheet Champions to TVO (Canada), SRF (Switzerland), Al Jazeera (MENA), PTS (Taiwan), RTP (Portugal) and PCCW (Hong Kong and Macau).

In other recent sales news, RTP, NHK (Japan), Arte (France and Germany), RTVE (Spain), YLE (Finland), Axxess TV (Sweden), LTV (Latvia), ERR (Estonia), Canal Curta! (Brazil) and Maori TV (New Zealand) have acquired The Veto: The Greatest Threat to Global Peace.

Arte, YLE, RTP, PCCW and Maori TV have also picked up Sweat!: The Human Super Power, as have ZDF (Germany), Movistar (Spain), UR (Sweden) and RTBF (Belgium).

TVO, Al Jazeera, YLE, RTP, PCCW and Maori TV have additionally bought Proof: The New Science of Alcohol, as have RTS (Switzerland) and Česká televize (Czech Republic), while RTVE, Al Jazeera and Maori TV have acquired White Gold.