The Write Way

As sports clubs, leagues and players have seen the brand building potential of sports docs, so the lines have become blurred between PR/propaganda, and authentic documentary. While sports stars like David Beckham have simply cut out the middleman altogether by making films about themselves, with certain details conveniently left out. Does this matter? Does the audience care? And where does the genre go next?

Sports documentary has proliferated. Access once so rarely attained in earlier projects such as An Impossible Job on Graham Taylor's England downfall and the extraordinary Orient: Club For A Fiver has now become more readily available as clubs, leagues and athletes have realised the brand-building potential of the genre. C21 meets the people and projects that took sports docs from late night slots for aficionados to multi-million pound streamer mainstream.

While they’re best known for their work in front of the camera, an increasing number of actors are now heavily involved behind the scenes too, from developing story ideas and building budgets to overseeing the final edit. In this C21TV special, global stars including Marta Dusseldorp, Lenny Henry, Alexandra Rappaport and Gabija Siurbyte open up about the types of stories they want to tell and their evolution from actor to producer.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: Piv Bernth and Lars Hermann, co-founders of Apple Tree Productions, discuss the ITV Studios-owned Danish prodco's market strategy, and the challenges facing the Nordic region following Viaplay's exit from original series.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: With globally recognised IP more important than ever in getting projects greenlit by risk-averse commissioners, unscripted execs are increasingly looking to scripted brands to inspire premium formats. C21TV catches up with John Douglas of 72 Films, Daniela Neumann of Spun Gold and Julie Pizzi and Rupert Dobson of Bunim/Murray to hear how hit TV dramas and films are being adapted in the unscripted space.

In recent years we’ve seen hits like Call My Agent, The Bureau and HIP adapted in local markets around the world, including major territories like the US and UK, as demand for French scripted IP booms. In this C21TV special, we talk to Mediawan Rights’ Randall Broman, Rodolphe Buet of Newen Connect, Unifrance’s Daniela Elstner and Federation Studios execs Monica Levy and Guillaume Pommier about the latest trends.

Content London has opened its 2024 registration, with a series of discounts for those booking early, and an agenda designed to help the global business navigate The New Content Economy.

As the winner of the C21 Digital Drama Pitch 2024 competition is revealed, judges Dermot Horan from RTÉ, RTV Slovenija’s Natalija Gorsak, TRT’s Faruk Güven and Rachel Okine of ABC in Australia come together to give their thoughts on this year’s entries and offer their advice on pitching.