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Streamer Bilibili, TVF International coproduce ‘China’s most ambitious wildlife series’

China’s Wild Secrets looks at indigenous animals including the giant panda

WILDSCREEN: Chinese streamer Bilibili has partnered with UK-based TVF International to coproduce a blue-chip wildlife series filmed within China’s national parks, some of which are the size of an entire country.

Set to be completed in early 2025, China’s Wild Secrets (5×45’) is being directed by Zeng Hairuo, who has over 20 years’ experience filming in remote and extreme locations.

His previous credits include Bilibili’s blue-chip natural history series The Land of Spirits, which is one of China’s highest rated wildlife programmes, and feature documentaries Roof of the World (Nat Geo) and The Polar Regions.

Poppy McAlister

Poppy McAlister, head of TVF, unveiled a first-look trailer for the series during her appearance on the Meet the Distributors panel at the Wildscreen event in Bristol this week.

It will feature animals including a giant panda cub, a Siberian tiger and king cobra, which inhabit one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems.

TVF International has joined production on the series with Julian Chou-Lambert, TVF’s China lead, serving as executive producer. He described the project as “China’s most ambitious wildlife series to date.”

Chou-Lambert said: “China is a country the size of Europe, so the sheer diversity of wildlife habitats you can find is astonishing. But to create something really special, you need sufficient time, access and expertise.

“The production crew for China’s Wild Secrets was entirely local and were able to film over a three-year period with unprecedented access, so they’ve been able to capture rare animals and behaviours that have never been seen before on film.”

Bilibili has collaborated on several international natural history series including The Green Planet (BBC, PBS), Dynasties II (BBC, BBC America), The Land of Spirits, The Hidden Kingdoms of China with Michelle Yeoh (Nat Geo) and The Mating Game (BBC, Discovery, France TV, NHK).

Chou-Lambert adds: “Bilibili is well-known for collaborating on international blue-chip wildlife documentaries, and we are delighted to be partnering with them to bring their flagship original production China’s Wild Secrets to international audiences.”

TVF International will be launching China’s Wild Secrets for international pre-sales at Mipcom in Cannes next week, along with over 130 hours of new factual programming.

Premium history is leading the distributor’s slate this year, with a second season of Untold Arctic Wars (6×52’), co-commissioned by YLE in Finland, SVT in Sweden, NRK in Norway, DR in Denmark and RÚV in Iceland.

The distributor has two Second World War docs ahead of the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, titled How the Second World War Became a Global War (1×52’) and Who Paid for World War II? (1×52’), from Odyssey Films.

TVF International is also representing the ZDF/Arte-commissioned Free at Last: The Secrets of Apartheid (3×52’/1×90’). The series is described as the definitive retelling of the history of Apartheid in South Africa and how its legacy still affects the country today.

In biographies, TVF is also bringing Keynes: His Life & Work (1×52’) from Odyssey Films, Maria Callas: The Unsung Years (2×52’/1×104’) from Escape and the Greek National Opera, and Theodor Herzl: The Man Who Made Israel (1×60’/1×90’) from Generation Films, presented by David Baddiel.

McAlister, said: “From top-quality, zeitgeist documentaries to high-volume series, we are representing producers from Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe and the Americas. Our slate is truly international in scope and there is something for everyone. Our 10-strong sales team is raring to hit the Croisette next week with one of our most impressive Mipcom slates to date.”

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