Exclusive: France TV, C4, ZDF, CBC & others link to co-fund science projects

Sunnyside of the Doc 2022

France Télévisions and some of the fellow pubcasters that make up the Global Doc commissioning group have launched a major call for ambitious science documentaries as they seek new projects to back.

Global Doc was launched by France Télévisions at Sunnyside of the Doc three years ago and is based on the model of the pubcaster alliance in scripted TV, which launched in 2018.

The doc scheme aims to have pubcasters joining forces and combining funds so they can access ambitious docs able to rival with fare on the streamers. Organisations involved in this latest push, in addition to France TV, include the UK’s Channel 4, ZDF in Germany, CBC in Canada, Austria’s ORF, SVT in Sweden and the ABC in Australia.

This year’s call, made on the opening day of Sunnyside in La Rochelle in France, sees international producers invited to send their projects if they are part of the two following categories: ancient civilisations, archeology, palaeontology, geology and space exploration; or major science discoveries that can save the planet.

A jury composed of one representative per broadcaster will choose up to three projects, two from the first category and one from the second.

The deadline for projects is 22 October, with winners to be announced at the World Congress of Science in December.

France Télévisions has already unveiled a raft of projects at Sunnyside that are part of Global Doc, including a show about Gustave Eiffel. It has been co-created with Germany’s ZDF, prodco Terra X, alongside France’s Blue Kobalt and Germany‘s Kobalt Documentary.

The French pubcaster has also partnered with SVT in Sweden on a show that focuses on women in viking times, which is being produced by Little Big Story and Nordic Eye Production.