Press Release: united docs presents its latest documentaries, including "My Life: Roland Emmerich" German Screenings - international meeting place for quality TV Cologne/Munich, 20 November 2009 - The annual German Screenings conference will take place in Munich from 29 November to 3 December at the deluxe hotel Le Méridién. This engaging TV distribution trade fair is organized by german united distributors, together with Telepool, Deutsche Welle and ORF, who will be presenting their new program highlights in a special presentation area. Some 100 TV buyers from 26 countries have signed on to view the latest German-language productions in individual screenings. This multi-faceted broad-range of offerings encompasses the entire spectrum of television entertainment, full-length features, made-for-TV movies and series, documentaries, wildlife formats on to musical programs and children's shows. Timed to coincide with the cinema release of "2012," the latest hit film from Germany's star director, united docs presents the biography "My Life: Roland Emmerich" (45'). The distributing company from Cologne is also showing a documentary about the 1939 naval catastrophe "The Last Cruise of the Columbus" (2x45'), the ecological thriller "Salmonopoly" (52'), the consumer report "Why We Buy" (52') and "Vacuum" (90'), the moving life story of one of Uruguay's "disappeared." "This year, we've decided to present the latest German-language documentaries in a family-style atmosphere, and I'm confident visitors will like the concept," said Silke Spahr, managing director of german united distributors. "The annual German Screenings event is not only a valuable communication platform for our international partners, it?s also a very effective sales and distribution platform for us." The film attracting the most attention in the run-up to the 2009 German Screenings is the biographical documentary "My Life: Roland Emmerich." A camera team accompanies the Hollywood director while on the set as well as during post-production of his latest film "2012," the final installment of a trilogy of disaster movies that included "Independence Day" and "The Day After Tomorrow". Emmerich even invites the crew to his home in L.A. and gives viewers insights into his private life, his priorities and goals. The historical documentary "The Last Cruise of the Columbus" relates the true story of the tragic demise of a cruise ship that sank in the Atlantic in 1939. With the help of unique 16mm footage and many photos taken by the ship's official photographer, this film recounts the final voyage of the "Columbus" and investigates the fates of the ship's crew. "Salmonopoly" is the first documentary of its kind to closely examine the business practices of the world?s most succesful aqua-farming corporation "Marine Harvest", the largest producer of farmed salmon, with 70 farms located in Chile. Negligent environmental regulations in Chile allow many practices that are forbidden in Europe. From an ecological viewpoint, there is cause for alarm, but economically the company is very successful. This "ecological thriller" exposes the shady practices of a huge corporation in the global food industry, focusing on influential Norwegian businessman John Fredriksen, who professes to be "green," "sustainable" and "transparent". Thanks to his 100,000 Euro annual contribution to the World Wildlife Fund, he is permitted to display the WWF's panda logo on his industrially produced salmon. Another of united doc's new films on offer takes a look behind the scenes of the marketing world: "Why We Buy" Corporations invest millions to ensure their products are more sensuously appealing. This film provides viewers in-depth insights into the world of the "hidden persuaders". Will all of our perceptions someday be orchestrated by others? The documentary "Vacuum" deals with the fate of the so-called "Desaparecidos" or "disappeared" ? people who vanished between 1973-84 during the military dictatorship in Uruguay and were never heard from again. Many were murdered, while others were kidnapped and tortured. Maria Emilia Islas is one of them. At the young age of 22 she disappeared along with her husband and their 18-month-old baby. Since 2004 Uruguay's new government has been making an extended effort to locate the "Desaparecidos", the disappeared. Thanks to the fervent search conducted by her grandmother, Maria Emilia's daughter was finally located. Press Release: Three nominations for the International Emmy Awards and strong sales to numerous countries german united docs reflects on a successful MIPCOM 2009 Cologne/Cannes, 12 October 2009 - Once again, the MIPCOM in Cannes, the largest television fair in the world, proved hugely worthwhile this year for german united distributors, the international sales group of Bavaria Media, Studio Hamburg and united docs. First came the announcement that three productions from the gud portfolio had been nominated for the Emmys, then followed huge interest on the part of international buyers in the German film and TV productions. "We are very happy with this year's MIPCOM. The three Emmy nominations boosted the demand for our range and despite the financial crisis, we have been able to agree good contracts with several countries" says gud managing director Silke Spahr as she reflects positively on the successful fair. In addition to TV movies, nature films and history documentaries, new episodes of established family and crime series were also among the sales highlights. Studio Hamburg Distribution & Marketing sold five ARD TV movies to its most important partner, Rai of Italy, including the two-parter "Endloser Horizont" (Endless Horizon) and the TV films "Hausboot" (House Boat), "Einmal Toskana und zurück" (To Tuscany and Back Again) and "Eine Mutter für Anna" (A Mother for Anna). Both the Italians and the Belgian television broadcaster VRT secured the rights to 13 brand new episodes of the children's series "Die Pfefferkörner" (The Peppercorns). One of Hamburg's newest customers is Irib, the Iranian state broadcaster, which opted for the ARD crime series "Der Dicke" (The Fat Man), the two parter "Der Untergang der Pamir" (The Sinking of the Pamir) and the TV movies "Das Feuerschiff" (The Fire Ship) and "The Art of Football" with John Cleese. The Spanish broadcasters, TV Catalonia and Canal 9 (Valencia) bought 35 and 15 hours respectively of nature films, including the programs "Expedition ins Tierreich" (Expedition into the Animal Kingdom) and "Schauplatz der Natur" (Nature's Stage). Spanish Pay TV bought 22 episodes of "Wildlife Nannies", while the Swiss broadcaster, SF TV acquired a 10-hour wildlife package, including the award-winning six-parter "Wildes Russland" (Wild Russia). As one of the most important marketers of TV music productions, Studio Hamburg Distribution & Marketing presented SWR's new jazz and pop archive "Ohne Filter" (No Filters) at MIPCOM. And if that weren't enough, NHK, the Japanese state-owned broadcaster picked up shows from Hessische Rundfunk's "Beat Beat Beat" archive. united docs, Cologne's elite sales team for documentaries worldwide, sold a 7-hour history package including "Hitler & Stalin" and "Hunt the Kaiser's Cruisers!" to France in addition to a 10-hour package including the Emmy-nominated reportage "Cityboy - The Life of Investment Banker Geraint Anderson" to the Czech Republic. In fact, disclosure stories from the financial world have sold well to Croatia, Ireland, Denmark, Belgium and Switzerland. A HD package focussing on travel and foreign cultures including the documentary "The Rockies" is to be broadcast in Russia. The rights to "Charlemagne the Myth" (pre-sales) have been secured by Latvia, Russia, Croatia, France (pay & free TV), Brazil, Greece and the Middle East. The sales team at united docs also recorded further sales of the hit program "The Night the Wall Came Down - Schabowski's Note" to Italy, Japan, Denmark, Switzerland, Spain, Austria, Belgium and France. Bavaria Media enjoyed great success at MIPCOM 2009 aswell. The six-part Swedish/German crime series "Johan Falk" was an international bestseller; its lead actor, director and producers all attended the presentation in Cannes. Program buyers were also very enthusiastic about the Emmy nominated telenovella, "Second Chance", a French production from TF1, for which Bavaria Media holds the global sales rights. Furthermore the Munich-based sales team sold various episodes of the telenovella "Storm of Love", the crime series "Vienna Crime Squad" and the family series "Circle of Life". Other programs from the current portfolio were also received well and even notched up their first sales during the fair. Press Release: MIPCOM 2009: German United Distributors Overjoyed Three International Emmy Award Nominations for gud Cologne/Cannes, October 5, 2009 - The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has announced its nominations for the 37th International Emmy Awards as part of MIPCOM2009. Over 600 Jurors from 50 countries viewed cinema and television productions from around the world before nominating 41 productions from 17 countries in 10 categories. Great Britain takes the lead with 9 nominations, followed by Brazil with 5 and Germany, Mexico and the Philippines with 3 each. Three of the nominated productions are from the portfolio of german united distributors, the international distribution association of Bavaria Media, Studio Hamburg and united docs. The nominees are the telenovela "Second Chance" (180x22'), the ARD/WDR documentary "Cityboy - The Life of Investment Banker Geraint Anderson" (45') and the WDR report "Child Slavery in India" (30'/45'). Worldwide distribution rights for the French telenovela "Second Chance" nominated in the "Telenovela" category are held by Bavaria Media. The TF1 production "Second Chance" tells the story of a woman who needs to start a new life after having been deserted by her husband after 18 years of marriage. "Second Chance" is an entertaining mix of warm-hearted family soap and exhilarating satire on the pitiless world of advertising. Shot in HD and featuring 30 characters, "Second Chance" is a light-weight, sometimes slightly off-beat comedy about the daily struggle for happiness. The ARD/WDR production "Cityboy: The Life of Investment Banker Geraint Anderson" has meanwhile been nominated in the "Documentary" category. The film follows the breathtaking story of a 35 year-old dropout who has spent 12 years enduring all the highs and lows of the stock markets: fast-track career, insider trading, drugs, sex, greed, bad speculations. The "city boy's" disclosures - originally published anonymously - have achieved cult status. Former star analyst Geraint Anderson confessed to his experiences in the City of London, one of the world's greatest centres of finance, in 2008. A scandal for the industry, but shocking insights for the public. And a documentary success for united docs. Up for the "News & Current Affairs" award is the WDR report "Child Slavery in India", an episode of the current affairs documentary series "ARD exclusiv" which is distributed by united docs. Partly shot with hidden cameras, it reveals behind-the-scene operators of the child slavery system in India. Amongst others it shows the fate of a 10 year-old boy producing bead embroideries for fourteen hours a day while seated on a basement floor under the watchful eyes of a warden. The reporters seek to uncover the misdeeds of the beneficiaries and provide evidence as to where goods produced by children are sold. "We are both overjoyed and proud that our programmes are being met with such a positive response on an international level and included in the shortlists for the world's most important television award", comments Silke Spahr, managing director of german united distributors on the announcement of the International Emmy Awards 2009 nominees. "It is a great honour for us that as many as three productions from our distribution pool have been nominated. This endorses our work and motivates us to maintain our high quality demands, in order to also continue promoting and creating good television in future." "The Academy is proud to serve as a cultural showcase for television from all continents", said Bruce L. Paisner, President & CEO of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, at the press conference in Cannes. "We congratulate the 2009 nominees for their outstanding achievements and hope the first-time nomination from Thailand will inspire more producers from many more countries to follow in their footsteps and enter the competition."