Dogwoof accelerates the transition to production by collaborating with Australian WildBear; Hummingbird Doc “The fastest thing on the wings” First project on Slate

Exclusive: London documentary director Dogwoof continues to work in the production space as he announces a partnership with Australian firm WildBear Entertainment.

The deal will see two companies recently teaming up on the Sundance 2021 title play with sharks, Develop, finance and produce five front page documentaries. The companies are currently carrying out the first project, The fastest thing behind the scenes. (Provisional title) to combine play with sharks Directed by Sally Aitken with WildBear producer Bettina Dalton. WildBear CEO Michael Thierry will produce the project.

The fastest thing behind the scenes. Inspired by Terry Masar’s book of the same name, which follows a hummingbird rehabilitation trip to Los Angeles.

“It’s about hummingbirds and all this jeweled magic that goes with them,” Dalton told Project Deadline. “It feels like a kind of magical realism when we tell the story of this hummingbird rehabilitator during the Los Angeles season and get all the stories of these different people carrying birds.”

The latest deal marks Dogwoof’s second international business partnership, which deals with production, sales and distribution, following an agreement with Danish company Elk Film earlier this year.

“We support talented projects that we truly believe in,” said Anna Godass, CEO of Dogwoof, whose company has worked on winning projects, starting with: the act of murder That black fish That Become a keeper. “And WildBear came naturally to us. It is an opportunity, let’s see where we can look independently to finance these projects, where possible, evaluating different models, where we can reduce the risk and be entrepreneurial and develop a true commercial partnership “.

Dalton adds: “When we first met Dogwuff at Sundance a few years ago play with sharksWe immediately saw how well our companies are doing well. As Australians, we need an association to tell universal stories. The appetite of streamers and shoppers now is that they want stories about Australians, but with international and thematic resonance.

Under the agreement, Dogwoof and WildBear will bring blueprints to the table to use the model they used. play with sharksWhich was independently funded and sold to National Geographic at Sundance.

“with play with sharks“We were able to finance it without a pre-sale,” said Ollie Harbotley, Dogwolf’s head of acquisitions. “This is a model that is really interesting to us, because if we can own the intellectual property, bring it to market, and then sell it at a lower cost and budget, it’s clearly a more attractive model for everyone.”

While the move to the production space was what Harbotley describes as “a natural evolution for us as a company,” the demand in the documentary space has meant increased competition. More and more Dogwuff have found it more prudent to position themselves first in projects.

“We are always looking for partners, but after a very happy collaboration with WildBear already in a movie, joining them was a breeze,” says Harbotley. “Furthermore, Australia is a very attractive country for documentaries, both in terms of subsidized money and a country active in the documentary space. This is a country where there is an opportunity to finance films through entrepreneurship. “

Godass emphasizes that Dogwoof can support projects at any stage, from design to sales and distribution. Since setting up his TDog production fund in 2016, which receives funding from the company and money from a private investor, Godass claims he has the power to do “whatever fits and whatever the project may need.”

“For me, what I’ve always envisioned is a truly global, integrated, and story-based studio,” adds Godass. “Positioning in London opens the doors to a certain extent. It’s like being between the United States and the rest of the world. In this sense, I believe we are in a privileged position to combine American talent and resources and manufacturing companies with European talent. We can also give them access to finance, the opportunities are endless “.

Both Godas and Harbottle say they are currently talking about doing something similar with a “couple” of US companies.

“Most of our operations are with the United States or under the leadership of the United States, so we want to establish a strategic partner there,” said Harbotley. “And if there are other geographic possibilities that make sense, we are very open to that. It is always a bit liquid and we want to create an international network ”.

Godass adds that the opportunity in the documentary space is better than ever. Due to the growing appetite of streamers, he says, “We’ve created opportunities, we’ve created really cool projects that aren’t necessarily the kind of documentaries big platforms go to.”

“Now is the time to develop, produce and finance other types of films that are not the usual suspects, but will become highly commercial propositions once completed,” he says. “The pandemic, of course, brought in a lot of random audiences who may never have seen documentaries before, and it was the start of a new wave of audiences who noticed these stories. There is so much potential now on that. many different levels “.