Off the Fence headlines MIPCOM History slate with new Viasat World deal

Off the Fence (OTF), the global factual content distributor, is launching three new history titles at MIPCOM, including Secret of Hitler’s Elite, a four-part documentary series from WildBear Entertainment that has already been acquired by international pay-TV broadcaster Viasat World.

The new titles underline the buoyant demand for premium history programming across international markets, with OTF also announcing further sales for recent slate additions Forgotten Heroes of the American Revolution and Black Waters: The Sea Empress Disaster.

Produced by WildBear Entertainment, Secret of Hitler’s Elite (4 x 60 mins) explores the lives and minds of some of the most powerful figures in Adolf Hitler’s Germany, including Joseph Goebbels, Erwin Rommel, Heinz Guderian, Hermann Goering and Heinrich Himmler. Drawing on personal correspondence, diaries and other written sources — including recently translated letters — the series analyses the men behind Nazi Germany’s military and political machine, examining their thoughts, fears, ambitions and private lives alongside their roles in the Second World War. Featuring colour film archive and informed by the latest research from historians and military experts, the series is a dramatic and original contribution to our understanding of the most devastating conflict in human history.

Joining Secret of Hitler’s Elite on OTF’s MIPCOM history slate is I Shot the President (1 x 52 mins or 90 mins), produced, written and directed by AACTA-nominated filmmaker Neil McGregor. The documentary examines the 1981 assassination attempt on US president Ronald Reagan by John Hinckley Jr, whose attack was driven by his dangerous obsession with Martin Scorsese’s psychological thriller Taxi Driver and actress Jodie Foster. The shooting shocked the world and has come to be seen as a defining moment in modern US history. McGregor worked on numerous major feature productions, including Godzilla, Deadpool and Fifty Shades of Grey, before moving into directing.

OTF is also showcasing The Mystery of the Jaguar People (1 x 52 mins), co-produced for ARTE by Wanted Media Productions and Cutting Edge Productions. The film follows a scientific expedition led by National Geographic Explorer Francesco Sauro and Colombian anthropologist Carlos Castaño-Uribe into one of the most remote regions of the Colombian Amazon, home to the mysterious and uncontacted ‘Jaguar People’. In December 2024, the expedition reached a 300-metre rock wall covered with spectacular murals, alongside traces of human occupation dating back to the end of the Pleistocene ice age. The film documents the expedition’s challenges, setbacks and discoveries as the scientists journey back in time and space to the beginning of human history in South America. 

Meanwhile, OTF’s established history slate continues to sell around the world. In the run-up to MIPCOM, deals have been closed with ORF Austria, and TV3 Spain and Canal + in France for Forgotten Heroes of the American Revolution (2 x 60 mins), produced by GMarsh TV. The series looks beyond George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to the largely forgotten men and women who also helped secure American independence, including Stephen Moylan, an early user of the phrase ‘United States of America’; Margaret Corbin, who continued to fire her husband’s cannon after he was killed in battle; printer John Dunlap; and Quaker spy Lydia Darragh.

TV3 Spain and Canal + in France has also acquired Black Waters: The Sea Empress Disaster (1 x 60 mins), produced by Afanti Media. Combining the pace of a disaster thriller with hard investigative journalism, the documentary revisits the 1996 Sea Empress oil spill, when 72,000 tonnes of crude oil were released off the Welsh coast, causing one of the UK's worst environmental catastrophes. Using CGI, rare archive and first-hand testimony, the film reconstructs the seven days of chaos, failed rescue attempts and desperate efforts to protect wildlife and local livelihoods. It also examines the financial and environmental consequences of the spill, asking what lessons can be learned from the disaster in the context of our continuing dependence on fossil fuels.

Loren Baxter, vice-president of acquisitions and co-productions at OTF, said: 'The demand for history content is ever-present and multifaceted. As we head into MIPCOM, buyers can expect a compelling range of programming in this space: gripping stories from WWII, familiar historical subjects explored from fresh perspectives, and unique access to the ancient world that reveals new clues about our past. Working with some of the most talented producers in their fields, we’re incredibly excited to bring these distinctive and thought-provoking titles to our buyers'.

LC