Scorpion TV sells award-winning Dear Lara worldwide

Independent distributor Scorpion TV has secured the first international television sales for the acclaimed feature documentary Dear Lara, licensing the film to YLE Finland, Sky Arts New Zealand, and RTÉ Ireland. The agreements highlight a surge in global demand for the company’s factual slate, marking over 20 deals signed across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.

Directed by internationally renowned violinist Lara St. John and produced by Patrick Hamm, Dear Lara examines decades of sexual abuse and institutional failures within the classical music world through the testimonies of survivors, journalists, and advocates.

The broadcast sales follow an impressive festival run launched at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, with subsequent screenings at the Berkshire International Film Festival, CASCADIA International Women’s Film Festival, and Cinema d’iDEA in Rome, where it received the Courage Award. The film will next screen at the Brittany International Film Festival in France as part of its ongoing international campaign.

Beyond its festival circuit, the documentary has gained widespread media attention—featuring on Germany's SWR Report Mainz, Canada's CBC Q with Tom Power, and Pennsylvania's FOX43—while developing an impact initiative with over 50 universities, conservatories, and music organizations worldwide expressing interest in educational screenings.

Global Licensing Highlights
The acquisition of Dear Lara forms part of a broader string of international licensing deals recently closed by Scorpion TV:

YLE (Finland): Dear Lara and 9/11: The Lost Tapes

Sky Arts (New Zealand): Dear Lara, For the Money: Three Spectacular Art Fraud Stories, Cutting the Curve, Theaters of War, and the eight-part series You, Myself and Art

RTÉ (Ireland): Dear Lara and Cutting the Curve

Mediawan (France): Just Hands: For the Love of Racing

RTVE (Spain): 9/11: The Lost Tapes

AMC Networks International (Spain & Portugal): Atomic Rocketeer and Oppenheimer

RTL GEO (Germany): Scary Tales of New York and New England's Wildlife Wonders

SVT (Sweden): A President, Europe and War

NITV (Australia): Cutting the Curve

TV UNAM (Mexico): For the Money: Three Spectacular Art Fraud Stories, Theaters of War, Psychedelia, In Your Face, Atomic Rocketeer, and Oppenheimer

TRT World (Turkey): For the Money: Three Spectacular Art Fraud Stories

TVN (Poland): My Five Year Plan

PTS (Taiwan): Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone

Yoohoo (Taiwan): Better Off Dead, Fill the Frame, and In Your Face

Industry Response
David Cornwall, Managing Director of Scorpion TV, emphasized the growing appetite for hard-hitting factual content:

'We’ve seen continued demand from broadcasters looking for distinctive factual programming with strong storytelling and international appeal. Dear Lara is an important addition to that success, demonstrating that challenging documentaries can still find audiences with public broadcasters around the world'

Producer Patrick Hamm added that the broadcast partnerships will help drive accountability and broader dialogue: Our hope was always that Dear Lara would be more than a documentary. Every new audience creates opportunities for dialogue, accountability and institutional change. We’re thrilled that broadcasters are helping to bring these conversations to viewers internationally'.

In tandem with its broadcast rollout, the team behind Dear Lara is currently developing a limited U.S. theatrical release alongside its ongoing educational outreach efforts.

 

LC