ZDF Studios renews Doclights partnership
Details
Editor
| 04 August 2023
In a continuation of their long-standing partnership, the production arm of German broadcaster ZDF, ZDF Studios, has concluded a new contract with unscripted content producer Doclights to distribute 24 hours of new documentaries over the next two years.
ZDFpolandswildearst keyvisual 4August2023
An affiliate of ZDF Studios, Doclights has produced output for NDR, ARD, ZDF, ARTE, ORF, Terra Mater, BBC, National Geographic, Curiosity Stream, WWF, NHK amongst others. It has now confirmed the first three titles on its production slate: Poland’s Wild East/Polens Osten (1 x 50’); Iriomote – The Fabric of Life/ Japans Garden Eden - Die Insel Iriomote (1 x 43’); A Rhino’s Life/ Nashörner – Mit Herz und Horn (1 x 50’/ 1 x 43’).

Poland’s Wild East explores the country’s biggest national park, a haven for beavers, otters and countless aquatic birds. Animals that have long since disappeared can be found in in one of Europe’s last truly wild regions, eastern Poland. Around 1,500 bison, huge and tenacious wild cattle, along with wolves, moose and others live in the primaeval forest of Białowieża, on the border between Poland and Belarus. But, here too, nature is in danger as motorways and intensive agriculture encroach. How much space we allow the animals will determine their survival. Poland’s Wild East is a Doclights / NDR Naturfilm production in association with ARTE and ORF.

Iriomote Island, blanketed by dense tropical forests, is home to some of the rarest animals on the planet. Lying between the South China Sea and the Pacific, the island’s most famous inhabitant is a small feline - the Iriomote cat. But there is also a local subspecies of the crested serpent eagle, the Ryukyu Flying-fox and the spectacular ruddy kingfisher that all live in the national park, a UNESCO world heritage site.

Iriomote – The Fabric of Life, produced by Doclights GmbH / NDR Naturfilm and NHK in association with ARTE and ORF, beautifully captures the unique nature of this valuable biodiversity hotspot which boasts Japan’s most extensive mangrove forests. As the habitat lives and breathes with the tides, a whole army of bizarre creatures emerge from the mud once the sea ebbs away.

A Rhino’s Life takes us on a journey to the African savannah, home to the majestic rhinoceros. When we think of rhinos, often we focus solely on how they are ruthlessly hunted down for their horns. But what do we really know about these secretive animals and their daily challenges? The film follows the life of a white rhinoceros family in a reserve in Uganda, as nine year-old-Malaika wanders through the bushland with her 2-year-old son Elias. They are inseparable but now Malaika is pregnant again and 16 months later her son Pipo is born. The first rhino birth in the wild ever captured on film.

The series witnesses the sad but inevitable separation of Elias from his ever-present protective mother. Has she taught him enough to make it on his own? A Rhino’s Life is produced by Doclights GmbH / NDR Naturfilm in association with ARTE, ORF and NHK.

“Doclights are one of the most skilled and widely-travelled producers of factual content with years of experience in storytelling,” said Ralf Rückauer, vice president unscripted, ZDF Studios. “It is a company with an excellent worldwide reputation for nature and wildlife film production at the highest level. We are pleased to be able to continue our long-standing partnership with Jörn Röver and his team.”