{"id":18645,"date":"2023-05-09T08:50:43","date_gmt":"2023-05-09T12:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2023-05-10T09:27:08","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T13:27:08","slug":"blurring-the-line-between-fiction-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/blurring-the-line-between-fiction-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"Blurring the Line Between Fiction & Truth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Real life can sometimes prove to be stranger and more inspiring than fiction. While documentaries are the obvious format for telling a true story, broadcasters and streamers have been finding success with dramas that fictionalize real events, especially those that have taken place in more recent history. Several distributors and producers talk to TV Drama Weekly\u00a0<\/em>about this unique burgeoning genre in the drama space.<\/p>\n

\u201cAudiences have been consuming and enjoying true-crime drama for many years, and the expansion into historical events is a natural extension to this,\u201d notes Simon Cox, executive VP of content and acquisitions at Banijay Rights, which counts among its catalog Bali 2002<\/em>, about the 2002 terrorist attacks in Indonesia, and Stonehouse<\/em>, following the life of disgraced Labour politician John Stonehouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvents in living history provide audiences with insight into worlds they have only had glimpses of on the news, expanding into these environments through the small screen,\u201d Cox says.<\/p>\n

\u201cViewers can more easily identify with stories that happened in real life,\u201d adds Helge K\u00f6hnen, head of content sales at Bavaria Media, distributor of The Heart of Cape Town<\/em>, an event drama telling the story of the first heart transplant in 1967. \u201cTrue stories always have some kind of intrigue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it\u2019s authentic, a story hits even harder,\u201d concurs Pablo Salzman, president of Connect3 Media, producer of the Cineflix Rights-distributed film Sugar<\/em>, centered on the Cocaine Cowgirls, two influencers who were pulled into a drug smuggling operation. \u201cThere\u2019s always been a fascination with stories inspired by real events, especially in the true-crime space. Wrapped in strong, dramatic storytelling, audiences enjoy learning about key characters and events.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, the obvious difference between a documentary and a truth-based drama is that the latter requires more than just an interesting story\u2014it needs a full-fledged intriguing script with well-written characters, which may require some embellishment, all the executives say. When basing programs on recent historical events, those involved may still be around, and this is something they must take into consideration when adding elements to the stories.<\/p>\n

Banijay Rights\u2019 Cox notes that the company ensures that \u201cthe level of embellishment is appropriate and respectful. Each story is thoroughly researched to ensure accuracy and authenticity. For example, the involvement of Bali bombing survivor Polly Miller in the creative process for Bali 2002<\/em> really established a truthful and realistic representation of the events of that tragic time. Drama still needs to be entertaining but also respectful of the past and the truth, as well as those involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sugar<\/em> producer Salzman expresses a similar sentiment, noting, \u201cWe\u2019ve always believed as a company it was important to reach out to stakeholders early and to work with them to ensure a project is tasteful and respectful. It\u2019s frustrating to hear that some recent high-profile projects neglected to take this important step.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Bavaria Media\u2019s The Heart of Cape Town<\/em>, the level of embellishment was achieved by delving deeper into the historical event than ever before and telling the story of those who were overlooked in the past. Christian Popp, CEO of Producers at Work and producer of the film, says, \u201cThe Heart of Cape Town<\/em> is not just about the 20th century\u2019s milestone event of the first heart transplant. It also tells the story about people in the shadow of this historical event. The life of Hamilton Naki, who, as a Black man in an Apartheid state secretly helped prepare the first heart operation in Cape Town, can\u2019t be found in medical history books. The fact that women in Germany had no career opportunities in surgery because of their gender, like our fictional character Dr. Lisa Scheel, is a historical side note, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese fates must be told in a film to give them voices,\u201d even if a made-up character must be used to do so, Popp adds. \u201cFictionalizing true events is always a fine line between fiction and truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, though, \u201cthe key to international success of any drama is having a good script,\u201d Banijay Rights\u2019 Cox says. \u201cIn the real-story genre, the theme or story has to have a level of relevance or relatability for a global audience. Even the smallest of stories with the most unusual storylines can travel if the key themes are relatable.\u201d<\/p>\n

It does help, however, if the story being told is already somewhat known to the public. \u201cAny drama\u2019s success is rooted in the original true story, particularly one that is well-known and in the public domain,\u201d says Tom Misselbrook, senior VP of scripted sales and development at Sugar<\/em> distributor Cineflix Rights. Then, it is amplified by the characters and themes within the story.<\/p>\n

As an example, he says Sugar<\/em> \u201cis an extraordinary story about two young women who were unwittingly lured into trafficking a large amount of cocaine into Australia via a cruise ship, which made headlines across the world. At the center of it are two women, seemingly naive and out of their depth, but it also explores some really interesting themes, from the price of fame through the prism of social media to identity and sexuality.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the development of every project, Salzman says he and his team consider how the story would make waves. \u201cWe often ask ourselves if it would make good conversation at a dinner party. Is it noisy? Is it something you would bring up?\u201d Dramas based on real events fit the bill, with viewers eager to share the unbelievable real stories they watch on the screen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn an age where you can Google everything, the power of stories inspired by real events has only grown,\u201d Salzman adds. \u201cFor broadcasters and platforms, it\u2019s important to get people talking and curious about a new series.\u201d And expanding on a true story that previously made headlines is a surefire way for platforms to intrigue and draw in audiences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Several distributors and producers discuss the burgeoning genre of truth-based dramas and the key aspects of fictionalizing real events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1412,"featured_media":18646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,70],"tags":[1605,6667,3462,6669,6514,6668,6666,4986],"class_list":["post-18645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","tag-banijay-rights","tag-bavaria-media","tag-cineflix-rights","tag-connect3-media","tag-helge-kohnen","tag-pablo-salzman","tag-simon-cox","tag-tom-misselbrook","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nBlurring the Line Between Fiction & Truth - TVDRAMA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/blurring-the-line-between-fiction-truth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blurring the Line Between Fiction & Truth - TVDRAMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Several distributors and producers discuss the burgeoning genre of truth-based dramas and the key aspects of fictionalizing real events.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/blurring-the-line-between-fiction-truth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVDRAMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-09T12:50:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-10T13:27:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2017\/07\/BanijayRights-Bali2002-0523.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jamie Stalcup\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jamie Stalcup\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/blurring-the-line-between-fiction-truth\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/blurring-the-line-between-fiction-truth\/\",\"name\":\"Blurring the Line Between Fiction & Truth - TVDRAMA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-09T12:50:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-10T13:27:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#\/schema\/person\/0da12602224807cc7b179b8405018deb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/blurring-the-line-between-fiction-truth\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/blurring-the-line-between-fiction-truth\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/blurring-the-line-between-fiction-truth\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Blurring the Line Between Fiction & Truth\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/\",\"name\":\"TVDRAMA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/#\/schema\/person\/0da12602224807cc7b179b8405018deb\",\"name\":\"Jamie Stalcup\",\"description\":\"Jamie Stalcup is the executive editor of World Screen. 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