White Man Walking to Premiere in the U.K., France & Germany

The BBC Storyville-commissioned documentary White Man Walking has been slated to premiere on May 27 on BBC Four and BBC iPlayer and has been picked up by ARTE for France and Germany.

The film follows white filmmaker Rob Bliss as he walks across America wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt, confronting hostility, armed Trump supporters and unexpected moments of connection. After its debut in the U.K., the documentary will broadcast in France and Germany on June 8.

The feature explores the deep racial and ideological divide in America, asking why advocating for Black lives sparks such visceral anger, particularly in poor, rural white communities. Bliss meets people on both sides of the racial and social divide across the country.

White Man Walking is produced by Osun Group, in association with Doc Hearts. It is co-directed by Bliss and Grierson Award winner Denise Alder (SALT). Mediawan Rights is managing worldwide sales for territories outside of the U.K., France and Germany.

“At Osun, we believe in telling stories that matter—even when they’re uncomfortable,” said Luti Fagbenle, founder of Sun Group and executive producer of the documentary. “White Man Walking is a rare and necessary film: a white man confronting racism not in theory, but face to face, in the streets. Racism isn’t just a Black burden to carry. It’s a system built and sustained by white silence. The film is a rare attempt to step into that silence and speak to other white people with the message: BLACK LIVES MATTER.”

“This riveting and often shocking and emotional film about one man’s walk through modern America seems a fitting way to mark five years since George Floyd was publicly murdered by a Minneapolis police officer,” noted Lucie Kon, commissioning editor for BBC Storyville. “Storyville is proud to bring another landmark international documentary to our U.K. audience.”

Jutta Krug, commissioning executive for WDR and ARTE, added, “We are very excited to bring White Man Walking to Germany and France as a co-production for ARTE and the German public channel WDR. We are sure that the documentary will trigger a lot of attention—especially now that many people in Europe are watching closely what is happening in the U.S.”