Viasat World Greenlights 1939live

Viasat World has commissioned Future History to create 1939live, an immersive digital experience that will mark the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland.

Based on research of primary sources, 1939live will report the events of the invasion for people to follow and watch in “real time” as they unfold. It will feature the perspectives of Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin, as well as contemporary witnesses from a number of countries. 1939live has been commissioned in both Polish at 1939live.pl and 1939nazywo and English at 1939live.com, which will be available worldwide. The six-week immersive digital experience will go live on August 1.

Karin Heijink, VP of pay-TV products and channels at Viasat World, said: “We’re incredibly excited to partner with Future History Studios to develop this ground-breaking proposition. It’s a revolutionary way to discover and consume history, using direct dialogue with historical voices who describe real events—in real time, on our digital newsfeeds. On Viasat History, we are passionate about telling stories of our past in new and inspirational ways, as well as sharing engaging content in its many forms. 1939live delivers on that mission and we couldn’t be prouder to have commissioned a project that shines such an important spotlight on the real stories of our past, told in the most pioneering and captivating way.”

Mikhail Zygar, founder of Future History and head creative producer of 1939live, added, “We are thrilled to team up with international broadcaster Viasat World for 1939live. This truly immersive project allows the unaltered voices of people involved in those events to speak for themselves, using social media—as they would do if those events were today’s news. People will feel like they are living through a historical event, as it’s delivered first-hand, by the people who were there. Through this significant new partnership, we are able to introduce even more people to unaltered authentic stories of our past.”