WildBear Completes CCTV Co-Pro

CANBERRA: Aussie factual producer WildBear Entertainment has finalized its co-production with China’s CCTV10, The War that Changed the World: The Making of a New China, while a licensing deal for the docuseries has been secured by FOXTEL History Channel.

The War that Changed the World: The Making of a New China tells the story of the war between China and Japan. The 2×50-minute production uses footage from Chinese archives that has not previously been seen outside of the country, along with other archive and contemporary footage. The historical documentary series will officially launch to the international market in Sydney later this week. It will debut on CCTV10 in July, with a premiere on FOXTEL’s History Channel in Australia slated for September.

Michael Tear, CEO of WildBear Entertainment, said: “To most of the world, the Second World War started in 1939, but China had been battling Japan since it invaded Manchuria in 1931. Our new series will help correct this misconception and give a voice to China’s experience of WWII, as well as tell an incredibly important story about the context for the development of modern China.

“It has been an honor to have worked so closely with CCTV10 and to share our mutual archives and program-making expertise for what we believe to be a truly landmark co-production. This series will contain new information for both Chinese and international audiences and we are very proud to be able to tell this extraordinary story in such detail. China is endlessly fascinating and rich with stories from its culture and history. We are hopeful that this project becomes a template for working together in the future.”

Kan Zhaojiang, the general director of CCTV10, noted: “This has been a beneficial project and a good beginning for CCTV10 and we have been delighted at the close collaboration and excellent working relationship we have established with WildBear Entertainment.

“However, what we are most pleased about is that our high level of involvement has delivered a unique film, one that mixes a distinctive Chinese voice with international sensibilities, to ensure a pivotal time in our history is told accurately and in an informative and compelling manner. We are excited to launch this series to the international market and are confident that it will be enjoyed by anyone interested in China’s recent past, as well as history fans looking for new insight to key moments in the 20th century.”

International sales for The War that Changed the World: The Making of a New China are being handled in Europe by Wild Thring Media, and in Asia by Angelina Wang, CCTV’s manager of international sales.