ZDF Studios, China Media Group Partner for Blue-Chip Doc

ZDF Studios and China Media Group’s (CMG) Film, Drama and Documentary Programming Center have entered their first co-production partnership.

The companies are prepping a two-part documentary entitled Time: A Journey Through Thousands of Years. The documentary explores the discovery of time, the history of time measurement and the effect it has on our lives today.

The title is a ZDF production in co-production with CMG, in association with ARTE and global distributor ZDF Studios.

Jens Monath, director and co-writer on the project and editor for Terra X at ZDF, said: ”It was a challenging project because how do you make time visible for television? We found remarkable stories about time and the perception of time. From a murderer who froze time and probably changed our lives more than anyone else, to why time seems to pass faster as you get older. And, more importantly, how do you ‘live’ longer, in the sense that, even as an older person, you can stretch time so that your life feels much longer than it usually does? We answer these questions in stories you have never seen before. And we promise you will think about time differently after watching the films.”

Hongyan Liu, executive producer on the project for CMG, added: “Time is omnipresent. Nowadays, we talk about it dozens of times every day, rarely pausing to contemplate its true meaning. In China, the observation and exploration of time began over 4,000 years ago, profoundly influencing our culture and way of life. The Chinese perspective on the subject reveals a markedly different understanding of time compared to that of the West. For us at CMG, it was particularly interesting to share the Eastern reflections on the concept of time, including its philosophical and poetic meanings.”

Ralf Rückauer, VP Unscripted for ZDF Studios, commented: “We are delighted to partner with CMG and ARTE on this major production, a fascinating study on something familiar to us all which is so valuable but elusive that mankind can neither capture nor reproduce it.”