Zodiak celebrates Rare Day deal

Zodiak Rights has struck a first look deal with UK factual indie Rare Day, handing the sales arm of European production group Zodiak Media an initial nine new titles.

Zodiak will debut the shows, which total 13 hours, at MIPTV. These include Channel 5’s 4x60mins Brain Hospital: Saving Lives and Channel 4’s 1x60mins Jackpots & Jinxes: Lottery Stories and 1x90mins A Very Dangerous Doctor.

Other titles are Donor Mum: The Children I’ve Never Met, We Need to Talk About Dad, Lost Children, Confessions from the Underground, Churchill and the Fascist Plot and Bi-Curious Wives.

Rare Day was launched in 2008 by former Channel 4 commissioner Peter Dale. Zodiak will have first look at all its upcoming content.

Emily Elisha, Zodiak Rights’ head of factual acquisitions, said: “Rare Day’s slate of programmes is a wonderful fit for our portfolio. Their well-made, thoughtful documentaries cover universal themes such as the complexities of family relationships and the quest to discover who we are, whilst also delving into extreme and surprising worlds ranging from life-shattering crime at one end through to life-saving surgery at the other. This makes their films unique and very marketable for international buyers too.”

For Zodiak, the news comes on the back of another first look deal with a UK indie, namely Minnow Films (Nightmare in Suburbia). Last week it lost its agreement with October Films, though it keeps popular YouTube-themed series Rude Tube.