Doc vendor Silverkite appoints Canuck, German sales reps

New UK-based doc distributor Silverkite Media has appointed a Canadian sales chief and handed responsibility of German sales to Cologne-based New Docs.

David Seeder, who founded Toronto’s Big Bam Distribution, has taken on the Silverkite catalogue in English- and French-speaking Canada. Furthermore, he will help Silverkite’s UK-based producers to set up British/Canadian coproductions.

In Germany and German-speaking Europe, New Docs, which ex-German United Distributors exec Elina Kewitz launched in 2012, will handle the Silverkite catalogue.

“The time was right to expand our sales presence in these important markets and I look forward to working with Elina, David and their sales teams to get our programming seen by more audiences,” said Gary McDonagh, managing director, Silverkite Media.

Former ITV Studios Global Entertainment exec McDonagh launched Silverkite in October last year.

Today, the company announced it had acquired a pair of new feature documentaries.

The first is Keiko: The Untold Story from Joshua Records, which is being handled globally in conjunction with Ilyssa Goodman. The 1x60mins doc follows the Orca whale that starred in movie Free Willy, which is only of its species to have been released back into the wild.

The other is Butterfly Girl (pictured), which comes from filmmaker Cary Bell and recently launched at the South by Southwest film festival. The 1x90mins programme follows a teenager with life-threatening skin disease. Silverkite has international rights outside of the US.