Limonero, Scorpion strike deals with Netflix, Nat Geo

UK distributor Limonero Films has struck a raft of deals for HIV documentary Lovesick, including BBC Arabic, German channel Planete and Netflix. 

The streaming giant has picked up the film (1 x 74 minutes; 1 x 52 minutes), which tells the story of the trailblazing doctor who discovered HIV in India, for Southeast Asia and India. 

The film has also sold into Germany’s Planete HD, as well as BBC Arabic, which picked up Sight: The Story of Vision (1 x 55 minutes), a 4K science doc narrated by Sir Elton John; Trisha Ziff´s latest film Witkin and Witkin (1 x 93 minutes); and The Subversives (1 x 70 minutes; 1 x 52 minutes), the story of 1970s UN Human Rights director Theo Van Boven. 

Meanwhile, Limonero has also sold three series of Inside the Storm: Back from the Brink (12 x 60 minutes) into more than 20 territories worldwide, including Germany’s ZDF, France’s Canal +, RTL Netherlands and Amazon for Australia and New Zealand. 

The distributor, which was founded by managing director Pamela Martinez Martinez in 2016, is launched a number of titles at next month’s Mipcom market, including Make Productions’ Edible Wild (6 x 30 minutes), immigration doc Winter In Europe (1 x 70 minutes), Dartmouth Films’ The Atom and Us (1 x 52 minutes) and feature doc The Artist & The Pervert (1 x 96 minutes). 

Martinez Martinez said: “As we enter into our third year of business, I am very proud of the eclecticism of titles in our catalogue. In this very competitive media landscape, Limonero Films wants to offer real support and transparency to our producers, and the best quality factual entertainment, and documentaries to international broadcasters.” 

Scorpion TV secures Siyaya sales and extends franchise

London-based distributor Scorpion TV has sold children’s wildlife show Siyaya: Come Wild With Us (26 x 30 minutes) into Nat Geo for its Middle East and North African feeds. 

Produced by Francois Odendaal Productions (FOP Films) for South African public broadcaster SABC, Siyaya: Come Wild With Us is set in and around South Africa’s national parks, with each episode featuring young adventurers – many from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

The NGC deal follows recent sales to UK VOD platform Azoomee, Germany’s RTL Disney, Poland’s iTVN and South Africa’s Mindset TV.

Scorpion will launch FOP Films’ next installment in the Siyaya series, Wildest Cape (13 x 30 minutes) at Mipcom.  

The distributor is to extend the Siyaya franchise, and is in development on Siyaya: China, Siyaya: USA and Siyaya: Coast to Coast. Scorpion is actively seeking co-productions with local broadcasters. 

David Cornwall, chief exec and founder of Scorpion TV, said: “FOP Films is unrivalled when it comes to producing natural-history content that is visually stunning, commercially rewarding and makes a real difference to young people’s understanding of wildlife and nature. 

“Thanks to its vast network of scientists, researchers, national-park wardens and environmentalists, its production team has access to locations that are not only surprising, exciting and different, but generally inaccessible to film crews. In a world with a voracious appetite for thoughtful, beautifully made natural-history programming, the Siyaya docs are a sure bet.”