France’s Planete+ sets Pernel doc to make 50th anniversary of Munich Olympic Games tragedy

Munich: Of Games And Blood

French broadcaster Planete+ has ordered a documentary focused on the Israeli hostage crisis that shocked the world during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, to coincide with the event’s 50th anniversary.

Munich: Of Games And Blood (Des Jeux Et Du Sang Munich 1972) is from French prodco Pernel Media and has been written by writers Philippe Saada and Yossi Melman. Cinematographer Marc Dugain is also attached.

The show tracks the events of 5 September, 1972, when Israeli athletes were taken hostage by Palestinian Black September terrorists during the Munich Olympic Games.

The doc retraces the international tragedy with modern narration and is being presented as a political thriller narrated by three protagonists present at the original event: a terrorist, a member of the German police, and a Mossad agent.

It will offer exclusive testimonies and revelations from declassified documents in an attempt to shine a new light on the massacre.

Executive producers for Pernel are Fabrice Frank and Samuel Kissous. The project was commissioned by Planete+’s Christine Cauquelin, head of documentaries at parent Canal+ Group.

Frank said: “Whilst this film is a documentary, it’s inspired by the visual and narrative codes of the American political thrillers of the day. The 1972 Munich games were filmed in 16mm, so we have adopted the latest camera technology to recreate the rich visual look in our contemporary footage, which features testimony from direct witnesses of the events.

Pernel’s slate includes The Uncovered Palace Of Ramses The Great for France Televisions, The Real War Of Thrones: A History Of Europe for France 5 and Sky History, as well as In The Footsteps Of Attila The Hun, commissioned by France 5 and acquired by Science Channel in the US.