News round-up: CreativeChaos to adapt ‘This Is War’; Showtime orders ‘The World According To Football’; Prime Video & NRK acquire ’44 Hours’

Klementyna Suchanow (Source: CreativeChaos)

 CreativeChaos to adapt ‘This Is War’

US prodco CreativeChaos has acquired the rights to adapt Polish author and activist Klementyna Suchanow’s nonfiction book This Is War: Women, Fundamentalists And The New Middle Ages.

CreativeChaos co-dounders Tom Donahue and Ilan Arboleda will turn the book into a four-part docuseries following Suchanow’s transformation from author to activist in a sham trial for actions against Poland’s government.

“Klementyna’s plight is an urgent reminder that democracy is fragile and isn’t guaranteed. We’re thrilled to partner with her and bring her worthy investigation to the screen,” said Arboleda.

Showtime Sports orders ‘The World According To Football’

Showtime Sports has commissioned The World According To Football, a five-part docuseries narrated and executive produced by comedian and TV personality Trevor Noah.

The series, from Gotham Chopra’s Religion of Sports, Day Zero Productions and Mainstay Entertainment, will debut on Showtime and Paramount+ on 1 December. Each episode will focus on a different country – Brazil, the US, the UK, France, and Qatar – and explore how each country tackles global issues such as women’s rights, labour rights, income inequality, mental health and racism through the sport.

“This may be the most important project we’ve ever produced,” said Chopra. “Not just because we got to collaborate with Trevor Noah and a team of brilliant creatives, but also because this show is so on brand for us. Sports – and in this case specifically football/soccer – is a language through which we get to explore some of the most critical issues of our time.”

Prime Video & NRK acquire ’44 Hours’

Amazon streamer Prime Video, NRK in Norway and DocEdge Virtual Cinema in New Zealand have acquired documentary title 44 Hours, following deals with distributor Yes Studios.

The 1 x 83-minute feature-length documentary version of 44 Hours will now become available as a TVOD title on Amazon’s Prime Video. The 1 x 60-minute version has been acquired by NRK in Norway for its linear channels (NRK1, 2 & 3) and VOD platform, while in New Zealand, the feature version has been licensed to DocEdge Virtual Cinema, the year-round viewing platform that supports the Doc Edge Festival.

The film tells the story of Gil Avni, a sports-mad, healthy 33-year-old father of two, who was rushed to hospital after being taken suddenly ill. When he is pronounced brain-dead and given only a few hours to live, his family and friends visit to say their goodbyes. What nobody knows – neither the medical team nor his relatives – is that Gil is aware of what is happening around him and can hear every single word, which he memorises.

44 Hours is a Yes Docu, Rotem Gross and Einat-Hana Shamir production, co-produced with Neue Celluloid Fabrik Filmproduktion and SWR (Germany), in co-operation with ARTE (France). It debuted on Yes TV earlier this year and was also picked up by Netflix in Israel. Yes Studios handles the worldwide distribution for the documentary.