Xumo & European pubcasters ink pre-sales for ‘Silverback’ documentary

Silverback (Source: Off The Fence)

US streamer Xumo and European pubcasters ORF in Austria, UR in Sweden and YLE in Finalnd have inked pre-sale deals for Off The Fence documentary Silverback.

The 1 x 90-minute title was produced by OTF Studios in association with the BBC, France Télévisions, Featuristic Films and The WNET Group.

The film will debut on the BBC and France Télévisions on the 7 and 8 January respectively and follows Congo-born wildlife cameraman Vianet Djenguet as he joins the effort to protect his country’s critically endangered eastern lowland gorillas.

Off The Fence was granted access to the Kahuzi-Biéga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo to document the ‘habituation’ of a gorilla family as they acclimatize to the presence of humans.

Andrew Zikking, managing director of Off The Fence Studios, said: “Silverback started as a film about trying to save a species from extinction, but the director’s obs-doc approach allowed it to evolve into many unexpected directions, including the impact of poverty, ideas around identity, family and masculinity.”