Esther van Messel


Show of the week: The Hitler Chronicles – Blueprint for Dictators

It takes a brave filmmaker to create a documentary attempting to highlight the motivations that drove German dictator Adolf Hitler, and how his strategies have influenced those that have followed him. However, that’s exactly what Epoche Media has done with The Hitler Chronicles and what First Hand Films will be selling at MIPDoc. “The filmmakers […]

Blue chip to new chip: natural history with bite

Stewart Clarke speaks to commissioners, producers, distributors and digital pioneers about their efforts to reimagine the natural history genre. Alastair Fothergill is the embodiment of blue-chip, making landmark series for the BBC and films for Disney Nature, but he is now seeking to reinvent the genre, out of necessity as much as anything. “When I […]

First Hand goes Thru You Princess

Four broadcasters have prebought Israeli-produced social media-themed music doc Thru You Princess from Switzerland’s First Hand Films. The 1x56mins / 1x90mins programme follows Israeli musician Kutiman, who trawled the internet to find a singer that he could feature on a new album. First Hand bills it as “a film about long-lasting anonymity in a world […]

MIPTV News: First Hand sends docs to US, Europe

Swiss-based documentary sales house First Hand Films has closed deals for its documentaries in the US and with pubcasters across Europe. Non-commercial cable channel Link TV in the US has bought Shadows of Liberty: The Media Monopoly in American Journalism (pictured), which takes a hard-hitting look at the impact of corporate control over media outlets. […]