Latest in October Films

Denman Rooke is stepping down as executive chairman of October Films, the UK and U.S. production company known for making History’s Barbarians Rising. Rooke has worked at the production outfit for 24 years, first joining as a director in 1995, and rising to executive chairman in 2014. Rooke’s responsibilities will be…

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Prime Video has scored a landmark soccer documentary series from producers including Joe Roth, coffee chain Starbucks, Barbarians Rising producer October Films and Spanish firm Brutal Media. The SVOD service will launch This Is Football, a six-part series that will look at the stories behind the…

EXCLUSIVE: October Films, the UK and U.S. production company best known for producing History's Barbarians Rising, is taking advantage of football fever with a new six-part documentary series exploring the sport. The company has partnered with Spanish production company Brutal Media to develop This Is Football…

ITV is said to be mulling a joint venture arrangement with the BBC by acquiring the 50% of British broadcaster UKTV that is currently owned by Discovery. BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide) already holds the other 50% of the company and has an option to buy the Discovery stake which it would then immediately sell to…

Former British soldier Adnan Sarwar is heading back to Iraq fifteen years after the start of the Iraq war for a two-hour documentary for BBC Two. The broadcaster has commissioned UK and U.S. producer October Films to make Return To Iraq (w/t). Sarwar will explore how the country has changed since he served in the army…

PBS executive Mike Kelley is joining ITV Studios Global Entertainment to bolster its U.S. sales team. Kelley, who was previously SVP, Programming, Business Affairs and Content Operations at the U.S. public broadcaster has been appointed SVP, Sales, Americas and will be based at ITVSGE's LA operation. Kelly was…

October Films, the U.S./UK production company behind History's drama Barbarians Rising, is eyeing a number of acquisitions and start-ups after bolstering its senior teams in the U.S. and UK. This comes after it was one of the backers of Talos Films, the New York-based firm set up by former History and MTV exec Julian…

EXCLUSIVE: The tumultuous political climate in 2018 has opened the door for fly-on-the-wall documentaries about major political institutions such as the United Nations and the European Union. I hear that Vice-owned producer Pulse Films has secured access to the global political organization, while UK broadcaster Channe…

National Geographic has commissioned UK-based October Films to produce Mygrations, which follows a ‘herd' of 20 elite men and women attempting to complete the world's most famous animal migration across Africa. In the show, the ‘human herd’ must brave harsh elements, deadly predators and each other as they attempt to…

The Hunt director Thomas Vinterberg's The Commune sold well for TrustNordisk during the recently wrapped AFM. Deals concluded include the UK (Artificial Eye), Germany and Austria (Prokino), Benelux (September Film), Greece/Cyprus (Seven Films), Czech/Slovakia (Film Europe), Former Yugoslavia (MCF Megacom Film), Poland…

History and UK-based October Films have acquired rights to the marine investigation into what is believed to be the remains of the long-lost Santa Maria shipwreck. History is sponsoring the expedition to the site off the coast of Haiti and it will air it at a later date, Dirk Hoogstra, EVP and General Managers…