The founder of Keshet Broadcasting and Rebecca Edwards, VP Marcomms, spoke to ttvnews at Mipcom about the new documentary they are presenting, which offers a new outlook on the environmental genre, presenting a positive, joyful, relatable story.
*With production from Luis Cabrera and Ana Paula Carreira, from Cannes, France
Experts in finding content that’s original and stands out from the rest, Keshet International made its way to Mipcom in Cannes with a wide variety of titles in its catalog, led by the brand new documentary series, Earthbound.
Earthbound is a 6×60’ premium documentary series narrated by actor and environmentalist Orlando Bloom, which explores the lives and contributions of seemingly ordinary people who have become extraordinary change-makers by turning environmental challenges into opportunities.
By profiling one brilliant and bold visionary’s journey to success in each episode, like 32-year-old engineer, Nzambi Matee, the founder of Gjenge Makers, who recycles plastic waste into sustainable paving bricks– this optimistic and solution-orientated series aims to both entertain and inspire viewers around the world.
This six-part docuseries has been developed by Ritual Arts based on its 2023 multi-award-winning documentary film Earthbound: Nzambi Matee. The documentary has already garnered widespread success on the international festival circuit, winning more than 30 awards to date at festivals such as the Tribeca Film Festival, International Wildlife Film Festival, and Mallorca
“We were looking for an environmental story that could speak to a wide, global audience. A lot of environmental documentaries are very sad. And we were very specific in finding an optimistic, joyful, solution-oriented story”, Farhoud Meybodi, Founder of Keshet Broadcasting, said to ttvnews in Cannes.
“Nzambi went viral many times on the internet and one of my friends sent me one of her viral videos. I watched it and all of the hairs on my arm stood up. As a director, I had to follow my intuition. Four months later we were in Nairobi and we made the pilot. I think Nzambi is such a force of nature. She’s so dynamic. We want to appeal to a wide group of people who don’t feel represented in traditional environmental television and she was the right person for that”, he added.
“I think the great thing about this is entertainment at its heart. You watch it and cant help but feel joy, you’re infused by her energy. I think that is the key thing with this series. Everything about it is colourful, musical. We want people to say “I could do something, even if it is my own recycling”. It’s that tiny change that can collectively make a difference”, said Rebecca Edwards, VP Marcomms at Keshet Broadcasting.
On that same note, Meybodi added: “This is a story about the triumph of the human soul. And it’s fun, gripping, compelling, and by the end of it, you feel a sense of excitement, hopefully about your own life. I’ve been in the impact space for 14 years and what I’ve noticed is that it feels very far away from TV. We wanted this to feel very relatable. When you watch Earthbound, you should feel a sense of connectivity, a sense of joy and entertainment, and it should excite you to go and do something.”
