The concert production To Paradise has been nominated in the Recordings of Concert Performance category at the 63rd Golden Prague International Television Festival.

ORF-Enterprise announced that To Paradise has been selected for the second round of the international competition at the 63rd Golden Prague International Television Festival.

The production is among the nominated titles in the category Recordings of Concert Performance, which honors outstanding concert recordings from around the world.

A total of 34 productions advanced to the second round of the festival competition following the first round of judging by an international jury.

A MUSICAL JOURNEY BETWEEN COMFORT AND TRANSCENDENCE

When choral singing, the meditative timelessness of Arvo Pärt, and Mozart’s Requiem meet, To Paradise creates a powerful soundscape between supplication, comfort, and transcendence.

Filmed at the Sala Sinfónica of the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid, the concert production combines works by Mozart and Bach with contemporary spirituality through the music of Arvo Pärt and Knut Nystedt’s Bach transformation.

Directed by Volker Werner and conducted by Heinz Ferlesch, the production features soprano Miriam Kutrowatz together with the Barucco Orchestra and Barucco Choir. “To Paradise” is a co-production by ORF III, RTVE and Scarlatti Arts in association with ORF-Enterprise.

The concert is distributed worldwide by ORF-Enterprise.

To Paradise is a concert film from Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional de Música, creating a meditative, timeless soundscape of supplication, comfort and transcendence. The programme combines central works of the European music tradition with contemporary spirituality and a compelling Bach transformation by Knut Nystedt.

La entrada ORF Enterprise’s To Paradise Receives Golden Prague Nomination se publicó primero en TTV News.

The agreement includes a diverse lineup of Austrian drama, crime, and comedy highlights, establishing ORF-Enterprise’s role as Prime Video Direct Partner.

ORF-Enterprise and Amazon Prime Video have signed a new licensing deal for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

The agreement includes a diverse lineup of Austrian drama, crime, and comedy highlights, establishing ORF-Enterprise’s role as Prime Video Direct Partner.

The agreement includes both seasons of Glambitous, six seasons of Suburbia, the cult comedy series Braunschlag, the movies Forever Yours and In The Shadow of Fear 2 – Thou Shalt Not Lie, as well as Final Settlement from ORF’s Backwoods Crime strand.

The acquisition further complements the presence of Austrian storytelling on international streaming platforms and brings a diverse lineup of ORF Originals to audiences throughout the region.

“We are delighted to further expand the reach of Austrian storytelling through our collaboration with Amazon Prime Video,” says Armin Luttenberger, Head of Content Sales International at ORF-Enterprise. “With their strong presence across the region, these productions will become accessible to a broad audience and further strengthen the international visibility of content made in Austria, while complementing their availability on ORF’s streaming platform ORF ON.”

FROM DARK COMEDY TO CRIME AND SUSPENSE

The licensed package showcases the breadth of contemporary television storytelling, ranging from sharp social satire and character-driven drama to psychological suspense and crime investigations.

All titles are distributed worldwide by ORF-Enterprise.

Glambitious: Four young women from different worlds are brought together by ambition, love and betrayal. As new romances and career opportunities raise the stakes, they must decide how far they are willing to go for the lives they dream of.

Suburbia – Women on the Edge: Behind the façade of wealth and privilege, a friend group of wealthy women see their seemingly perfect lives unravel. As their marriages fall apart, they are drawn into a world of corruption, intrigue and scandal, fighting for money, independence and revenge.

Braunschlag: When a bankrupt small-town mayor and his best friend fake a Marian apparition to attract tourists, their unlikely miracle transforms the town overnight. But as believers, politicians and the Vatican descend, their desperate scheme quickly spirals out of control.

Forever Yours: Single shop owner Judith falls for charming architect Hannes, but his affection soon becomes suffocating. As he refuses to let go, reality and imagination begin to blur, leaving Judith to question who is truly losing their mind.

In the Shadow of Fear 2 – Thou Shalt Not Lie: After a man is found beaten to death, a young woman confesses to the crime. But forensic psychologist Karla Eckhardt knows the suspect as a compulsive liar, drawing her into a dangerous game where nothing is as it seems.

Final Settlement: Haunted by a past mistake, Commissario Höllbacher has retreated to his hometown, hoping for a quiet life. But when a high-profile double murder shakes the city and an old rival reappears, he is forced back into an investigation he cannot escape.

La entrada Amazon Prime Video Acquires Multiple ORF Originals se publicó primero en TTV News.

The Sales Executive of the Austrian distributor spoke with ttvnews at Mipcom about her current vision and the challenges of the international content market.

*Produced by Luis Cabrera, from Cannes, France

Known worldwide for its spectacular nature documentaries and factual content, ORF Enterprise once again made its way to Cannes for a new edition of Mipcom.

The group is present at the event to demonstrate the power of its catalog of factual content and its award-winning documentaries under the ORF Universum brand.

“ORF’s specialty is nature programs,” Phoebe Clark, Sales Executive of ORF Enterprise, began in a conversation with ttvnews. “I think public interest is shifting toward nature programs. We’ve had several buyers requesting these programs,” she revealed.

Latin America has always been fertile ground for the distributor. “We have more than 200 hours sold to many Latin American broadcasters,” the executive emphasized.

However, in times of change, content distribution in the region has presented new challenges. “Currently, it’s more difficult to close sales in Latin America, but we’re negotiating with several public television and cultural channels,” Clark explained.

“We have two very attractive formats, which I think are interesting for Latin America, and we’re looking for sponsors,” she added.

La entrada Phoebe Clark, ORF Enterprise: “Public interest is shifting toward nature programs” se publicó primero en TTV News.

The group sold scripted ORF Originals and Universum Nature & History blue-chip documentaries at the Croisette and showcased program highlights with international guests at the traditional ORF Apéro.

At the traditional ORF Apéro on Monday ORF-Enterprise highlighted recent program offerings, with a particular emphasis on ORF Originals, featuring exciting TV-movies and series.

In the presence of ORF Director General Roland Weißmann and Program Director Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz, international guests took an exclusive peek at the latest ORF Universum Nature & History documentaries as well as brand new scripted ORF Originals.

“Mipcom has always been a crucial event for us, as it offers the perfect opportunity to connect with international buyers and co-producers. The positive reception of our content catalog at this market underscores the quality and appeal of our productions worldwide, which have become a valuable asset to licensees worldwide, boosting their ratings with ORF Originals”, says Oliver Böhm, Managing Director of ORF-Enterprise.

Both Universum Nature and Universum History documentaries continue to be big hits with buyers around the globe.

European Downfall – The Tragedy of Emperor Franz Joseph is licensed by RAI (Italy) and Ceska Televiza (Czech Republic). The Czech broadcaster also acquires Rebellion in the Brothel – Trafficking in Women around 1900.

The renowned broadcaster National Geographic Channels International secures the ORF Universum Nature documentary Wild Transylvania – Dracula’s Hidden Kingdom and is pre-buying Red Sea: Evolution’s Magic Garden. The new deals complement National Geographic’s acquisitions of Nicobar Island – A Monkey’s Long Tale and the multi-awarded Lions of the the Skeleton Coast earlier this year.

RTS (Switzerland) adds The Raven’s Tale – Mystic Czechia and The Real Jungle Book to its program.

Turkish viewers can anticipate ten ORF Universum Nature programs soon to be broadcast by TRT.

A further package of ten nature and historical documentaries, including The Real Jungle Book, goes to the Czech broadcaster FTV Prima. Viasat (UK) licenses The Real Jungle Book, Slovenia – Where Nature Comes First and Wild Boar – The Comeback from ORF Enterprise.

ARD One from Germany places a follow-up order and opts for the third and fourth seasons of Walking on Sunshine. FTV Prima (CZ) acquires seasons 4-11 of Soko Kitzbühel. The season 3 of Soko Linz goes to Canal+ (France), while AXN (Japan) will soon broadcast the first season of this successful ORF Original.

With The Bartered Bride – Opera Graz 2022, Ceska Televize (Check Republic) is relying on an outstanding cultural production by ORF III in collaboration with Opera Graz.

“We are proud that the list of regular clients who consistently rely on ORF content in their outlets is growing. New seasons of notable ORF Originals such as ‘Soko Linz’ or ‘Fast Forward’ ensure ratings success with our international partners. ORF-Enterprise has earned an excellent reputation as a content supplier in all genres and has been able to greatly expand its market position in the segment of TV-movies and series in recent years in addition to the well-known factual slate”, adds Armin Luttenberger, Head of Content Sales International at ORF-Enterprise.

Xiamen Airlines (China), Eva Airways (Taiwan), and Korean Airlines (Korea) will be including the concert highlight featuring the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra Christmas in Vienna 2023 into their in-flight entertainment line-up, with the program set to premiere on their flights starting in December. Meanwhile, Thai Airways secures the rights to the TV-movie Forever Yours, which will also be available to passengers from December on.

La entrada ORF-Enterprise Scores Big at Mipcom 2024 se publicó primero en TTV News.

The Austrian distributor’s Sales Representative is present at Mipcancun with a slate of new titles, including fiction series and its flagship documentaries, seeking to find new partners and screens in Latin America.

Following a very successful run at Mipcom, ORF Enterprise is now present in Mexico for the current edition of Mipcancun, seeking to further expand the reach of the titles it presented las month in Cannes.

“We have an incredible mixture of programs, from documentaries, real blue chip animal and history documentaries in our brand Universum,” Phoebe Clarke, Sales Representative, ORF Enterprise, said to ttvnews at the event in Mexico.

“We also have amazing fiction. Kafka is one of our top series”, she continued. The series is about Franz Kafka, the world’s most widely read German-language author, who would have died 100 years ago in June 2024. To mark the occasion, Superfilm, in co-production with ORF and ARD with participation of ORF-Enterprise, are producing the six-part mini-series, telling the story of the peculiar twentieth century writer.

One of the areas this series focuses on is in the person that actually “betrays” Kafka, Max Brod, the man that didn’t destroy all of Kafka’s books and his work as the author has asked him to do just before his dead. Brod he published his works, and that is the reason why Kafka is known today.

“Then there’s School of Champions, which has the most incredible pictures”, she highlighted. School of Champions tells the story of a freshman class at Austria’s most renowned and prestigious ski-academy. The graduates of this highly reputable institution regularly dominate the professional skiing world, but at this boarding school of pubescent athletes there is only a thin line between love and jealousy, loyalty and betrayal, ambition and frustration.

“Then we have kids’ programming, music, classical music, cross-over. You have to come and see the ORF programming, it’s not as well known as the BBC but it’s just as good”, she concluded.

La entrada Phoebe Clarke, ORF: “ORF’s programming is just as good as the BBC’s” se publicó primero en TTV News.

With an eye in the upcoming MipCancun and the Latam audiences, ORF Enterprises is present at Mipcom 2023 with very attractive titles like School of Champions and the upcoming Kafka

* with production from Mónica Iriarte, from Cannes, France

ORF-Enterprise traveled to Cannes for this year’s Mipcom with a slate of premium dramas and documentaries that look to build on the success the Austrian company has found in territories like France, Italy and Spain.

“ORF is having great success in many countries,” emphasizes Phoebe Clarke, Sales Representative for Latin America at ORF-Enterprises, said to ttvnews at Mipcom. “ORF sold two reality shows to USA, that now are going in production. Also sold a lot of their products to Pay TV and Free TV in Italy, Spain and France, and the results have been very very positive.”

First on the drama slate is Kafka, about Franz Kafka, the world’s most widely read German-language author, who would have died 100 years ago in June 2024. To mark the occasion, Superfilm, in co-production with ORF and ARD with participation of ORF-Enterprise, are producing the six-part mini-series, telling the story of the peculiar twentieth century writer.

“Kafka is still in production. He is an incredibly important person and so much is not known about him,” shared Clarke.

“One of the areas this series focuses on is in the person that actually ‘betrays’ Kafka, Max Brod, the man that didn’t destroy all of Kafka’s books and his work as the author has asked him to do just before his dead. Brod he published his works, and that is the reason why Kafka is known today,” she explained.

Also on the drama side, the distributor is presenting School of Champions, which tells the story of a freshman class at Austria’s most renowned and prestigious ski-academy. The graduates of this highly reputable institution regularly dominate the professional skiing world, but at this boarding school of pubescent athletes there is only a thin line between love and jealousy, loyalty and betrayal, ambition and frustration.

“It’s about young people learning who they are, developing their own skills, and in a very, very competitive atmosphere, because it’s in a school were they are learning how to be champions,” the executive explained. “The pictures are actually fantastic, but the thing I think is more important is that it’s a young people film, not about older people, it really is about teenagers and early-twenties, a coming of age story.”

With Mipcom just getting started, ORF is already thinking about the next big markets, with a slate of new titles ready to meet Latin American audiences at this year’s MipCancun.

“For MipCancun we are highlighting another universal program, ORF is well-known for its fantastic universal programs. This year we have a two parter, Secret India, focusing on the animals that everyone knows about the Rudyard Kipling stories.

Secret India – The Real Jungle Book follows the daily and seasonal struggles of India’s charismatic animals, including tigers, wolves, elephants, and black panthers, that author Rudyard Kipling depicted in his work, bringing to life the truth beyond the fiction.

“We are also showing classical music. One program is with top musicians from the Berlin Philharmonie and from the Vienna Philharmonie. They played crossover jazz and classical music. It’s fantastic,” she highlighted.

La entrada Phoebe Clarke, ORF: “We are having great success in many territories” se publicó primero en TTV News.

The Austrian distributor announced several deals following Miptv, including sales to Atresmedia in Spain and TV Unam in Mexico.

Austrian content producer and distributor, ORF Enterprise, has announced several new deals for its content in Europe, America and Asia following Miptv.

TV Unam in Mexico presents its viewers with the Universum History documentary The Builders of the Alhambra.

Atresmedia in Spain brings the 13th and 15th seasons of Soko Kitzbuehel and the fourth to seventh seasons of Fast Forward to the screens of its viewers. The Spanish RTVE secures ten ORF Universum nature productions in a package deal.

Histoire from France picked Lost City of the Gladiators and the two-parter The Great Wall as well as the history documentary Victims of the Vikings. The French broadcaster KTO adds four titles, including Christmas in Vienna (2017) and Sister Mary from Nairobi to its program line-up. France’s Ushuaia opted for the two documentaries When the Water Rises and Tropics, Frost & Perpetual Ice.

TG4 (Ireland) will broadcast Life on the Wing – Miracle of Bird Migration and Hudson River Wild.

RAI (Italy) has showed great interest in ORF Universum History and secured four documentaries, including The Nero Files – Uncovering an Ancient Conspiracy and Augustus and Livia – Empire of Blood.

Discovery Italy will soon be showing the 19th and 20th seasons of Soko Kitzbuehel, continuing its year-long cooperation with the finale of the hit series.

Axess TV (Sweden) draws from the diversity of the content catalogue and licenses four productions. These include top-class cultural productions such as a recording of Nabucco from the St. Margarethen Open Air Opera and the two-parter Continent of the Displaced – Europe after the War.

“UNIVERSUM documentaries and ORF Originals continue to captivate audiences worldwide, and we are delighted to bring Austrian productions to screens around the world. These major international broadcast deals are a testament to the quality and diversity of our content catalog, and we look forward to continuing our successful partnerships with broadcasters and streaming providers worldwide”, summarizes Oliver Böhm, CEO of ORF-Enterprise.

La entrada ORF Strikes New Deals in Spain and Mexico se publicó primero en TTV News.

The Parisian distribution and production company renewed their deal with the Austrian network for the cinematic documentary Daphné du Maurier: In Rebecca’s Footsteps.

Parisian distribution and production company, Prime Entertainment Group, renews their deal with major Austrian network ORF for the cinematic documentary Daphné du Maurier: In Rebecca’s Footsteps.

Prime has previously licensed media to ORF with the documentary New Orleans, In the Heat of Night (52) which explores the tumultuous socio-political climate of the city after the devastating Hurricane Katrina.

Daphné du Maurier: In Rebecca’s Footsteps is a beautifully curated documentary that explores the author’s work that inspired and was subsequently adapted into Alfred Hitchcock’s films such as Jamaica Inn, The Birds and one of his most acclaimed films, Rebecca. The documentary uses photographs, archival footage, and stunning shots of the windswept landscapes of Du Maurier’s beloved Cornwall, while an erudite selection of talking heads — including her daughter, Vicountess Tessa Montgomery of Alamein, and her biographer, Tatiana de Rosnay — discuss her childhood and life within a famous and bohemian family, her development as a writer, her complex domestic life and how the two women in Rebecca represented opposite and contradictory sides of Du Maurier’s complex personality.

This program greatly contributes to Prime’s collection of high-profile biographies based on cinema legends such as their latest documentaries featuring The True Story of The Barrymore’s (54’), The True Story of Dorothy Arzner (54’), and The True Story of Carry Grant (54’), which all explore influential Hollywood legends brought back to life through an incredible restoration process.

Alexandra Marguerite, Head of Sales at Prime, says: “It is a great satisfaction to work with ORF and bring a range of dynamic programs to an Austrian audience. Our documentary catalogue is continuously evolving and we are happy to continue our partnership with such leading players”.

La entrada ORF Nabs Prime Doc se publicó primero en TTV News.