FAMILY HISTORY
Keira Knightley, Kit Harington, Emeli Sandé and Toby Jones are among the celebrities who’ve signed up to explore their family histories in Wonderhood Studios show “My Grandparents’ War.”
The second season of the show, which airs in the U.K. on Channel 4, will explore how the stars’ grandparents navigated global conflicts from the killing fields of Kenya to the mountains of Monte Cassino in Italy. The first season starred Helena Bonham Carter, Mark Rylance, Kristin Scott Thomas and Carey Mulligan.
All3Media International distributes the show, which will air on PBS in the U.S., SBS in Australia and CBC in Canada.
INVESTMENT
BBC Studios has taken a 25% stake in Kelly Webb-Lamb’s unscripted indie Mothership Productions.
Webb-Lamb, formerly Channel 4’s deputy director of programs, launched the company just a few weeks ago with a team of female executives including creative director Charlotte Desai, director of programs Gilly Greenslade and head of production Gudren Claire.
She has previously worked on unscripted formats including “The Apprentice,” “Great British Bake Off,” “Hunted” and “The Island with Bear Grylls.”
BBC Studios, which is the BBC’s commercial arm, has invested in scripted and unscripted indies including “Happy Valley 3” producer Lookout Point, Steve Coogan’s “Baby Cow” and Sid Gentle Films (“Killing Eve”).
“Kelly is highly sought-after creative leader who has assembled a team around her that has a formidable pedigree in hit shows and formats in a highly competitive field,” said Ralph Lee, CEO of BBC Studios Productions.
SHORTS
Grimmfest, Manchester’s International Festival of Fantastic Film, has unveiled its shorts selection including the world and international premieres of “Enough Sleep,” starring Jeffrey Combs and Sherilyn Fenn as neighbours from hell, “The Baby Next Door,” about ruthless ambition and repressed memory, and “Some Visitors,” which sees the consequences of a brutal home invasion.
Other short films lined up for the festival, which runs from Oct. 6-9, include “Lake Mungo,” “The Evil is Inside,” “Baby Fever,” “Who Goes There,” “Yummy Mummy,” “Oldtimers,” “Umheimlich,” “Ringworms” and “Tranvia.”
