The 20th Century Project List revisited

Since my latest call for new contributions to this list of programme projects on the theme planned, under production or already finished and being aired, I would like to point out a few activities in this area going on or coming up soon.

On September 18th there is a Forum, "The Creative Power of Broadcasters in the New Digital Environment"in Assisi, Italy, arranged within the activities around the 40th Anniversary of Prix Italia. A special session and panel discussion is dedicated to archive programming on the theme "The history of the 20th Century".

The same week, but in London, there is "The Story of the Century II. The Second International Newsfilm Conference" (sponsored and supported by FIAT/IFTA).

Later this year, in late November, there is the United Nations World TV Forum in New York. There will be sessions focusing on the role played by television in the development of human rights and democracy as well as worldwide socio-cultural progress, the audiovisual memory within the context of the new multi-media environment etc and a video exhibition on the theme "Lights and Shadows of the XX Century". Is any of this possible without the context of tv-archiving?!

Just to mention as a few examples of the great interest in programming on this theme "The History of the 20th Century", with the the turn of the century and the the end of the millennium rapidly approaching.

To brush up your memory about this "20th Century Project List". The idea about the list originates from a workshop at the FIAT/IFTA Conference in Berlin 1995, when the BBC and "The Peoples Century"-researcher Christine Whittaker were presenting the progress of that project. With a list of 20th Century projects principally based on archival material we hope to help establish contacts between producers and facilitate productions.

So I will again emphasise the importance of new contributions to the list and updated information on projects already there, to make it more useful. Check your databases! And check with the aquisitions department of your company since there are a lot of independent production companies!

20th Century Projects:

Company: ABC News, USA/NHK, Japan 
Title: The 20th Century News 
Description: 12 programmes, transmission to begin 1997. (1995)   

Company: BBC , Great Britain/WGBH Boston, USA 
Title: The Peoples Century.
Description: A total of 26 hours of wich BBC is producing 18 
and WGBH eight. The theme of the project is "mass movement 
and the common man." 
First transmitted: 1997 
Producer:-   Contact:-
(information updated 1998)   


Tedd Johansen and Amira Arratia Fernandez, 
Head of TVN Archive

Company: CBC, Canada & BBC, Great Britain. 
Title: The Dawn of the Eye. 
Desciption: A six-part series on the last hundred years of 
motion picture news, newsreels and television news. Currently 
in pre-production. 
Contact: Julia Bennet, CBC TV Documentary Unit, 4A-100, 
The Broadcast Centre, Box 500, Station A, Toronto Canada 
M5W 1E6. Phone +1 416 205 8864, Fax +1 416 205 8842. (1996)  

Company: DR TV,  Denmark. 
Title: 100 Years of Childhood.
Desciption: Ten programmes of 30 minutes for children to be 
transmitted in 1997-98. The production is based on archive 
footage from 1898 to this day. The 'Chronicle' will 
concentrate on the world of the child - microcosm: 
play, school, work, family life, friends, clothes, transports, 
housing etc. 
Producer: Gert Fredholm. 
Contact: Marianne Kemp, DR TV Children and Youth Dept.,
TV-Byen, 2860 Soeborg, Denmark. Phone +45 35 20 30 40, 
Fax +45 35 20 44 99. (information updated 1997)   

Company: Film Australia for the National Interest Program 
in association with the National Film and Sound Archive and 
with the assistance of SBS Independent. 
Title: Rewind. 
Description: How Australians worked and played in the 20th 
Century. Using newsreels, documentaries, home movies, 
television and cinema advertisements, it shows Australian 
habits and attitudes - as they were made and as they changed. 
No of parts (five minutes) in series: 26.
Producer:  Margaret Murphy (and director) and Chris Oliver 
(executive producer). 
Contact: Sales Office, Film Australia Limited. 
Phone: +61 2 9413 8777, Fax: +61 2 9416 9401, 
e-mail: sales@filmaust.com.au or Pam Barton, National Film 
and Sound Archive, e-mail: Pam_Barton@nfsa.gov.au. 
Distributed by: National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. 
(june 1998)   

Company: Film Australia for the National Interest Program 
in association with the National Film and Sound Archive and 
with the assistance of SBS Independent. 
Title: Our Century. 
Description: A television tribute to the last hundred years 
of Australia. It covers the movements, events and people who 
have shaped the Australian nation. No of parts (30 minutes) 
in series: 26. 
Producer: Will Davies, Look Film Productions Pty Ltd in 
co-production with the National 9 Network, Film Australia, 
National Film and Sound Archive and the Commercial 
Television Production Fund for the Film Australia National 
Interest Program. 
Contact: Will Davies, Look Film Productions Pty Ltd. 
Phone: +61 2 9436 1647, Fax: +61 2 9438 3660, 
e-mail: look@lookfilm.com.au or Pam Barton, National Film 
and Sound Archive, e-mail: Pam_Barton@nfsa.gov.au. (june 1998)   


Roberto di Chiara, Di Film, Argentina,
Sara Harb, Cinemateca de Caribe, Colombia,
Tedd Johansen (NRK) President FIAT/IFTA
Daniel Sandoval, Chile 

Company: MSNBC Cable, USA. 
Title: Time & Again. 
Description: "Drawing on more than 75 years of archival 
news footage, ¶Time & Again° adds historical context to 
today°s events through rare interviews and footage and news 
reports by award-winning journalists. 'Jane Pauley was our 
first and only choice to host this program,' said NBC News 
President Andrew Lack. 'Her special 20-year relationship 
with NBC makes Jane the perfect person to anchor 
'Time & Again.' With new episodes every week adding to the 
hundreds already produced, 'Time & Again' has become 
appointment viewing; a place to revisit some of the great 
events and personalities of our time." 
First transmission: 1997. 
Producer: Andrew Franklin 
Contact: TimeAndAgain@msnbc.com (1998) 


Company: Sveriges Television (SVT), Sweden. 
Title: Bokslut (Closing of the accounts) 
Description: A series of 10 programmes on the history 
of Sweden of the 20th Century, 
principally based on archival material. 
First transmission: 1998 
Producer: Olle Häger. 
Contact: Olle Häger, SVT Region Stockholm, Dokumentärfilm, 
S-105 10 Stockholm, Sweden. E-mail: olle.hager@svt.se, 
Phone +46 8 784 8453, Fax +46 8 663 2726. 
(information updated 1998)   


Paulina Montaldo Ortiz, TVN, Seminar Organizer

Company: TBS Productions (Turner Broadcasting), USA. 
Title: Century 
Description: A series of ten hour programmes made by 
different feature-film directors and producers. 
Producer: Jonathan Taplin. (1995)   

Company: VRT, Belgium 
Title: Six great 20th century stories. 
Description: 
A series of 6 x 60 minutes on the following topics: 
1. Wars, 2. Fascism, 3.Communism, 4. Colonialism 
("our" Congo), 5. The Golden Age I, 6. The Golden Age II   
(daily life from the sixties on). 
Producer: Bert Govaerts, VRT. 
Contact: Bert Govaerts, producer, VRT, B 1043 Brussel. 
Phone: +32 2 741 52 94, e-mail: Bert.Govaerts@vrt.be 
(April 1998)   

Company: WGBH, USA,in association with La Cinquième, 
France. 
Title: Nova's Century of Discoveries 
Description:  
(10 x 1 hour) An extraordinary chronicle of 20th-century 
science and technology: 
MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH -  
The passion of medical work in the 20th century.  
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE  -  Quantum theory, relativity, 
nuclear power, and the universe. 
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE - 
Psychological theory from nature to nurture and back. 
BIGGER, BETTER, FASTER  -  Technological odyssey of the 
20th century. 
ORIGINS -  The history of the Earth and of life itself. 
Genes and Evolution, Origin of Life and Impact Theory. 
(August 1998)  
 
Company: ZDF and Zolcer TV, Germany 
Title: 100 Moments of the Century. 
Description: (100 x 10 minutes). "Each of the short 
documentaries will feature the story behind one of the 
centuryÐs most compelling and recognizable  images from 
film and photos. Episodes include the first flight of the 
Wright Brothers in 1903, the maiden voyage of the Titanic 
in 1912, the planting of the stars and stripes above Ivo 
Jima in 1945, Neil ArmstrongÐs moonwalk in 1969, the first 
test-tube baby in 1978, and modern-day tragedies like Tianmen 
Square, Chernobyl and Oklahoma City. The series, still in 
production, features extensive archival footage plus new 
intervievs." (February 1998)  


Tedd Johansen and Enriqque Aimone, Secretary General of TVN Chile
 
Company: ZDF, Germany. 
Title: A Century Takes Off. 
Description: A series in tvelwe parts where the first 
three decades of the century is examined in the context 
of present issues. 
Producer: Dieter Frank. (1995)  

Company: Südwestfunk (SWF), Germany 
Title: 100 Deutsche Jahre 
Description: 52 parts of 30 minutes covers almost all 
aspects of life and history during the 20th century. 
First transmission: January 1999. 
Producer: Christoph Fischer 
Contact: Redaktion 100 Deutsche Jahre, Postfach 76 522 
Baden-Baden, Germany. Phone +49 72 2192 3149, 
Fax +49 72 2192 2095, e-mail: -     (1995)  

Addition in Newsletter 4 - 1998

Forward your contributions to this list to: 
Lasse Nilsson Chair, 
FIAT/IFTA Programming & Production Commission 
e-mail: lasse.nilsson@svt.se, 
Phone: +46 8 784 5740, 
Fax: +46 8 660 4000, 
Address: Sveriges Television, RH-N2G, 
S-105 10  Stockholm, SWEDEN. 
/L