Banijay Rights, the leading distribution arm of Banijay Group, has signed a multi-year, first look development deal with UK factual specialist Proper Content to develop and produce series for the UK and international markets.
The first three titles to spring from this brand new agreement are Suicidal: In Our Own Words (1 x 90’) and How You Can Help Stop Suicide (1 x 30’) both for Channel 5 and airing on 10th September; with new series The School That Tried To End Racism [WT] (2 x 60’) for Channel 4. Proper Content also has a number of other exciting new projects in the pipeline with the BBC.
Led by Creative Director, David DeHaney, Proper Content is a UK independent production company launched in 2016 specialising in distinctive and talked-about factual entertainment and documentary programming.
David launched Proper Content in October 2016, before that he held senior positions in some of the UK’s leading production companies including Love Productions, BBC, Nutopia, RDF, Darlow Smithson, Victory Television, Granada Television and Maverick. He has been an integral part of numerous domestic and international hits including Tough Young Teachers (BBC), The Woman Who Woke Up Chinese (BBC), Britain’s Gay Footballers (BBC), The Baby Borrowers (BBC) and Young, Autistic and Stagestruck (Channel 4) to name a few.
The deal was brokered off the back of both parties meeting during the Indielab Accelerator earlier this year. IndieLab is the leading growth programme in the UK TV sector, helping independent production companies to scale-up and super-charge their growth. Banijay Rights is a major sponsor of the programme.
Suicidal: In Our Own Words (1 x 90’ for C5)
This feature-length documentary explores the crisis in male mental health through the eyes, emotions and experiences of six suicidal men. For the first time, a programme follows men during a suicidal episode; the men’s journeys begin at the moment they want to try and die, and the film documents the complex, and challenging road to recovery as they are supported by a remarkable NHS team.
How You Can Help Stop Suicide? (1 x 30’)
This one-off film offers support and advice to anyone struggling with their mental health or concerned about a loved one’s state of mind. The film features expert voices from the charity sector as well as the NHS, each of them with extensive experience in the area of suicide. The film provides practical and accessible advice to anyone struggling, suggesting coping strategies as well as signposting individuals to relevant organisations. The film also hears briefly from men that have come out the other side of a suicidal crisis, as well as a young woman who faced the loss of her father.
The School That Tried To End Racism (W/T) (2 x 60’ for C4)
This bold and engaging new series will explore a ground-breaking school’s programme that tests for unconscious racial bias in an ordinary class of 11 to 12-year-old pupils. The School That Tried To End Racism (w/t) (2×60’) is based on a pioneering American scheme and will be led by leading Multicultural Education academics and scientists where pupils will take part in games, exercises and activities, both in and out of the classroom, that will challenge everything they thought they knew about race.
