All the latest news from the global content industry on Thursday, 19 June

 

Village Roadshow in $417m deal with Alcon 

Alcon Media Group has secured the Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (VREG) library in a $417.5m deal.

The agreement, which comes after Village Roadshow filed for bankruptcy protection in March, hands Alcon its entire library of IP, distribution rights and cash flows.

The library extends to 108 movies, including those Village Roadshow co-produced and co-financed with Warner Brothers Pictures since 1997, such as the Ocean’s Eleven series and The Matrix trilogy.

Village Roadshow’s assets also include a development slate of films and scripted and unscripted television series.

 

Sphere Abacus acquires two space docs

Sphere Abacus has acquired two feature documentaries about the US space programme, produced by Keith Haviland (Gazza) via his indie Haviland Digital.

Spacewoman, produced in association with Tigerlily Productions, documents the life of retired Nasa pilot Eileen Collins and is directed by Hannah Berryman (Banned! The Mary Whitehouse Story).

Apollo 1, co-produced with Stopwatch Productions and 7T1 Films, is directed by Mark Craig (The Last Man on the Moon) and tells the story of three astronauts who came together in America’s race for the Moon. Sphere Abacus has taken worldwide distribution excluding North America (Spacewoman and UK, Ireland, France and Germany (Apollo 1).

 

Limonero to distribute doc about Ukrainian children

Spanish distributor Limonero Films will distribute a feature doc about Ukrainian children rescued from Russia, exec produced by former president of HBO Documentary Films Sheila Nevins.

After the Rain: Putin’s Stolen Children Come Home is produced by Ashford Studios and Dogstar Films Production in association with 2Brave Productions and The Electric Shadow Company.

It reveals how two of the 1,300 children taken to Russia during the Ukrainian war are finding healing through animal therapy following their rescue.

Sarah McCarthy (Anastasia) directs, and producers are George Chignell (Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey) and Olha Beskhmelnytsina (Rule of Two Walls). Exec producers are Maria Logan, Jay Taylor, Isabel Freer and Sarah Laila.

 

Movistar+ takes DLO’s La Caza

Movistar+ in Spain is set to debut the fourth season of DLO Producciones’ drama La Caza, which previously aired on RTVE’s channel La 1.

The show, which will make its bow in Q4, is a psychological thriller, with the fourth run again starring Megan Montaner, Félix Gómez, and newcomer, Silvia Alonso. The story explores what happens when a woman’s body is found in the Irati Forest in Navarra, Spain.

The show was also adapted in France last year as Rivière Perdue for TF1 by Terence Films and Gétéve Productions, part of Banijay France.

José Manuel Lorenzo, president and founder of Banijay-owned DLO Producciones, received the Conecta Fiction & Entertainment 2025 Honorary Award this week in Cuenca.

 

RTP, Ukbar Filmes expand Portuguese Told By Women project

Portuguese public broadcaster RTP has partnered with local production outfit Ukbar Filmes on a second season of its Told By Women (aka Contado por Mulheres) initiative.

The scheme launched with 10 TV movies directed by 10 first-time women filmmakers, co-produced with the Portuguese pubcaster.

The second season will see 20 movies greenlit, reinforcing the project’s ambition “to empower women filmmakers and transform Portugal’s audiovisual landscape”.

“Thanks to the support of RTP and the dedication of our mentors, Contado por Mulheres is not only opening the door to new voices - it’s actively nurturing the next generation of Portuguese filmmakers,” said Pandora da Cunha Telles, creator of Told by Women and producer at Ukbar Filmes.

 

Blue Ant expands Roku pact in Canada

Blue Ant Media has launched its free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel, Declassified, on The Roku Channel in Canada.

The service offers shows that range from conspiracies and catastrophies to engineering and ancient civilizations, with specials and series including San Andreas: A Race Against Time and Forbidden History available.

Blue Ant FAST brands already streaming on Roku in Canada include Love Pets, Total Crime, Homeful and HauntTV.