Leopard UK & USA add heads of production

UK and US based prodco Leopard Films has added new heads of production for both the New York and London offices. Nicki Gottlieb is the new head of production in London and Wendy Hall will take the newly created head of production position in New York. Gottlieb comes from Diverse where she was production manager. Hall has been with Leopard for 5 years in both the UK and US offices. For more information see the release.

Off the Fence produces two shark films for Nat Geo Int

Off the Fence Productions announces two new films for National Geographic Channels International. Both films will feature never-before-seen shark behavior. Sharkville and Secret Shark Pits are both 60 minute HD specials that will premiere in December. For more information see the release.

Whale Wars gets top ratings for Animal Planet

In its second outing, the new Animal Planet series Whale Wars delivered more than 1.1 million viewers for the network. This marking the best Friday primetime telecast for the network in five years. For more information, click here to see the release.

AETN finalizes deals with German broadcasters

AETN International has announced a slate of deals with broadcasters across Germany. Seasons one and two of Ice Road Truckers are going to RTL, Dog the Bounty Hunter and Crime 30 are going to RTL 2, Crude, Rome: the Rise and Fall of an Empire, Journey to 10,000 BC and The Egyptian Book of the Dead are being picked up by ZDF ARTE for Germany and France. For the rest, see the release.

Oscar's shortlisted docs announced

Some of the usual suspects of documentary filmmaking, Werner Herzog and Errol Morris, are advancing in the voting process alongside some newer names in the recently announced Acadamy Award documentary feature awards race. For the full list, see http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2008/08.11.17a.html.

Reel Asian Film Fest announces winners

Toronto's 12th edition of the Reel Asian International Film Festival has completed its five day run and has winners to announce. Paul Wong's Perfect Day claimed the title of the NFB Best Documentary Award, which garners Wong with a CDN$2,500 prize to go toward the winner's next project.

Chris Plamer to receive lifetime achievement award

The International Wildlife Film Festival has announced it will be presenting its Lifetime Achievement Award for Media to MacGillivray Freeman Films Eduction Foundation's President and director of American University's Center for Environmental Filmmaking, Chris Palmer. The award will be presented at the 32nd IWWF in Missoula in May 2009. For more, see the release.

Icon gets two commissions from BBC2's 'Natural World'

Icon Films has been commissioned to produce two 60 minute films for BBC2's 'Natural World' strand. The Mountains of the Monsoon follows Indian environmentalist and photographer Sandesh Kadur on his quest to discover an unidentified species of cat, the Pogeyon. Crocodile Blues documents conservationist and reptile expert Romulus Whitaker and his fight to save an ancient 20 foot crocodile from extinction. For more, see the release.

KEO expands production team

London-based KEO Films announces two additions to its production team. Maddy Allen is the new head of production, while Katie Buchanan joins as an executive producer. Allen comes to the team from previous jobs at RAW TV and October Films. Buchanan comes from Walker George Films. For more see the release.

Electric Sky announces raft of deals

Post-MIPCOM, UK distributor Electric Sky has announced a number of cable and terrestrial deals, including USA's WEtv picking up United by 9/11, a one-off by MAPTV for BskyB; and Israel's YES DBS Satellite Services have picked up FIVER's Generation Sex by Princess Productions, The Meaning Of Food by Pie In The Sky Productions and The Rainman Twins by Somethin' Else. The latter, which was realscreen's Best in Show MIPCOM Pick, also sold to RTL Germany.

International Wildlife Film Fest calls for entries

The 32nd International Wildlife Film Festival is looking for entries. The deadline is January 31 for the Missoula, Montana fest which is held May 9 to 16.

Beach Patrol is UK-bound

Target Entertainment Group has brokered a split window deal for US series Beach Patrol. The Evolution production will air on both Fiver and Zone Reality channel in the UK. For more, see the full press release.

Skyworks takes to the clouds for BBC Four

UK indie prodco Skyworks, which also specializes in HD aerial filming, has been commissioned by BBC Four for the 90-minute doc Cloudspotting. Based on the book The Cloudspotter's Guide, the special will celebrate everything cloud-related.

Big Fat sales for DCD

London-based distributor DCD Media announces sales for September Films' shock docs The Girl With Two Faces and My Big Fat Mexican Wedding.

The former has been sold to Nelonen (Finland), Nine Network (Australia), Pro Plus (Slovenia), Kanal 5 (Sweden), TV Norge (Norway), Viasat (The Baltics) and RTL Netherlands. The latter is heading to VTM (Belgium), RTL Netherlands, RTL Belgium and Viasat TV3 (Sweden). For more see the release.

BET appoints new programming chiefs

BET has named two more to the programming team. Loretha Jones, newly named president of programming is responsible for original programming, news, development, planning and acquisitions. Stephen Hill has been promoted to president of programming, responsible for music programming and specials. Both hires are vets of MTV, Hill as director of music programming, and Jones as EVP of MTV Films/Paramount Pictures.

Sheffield announces award winners

This year Sheffield Doc/Fest screened 154 films, the largest amount in the fests 15 year history. The Audience Award goes to The Fallen, by Morgan Matthews, and the runner up is Man on Wire directed by James Marsh. The Wallflower Press Award, which goes to the best student doc, is awarded to Cyanosis by Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami from Tehran Art University. For more see the release.

Whoopi Goldberg and Discovery team up

Discovery Communications' Emerging Networks Group has signed a development deal with Whoopi Goldberg's production company, Whoop Inc. Goldberg and partner, Tom Leonardis, will develop series for Investigation Discovery and Science Channel with the guarantee that at least one project will get the greenlight and will be executive produced by the Whoop Inc. team.

Spike TV and FME announce partnership

Spike TV and FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) have signed on for an extended partnership where FME will help finance and market four of Spike's original series internationally. The deal gives FME international distribution rights to newly announced Spike original series, Jesse James is a Dead Man, Deadliest Warrior, and w/tSurviving Disaster as well as season two of DEA. The programs will air on Spike TV's 2009 schedule. For more, see the full release.

BaKaForum's last call

The Basel_Karlsruhe Forum contest deadline is November 15 so there's only the rest of the week to enter your TV programs and multimedia products with educational and societal content. For more info, see their website http://www.bakaforum.net/index.php?id=196.

YouTube launches MGM channel

MGM Worldwide Digital Media and YouTube have announced a multiple channel deal that includes Impact, a channel on MGM's VOD action programming (www.youtube.com/impact), and American Gladiators(www.youtube.com/americangladiators), a channel dedicated to the competition show of the same name.