Siegfried and Roy producer takes a deep dive into lost submarines

BossaNova Media, the content creation, funding and distribution company, is headlining its London Screenings showcase with three premium factual titles, reflecting its new strategy of investing in ‘fewer, bigger, better’ projects.

BossaNova’s three London Screenings priorities include two new titles — The World’s Biggest Cruise Ship and Museum Mysteries — from its latest indie partnerships with, respectively, Afanti Media in Wales and Zona Mixta in Spain. It is also showcasing The Infinite Deep: Stories of Lost Submarines, the latest project from long-time partner AMS Pictures, the US indie that produced last year’s Development Day-generated hit Siegfried and Roy: The Original Tiger Kings.

Equal parts Caribbean sunshine, epic engineering and escapism, The World’s Biggest Cruise Ship (2 x 60 mins) invites viewers to board Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas to explore the mind-boggling inner workings — both technical and human — of what is effectively an ocean-going city. Episode one focuses on the specialist staff and complex logistics that keep the mega-vessel afloat and its 7,600 passengers happy. Episode two draws on Afanti’s exclusive access to Icon’s maiden passenger voyage to follow the evolving storylines of both crew members and passengers.

Zona Mixta’s Museum Mysteries (6 x 60 mins) escorts viewers into 20 of Europe’s great museums to unpack the secrets, mysteries and coded messages that lie behind many artifacts and artworks. The result is a fascinating compendium of enigmatic tales and hidden histories, some shocking, some intriguing — and others downright peculiar.

The Infinite Deep: Stories of Lost Submarines (1 x 60/90 mins) is the latest AMS Pictures title in BossaNova’s catalogue, sitting alongside Siegfried and Roy: The Original Tiger Kings, Hindenburg: The Cover-Up and The Andes Tragedy: 50 Years On. The chilling documentary sets out to investigate notorious cases of lost submarines, including the recent OceanGate Titan tragedy, asking why and how they sunk and whether their fate could have been prevented. It also considers the horrifying final moments of those trapped in pitch darkness deep under the sea, confronting hypothermia, fire, suffocation, drowning, even catastrophic implosion. Among those interviewed are submarine historians and experts, serving and former submariners, and individuals personally connected to the tragedies.

Paul Heaney said: 'BossaNova’s team is trying to mirror how buyers are considering content these days with our own acquisition and commissioning strategy for our content pipeline. Essentially we are looking to do three things: build up existing franchises, create new ones and give the market what we think it wants regarding short run impactful documentaries across the crime and factual genres. These three new titles are perfect examples of this approach to content development, funding and creation'.

'Over the last three years, we’ve invested around £10m yes that’s right £10m in new projects, which has not only helped to keep our producer-partners in business but has taught us a great deal about the creative risk/reward ratio. We’re drawing on our years of experience in the factual marketplace to identify projects that we believe have the potential to go global — shows, in other words, of the calibre of The World’s Biggest Cruise Ship, Museum Mysteries and The Infinite Deep..