Thin Ice secures United States television deal

Thin Ice, the award-winning documentary about global warming, made in collaboration with Victoria University of Wellington, will air on public television stations across the United States later this year to coincide with international debate around emissions reduction.

Thin Ice—the Inside Story of Climate Science was produced by DOX Productions in London in collaboration with Victoria University and Oxford University. A successful crowd-funding campaign held last year by Victoria raised funds to create a shorter, television-friendly version of the film. That has resulted in an hour-long version of the documentary being accepted by American Public Television (APT), which will distribute it to more than 90 stations across 40 states. The filmmakers have also reached an agreement with the distributor's international sales division, APT Worldwide, to licence and market the film internationally.

APT will release the film from July 1, 2015. One of the film’s executive producers, Emeritus Professor Peter Barrett from the Antarctic Research Centre at Victoria University, says the timing is excellent. “Thin Ice will be screening in the crucial months before the culmination of efforts toward a global emissions reduction agreement in the 2015 Paris Climate Conference in December. The film allows ordinary people around the world to meet leading climate scientists and find out why we need to aim for zero carbon emissions.”

The Thin Ice project began in 2006 in response to climate sceptics. The film follows Simon Lamb, an associate professor in Victoria’s School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences and co-director/photographer, on his personal journey of discovery as he meets and interviews 40 scientists working on the front line of climate change research in the Arctic, Antarctic, Southern Ocean, New Zealand, Europe and the United States.

Dr. Lamb says he’s delighted to see the film picked up by APT. “It’s crucially important to me that the messages in Thin Ice reach as many people as possible—this agreement means it will potentially be seen by a very wide audience.”

DOX Productions’ David Sington, who produced and co-directed the film, says it’s not often a film of this nature makes it to television screens. “It’s unusual for US television audiences to hear about climate science from the scientists themselves, so we’re thrilled that Thin Ice will be broadcast there.”

Thin Ice was presented to American Public Television by Stan Marvin, program manager for KRCB North Bay Public Media in California, at the suggestion of distributor Green Planet Films. Director Suzanne Harle says: "With the upcoming climate conference in Paris, Thin Ice will be of great interest to public television station managers across the US to programme for their audiences".

Since its launch in 2013, the full version of Thin Ice has been released on DVD with subtitles in six languages making it viewable by half of the world’s population. The film has also been shown at a number of film festivals and has picked up several awards, including the Audience Favourite at Princeton.

About APT
American Public Television (APT) has been a leading syndicator of high-quality, top-rated programming to the nation’s public television stations since 1961. For 10 years, APT has annually distributed one-third or more of the top 100 highest-rated public television titles in the US. Among its 300 new program titles per year, APT programs include prominent documentaries, news and current affairs programs, dramas, how-to programs, children’s series and classic movies. America’s Test Kitchen From Cook’s Illustrated, Rick Steves’ Europe, Live From the Artists Den, Doc Martin, Nightly Business Report, Midsomer Murders, Vera, NHK Newsline, Lidia’s Kitchen, Globe Trekker, Simply Ming, and P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home join numerous documentaries and performance programs popular with public television viewers. APT licenses programs internationally through its APT Worldwide service. Now in its 10th year, Create® TV — featuring the best of public television's lifestyle programming — is distributed by APT. APT also distributes WORLD™, public television’s premier news, science and documentary channel. To find out more about APT’s programs and services, visit APTonline.org.

About APT presenting station KRCB
KRCB is proud to be the presenting station through American Public Television for Thin Ice. KRCB is committed to locally and independently-produced programming. KRCB Public Television first went on the air December 2, 1983. It now broadcasts from studios in Rohnert Park, California, on digital channels 22.1, 22.2 & 22.3 and is seen over-the-air throughout much of the San Francisco Bay Area.  KRCB is also seen on Channel 22 via Comcast Cable, AT&T U-verse, DISH and DirecTV satellite services across the entire San Francisco Bay Area.

For more information visit the Thin Ice project website.