Fact TV UK and Millstream Films & Media

Fact TV UK has folded all copyright coproduced with The Freelance Desk into a new joint venture between the companies: Millstream Films & Media, www.millstreamfilms.com where all our latest productions, trailers, and team can be found. This site will continue to function only with regards to non Millstream work is concerned. It will continue to report on developments in the themes it has worked on over the years – nautical and aviation events of interest, developments with Aerocinema and other media strategy issues, as well as other interesting developments in the Costa Concordia and Meredith Kercher case.

 

Meredith Kercher documentary airs in Italy tomorrow

For the first time in Italy, the new crime channel for Discovery Italia, “Giallo” will exclusively air “AMANDA KNOX: COLPEVOLE O INNOCENTE?” the only fully updated, in-depth documentary on the Meredith Kercher murder case since the appeals verdict in 2014.

The high-rating documentary had a hugely successful premier on the BBC3, pulling in more than 700,000 viewers according to The Hollywood Reporter. Widely considered the most definitive and in-depth documentary available on the case, the film has since been viewed more than 2 million times and broadcast in Australia and elsewhere in Europe. It was shot on location over the course of six years in Perugia, London and Seattle by an international production team based in Italy. Executive Producer Steve Anderson, Producer Paul Russell, Director Andrea Vogt, with post production and editing by an extensive Italian crew.

The documentary, which airs Tuesday, August 26 at 21:00 on Giallo, Channel 38 or Sky 144 and features explosive and never before seen courtroom footage and an emotional interview with the sister and brother of Meredith Kercher, who recall fond memories of Meredith and their thoughts on the trial of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito.

“Everything that Meredith must have felt that night. Everything she went through. The fear and the terror and not knowing why. She didn’t deserve that. No-one deserves that,” said Stephanie Kercher.

The programme, shot on location in Perugia, London and Seattle, also hears from lawyers and experts from both the defence and the prosecution, including Francesco Maresca, Giulia Bongiorno, Sarah Gino, Valter Biscotti, Giuliano Mignini, Manuela Comodi, Patrick Lumumba and Anne Bremner. It also contains the exclusive audio of Amanda Knox’ prison interrogation on December 17^th 2007, in which she was asked why she told police that her manager from the local café where she worked, Patrick Lumumba, had committed the crime.

A few key quotes from the documentary:

“She was very excited about coming to Italy, looking forward to learning about Italian culture. Seeing the city of Perugia and making new friends. She really fought to be here. She wanted to be here”, Stephanie Kercher told the programme, reflecting on her sister’s decision to study in Italy.

“We were just talking on the sofa and having a little cuddle of goodbye and I just remember her suddenly crying and saying that she was going to be sad to go but she was excited to come and I remember being quite taken aback and I thought, ‘Don’t make me sad. I’ll miss you but you’ll go and have fun.’”

But Meredith’s time in Italy was cut short, when she was brutally murdered on 2^nd November 2007. Meredith had been hit, strangled and stabbed around 40 times, including a fatal blow to the neck.

Rudy Guede was convicted of Meredith’s murder in October 2008 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison, later reduced to 16, but the judge found that he did not act alone.

Meredith’s flatmate, American student Amanda Knox and Amanda’s then boyfriend Rafaelle Sollicito were ordered to stand trial for murder and sexual assault. They were found guilty for the second time on 30^th January 2014. Amanda continues to protest her innocence and both she and Sollecito await the final verdict.

Prosecution lawyer, Manuela Comodi says: “One person couldn’t – all at the same time — hold Meredith still and hold back her hands, because there are very few defensive wounds, inflict those wounds with a smaller knife and then give her the fatal blow with the larger knife. It is impossible. Not even Superman could do it”.

“The principal evidence was mixed blood traces from which were extracted mixed DNA of Amanda and Meredith. The only explanation for that mix is that Amanda was bleeding and touched objects that were covered in Meredith’s blood. There’s no other explanation” Ms Comodi continued.

But Sarah Gino, a forensic biologist on Amanda Knox’s defence team, disagrees:  “In the case the test was done for blood. But was the test done for saliva? No. So we can’t know if inside that mixed trace there was blood because it had been demonstrated or just saliva. Or maybe there was blood from both of them, but what does that mean? Maybe someone had a bloody nose one time and then another moment someone cut their finger and put it down and their blood got mixed.”

Anne Bremner from the group Friends of Amanda, also maintained: “There’s not one piece of physical evidence to link this girl to this crime.”

Reflecting on the media storm which surrounded the trial, Stephanie Kercher told the producers that “Mez has been forgotten in all of this. The media photos aren’t really of her. There’s not a lot about what actually happened in the beginning. So it is very difficult to keep her memory alive in all of this.”

And Lyle Kercher said: “Anybody losing anyone close is hard, losing someone so young and the way we did is obviously 100 times worse, and on top of that to have all the media attention that has gone for so long makes it very difficult to cope with.”

And reflecting on the recent guilty verdict, which was upheld on 30^st January 2014, Lyle added: “It’s not the end of it. It’s another chapter moving things forward.”

Knowing that Amanda Knox continues to claim her innocence and has publicly stated her intention to appeal the latest guilty verdict, Stephanie said “We all definitely want some sort of closure. Just having an end of the Italian justice system and knowing that’s the final decision, and then we can start to remember just Meredith rather than focusing on who did it or what happened.”

 

Per la prima volta in Italia: il nuovo canale “Giallo”, di proprietà di Discovery Communications Inc. trasmetterà in esclusiva italiana il documentario “Amanda Knox: Colpevole o Innocente”. Si tratta dell’unico documentario aggiornato e approfondito sull’omicidio di Meredith Kercher realizzato da quando è stato pronunciato il verdetto d’appello in gennaio 2014.

Il documentario ha avuto il primo successo nel Regno Unito con un tasso d’ascolto di 700,000 telespettatori, con la prima uscita in seconda serata. Con le repliche un totale di quasi 2 milioni di inglesi hanno visionato il film. In seguito il film è stato trasmesso in Australia, Svezia, Finlandia, e Belgio.

Questo documentario è il frutto di sei anni di lavoro da parte di una squadra basata in Italia. Produttore Esecutivo è Steve Anderson di Peacock Films (NBC Universal), il Produttore è Paul Russell di Fact TV UK, la regia è di Andrea Vogt con un folto gruppo di operatori, montatori e tecnici italiani.

“Amanda Knox: Colpevole o Innocente” andrà in onda il 26 agosto alle 21.00 su Giallo, canale 38 del Digitale Terrestre e 144 su Sky. Per la prima volta si vedranno scene inedite del processo e un’intervista intima e commovente con i famigliari di Meredith Kercher, le vittima (“Tutto ciò che Meredith ha sentito quella notte, la paura, il terrore, il non sapere perché…non meritava questo, nessuno lo merita…”).

Il film è stato girato a Perugia, Seattle e Londra e presenta interviste e interventi inediti dei protagonisti della difesa e dell’accusa, compresi: Giuliano Mignini, il Pubblico Ministero che diresse le prime indagini, Manuela Comodi, Francesco Maresca (avvocato di parte civile), Giulia Bongiorno, Sarah Gino, Valter Biscotti (avvocato di Rudy Guede), Patrick Lumumba and Anne Bremner del gruppo “Amici di Amanda Knox”.

Per la prima volta sentiamo la voce di Amanda Knox durante l’interrogatorio del 17 dicembre 2007 in cui spiega perché ha accusato Patrick Lumumba, il suo datore di lavoro al pub Le Chic, di essere l’assassino di Meredith Kercher.

Di seguito alcuni brani delle interviste.

Dice Stephanie Kercher, la sorella di Meredith:

“Era molto contenta di venire in Italia, non vedeva l’ora di conoscere la cultura italiana, di vedere la città di Perugia e farsi un nuovo giro di amici. Ha lottato per venire qui. Voleva essere qui a tutti costi. Stavamo chiacchierando sul divano e ci siamo stretti in un abbraccio e mi ricordo che tutto d’un tratto si mise a piangere dicendo che era triste di partire ma che era veramente entusiasta di venire qui, e mi ricordo di essere piuttosto sorpresa e le dissi ‘ non rendermi triste. Mi mancherai, ma ti divertirai’”.

Ma il soggiorno italiano di Meredith finì brutalmente quanto fu assassinata il 1 novembre 2007 dopo essere stata strangolata e pugnalata diverse volte con un colpo finale alla gola.

Rudy Guede è stato condannato per l’omicidio di Meredith nell’ottobre 2008. La prima sentenza di 30 anni è stata ridotta a 16 in appello, ma il giudice stabilì che non agì da solo. La coinquilina di Meredith, Amanda Knox e il suo fidanzato di allora, Raffaele Sollecito furono processati per l’omicidio. Sono stati condannati una seconda volta il 30 gennaio 2014. Entrami si dichiarano innocenti ed aspettano il verdetto finale della Cassazione.

Secondo Pubblico Ministero Manuela Comodi, “una sola persona non poteva aver, allo stesso momento, trattenuto le mani di Meredith – perché c’erano poche ferite da difesa – infliggere le ferite con un coltello piccolo e poi dare il colpo mortale con il coltello più grande. E’ impossibile. Neanche Superman ce l’avrebbe fatta.”

La Dr.ssa Comodi continua: “Le principali prove sono trace di sangue misto da cui sono stati estratti il DNA misto di Amanda e Meredith. La sola spiegazione per tale mescolanza è che Amanda stava sanguinando ed ha toccato oggetti coperti nel sangue di Meredith. Non c’è alternativa”

Ma la Dr.ssa Sarah Gino, biologa forense nel collegio difensivo della Knox non è d’accordo. “In questo caso,” dice “è stato eseguito il test per il sangue. Ma è stato eseguito il test per la saliva? No. Quindi non possiamo sapere se dentro quel campione misto c’era sangue, perché è stato dimostrato, o solo saliva. O forse c’era sangue da entrambe, ma cosa vuol dire? Forse una aveva un naso che sanguinava un giorno e un’altro giorno una si è tagliato il dito e l’ha appoggiato e il sangue si è mescolato.”

Anne Bremner del gruppo “Amici di Amanda Knox” dice: “Non esiste una sola prova fisica che lega questa ragazza a questo crimine.”

Commentando la frenesia mediatica che ha accompagnato questo caso, Stephanie Kercher dice: “Mez è stata dimenticata in tutto questo. Le foto nei media non sono di lei, non si parla molto di quello che è accaduto all’inizio, quindi è difficile mantenere viva la sua memoria in tutto questo.”

Lyle Kercher, suo fratello dice: “la perdita di un congiunto è sempre difficile, la perdita di qualcuno così giovane e nel modo in cui l’abbiamo perso è 100 volte peggio, e in più dover subire tutta l’attenzione dei media che è durata così tanto rende tutto molto difficile da gestire.”

Riflettendo sulla nuova condanna dei due del 30 gennaio 2014, Lyle aggiunge: “Non è la fine. E’ un altro capitolo che porta avanti la storia.”

Sapendo che Amanda Knox continua a proclamare la sua innocenza e che comunque la condanna deve passare un’ulteriore scrutinio da parte della Cassazione, Stephanie aggiunge: “Vogliamo tutti una chiusura di qualche tipo. Solo l’avere terminato l’iter giudiziario italiano e il sapere che questa è il verdetto finale ci consentirà di ricordare solo Meredith invece di pensare a chi ha commesso l’omicidio e a quello che è successo.”

Concordia reaches Genoa. End of Story?

Concordia heads out (thestar.com)

 

For a nice timelapse see http://www.theparbucklingproject.com
Watch the Costa Concordi make its way into Genoa harbour here. http://www.youreporter.it/live/Concordia_in_diretta_l_arrivo_a_Genova

The wreck was late due to a thunder storm last night.
Fact TV producers Andrea Vogt and Paul Russell were on Giglio for he refloat on the 14th of July and the tow away on the 23rd and watched as Salvors and shipwreck victims embraced. It was a moment of closure for both, Anne Decre, leader of the Collectif du Concordia describing the Concordia tow away as a funeral procession, a moment when victims and bereaved can draw a line under the tragedy.

The insurers and Costa have thrown two billion dollars at the wreck to get it off the beautiful shores of Giglio. 30 thousand tonnes of steel to build platforms and sponsons, 800 workers on Giglio and thousands working in yards around Italy, employed in the two and a half years since the disaster, nearly 300 strandjacks used to right and float the ship: a massive operation. The wreck removal provided a much needed boost to Italy’s shipyards.

She is destined for demolition, here in Genoa, the second Costa ship to be broken up in two years. In 2012, shortly after the Concordia disaster, Costa Allegra, sailing in the Indian Ocean, lost power after a fire on board, and the ship was towed to the Seychelles. Once repaired it sailed to Genoa where it was sold to a Turkish company to be broken up.  Concordia will first be stripped of its valuable furnishings, such as artwork and chandeliers before being broken up too. Many of the objects salvaged on the night or taken from the ship before security was organised found their way onto ebay in the weeks following the crash, but the flow has since dried up. What happened to the Concordia Bell is one of the biggest mysteries. We interviewed Silvio Bartolotti of Micoperi in his offices and saw a copy of the bell he had had made “No ship can sail without a bell. We’ll put this on Concordia when she is sailed away.” When we asked him about it last week he told us that he had not been allowed to put the bell on the wreck “So I’ll keep it”.

What about the precious human cargo? Many still suffer from post traumatic stress. In an interview with us Anne Decré told us that the lives of many of the shipwreck victims had changed. Their personalities had changed, their loved ones had to come to terms with changed people. She leads a vociferous French group that threatened to impound a Costa ship in the port of Marseille, with the support of the French Gendarmerie, forcing Carnival cruise lines to the negotiating table. However she laments the slowness of the Italian judicial system which has still not provided justice. While Costa  has been allowed to be a civil plaintiff in the trial, as the employer of Captain Francesco Schettino the company may still be liable to pay millions of Euros in compensation to victims. The slowness of this process however seems to be holding up final settlement for many victims.

Strangely although decks three and four were exposed for two days after refloat and before the ship was tugged away, investigators did not visit the place where many of the victims died – the stern starboard side of deck 4 where they were trapped when the ship capsized. Maybe this will happen in Genoa where the search for the last victim, Russell Rebello, whose body was never found, will continue.

The miracle of the north easterly wind saved thousands of lives on the night of the 13th January 2012, pushing the powerless ship to the shore of Giglio. A miracle of showcase engineering and the calm coordination by Nick Sloane took it away, but like in all miracles, there are still many questions unanswered.

Delivered The Great Undergound War

clay kicking through the lens

Fact TV UK, in coproductions with  The Freelance Desk has sucessfully delivered five episodes of “The Great Underground War” featuring the tunnel war in five areas of the Western and Alpine Front.

The Mines of Ypres

The Batle for Monte Paterno

Vauquois, Hill of Death

Col di Lana, Blood Mountain

The Somme, Deadly Surprise.

The documentaries will be airing shortly on Der Spiegel Geschichte, Viasat History and Focus (Italy). Some of the re-enactors got a bit dirty.

The series follows the investigation of the Western Front Tunnels by Julia Richardson, Archaeologist and Maj. Andy Hawkins, Explosives Expert and archaeologist, both of Britain’s Durand Group. It would not have been possible without the participation of a number of experts including Dr Dieter Storz of the Bavarian Army Museum at Ingolstadt and experts and descendants of protagonists of the battles, such as Adolph Buchner of the Argonnerwald association and Les Amis de Vauquois, Frieder Riedel, author of two books on the Somme battlefield, Anita Garibaldi, Hand Jorge von Strobele and Christian Innerkoffler

cramped conditions

Deliveries, Deliveries, Ratings

It has been an intense six months for Fact TV.

In September 2013, we agreed with Viasat and Autentic to make the first season of the series The Salvagemasters. Our teams travelled to St Petersburg, the Netherlands, Sicily as well as to Giglio to witness the parbuckling: 100,000 tonnes of ship, debris and water were righted in 18 hours in what was to be Nick Sloane’s make or break moment. We delivered Masters of the Kursk, Costa Concordia:The Salvagemaster and SOS Syracuse to Autentic by the end of November. A fourth episode is in post production.  We also completed a 90 minute documentary on the Meredith Kercher Case, (The Meredith Kercher Case:The Whole Story) bringing together all the pictures and film, all the facts and most of the protagonists of this story. The 90 minute version went to air in Germany before the end of the year and shortly after the appeals sentence of the 31st January we were approached by NBC to co-venture on a re-edited version for BBC3. This version (“Is Amanda Knox Guilty”) went to air on the 17th February and reached 1.7 million viewers in its first week to air (its first showing reached 700,000 viewers, over 3% of the audience). It is the first documentary to go to air after the reinstatement of Raffaele Sollecito’s and Amanda Knox’s guilty verdict and the definitive account to date.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/amanda-knox-special-bbc-draws-681028

Our teams are currently in full production of The Great War Underground, a historical series that recounts five epic World War I battles that were fought underground (also for Autentic and Viasat).

Angry response to first Concordia sentences

Firt two port side sponsons. Third mounted on Friday 19th, Fourth Sunday 21st

The very first sentences to come out of the Grosseto court – improvised in the “Cinema Moderno” in the sleepy Tuscan city – have angered the civil plaintiffs: people who lost family and suffered trauma from the accident. The highest sentence – 2 years and 10 months for Roberto Ferrarini, head of the Costa Emergency room on the night of the disaster – suggests that none of the accused  will actually do time behind bars. The next-heaviest sentence went to Manlio Gianpedroni who is considered actually one of the heroes of the subsequent rescue, staying aboard far longer than any of the other officers,  to help stranded passengers. His sentence of 2 years an 6 months maybe reflects the fact that he should not have been on the bridge at the time of the incident.

Since in Italy any jail sentence under 2 years is automatically suspended, for certain the other three officers charged with manslaughter will not serve a day behind bars: Ciro D’Ambrosio who actually gave the wrong order to the helmsman (“Hard to Starboard” instead of “Hard to Port”) was sentenced to one year and 11 months and  Silvia Coronica (2nd officer) one year and six months. The helmsman , Jacob Rusli Bin who actually made the final error that condemned the ship was sentenced to one year and eight months, but never returned to Italy anyway.

Of course understanding why the court was so lenient especially towards the material executors of the maneuvers that crashed the ship will only be revealed in the judge’s reasoning which is expected within the next 90 days. The judges accepted the request for a fast track trial that all the accused (including Francesco, but they will decide on his situation at a later date) made, which automatically reduces sentences by a third. However those sentences still seem light in view of the 32 deaths than the accident caused. Schettino’s lawyers suspect that ALL the blame will be laid on his shoulders. Although his own actions have made him the perfect scapegoat, not everyone agrees that the Captain should bear the sole responsibility.

Arne Sagen, a ship inspector of the Skagerrack foundation, (interviewed in “Costa Concordia:the Whole Story”) has recently written in the Lloyds List magazine (“Beyond the Blame Game”) that the approach adopted by the Italian courts – supported by Costa Crociere which saw its exposure to compensation claims limited to 1.3 million Euros – is shaky. The reasoning is that the Captain is only one of many people taking responsibility for the ship and a good captain is one with good back up. Why, asks Arne Sagen, did Costa Crociere put Captain Schettino in that position in the first place? Why did the Costa emergency room not order abandon ship straight away: they were fully informed of the situation. Within 2 minutes Schettino and all the officers on the deck knew the ship was doomed. Roberto Ferrarini did not order Schettino to abandon ship.

Arne Sagen, Ship Inspector

The ISM code, says Sagen, says that “The cornerstone of good safety management is committment from the top”. When Costa laid all the blame on Schettino it demonstrated that it did not comply with this rule. Furthermore, the independent experts’ report showed that unadequate crew training contributed to the inefficient evacuation of the ship. Costa, says Arne Sagen, should be held as accountable as Francesco Schettino.

The civil plaintiffs have already said they will appeal, and as so many trials in Italy show, this court’s findings may be overturned in appeal and then again in Cassation. It is all very frustrating for the victims of the disaster.

Meanwhile on the island the ship itself seems to be sinking further while the salvage operations proceed apace with the fine weather. Tomorrow the large Caisson will be laid and we will be there to film it, while grouting continues. There are still hundreds of bags of cement to be laid to create the artificial platform upon which the ship will rest while the starboard side caissons are mounted. Parbuckling is due in early September: the moment of truth the world is waiting for.

The Great Conclave ready in time for Pope Francis’ Brazil Journey

The Great Conclave mini series of two episodes, will be delivered to international distributor Autentic GmbH in time to be aired when Pope Francis makes his first international journey. The World Youth Day 2013 will be held in Rio on Saturday and Sunday 27/28 July with Pope Francis visiting the  Aparecida shrine on the 24th and the slums of Rio on the 25th.

“The Great Conclave” tells the story of the most extraordinary election of a Pope since the war. Episode 1 “Electing a Pope” describes the key moments in the election process and the departures from tradition that the incredible 2013 Conclave presented. Episode 2 “A Pope from Afar” goes deeper into the issues and situations that led to the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope Francis. The crew went to Argentina to interview men and women who knew the Archbishop of Buenos Aires and discover more about his background.

Last Platforn goes in under Concordia

The last platform went under water as we watched – slowly but surely lowered by the Micoperi sheerleg Micoperi 30. Now all the witholding platforms are in place and two sponsons have been welded to the ship’s side. Bad news for the Giglio community though. The head of Italy’s civil defence department told the islanders that parbuckling would not be till September – so presumably the wreck will still be there for the second anniversary! The Titan – Micoperi project has been dogged by bad weather and harder than expected subsea rock.

Fact TV will be following it to the end….

Fact TV Sizzle now online

For the Fact TV 2013 sizzle go to http://vimeo.com/67645146

Costa Concordia Progress slow but steady:Videos

Giglio News very conveniently provides progress reports of how the infrastructures around the wreck of Concordia are developing. http://www.giglionews.it/images/stories/allegati/schema_avanzamento160613.jpg. For an example of the weather the salvage had been having to deal with see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0z-QK4Zdyk and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Lnh7Rj5jn0 and for the platforms and caissons being laid here at the Piero Landini channel on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/user/DelIsolaGiglio?feature=watch.