Off The Fence Productions On Slaveship Mutiny

Off The Fence (OTF) Productions has announced the commission of Slaveship Mutiny, a documentary film for Thirteen in association with ARTE France, WNET.ORG and DTI South Africa.
The HD film tells the story of the final voyage of the eighteenth century slave ship Meermin, and the events of its final days sailing off the coast of South Africa.
Off the Fence will also be distributing the series at markets worldwide and launching the film at MIPCOM.
Slaveship Mutiny uses historical records, CGI re-creations and dramatic reenactments to chart the last journey of the vessel which was eventually shipwrecked on sandbanks at the southernmost tip of South Africa, where it has since remained.
The film follows maritime archaeologist Jaco Boshoff on a dig to uncover the wreck from two centuries of sediment and also details the chain of events which led to its demise.
The 147 slaves, taken from Madagascar and bound for Cape Town, overpowered the Dutch crew and forced them to sail the ship back to their home. However, the Dutchmen secretly turned the boat around each evening and made full sail for their colonial port before it finally ran aground.
Ellen Windemuth CEO of Off the Fence, said: "Slaveship Mutiny is exactly the kind of production that we pride ourselves on making. The story of the Meermin is truly extraordinary, a high-seas adventure about human life as a commodity and a treacherous journey through shark-infested waters. The programme resurrects the vessel from its sandy grave and brings to life the incredible true-life story of the slaves and crew, all in stunning high-definition."
OTF Production is the production arm of Off The Fence that has it headquarters in Bristol. It operates globally through production teams at OTF's offices in South Africa, SIngapore, Amsterdam and Germany.
Slaveship Mutiny is an Off The Fence Productions film for Thirteen in association with ARTE France, WNET.ORG and DTI South Africa. The writer and producer is Joe Kennedy and the film was directed by Nic Young and Joe Kennedy. The film is executive produced by Ellen Windemuth and Bill Grant for Thirteen. The ARTE Commissioning Editors were Helene Coldefy and Edmee Millot.
(KMcA/BMcC)