Landmark Films wins ‘extraordinary’ commission for five

Oxford-based regional television production company Landmark Films has been commissioned by five’s Controller for Science, Justine Kershaw, to produce three films for five’s ‘Extraordinary People’ strand.
This commission follows a raft of acclaimed productions by Landmark Films, including ‘Beauty School’ for Sky One, ‘Real Wife Swaps’ for five and ‘The Most Pampered Pets’ for ITV1.
The three films for five’s 'Extraordinary People' series will feature unusual illnesses affecting a small but significant number of the British public. Each 60-minute film presents sensitive ‘day in the life’ reporting of the debilitating effects sufferers experience from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), the neurological condition Permanent Sexual Arousal Syndrome and Dystonia, a devastating muscle spasm condition with no known cure.
Nick O'Dwyer, Managing Director of Landmark Films, said: “These films are intimate, funny and moving, providing sympathetic insights into bizarre conditions which people often just have to learn to live with. They demonstrate what Landmark Films does best - bringing humanity to apparently off-beat subjects.
“These commissions for five cap a very successful year for Landmark Films, which has seen us almost triple our output,” he added. “We’re proud our reputation for distinctive film making is growing, fuelling our both expansion in factual programming and our drive into science and history programming.”
‘My Muscles Turned Against Me’, directed by Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones and produced by Emma Goddard, follows the heart-breaking story of Joy and Amy; mother and daughter Dystonia sufferers who resort to high-risk ‘deep brain stimulation’ in their bid to try to overcome their agonising symptoms.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder affects one in thirty people in Britain with symptoms ranging from eating crisps with a fork to searching through rubbish before it leaves the house. ‘Obsessions Run My Life’ follows the complicated daily lives of three OCD sufferers and is produced and directed by Anna Davies.
‘A Hundred Orgasms A Day’ produced and directed by Annabel Leech investigates the devastating effect living in a continuous state of sexual arousal has on three women’s social lives and their marriages.
'My Muscles Turned Against Me' is due for transmission later this year, with 'Obsessions Ruined My Life' and 'A Hundred Orgasms A Day' airing early 2005.
Founded in 2002, Landmark Films produced over 17 hours of television for BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1 and five in its first year. In 2004, output has almost doubled with 26 hours of programming commissioned across all terrestrial networks. Channel 4 and five commissions are also currently in production for 2005 delivery.
(GB)