BBC Films And BBC Natural History Collaborate To Bring Meerkats To The Small Screen

BBC Films will collaborate with the world-renowned BBC Natural History Unit to produce their first ever feature film together, 'The Meerkats', a highly dramatic and emotional journey to the heart of Africa on the big screen.
The film is set to start principal photography in November in the Kalahari Desert. The Weinstein Company are co-financing the project, and will distribute the film internationally.
The Meerkats is directed by James Honeyborne, with Joe Oppenheimer and Trevor Ingman producing. Neil Nightingale (Head of the BBC Natural History Unit) and David M. Thompson (Head of BBC Films) will serve as Executive Producers with Michael Cole, Co-President of Production, and Rhodri Thomas, Director of Development & Production overseeing the project on behalf of The Weinstein Company.
The BBC Natural History Unit has been involved in feature films emanating from their own award-winning television series (Blue Planet and the forthcoming Earth, for example), but this is the first time such an ambitious project has been produced as a feature film right from the outset.
Shot using ground-breaking filmmaking techniques, The Meerkats is a revealing and entertaining look at one family’s daily struggle for survival in the harshest environment on earth.
"This is a tremendously exciting collaboration,” said David Thompson, Head of BBC Films. “The Natural History Unit is the best in the world at what they do and we're really thrilled to be working with them at last. The film has huge emotional appeal and will really travel internationally. It's a great story, with a fantastic team behind it, and we hope this will be the start of a great partnership for the future."
Neil Nightingale, Head of the BBC Natural History Unit added: “I’m very excited about the potential of this film project, combining the talents of the BBC Natural History Unit and BBC Films. With a strong and emotional story, featuring some of the most charismatic of wildlife characters, this film The Meerkats will appeal to a very broad cinema audience, in Britain and around the world.”
Co-chairman of The Weinstein Company Harvey Weinstein added: “We are thrilled to be collaborating with BBC Films and the Natural History Unit on what will be a spectacular exploration into a fascinating territory in Africa.”
(DS)