London, Wednesday 12th June - Passion Distribution has closed a raft of international sales for documentary ONE HOUR THAT CHANGED THE WORLD: THE MOON LANDING (1 X 60’).  The documentary has been acquired by UKTV in the UK for its Eden channel, TEN in Australia, TVNZ in New Zealand, CBC in Canada, Phoenix TV in China, Hong Kong and South East Asia and Channel 8 in Israel.

Produced by Pioneer Productions, ONE HOUR THAT CHANGED THE WORLD: THE MOON LANDING was commissioned and funded by Passion Distribution, following the success of the previous collaboration with Pioneer on PLANES GONE VIRAL.

ONE HOUR THAT CHANGED THE WORLD: THE MOON LANDING celebrates the historic 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, in a fresh and distinctive style. The documentary subverts usual conventions by beginning with the momentous event, before rewinding the clock to explore the preceding dramatic sixty minutes in granular detail.

Featuring archive footage, testimony from an eyewitness in mission control on the day, and expert analysis, the unique and inventive format reveals an incredible untold story: that even during the last hour, the moon landing might have failed, because of system failures, accidents and sheer bad luck. The documentary focuses on the heroism of the astronauts and the ingenuity of the team back in Houston, who overcame these setbacks and still successfully landed a man on the moon.

Executive producer for Pioneer, Thomas Viner said: “The documentary reveals lots of amazing details: the astronauts couldn’t get the door open; and the first thing they did on the Moon was throw out the trash. This is an approach to historical events that delivers surprising revelations in a story we all think we know so well.” 

Emmanuelle Namiech, CEO Passion Distribution said “As the anniversary of the Moon Landing mission was approaching, it was a no brainer for us to partner with Pioneer by commissioning and fully funding a documentary about this momentous event. The film delivers a detailed account of the nail-biting sixty minutes which led up to the first human step on the moon.”

The deals were concluded Nick Tanner, Director of Sales and Co-Productions, Tom Burton, Sales Manager Australia, New Zealand, Canada & Global Digital, Michelle Choi, Sales Executive, Asia and Eliana Barbosa, Sales Manager, Israel and Pan Territory. Roxana Rehman, acquisitions executive, secured the show for UKTV and it will air on Eden later this year.