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Five Musicians, 15 Dates, 90 Songs, Millions of Fans, One Unforgettable Summer. The Tragically Hip’s Historic Tour Immortalized in New Documentary from Bell Media
– Production now underway on electric and emotional documentary from Banger Films and award-winning directors Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier (Manufactured Landscapes, Act of God, Watermark) –
– Documentary to roll out on multiple Bell Media platforms in 2017 –
– Documentary to roll out on multiple Bell Media platforms in 2017 –
TORONTO (November 1, 2016) – The Tragically Hip’s 2016 epic cross-Canada tour, culminating in a highly charged and powerful concert in their hometown of Kingston, Ont., captured the heart of the country. Bell Media is teaming up with Canada’s foremost chroniclers of popular music, Banger Films, in association with Shed Creative (a division of Universal Music Canada), and one of the country’s most celebrated documentary filmmaking teams, Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier, to take viewers on-stage, in the crowd and behind-the-scenes of this historic tour. Commissioned by Bell Media and coming to multiple Bell Media channels and platforms in 2017, MAN MACHINE POEM (working title) is a feature documentary that follows The Tragically Hip’s momentous cross-country tour after the band’s announcement that lead singer Gord Downie has incurable brain cancer.
The documentary event special will premiere exclusively across an array of Bell Media TV and on-demand platforms, including national pay service The Movie Network, leading specialty channel MUCH, and to a mass audience on Canada’s most-watched network, CTV, before moving exclusively to CraveTV.
“We are incredibly honoured to share this amazing moment in Canadian history with the band and viewers across the country,” said Randy Lennox, President, Broadcasting and Content, Bell Media. “MAN MACHINE POEM comes from a dream team behind the camera and we know they’ll show Canada a side of The Hip we’ve never seen before.”
“We have filmed hundreds of hours of footage from the tour and beyond,” said Scot McFadyen, co-founder of Banger Films. “This stands to be a powerful cinematic music doc that captures a nation’s love for a band whose music and lyrics embody the Canadian spirit.”
From visceral celebration of performances where the whole arena jumped in unison, to singular moments of appreciation, grief, and love, viewers will be given a unique perspective on this ambitious arena tour, which sold out in minutes, as well as the reactions from their devoted fans.
In stunning 4K, MAN MACHINE POEM will include select performances from the Man Machine Poem tour that took the band from Victoria, B.C. to Kingston, Ont., as they played close to 90 different songs from their albums through the years – a unique selection for each concert.
Capturing these iconic performances and the profound reactions from fans, the documentary encourages viewers to stop and reflect on the shared experience and collective appreciation for this music that somehow embodies what it means to be Canadian. MAN MACHINE POEM is the definitive document of The Hip’s final tour.
MAN MACHINE POEM (working title) is directed by Canadian documentary filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier (Manufactured Landscapes, Act of God, Watermark), and produced by Scot McFadyen (RUSH: BEYOND THE LIGHTED STAGE) and Sam Dunn (METAL: A HEADBANGER’S JOURNEY), in association with Shed Creative (a division of Universal Music Canada). Music Consultant is Tyson Parker, Bell Media. Production Executive is Robin Johnston, Bell Media. Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. Mike Cosentino is Senior Vice-President, CTV and Specialty, Bell Media. Tracey Pearce is President, Distribution and Pay, Bell Media. Randy Lennox is President, Broadcasting and Content, Bell Media. Elevation Pictures Corp. will distribute the film internationally and is planning a special theatrical release in Canada next year.
About Banger Films:
Banger Films is an award-winning film and television production company based in Toronto. In its first 10 years, Banger has produced smash-hit feature documentaries, TV series and live concerts, broadcast worldwide on networks such as The Movie Network, VH1, BBC 2, Globosat, NRK, Sky UK and many more. The Banger catalogue includes the essential heavy metal documentary METAL: A HEADBANGER’S JOURNEY (2006) and its follow-up GLOBAL METAL (2008); SXSW Audience Award and Juno-winning IRON MAIDEN: FLIGHT 666 (2009), Grammy-nominated and Tribeca Audience Award-winning RUSH: BEYOND THE LIGHTED STAGE (2010), the “doc opera” SUPER DUPER ALICE COOPER (2014), as well as the biggest-ever TV series on metal and hard rock, METAL EVOLUTION (2011). In 2013, Banger launched a kids’ programming division, B Minors. Banger’s most recent project, the influential series HIP-HOP EVOLUTION, premiered this September on HBO Canada, and will air internationally on Netflix in December. Upcoming projects include documentaries on Chris Cornell and ZZ Top.
About Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier (Mercury Films):
Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier have been making award-winning, critically acclaimed documentaries over two decades. Their films have been distributed all over the world and include Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles (International Emmy), Manufactured Landscapes (Best Canadian Film, TIFF), Act of God (opening night, Hot Docs), Payback (Sundance), and Watermark (Toronto Film Critics’ Association Prize, Best Canadian Film, Canadian Screen Award, Best Documentary). They have previously collaborated with the Tragically Hip for a number of years and created onstage video content for the 2015 Fully Completely Tour as well as the Man Machine Poem tour of 2016.
About Shed Creative (A Division of Universal Music Canada):
Shed Creative is driven by a passion for music and entertainment, connecting great artists and great storytellers to craft compelling content across a range of platforms. Working alongside Universal Music Canada as part of the label’s global strategy to develop film and TV assets, Shed Creative is finding new ways to animate Canada’s vital musical history through long and short form documentaries and scripted series, chronically our living past and constantly evolving present.
About Elevation Pictures:
Founded in 2013, with finance partner Teddy Schwarzman of Black Bear Pictures, Elevation Pictures has already established itself as one of Canada’s leading film and television companies. Elevation’s team of seasoned production and distribution executives, including co-presidents Laurie May and Noah Segal, are committed to bringing a robust film and television slate to audiences with both commercial and critical appeal. For more information, visit elevationpictures.com
About Bell Media Independent Production:
Bell Media has commissioned some of Canada’s most-watched and most-acclaimed original programming, working with the best Canadian independent producers in the country. Hit series commissioned by CTV include ratings success stories SAVING HOPE, the record-breaking THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, and MASTERCHEF CANADA. Upcoming original series on CTV include CARDINAL and THE DISAPPEARANCE. Among the original series on Bell Media pay, specialty, and streaming platforms are the internationally acclaimed ORPHAN BLACK, Space’s most-watched original series KILLJOYS, Bravo’s award-winning and most-watched original drama 19-2, award-winning dramedy SENSITIVE SKIN, CraveTV comedies LETTERKENNY and RUSSELL PETERS IS THE INDIAN DETECTIVE, Discovery’s first-ever drama FRONTIER, Comedy’s new satirical news series THE BEAVERTON, and nine new series and specials for food and lifestyle channel Gusto, including ONE WORLD KITCHEN and FISH THE DISH. Discovery is also home to Bell Media’s hit factual series HIGHWAY THRU HELL, COLD WATER COWBOYS, and CANADA’S WORST DRIVER, among others. Bell Media is one of the first media companies in North America to commit to producing all new original scripted series in 4K.
About Bell Media:
Bell Media creates content and builds brands that entertain, inform, engage, and inspire audiences through the platforms of their choice. Bell Media is Canada’s leading content creation company with premier assets in television, radio, out-of-home advertising, and digital media. Bell Media owns 30 local television stations led by CTV, Canada’s highest-rated television network; 30 specialty channels, including TSN and RDS, Canada’s most-watched specialty channels in English and French; and four pay TV services, including The Movie Network and Super Écran. Bell Media is also Canada’s largest radio broadcaster, with 105 licensed radio stations in 54 markets across Canada. Bell Media owns Astral Out of Home with a network of more than 30,000 advertising faces in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Québec, and Nova Scotia. Bell Media also operates more than 200 websites; delivers TV Everywhere with its CraveTV and GO video streaming services; operates multi-channel network Much Digital Studios; produces live theatrical shows via its partnership with Iconic Entertainment Studios; is partners in Cirque du Soleil Media; and owns Dome Productions Inc., a multi-platform production company. Bell Media is part of BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada’s largest communications company. For more on Bell Media, please visit www.bellmedia.ca.
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