National Media Group announces the creation of NMG DOC, a cluster specialising in the production of documentary content for TV, online services and platforms. The successful experience accumulated by NMG in creating highly rated game content makes it possible to scale this expertise to the documentary film production market as well.
The new structural unit will be headed by Yulia Zasko, a winner of the Russian Government Media Award. Vladimir Tyulin, Deputy General Director of the National Media Group, will supervise the work of NMG DOC, while TV producers Mikhail Tukmachev and Ekaterina Avaliani will be responsible for the production part and selection of ideas. The content creation will be assisted by an expert council consisting of prominent historians, scientists and documentary filmmakers.
The NMG DOC team has unique experience and high-level expertise in creating documentary content interesting to the viewer even from the most ordinary stories. The concept of each of NMG DOC's projects is based on a unique approach to the topic, deep historical and expert research, and, finally, where appropriate, the integration of fiction and documentary cinema.
NMG DOC plans to produce 100 original documentaries by the end of the year. NMG DOC's first projects include:
- Alexander III: Russia's most underrated emperor. Who erased his name from the list of our country's greatest rulers?
- Secret aspirations and the reverse side of scientific activity of the greatest Russian scientist Dmitry Mendeleev, whose dozens of discoveries in various fields many people do not even suspect.
- Non-fictional story of one of the most violent maniacs in the history of the USSR and Russia, Sergei Golovkin, nicknamed “Fisher”. He was the subject of the the acclaimed TV series of the same name. The film includes a unique archive video, shot at the crime scenes and in a gruesome torture room, which the killer equipped in his garage near the government residence in Gorki.
- Secrets of the life and death of the world-famous explorer Christopher Columbus. The film will address the question of whether Columbus existed in reality or whether he was in fact another person using a pseudonym.
- The Russian version of the world TV hit “How the Universe Works?”, in which the viewer together with Russian scientists will try to reach the most distant galaxies.
By creating its own documentary projects, NMG DOC also aims at popularising science and history among Russian viewers. For this purpose, NMG DOC has attracted famous people from the world of cinema to create documentary projects: director, actor and producer Fyodor Bondarchuk, actors Vadim Demchog, Alexei Nilov, Mikhail Gorevoi and others.
Svetlana Balanova, CEO of National Media Group:
“The formation of NMG DOC is a direct response to the business opportunities that have arisen and is in line with the company's mission to convey an up-to-date picture of the world with respect for the past, responsibility to the present and concern for the future. Documentary films are becoming more and more in demand among the audience, sometimes competing with serials, shows and news. On TV, documentary content now accounts for about 8% of viewing, and global trends show the potential for watching documentary content online to grow several times over. Documentary content provides deeper immersion in the topic and high engagement compared to other genres, encourages people to think and dream, expand their education and outlook. We are confident that NMG DOC will open a new window of opportunity for the country's most talented TV and film documentarians and will become a leading center of concentration for high-quality non-fiction works, a leading customer and distributor of documentary products on the Russian market.”
NMG DOC products will be distributed both within the perimeter of NMG channels and platforms and will be available to the entire Russian market.
NMG DOC also invites creative teams and documentary filmmakers with bright and unusual ideas to co-operate (https://nmgdoc.ru/).