Super Channel picks up Guggenheim’s U2 doc

November 15, 2011 by Adam Benzine

Canadian network Super Channel has picked up From the Sky Down (pictured), Davis Guggenheim’s documentary on Irish band U2, which earlier this year became the first doc to ever open the Toronto International Film Festival.

The deal was brokered by Sandra Murphy, director of program sales for BBC Worldwide Canada, which picked up the TV rights for the doc in September. The network will premiere the doc on November 19, at 9.pm. EST.

The film celebrates the 20th anniversary of U2’s 1991 album Achtung Baby!, the creation of which marked a major turning point for the band musically.

Earlier this year, U2 returned to Hansa Studios in Berlin, the site where they first recorded the album, with Oscar-winning director Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for “Superman”) in tow, to make the doc.

Hilary Read, BBCWW Canada’s COO, said: “Long-time U2 devotees and new fans alike will be drawn to this up-close, intimate portrait that Davis Guggenheim has created of one of the world’s most talented and influential musical acts.

“The film was incredibly well-received at the Toronto International Film Festival this year.  It’s great to be partnering with Super Channel to give From the Sky Down its TV debut in Canada.”

Following the film’s September 8 premiere at TIFF, Guggenheim and U2 band members Bono and The Edge held a press conference to discuss the making of the film and highlight their favorite rock documentaries, paying praise to filmmakers including Jonathan Demme, DA Pennebaker and Martin Scorsese, as previously reported.

Tags: BBC Worldwide Canada, Davis Guggenheim, From The Sky Down, Super Channel, U2

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