Zodiak Rights sells “Moonies,” “Gypsy Weddings”

June 21, 2012 by Kelly Anderson

Married to the Moonies

U.S. broadcaster TLC has picked up Firecracker Films’ Married to the Moonies (pictured), while Zodiak Rights has also sold Firecracker’s Big Fat Gypsy Weddings into territories including New Zealand, the Netherlands and Russia.

The pre-sale of Married to the Moonies, a one-hour documentary on the little-known world of the Unification Church, will see TLC airing the special in July. Channel 4 in the UK premiered the film last month.

In addition, season two of Big Fat Gypsy Weddings has sold to TVNZ in New Zealand, XYZ in Australia, RTL Nederlands in the Netherlands, VTM in Belgium, and TLC for the Balkans, Romania, Russia and Poland.

DVD deals have also been closed with Channel 4 DVD in the UK and Hopscotch Films in Australia for the 7 x one-hour series.

The Gypsy franchise continues, meanwhile, with spin-off series Thelma’s Gypsy Girls set to debut later this year on Channel 4. The Firecracker-produced 6 x one-hour series stars Big Fat Gypsy Weddings dressmaker Thelma Madine.

Zodiak Rights holds worldwide rights to Firecracker Films’ programming as part of its first look development deal with the indie.

At MIPCOM, Zodiak Rights will launch two new Firecracker titles – I Want To Change My Body, a 90-minute one-off for BBC3 on young adults who want to radically change their appearance; and We’re Having A Baby (w/t), in which young couples record their experiences during pregnancy.

“These sales demonstrate that Firecracker Films’ output is very well received and sought after in the international marketplace. The Gypsy phenomenon continues to catch peoples’ imaginations around the globe and I’m sure that these new films will perform just as well internationally,” said Andreas Lemos, Zodiak Rights’ VP of acquisitions and programming for factual.

Tags: Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, Firecracker Films, I Want to Change My Body, Married to the Moonies, Thelma's Gypsy Girls, TLC, We're Having a Baby, Zodiak Rights