MIPCOM Picks 2012: Turtle Boy

September 25, 2012 by Realscreen Staff

Partners: Sundog Pictures Production for Channel 4 and National Geographic; distributed by Electric Sky

Length: 1 x 48 minutes

Aired: April 2012 (Channel 4, UK); July 2012 (NGC, U.S.)

Rights available: All rights, worldwide

Originally airing on Channel 4′s ‘Bodyshock’ strand, Turtle Boy tells the story of young Didier, a six-year-old who was born with congenital melanocytic nevus (CMN), a condition characterized by an abundance of moles on the body. Didier’s mole encompasses 60 percent of his body, resembling a tortoise shell. The show’s title comes from the name that neighbors in the remote village of rural Colombia used to refer to the boy. After Didier’s story is picked up by a news broadcast in Bogotá, a top surgeon in the UK, Dr. Neil Bulstrode, offers to join the surgical team in the Colombian capital and remove the mole. And while a Google search can reveal the story’s ultimate outcome, the special provides a jarring yet ultimately life-affirming look at a young child’s strength of spirit, and a team of physicians’ capacity for caring.

Tags: MIPCOM Picks 2012, Turtle Boy