PBS International has secured a distribution partnership with Chevy Chase, Maryland-based HHMI Tangled Bank Studios during day one of the 2019 MIPDoc market in Cannes.

HHMI Tangled Bank Studios serves as a “mission-driven” production outfit dedicated to creating immersive films about science and scientists.

Under the pact, the sales division of PBS will distribute Tangled Bank Studios’ slate of scientific documentaries to the international marketplace. Among the projects that PBS International will now handle is The Serengeti Rules (pictured), which held its world premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.

The 84-minute film, directed by Nicolas Brown, profiles a band of scientists in the 1960s whose pioneering experiments within different ecosystems – from the Serengeti to the Amazon jungle and the Arctic Ocean to Pacific tide pools – leads them to discover a single set of rules that govern all life.

“The Serengeti Rules is a beautiful film that speaks to the vital work HHMI Tangled Bank Studios is doing to shine light on groundbreaking scientific stories,” said Tom Koch, VP of PBS International, in a statement. “We look forward to bringing this and many other stories from the studio to international audiences.”

“Our films further our educational mission by telling the human stories of the pioneering scientists behind some of the most important discoveries of our time,” added Sean B. Carroll, executive director of HHMI Tangled Bank Studios. “We select our stories based on their ability to inspire curiosity and wonder about the world around us.”