Stern & Wild

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Netflix is set to revisit the life and crimes of one of America’s most notorious female serial killers in a new feature ...
23/09/2025

Netflix is set to revisit the life and crimes of one of America’s most notorious female serial killers in a new feature documentary directed by Stern & Wild filmmaker Emily Turner.

AILEEN: QUEEN OF THE SERIAL KILLERS takes a fresh look at the story of Aileen Wournos who killed seven men across Central Florida between 1989 and 1990 and was eventually executed for the deaths in 2002. The case continues to divide opinion. Was Wournos a cold-blooded killer or acting in self-defence?

The production describes a history of terrible abuse. Wuornos was a pr******te and claimed that her victims had either r***d or attempted to r**e her. Her mother was 14 when she married her father, 18-year-old Leo Pittman, whom Wuornos never knew and killed himself after being sentenced to life in prison for ra**ng a seven-year-old. Her mother abandoned her when Wuornos was four, and she was adopted by her grandparents, who were alcoholics. She said that her grandfather sexually assaulted her and at 14 she became pregnant after being r***d by a family friend.

The film uses a modern lense to investigate Wuornos’s story as it looks at what happened, and why. It features powerful audio interviews with those who knew her best, and includes prison interviews with Wuornos herself, offering new insights into her crimes.

AILEEN: QUEEN OF THE SERIAL KILLERS is produced by the BBC Studios Documentary Unit in collaboration with NBC News Studios. Exec Producers are Kirsty Cunningham, Liz Cole, Elizabeth Fischer and Andy Berg; Archive Producers are Sam Dwyer and Christina Falk, Ella Jackson is Assistant Producer and Jinx Godfrey and Daniel Lapira are Editors. It is set to premiere on Netflix on 30 October.

Huge congratulations to all the Stern & Wild clients whose projects have been shortlisted for this year’s Grierson Award...
23/09/2025

Huge congratulations to all the Stern & Wild clients whose projects have been shortlisted for this year’s Grierson Awards. In total, five productions made by our talented filmmakers have received six nominations across five different award categories.

We are delighted for Alex Thomas, Series Director of the heartbreaking BIBAA & NICOLE: MURDER IN THE PARK (True Vision Productions – Sky Docs) which is nominated for Netflix Best Documentary Series and the first episode of which is nominated in a new Grierson category – Best Crime and Justice Documentary. We reported yesterday that the series is also shortlisted for Best Documentary Series in the brand new Indielab Innovation Awards.

We are thrilled for Havana Marking who directed, filmed and produced the incredibly timely investigative tour de force UNDERCOVER: EXPOSING THE FAR RIGHT (Tigerlily Films / Marking Films Inc / HiddenLight / Doc Society – Channel 4) which is nominated for the Envy Best Single Documentary – Domestic award.

We are delighted too for Kira Phillips Executive Producer of the deeply moving IN MY OWN WORDS: ALISON LAPPER (Chalk Productions – BBC), a wonderful episode of the BBC series which explores the life and work of some of the UK’s leading cultural figures. Kira’s film is shortlisted for the Best Arts and Music Documentary award.

Also nominated in the Best Arts and Music Documentary category is THE TROUBLE WITH MR DOODLE (Acme / Lightbox – theatrical release) which featured new Stern & Wild client, Director and Cinematographer Adnan Ahmed as Additional Camera.

Our final shout out is for another our new cohort of clients, Stuart “Stu” Bernard who was Series Director on the reboot of the award-winning LIFE AND DEATH ROW (BBC Studios Doc Unit – BBC) which is nominated for Best Returning Documentary Series.

We are incredibly proud of each of these exceptional filmmakers as well as those whose amazing projects were longlisted for this year’s Awards. We can’t wait to hear the results. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on 18 November at the Roundhouse in Camden, London. For a complete list of shortlisted titles, click here: https://ow.ly/Lsm450X0RHX

We are thrilled to announce that Stern & Wild filmmaker Chris Holt has secured a place in the semi-finals of this year’s...
22/09/2025

We are thrilled to announce that Stern & Wild filmmaker Chris Holt has secured a place in the semi-finals of this year’s Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition with the script for his comedy-drama 27 COWS.

Chris is a multi-award-winning filmmaker first known as the Writer and Director of the BBC’s WONDERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM and Lead Director and Producer of WONDERS OF THE UNIVERSE. He was awarded the Peabody Award for Documentary Excellence in 2011. His recent projects include THE DEVIL ON TRIAL (Netflix), IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU: THE JODI ARIAS STORY (Discovery+) and JEFFREY DAHMER: MIND OF A MONSTER (Discovery+).

27 COWS is a quirky, heartfelt feature about a man trying to save his cows from slaughter. It's a story of friendship, resilience, and a very long walk with some very stubborn cows.

Finalists will be announced next month. We are keeping our fingers firmly crossed. To read more about the Competition and all the semi-finalists, click here: https://ow.ly/LOM650X0rnE

Congratulations to Stern & Wild filmmaker Alex Thomas whose three-part docuseries BIBAA & NICOLE: MURDER IN THE PARK has...
22/09/2025

Congratulations to Stern & Wild filmmaker Alex Thomas whose three-part docuseries BIBAA & NICOLE: MURDER IN THE PARK has been shortlisted for the inaugural Indielab Innovation Awards.

Nominated for Best Documentary Series, the production uncovers the harrowing story behind the killings of sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman in 2020, and the shocking police misconduct that followed. It is a True Vision TV production for Sky Documentaries. Exec Producers are Brian Woods for True Vision and Kathryn Taylor and Gilberte Phanor for Sky. Lindsay Konieczny is Producer/Director, Sian Guerra is Series Producer and Alex is Series Director.

Supported by Banijay Entertainment, the Awards were launched this year to mark Indielab’s 10th anniversary and aim to recognise the boldest, most original content and creators shaping the future of UK TV and digital-first. The winners will be announced at a ceremony held on the evening of GrowthLab London which takes place on 13 November. To read more and see the full shortlist, click here: https://ow.ly/qWVp50X0lhJ

Shout out to Stern & Wild filmmaker Toby Trackman whose wonderfully intimate documentary for the World Gold Council feat...
22/09/2025

Shout out to Stern & Wild filmmaker Toby Trackman whose wonderfully intimate documentary for the World Gold Council featuring Sir Elton John has amassed over 1.6 million views on YouTube alone since premiering one week ago.

TOUCHED BY GOLD explores the precious metal’s enduring influence on culture, creativity and society, as told through the voice and life stories of the iconic singer. It features a unique behind-the-scenes look at Elton John’s costume collection and other personal memorabilia, as he discusses the ways gold has inspired his art, his music and his sense of individuality. The film goes beyond fashion and performance, looking too at gold’s vital but lesser-known role in modern medicine and science. It reveals, for example, how gold is more than symbolic in the singer’s life and is a key component in pacemakers; technology he came to rely on after being fitted with one in 1999.

The film is directed by Toby who spent months with Elton John to craft this heartfelt journey through his extraordinary archive. It follows his recent projects, the music docuseries CAMDEN (Disney+/Lightbox) and feature documentary THE LAST MUSICIAN OF AUSCHWITZ (BBC Two/Two Rivers/Access). Stern & Wild’s Chris Wilson who recently worked with Toby on CAMDEN, is Editor.

The film premiered on Monday 15 September. It is available to view on YouTube: https://ow.ly/ngpq50X08L2 and the World Gold Council website: https://ow.ly/zERV50X08L1

A crowdfunding campaign to finance the completion of a feature documentary about the UK’s homelessness crisis and suppor...
18/09/2025

A crowdfunding campaign to finance the completion of a feature documentary about the UK’s homelessness crisis and support two homelessness charities has now gone live.

Directed by Stern & Wild filmmaker Miles Blayden-Ryall, feature doc HOME aims to highlight the displacement and homelessness crisis through the incredible story of a man who lost everything in the wake of the Grenfell fire and who has been fighting to find his way back home ever since. Filmed over the past 18 months, the project has been supported by some wonderful industry execs, the brilliant team at post-production house Clear Cut and Stern & Wild.

The campaign hopes to raise £150,000 to help complete post-production on the film, with 25% of raised funds going directly to a London-based charity the team has partnered with, Single Homeless Project. An additional £3,000 will go to Homeless Entrepreneur, an NGO set up to help people affected by homelessness get back on their feet.

To read more or support the campaign, click here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/homedoc

For the past 18 months, Stern & Wild filmmaker Miles Blayden Ryall has been working on a feature documentary about the U...
12/09/2025

For the past 18 months, Stern & Wild filmmaker Miles Blayden Ryall has been working on a feature documentary about the UK’s homelessness crisis, told through the incredible story of a man who lost everything in the wake of the Grenfell fire and has been fighting to find his way back home ever since. The film has been supported by some wonderful industry execs, the brilliant team at post-production house Clear Cut and Stern & Wild.

Miles and the production team are launching a crowdfunding campaign next week to enable them to finish the film, with 25% of raised funds going directly to a London-based charity the team have partnered with, Single Homeless Project. To read more, click here: https://ow.ly/6luU50WVUXw

Congratulations to Stern & Wild filmmaker John Hodgson, Series Producer of ROMESH: CAN’T KNOCK THE HUSTLE, a joyous new ...
04/09/2025

Congratulations to Stern & Wild filmmaker John Hodgson, Series Producer of ROMESH: CAN’T KNOCK THE HUSTLE, a joyous new four-part travelogue series from comedian and presenter Romesh Ranganathan set to launch on Sky Max and streaming service NOW on 24 September.

Following on from his debut arena tour, Hustle, where he explores his theories on life, work, self-improvement and success, the series sees Romesh travel to India, the USA, South Korea and Canada to check if any of those theories were correct. Can Romesh find the answers to modern life? And was any of the stand-up material that he performed to over a quarter of million people actually true?

The series is produced by Ranga Bee Productions for Sky. It was commissioned by Phil Edgar-Jones, Executive Director of Unscripted Originals at Sky; the Commissioning Editor is Barbara Lee. It is directed by Benjamin Green who also serves as Executive Producer alongside Romesh.

Watch the trailer here: https://youtu.be/r2jb2ds6-Qg

03/09/2025

Congratulations to Stern & Wild filmmaker Helen Nixon whose equally moving and enraging two-part special LONG LOST FAMILY: THE MOTHER AND BABY HOME SCANDAL is set to screen over two consecutive nights on ITV1 starting tonight at 9.00pm.

Presented by Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell, the series investigates the mother and baby homes operating in England between 1949 and 1976 and the traumatic treatment of the unmarried women and girls who were placed there, and whose children were forcibly adopted often at just six weeks old. Davina and Nicky help three people with connections to the homes track down their relatives and find out about the campaign to get the British government, which funded many of the homes, to apologise to those affected.

Helen is the Director on the series which has already created a huge buzz in the press. It is a Critic’s Choice pick in the i-newspaper, and Pick of the Day in the Guardian, the Times and the Telegraph, while the stories of some of the families involved in the forced adoptions are explored in many of this week’s papers including in the Daily Mail, the Daily Record and the Mirror.

Helen was interviewed on Woman’s Hour yesterday alongside Cathy Wright whose mother was sent to a mother and baby home in 1956. Listen to it here (from 31.17): https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002http

Shout out to Stern & Wild clients Kate Hampel and Jamie Seal, Edit Producers on TOP GUNS: THE NEXT GENERATION, a brillia...
29/08/2025

Shout out to Stern & Wild clients Kate Hampel and Jamie Seal, Edit Producers on TOP GUNS: THE NEXT GENERATION, a brilliant new series set to launch in the US on National Geographic on 16 September and on Disney+ and Hulu on 17 September. It premieres in the UK on Nat Geo on 21 September.

The six-part series follows a new class of US Navy and Marine Corps student pilots as they enter the final and most unforgiving phase of strike fighter training which sees them compete to join the next generation of the Navy’s most elite fighter pilots. Filmed by some of the creative talent behind the 2022 blockbuster TOP GUN: MAVERICK, the show’s aerial sequences promise “a breathtaking front-row experience to capture moments of precision, panic, and hard-fought triumph” as the pilots take part in bombing drills, close-range dogfights and nail-biting carrier approaches. The series also goes beyond the cockpit, following the student pilots off-base, capturing candid moments with family and friends and revealing the personal stakes, sacrifices, and motivations that brought them here.

The series is a Rex TV production for National Geographic. The Showrunners are Karen Edwards and Chris Parkin, Exec Producers include Tanya Shaw and Simon Raikes, and Lana Salah is Series Director.

To watch the trailer, click here: https://ow.ly/C79j50WO7E4

Congratulations to Stern & Wild filmmakers Iain “Thompy” Thompson and Dominique Walker whose projects were among the win...
26/08/2025

Congratulations to Stern & Wild filmmakers Iain “Thompy” Thompson and Dominique Walker whose projects were among the winners at this year’s Edinburgh TV Awards.

Iain is Co-Creator and Series Director of ITV’s family history series DNA JOURNEY which won the Best Branded Entertainment award. Launched in 2019 with a one-off special featuring Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, the popular show follows pairs of celebrity friends or relatives as they explore their family histories through a combination of DNA testing and historical research, sometimes uncovering extraordinary secrets along the way. It is produced by Voltage TV, Ant & Dec’s prod co Mitre Studios and genealogy platform Ancestry for ITV1.

Dominique was Consultant Executive Producer on last year’s break-out hit for BBC Two, ROB AND RYLAN’S GRAND TOUR which won the Best Popular Factual Series award. The three-part series sees TV presenters Rob Rinder and Rylan Clark retrace the footsteps of Lord Byron and other grand tourists as they explore the art and architecture of the Italian Renaissance, finding out more about themselves along the way. The show previously won the BAFTA TV award for Best Factual Entertainment. It is produced by Rex TV for BBC Two.

The Awards are held as part of the annual Edinburgh TV Festival. For a full list of this year’s winners, click here: https://ow.ly/alzc50WMcX5

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