An independent producer and distributor, founded by Manuel Catteau almost 30 years ago, ZED is a key player in French documentary production, with a raft of major international broadcasters among its clients: France Télévisions, Canal+, ARTE, BBC, National Geographic, Discovery, PBS, ZDF, NHK, SBS or CuriosityStream.

Thanks to a strong team of 7 producers, ZED produces around 40 films a year, covering all genres in non-fiction: history, sciences, wildlife, investigation, current affairs and art & culture — and investing in all broadcasting platforms, whether linear, non-linear or audio (podcast). With a catalogue of 2 000 hours, ZED is also one of the major international sales companies and represents almost 200 prestigious French and foreign production firms, handling distribution of their output to broadcasters across the globe.

In the past few years, ZED has been nominated 5 times among the 10 Best French Producers of the Year, and has won three times the French Export Award that rewards the most well distributed programs abroad. In 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, ZED has been nominated by REALSCREEN as part of the Global 100, the annual snapshot of the best production companies working in the non-fiction industry. 

Over the years, ZED has built its reputation by crafting high-end and acclaimed films, recognized in the most famous international festivals and very often garnering audience ratings. The series Hobbies produced for Canal+ was selected at the Cannes Film Festival (Short Film Palme d’Or Category); Rivers Above the Canopy, widely distributed throughout the world, won the “Best Scientific Documentary” award at the 2022 SILBERSALZ Science & Media Awards; Kalahari, Land of Secret Alliances, produced for France Télévisions and Blue Ant Media, won of the Gold Trophy at the Deauville Green Awards Festival and gathered 2.85 million viewers in prime-time on France 2; and more recently the film Golden Monkeys: Braving the impossible, produced for ARTE, CGTN and National Geographic, won the Grand Prize at the 2022 International Nature Namur Festival.

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LE COLLECTIF 50/50, for equality, parity and diversity in the film and audiovisual industry.