In an interview with the magazine Écran Total, Clément Combes, Head of Digital at ZED, shared insights into the strategies behind the company’s YouTube offering - notably SLICE - of 21 channels featuring premium documentary content (in English, French and Spanish), which has now grown to over 3 million subscribers.
The documentary collection L'œil et la main has been awarded the Golden Label “Public Interest Film” by the media Acteurs publics! For 30 years, this documentary collection in French and sign language has been creating a meeting place for deaf and hearing people, where perspectives on the world intersect and enrich each other, with 24 films released each year.
During the markets and trade fairs taking place this summer (Sunny Side of the Doc and NATPE), we highlighted some of the ambitious projects in our new line-up in Worldscreen magazine!
For the 7th consecutive year, ZED is on the list of the world’s best non-fiction production companies! ZED is among the Copro Partners TOP 10 of REALSCREEN's Global 100.
Dedicated to the story of the greatest conqueror of the Viking era, this 4-part docuseries will use the most advanced generative AI to reconstruct historical sequences. Produced by ZED for Histoire TV, SVT, ZDF Studios and Sky History, Knut, the Viking Emperor is scheduled for spring 2026, and first images will be unveiled at the upcoming Sunny Side of the Doc.
Our VR experience Once on a Blue Moon will be part of the upcoming NewImages Development Market! The production & distribution team will attend the event at Forum des images.
The pitch: 2030. After a half-century hiatus, expeditions to the Moon have resumed. By bringing together the major scientific milestones of the Artemis program, Lucy Bauer will reveal how much the Moon reminded her of her attachment to our planet Earth.
For the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, ZED launches The Ultimate Ice Mission, a thrilling scientific expedition led by world-renowned glaciologist, featuring Al Gore, to explore the depths of the poles thanks to cutting-edge technologies. Directed by Florent Muller and produced by AUXYMA, the documentary is now available for sales.
Presented by Manuel Catteau at the MIP LONDON Pitch Live session, Caligula's Hidden Legacy has won the 2025 MIPDOC Project Pitch! Directed by Vivien Floris and Gokce Ozer, produced by Alma Productions and distributed by ZED, the film will explore an impressive architectural legacy that challenges everything we thought we knew about Rome’s most infamous emperor.
We are proud to announce that ZED is now an Ecoprod member, with over 370 member structures - all signatories to the Ecoprod Charter. Joining this collective of professionals marks our involvement in the ecological transition of the audiovisual and cinema fields, and together we are participating in the development of tools and resources adapted to our needs.
For its 2025 edition, FIPADOC has included 4 programs distributed by ZED in its program: Erik Satie Reloaded (by Grégory Monro, prod. O2B Films & SACEM) in the Musical Documentary selection, Michel Chasseuil, The 50k Bottles Man (by Romain Dybiec, prod. Les Films en Vrac) in the out-of competition Taste of Doc section, Auschwitz, Voices of Survivors (by Catherine Bernstein, prod. Kuiv Productions & INA) in the out-of competition selection Documentary Series, and Red Shadow over the White House (by Antoine Vitkine, prod. Nilaya Productions) in the French Speaking Panorama selection, which won the Prix Coup de coeur dans les murs.
10 years after the series of terrorist attacks that hit France, directors Agnès Pizzini and Claire Denavarre retrace the events and give a voice to those who experienced them head-on (survivors, witnesses, politicians, members of law enforcement...) with Surviving Paris Attacks, a poignant and unifying documentary broadcast on M6.
Charlotte Tachet, Director of Distribution and Acquisitions, gives Unifrance a behind-the-scenes look at the documentary The Lost Tombs of Notre-Dame (directed by Florence Tran and produced by ZED - Christine Le Goff and Marion Papillon), from its genesis to its international journey.
For the occasion, the “L'œil et la main” team invites you to go behind the scenes of this unique documentary collection, which is aimed at the deaf and hearing audiences alike (bilingual French - sign language). A special episode will also be broadcast on France 5 on December 9, looking back on the program's 30-year history.
Broadcast on ARTE France on the evening of November 30, the documentary The Lost Tombs of Notre-Dame gathered no less than 1,170,000 viewers: a record audience for the channel's slot "Aventures Humaines"!
Ahead of the world-famous cathedral’s reopening next December, The Lost Tombs of Notre-Dame (directed by Florence Tran) will broadcast on both ARTE and PBS (NOVA / GBH). Following the discovery of unexpected treasures under Notre-Dame’s floor, and thanks to exclusive access on site, the film is a deep dive into an exceptional scientific and archaeological adventure.
Our documentary D-Day: 100 Days for Freedom has been nominated for the Unifrance TV Export Awards, which rewards the best-selling French audiovisual programs worldwide. Directed by David Korn-Brzoza, produced by ZED and ECPAD, the film has been sold in 87 territories! Results will be announced on December, 16.
Aiming for Glory has been selected by Realscreen magazine as one of the must-see programs at MIPCOM 2024. Directed by Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai, and produced by Falabracks, this documentary tells the inspiring stories of top athletes striving to make their mark in the para-sport world and champion global inclusion.
Ahead of the content market, ZED is featured in Realscreen’s 2024 MIPCOM Shopper’s guide to promote a slate of its newest titles available for presales, ranging from history to current affairs, to science and the arts.
Heading the special anniversary year of 2025, French distributor ZED is boosting its history offer through a wide range of titles to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII, among its presales and completed films and through a special WWII Catalogue.
In 2024, four films distributed by ZED have been awarded by La Scam (the civil society of multimedia authors). Among the winners, we find Ukraine, The Other Frontline by Laurent Jaoui (Veilleur de Nuit), Ukraine 1933: Seeds of Hunger by Guillaume Ribot (Les Films du Poisson & Lobster Films), Women Under Hitler’s Flag by Christiane Ratiney (Hauteville Productions) and Last Days in Shibati by Hendrick Dusollier (Studio Hdk Productions, Maria Roche Productions & Les Films d’Ici).
In an interview with Le Film Français magazine, Manuel Catteau spoke at length about the current state of the documentary sector and ZED's evolution in the audiovisual landscape, discussing both its challenges and its future plans.
For the 6th consecutive year, ZED is on the list of the world’s best non-fiction production companies! The Global 100 is now subdivided into 10 categories, and ZED is among the Copro Partners TOP 10.
For MIPTV 2024, Charlotte Tachet (Head of Distribution and Acquisitions) and three other French distributors spoke with Señal News about their new slate projects, while also addressing hot topics such as the use and impact of AI in content creation.
ZED signs two distribution agreements with Flair Media and La Compagnie des Taxi-Brousse, adding 350h of documentaries to its catalog - which now totals 3,500h. These agreements strengthen ZED's position on the international market, and provide closer collaboration on upcoming productions of both companies.
ZED (Manuel Catteau) and Az You Like Films (Philippe Azoulay Siritzky), in co-production with Mainstream Pictures and United Content Hub, announce the production of War of Drones, a documentary film about the Kondor company, specialized in drone warfare in Ukraine. For this film, director Philippe Azoulay Siritzky obtained exceptional authorizations to spend 6 months with this unit fighting on the front line in the Donbass.
Congo-Ocean: Railway of Blood is selected for the 2024 FIPADOC, in the National Documentary category. It will be screened on Wednesday, January 24 at 12pm at the Casino municipal de Biarritz. Directed by Catherine Bernstein, produced by Point du Jour - Les Films du Balibari, ZED for France Télévisions and Histoire TV.
In January 2024, ZED strengthens its sales team with the hiring of two new international sales managers: Charlotte Fuga (left) and Lucille Ract (right). Headed by Charlotte Tachet, the Distribution department (currently made up of 9 people) testifies to the company’s strong presence on French and international marketplace.
ZED partners with independent Australian production company SAM Content (Sally Aitken & Aline Jacques) to develop an innovate and creative strategy of international co-productions. Projects on the slate notably include Atomic Paradise, a series about pop culture during the nuclear testing era in the Pacific, and Terra Futura, an anticipation of the Earth without humans, using breathtaking CGI.
For 10 years, a young medievalist traveled across Europe to reconstruct the mythical story of Segurant the Brown, the forgotten knight of the Arthurian legend. An incredible investigation to complete the most famous tale of medieval times – that of the Knights to the Round Table – now available on ARTE.
In 2021, explorer Christian Clot and 14 volunteers spent 40 days in a cave, deprived of space-time references and natural light. A human and scientific challenge told in 52 minutes on ARTE.
The trailer of Destination Moon: The New Space Age has been selected for the 2023 MIPCOM Picks. Directed by Laurent Lichtenstein and produced by ZED and ONE WAY FILMS, the documentary focuses on NASA’s Artemis program, which will mark the renewal of lunar exploration.
The documentary Amazon: Women Warriors, produced by ZED and directed by Alexandra Barbot has joined the vast library of global doc streaming service MagellanTV. Following recent scientific finds, this deep-time film uncovers the truth behind the myth of these horse-riding female fighters.
During Unifrance RDV in Biarritz, Head of Sales and Acquisitions Charlotte Tachet talked to Señal News about ZED’s ambitious upcoming projects and the company’s position on international marketplace, while taking stock of the current state of the documentary sector.
On July 28, 2023, ZED has become the owner of the French production company Point du Jour – Les Films du Balibari. From now on, ZED will take over all the producer’s documentaries in development and production, and will also ensure the distribution of its over 900-hour long catalog.
In July 2023, Clément Combes - previously Management Administrator - takes up his new position as ZED’s General Secretary & Director of the Digital Business Unit. From now on, he will support Management in the running of the company, as well as overseeing the digital department, created in autumn 2022 and currently boasting 12 YouTube channels.
In June 2023, ZED hired Zoé Turpin as new sales manager for France and Sub-Saharan Africa. Her arrival in the department headed by Charlotte Tachet was well publicized in the press and testifies to the company’s strong presence in international marketplace.
Head of Sales and Acquisitions Charlotte Tachet talked to Señal News about ZED’s new investigative and crime titles. Dealing with major geopolitical and social issues, and successful in international market, these launches include “Inside Zuckerberg’s Meta-Brain”, “Tibet VS. China”, “War Over Wheat” or “Highway to Hell” among many others.
Producer Gaëlle Guyader and Head of Sales & Acquisitions Charlotte Tachet tell Unifrance about the genesis, the backstage and the international journey of our film “Vikings: The Lost Kingdom”, directed by Alexis de Favitski, in coproduction with Mechanix Film.
Directed by Vincent Amouroux and produced by ZED, the documentary series (3x52', 4K) was broadcast on the ARTE channel on Saturday 4th of March. The medias were seduced by this unique immersion in the heart of a titanic restoration project - available on arte.tv until the 2nd of May 2023.
Thanks to exclusive access to the Notre Dame excavation site, the ZED teams filmed an unexpected discovery. The documentary Notre Dame: What lies beneath (52', 4K) directed by Florence Tran for ARTE - available in February 2024 - relates an exceptional and unprecedented scientific investigation.
The documentary project Destination Moon: The New Space Age, produced by ZED and directed by Laurent Lichtenstein, is one of the winners of the Global Doc held during the 2022 WCSFP. This project stood out by offering a new perspective on the Artemis Spaceship program.
During the Unifrance Rendez-vous in Biarritz, ZED exclusively presented some of its new projects, including three ambitious history documentaries now available for pre-sales as well as four series about environmental issues for the upcoming MIPCOM.
The documentary "Rivers Above the Canopy" won the prize for best scientific documentary at the silbersalz festival in 2022. A film by Pascal Cuissot produced by Valerie Abita.