National Geographic calling for documentaries

Malaysia - National Geographic is calling for entries from Malaysian companies to produce one-hour original documentary programmes for its Malaysia to the World 2 series.

"The documentaries produced under Malaysia to the World have seen consistently high viewership in Malaysia. In fact, Becoming a King was the most watched documentary across all international factual entertainment channels in Malaysia for the week of 27 August to 2 September 2007. Hence, we are confident that Malaysia to the World 2 will enjoy great success, with the selected production companies guided by National Geographic Channel's award-winning producers to ensure a consistently high-quality production," Rohana Rozhan, CEO of Astro, said.

This initiative is a partnership between National Geographic, National Film Development Corporation of Malaysia (FINAS), integrated media company, Astro, and the Ministry of Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage.

Two new documentaries are expected to be produced under an additional grant of about RM 1.3 million. This follows the Becoming A King and Smart Tunnel documentaries produced under the initial partnership between National Geographic and FINAS in 2006.

The documentaries will be aired globally on National Geographic channel network in 270 million homes across 166 countries.