Los Angeles-based The Gurin Company and Film.UA Group have announced a new partnership, under which the Emmy Award-winning US producer will represent Film.UA’s non-scripted programming in the US and other international territories.

Under the deal, The Gurin Company will select Film.UA formats and readymade properties that have international potential and provide development, distribution and co-production services to enable each project to realize its full commercial and creative potential outside of Ukraine. The partners will also work together to originate and develop new properties for the US, Ukrainian and international markets.

The partnership is launching two brand new formats at MipCom 2022; The History of Criminalistics and The Insiders Project. The History of Criminalistics is a multi-part, high-end docu-drama that brings viewers inside the most fascinating criminalistic discoveries from the past two centuries. While exploring the innovative methods embraced by criminologists through unique, high end visual effects and dramatic recreations, audiences will get a historical, scientific and entertaining look into these breakthrough techniques that are still used today.

The Insider’s Project is a daring exploration into sites typically unseen and abandoned, from an obsolete nuclear reactor to uninhabited mansions. In this self-contained episodic series, our fearless host will venture to these sites and structures that are overlooked and bring the viewers along for a journey of true discovery. In covering these hidden sites of wonder, state of the art graphics are used to recreate these structures to their former states of distinction.

Phil Gurin, president and CEO of The Gurin Company, said: “While predominantly known for their scripted output, Ukranian storytelling expertise is well known, highly regarded and deserves to be known far beyond its borders. With a project like The History of Criminalistics Film US was able to execute some terrific dramatic recreations with great skill. Even more, their cinema-quality special effects and CGI, all done locally in Ukraine, can stand against any of the big global studios, and we can’t wait to bring that level of production to our productions in other territories. he intriguing and compelling adventure of Insider’s Project can effortlessly be adapted in any territory with a history of large-scale abandoned buildings and infrastructure. Who doesn’t want to get a stealth view inside one glorious and now forgotten structures and landmarks?”

Kateryna Vyshnevska, head of development and co-productions, FILM.UA GROUP said:’ Phil Gurin and The Gurin Company have been great friends of ours for quite a few years, and we are glad to extend our collaboration to our new slate of factual and docudrama projects. We are especially pleased that the cooperation encompasses projects touching upon the subject of war in Ukraine but also pure entertainment, from crime docudrama to extreme urban explorations. The Ukrainian AV industry is comprised of talented people who have been, are and will continue creating great content with a viewer in mind. We are not defined by the war only, and this co-development deal is a great testament to that.”

Also new from the partnership is factual series Rebuilding Ukraine Together (8 x 45 mins), a Film.UA home-renovation pilot that was filmed before the war but never aired, the series follows the structure of a classical make-over format in that it starts with a challenge and ends with a resolution. However, rather than building dream kitchens, its mission is to rebuild the Ukrainian homes that have been destroyed in the war, while also creating a supportive community for traumatized local families. Full of kindness, compassion and emotional storytelling, the series throws into sharp relief what can be achieved when people come together to gift those who have lost everything with a sense of home and community.