BBC’s George Floyd documentary tops Silverlining Rights’ spring slate

A forthcoming BBC documentary that marks five years since the police killing of George Floyd is among the projects on the spring 2025 slate of independent production finance broker and distributor Silverlining Rights.

George Floyd: The Murder that Changed the World (1×60′) comes from Rogan Films and features interviews with members of Floyd’s family and Medaria Arradondo, the Minneapolis Police Chief who testified against one of his own officers.

Floyd, a 46-year-old black American man was murdered in Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer on May 25, 2020, sparking a wave of protests in the US and around the world.

The documentary explores how Floyd’s murder became one of the most significant moments in modern history and asks provocative questions about whether anything has changed in the five years since he died.

It is also available as a feature-length documentary under the title Backlash: The Murder of George Floyd (1×90′). The film will have a theatrical release across the UK from May 9 and will then be broadcast on BBC Two and iPlayer later that month.

Kwabena Oppong, director at Rogan Productions, said: “The shockwaves of George Floyd’s murder in May 2020 became a catalyst for change worldwide, or so it seemed.

“Over the past five years, we’ve seen progress and growth, but also a growing backlash. Behind everything we consume on TV, in the news and on social media, there’s a deeper story. Through compelling archive footage, user-generated content and powerful personal testimonies, we aim to bring these stories to the forefront and truly understand what happened in the summer of 2020 and whether lasting change is possible.”

Rose Ayling-Ellis: Old Hands New Tricks (2×60′) also comes from Rogan Productions for BBC One and is described as a heartwarming and thought-provoking series following the actor as she embarks on an experiment to transform lives by teaching a group of retirees British Sign Language.

Other titles on the slate include Murder in the Skies: Who Downed MH17? (3×60′), from Passion Pictures for National Geographic Channels International; Our Welsh Chapel Dream (8×60′), from Love Productions for Channel 4 (C4) in the UK; and Platoon (4×60′), from Frank Films and GroupM Motion Entertainment for 5 in the UK.

Europe’s Most Scandalous Prison (1×60′, Good TV for 5); The Skinny Jab Scandal (1×60′) from Britespark Films for C4; Hurricanes from Above (1×60′) Good TV for 5; and Hunting the Online Sex Predators (1×60′), from Strident for BBC One, are also on the slate.

Bethan Corney, founder and MD of Silverlining Rights, said: “We like to do things slightly differently at Silverlining, and holding our own, bespoke content market twice a year, outside of MipTV/Mipcom has proved highly successful in launching shows to our international buyers.”

Silverlining Rights distributes a catalogue of more than 2,000 hours of content from producers including: Emporium, Rogan, Passion Pictures, Storyboard, Strident, Good TV, Frank Films, Angel Eye, Bright Branch, Yeti, Blink Films, Mothership, Content Kings and Ten 66. In addition, Silverlining generates its own content in partnership with producers and international broadcasters.