By special request, should Barack Obama have a few minutes to spare, he might find himself settling down to a couple of DVDs part-made by STV.
And framed and hanging proudly in the home of STV director of content, Alan Clements, is the email to prove it: a request that a couple of DVDs be made available of Born Fighting, a two-part documentary on how the Scots-Irish helped shape the USA.
Co-funded by STV, its Northern Ireland counterpart, UTV, and the Smithsonian Channel in the USA, Born Fighting is authored by US Senator, Jim Webb, and was broadcast on STV at the beginning of last month, over two weeks. It enjoyed the additional distinction of being broadcast simultaneously on UTV.
Says Clements: “I was over in Washington a couple of weeks ago for an international convention of factual and factual entertainment producers and met for dinner with Senator Webb and his wife. Next thing, he is mentioning the documentary to Obama and a few days after that the email from Jim arrives with the request for a copy for him to pass on to the President.”
A screening of Born Fighting is to be part of the Tartan Week celebrations in New York next month.
