Rabbit Films’ adventure reality format Globetrotters was chosen as the winner of the Format-Finlandia 2018 prize. The prestigious award was awarded for the 18^th time by the association of Audiovisual Producers Finland during the Media & Message – the Finnish TV Festival held in Tampere Finland. Rabbit Films has previously won the Format-Finland prize twice before, in 2015 for King and in 2012 for Celebrity Home Invasion. This year, the Format- Finlandia winner was chosen by Nicola Söderlund, founder of distribution company Eccho Rights, who considered the export potential of the format as the most important winning criteria:

”My choice is Globetrotters. Globetrotters taps well into the global trend of traveling where a rich experience at and of new places is what people are looking for” Söderlund commented his choice.

Globetrotters was Nelonen channel’s new prime time launch for Spring 2018 in Finland, where three celebrities competed independently around the globe. They were performing eight tasks in the most exotic destinations as soon as possible so that they could be the winner of the race, first one back in the homeland.

Rabbit Films’ adventure formats ‘Over the Atlantic’ and ‘Globetrotters’ have both been selected as finalists in the Format-Finlandia competition.

The Finnish production company behind the best format of 2018 will be awarded at the annual Format-Finlandia Gala during the Media & Message – The Finnish TV Festival held in Tampere Finland in August. The winner will receive a 20,000€ prize which is funded by Finnish broadcasters.

Over the Atlantic showed the viewers in Autumn 2017 what happened when an experienced captain sailed in three weeks across Atlantic with six well-known celebrities with zero sailing experience. ‘Over the Atlantic’ was the highest rated show of all time in TV5 channel (Discovery Networks).

Globetrotters was Nelonen channel’s Spring 2018 launch, where three celebrities competed independently around the globe. They were performing tasks in the most exotic destinations so that they could be the winner of the race, first one back in the homeland.

Rabbit Films has won the Format-Finland prize twice before, in 2012 for King and in 2012 for Celebrity Home Invasion. The Format-Finlandia has been awarded since 2001, currently they are awarded by the association of Audiovisual Producers Finland – APFI.

Rabbit Films is delighted to introduce in Cannes a line up with great variety including four brand new original formats, all infused with Positive Anarchy.

Globetrotters truly tests celebrities and offers hight production value while the contestants race around the world. What’s The Word? is a game show where people can play along by challenging their minds. Both Queen of the Day and Stripped Club will be touching their audience with laughter and tears.

Trailers for the new formats can be screened by clicking the images below and entering a password “rabbit15”.

Globetrotters
Adventure Reality, 8 x 60min
Adventurous and eventful celebrity travel show! Three unsuspecting celebrities each get dropped at a random point at our globe and have to solve clues to pick up eight objects from eight different locations in the world. First one back in the homeland wins the race!

Queen of the Day
Entertainment, 8 x 60min
Eight former beauty pageant winners from different decades are brought together to an unforgettable 8-day journey. Each day focuses on a different superb queen, who will share their real untold stories.

What’s The Word?
Game Show, 10 x 60min
A wonderfully fun word-guessing celebrity game show! Each player will in turn try to explain a word in a way that as few as possible of the other contestants would get it right, but avoiding an outcome that no one or every contestant guesses the word. Player with most points wins!

Stripped Club
Music, 8 x 60min
Where everything is laid bare! A famous musician sits down with a host for a captivating and personal in-depth interview. Between the discussions the musician performs their latest hits acoustic in an intimate 360 degree venue surrounded by their audience.

 

The Finnish Movie Awards of 2018 was a night of big celebration for Rabbit Films. The company was awarded the Hulda, an annual recognition awarded for a significant international breakthrough in the audiovisual sector. The jury was particularly impressed by the work of Rabbit Films in the US as a growth story like no other, which works as an inspirational door opener for others in the industry.

In recent years, Rabbit Films has focused heavily in domestic product development and international format sales, while simultaneously building a strategy with determination to reach the US market. The adventure reality show Ultimate Expedition on YouTube Red is the first ever series produced by a Finnish production company to the US market. The show has already attracted 7 million viewers and is also financially the largest non-fiction commission of YouTube so far. The series is based on the Rabbit original format, which first aired on MTV3 Finland in 2016.

“We started with Finnish madness a few years ago to build the Rabbit Films US office in order to spread our Positive Anarchy around the world. With the joint spirit of the great team and the whole company, hard work has begun to produce results,“ says the head of Rabbit Films US operations and The Dudesons member Jukka Hildén . “Ultimate Expedition was an incredible experience both as a production and on a personal level”

> Check out the trailer for the U.S. version of Ultimate Expedition

Rabbit Films has sold its original tv-series format Haggle Battle to Germany. A German version of Haggle Battle will be produced by Bavaria Entertainment.

Haggle Battle is a ”bargain battle meets comedy panel” studio entertainment show, where three passionate celebrity hagglers are prepared to buy anything if they can get the best bargain for it. Anyone can try to sell anything ranging from a second-hand dog toy to a vintage war ship. All items come with a story and all purchases are done live in the studio, with cash. The Hagglers compete against each other to see who can get the best deal.

The German version of the format will be produced by Bavaria Entertainment.

– We are very proud to be producing this extremely funny and exceptional format for Germany. Haggle Battle will have a unique take when it airs this summer, says Ina Eck, Creative Producer of Bavaria Entertainment.

Haggle Battle is an original format created by Rabbit Films, an independent Finnish tv-production company known for several successful original tv formats created and produced in Finland, such as Posse, King and The Ultimate Expedition. The company is also the home of the Dudesons franchise.

– We are extremely happy that Haggle Battle will have an international start from Germany. The format is exceptionally flexible – it works both in weekly prime time and as a daily, stripped version. Ultimately, Haggle Battle is a positive and uplifting show for the whole family, says Olli Suominen, the CEO of Rabbit Films.

In Finland the one hour Haggle Battle premiered in spring 2016 on Nelonen (Channel 4) and 10 episodes were broadcast on Saturday prime time.

Rabbit Films will be attending MIPTV in Cannes in April 2017 with several formats and ready-mades. The most recent formats alongside Haggle Battle are City vs Country, Battle of the Hits, Once upon a Life and Should I Be Worried?

Rabbit Films’ production The Ultimate Expedition has won the award of Best Competition Reality Series at Kultainen Venla – the Finnish TV Awards in Finland, January 13.

The Ultimate Expedition is a breathtaking show where eight celebrities are given a challenge to conquer a 6 000 metre high mountain. Producer Heidi Hakkarainen describes the Ultimate Expedition as the most unique experience she has ever had on her professional career.

–  I couldn’t be more proud of the whole group; eight unbelievably courageus climbers and the host with the biggest heart, Jukka Hildén. A big thank you goes also to Mikko Vermas, the leader of the mountaineering professional group, the trainers from the Paratrooper Guild and Galaxia Expedition guides. This was an unforgettable adventure and we tried to transmit everything to the viewers as authentically as possible. We had an amazing production crew both in Peru as in post-production in Finland. With their uncompromising work and attitude it was possible to make an epic series out of this epic journey.

Ultimate Expedition’s first season was broadcast in spring 2016 on MTV3 in Finland. The participating celebrities were Cristal Snow, Tuija Pehkonen, Lola Odusoga, Janne Niinimaa, Antti Reini, Antti Luusuaniemi, Minna Parikka and – ultimately the last one standing on the mountain – Leena Harkimo. The show was hosted by Jukka Hilden.