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In today’s Global Bulletin, the European Film Academy and Berlin Film Festival call for Nasrin Sotoudeh’s immediate release from prison, Banijay appoints Dominique Farrugia as managing director for Endemol Shine in France, Amazon Prime Video announces a slate of sports docs in Spain, and the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers preps for December’s digital edition.

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The European Film Academy and Berlin International Film Festival have released a joint call for the immediate release of writer and human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, featured in Jafar Panahi’s Golden Bear-winning “Taxi Teheran.”

Sotoudeh was arrested in June 2018 and sentenced to more than 30 years in prison and 148 whiplashes on charges many claim are dubious at best. Since Aug. 11 she has been on hunger strike as a response to inaction in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic at Teheran’s infamous Evin prison. She is currently in critical condition and,...

YouTube Originals is unveiling the latest series to join its growing slate of pandemic-appointed programming.

Dubbed Sleeping With Friends, the reality competition series will drop for free on YouTube on May 20 to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Month. Hosted by Vanessa Hill of self-improvement and psychology channel BrainCraft, the three-part special will see EduTubers going head to head to see who can improve their sleep using different techniques and products. Mental Health Awareness Month, which has been observed in the U.S. since 1949, arrives during a particularly opportune moment, when coronavirus-associated anxieties are at an all-time high.

Contestants will include Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown from ASAPScience, psychology analyst Donna Yatz of PsychIRL, Melissa Maribel, whose channel is focused on high school and college chemistry. YouTuber-therapist Kati Morton, mental health creator Dr. Ali Mattu, and science-focused YouTuber Trace Dominguez will serve as judges.

Visit Tubefilter for more great stories.

YouTube has launched the trailer for a new reality competition series called “Sleeping With Friends,” and believe it or not, the contestants will actually be sleeping.

That’s the entire goal of this educational reality competition series, which will begin stream for free on YouTube on May 20, timed to Mental Health Awareness Week. Hosted by BrainCraft’s Vanessa Hill, competitors in this three-part series will be competing to improve their own sleeping habits the most by using new techniques and products.

The series will feature Mitch and Greg from ASAPScience, Donna Yatz of PsychIRL, Melissa Maribel, judges and mental health professionals Kati Morton, Dr. Ali Mattu, Trace Dominguez.

Also Read: ViacomCBS, YouTube TV Expand Distribution Agreement

In the trailer, which you can watch above, competitors try their best to get the best night’s sleep, but find the task is not as easy as it seems.

According to YouTube, “Sleep...

Discovery’s primary digital news source is coming to its TV network. The Science Channel, which is owned by Discovery, has announced Science Presents DNews, a five-times-a-week news update presented by the hosts of the online program DNews.

Science Presents DNews will premiere at 9 Pm Est on December 28th and will air at the same time each weeknight. The show’s updates will last for about a minute each and will cover many of the same topics featured in the DNews web series. In its first week, for example, Science Presents DNews will cover Nasa, delivery drones, and the science of New Year’s resolutions, among other segments.

“Science Channel has become the destination on cable for all things science as they happen,” said Marc Etkind, the Science Channel’s General Manager, in a press release. “DNews at nine will keep our viewers current on the latest science and technology...

Discovery Digital Networks has expanded its content offerings through a new network. The digital branch of Discovery Communications launched the Seeker network to tell stories aimed at the adventurous at heart.

As a new member of Discovery Digital, Seeker joins other networks under the same banner, such as TestTube, SourceFed, and Revision3. Sponsored by Michelob Ultra, the new Discovery network is described in a release as focusing on “adventurers, explorers, and storytellers on journeys – both physical and emotional – that celebrate the world around us.”

Seeker arrives with an already-prepared slate of at least 15 original series and content partners. Journalist and writer Laura Ling produces and hosts two series, one called Going Off Grid (about people choosing to live without many modern luxuries) and the other called Rituals, featuring stories of survival and bravery. DNews host Trace Dominguez will introduce viewers to the history of abandoned locations in Abandonment Issues, and...