ILS ÉTAIENT DES MILLIONS

2026-07-22

"From the 17th to the 20th century, some 56 million, men, women, and children left their homelands along the banks of the Rhine River, moving further east to Russia, North and South America, and North Africa. By becoming the driving forces of early capitalism, these migrants shaped the industrialiaed world of today. ""They Were Millions"" tells the incredible story of their displacement. The first European documentary series to focus on this wave of emigration, ""They Were Millions"" combines live action with animation to tell the story of this pivotal moment in European and world history. Supported by Europe Creative through Slate Funding in 2020 and the fourth co-production between Seppia (FR) and Indi Film (DE), this series, co-produced in the framework of ARTE's Grand Documentary Agreement, will be big news for the channel. In addition to being broadcast in prime time in all French- and German-speaking European territories, it will be promoted on Free VOD for more than a year throughout the continent, in 6 languages, on its web channels and its YouTube channel. This large-scale exhibition is part of ARTE's strategy to develop as a free public European VOD platform. Both in style - the animated documentary - and in content - the universal subject of migration - this series is intended to appeal to a broad international audience. CLPB Rights, familiar with the distribution of major reference series, will be in charge of the project’s distribution. With history on a personal and global scale, ""They Were Millions"" tells the story of a whole part of Europe’s heritage, and reminds us that exile has always been part of humanity’s destiny. With its ambitious production and distribution, this project starts from the heart of Europe, from the very region where the families whose stories it tells came from, and reaches the whole world. "

France

2026-03-01