Cult Computer Game "Moorhuhn" Wins ARD's Documentary Pitch

Ariane Riecker and Olaf Jacobs of Leipzig production company Hoferichter & Jacobs won the 15th ARD TopDocs competition on 28 October with "Die unglaubliche Geschichte des Moorhuhns", a 90-minute documentary on the 1990s computer game that ties its pop-culture moment to the New Economy boom around 2000 and the friendship of the three developers behind it. Six regional members of ARD, Germany's public broadcasting network (MDR, BR, NDR, SWR, WDR and rbb), cover up to €300,000 (roughly $350,000) in gross production costs for a release on Das Erste or the ARD Mediathek; the project beat two other finalists from 52 submissions at the pitch in Leipzig.