Hollywood Suite has acquired Canadian broadcast rights, while CBC & Radio-Canada Distribution has acquired global distribution rights outside Canada, for Toronto-based Go Button Media’s award-winning Second World War feature documentary.

No Roses on a Sailor’s Grave (1 x 80-minutes), set to air on Remembrance Day in Canada, tells the tale of two strangers —  telegraphist Patrick Thomas of the D-Day ship HMCS LCH185 and a 25-year-old British archaeologist John Henry Phillips — who aim to locate and recover the vessel that helped protect the landing beaches from German attack more than 70 years before it disappeared in a watery grave. The duo hope to honour Thomas’ fallen comrades, and assuage his survivor’s guilt as the last remaining survivor.

The film is “essential viewing,” said Sharon Stevens, VP of programming at Hollywood Suite. “With time running out to hear these WWII stories firsthand, we are unlikely to see such a film again.”

“We are excited to include it in our catalogue of award-winning titles and look forward to sharing this incredible story with audiences around the world,” said Gwen Jones McCauley, director, global distribution at CBC & Radio-Canada Distribution. “World War II stories continue to resonate with international audiences, and No Roses on a Sailor’s Grave offers a unique personal perspective, grounded by a heartwarming friendship that reminds us of our shared humanity.”

The film has been an official selection at numerous film festivals and the recipient of many awards including Best Feature Documentary at the Sweden Film Awards, Best Narrative at the Amsterdam World International Film Festival, Best Director: Documentary (for Daniel Oron) at both the Berlin Indie Film Festival and Angeles Documentaries Festival, plus Best Feature Documentary at the Rome Independent Prisma Awards and Angeles Documentaries Festival.

Veterans Affairs Canada estimates that of the more than one million Canadian soldiers who joined the war effort beginning in 1939, only 26,300 remain as of March 2020. The average age is 95.

“It is critical we help tell and record these stories before they move on from living memory,” said Go Button’s Oron, who als0 served as executive producer. “We couldn’t be more thrilled that this story will soon be shared with Hollywood Suite’s viewers in Canada and that with CBC & Radio-Canada Distribution’s support, the film will now be available to audiences worldwide.”

Established in in 2015 by showrunners Oron and Natasha Ryan, Go Button Media has worked with Discovery Networks International, UKTV, Science Channel, CuriosityStream, SBS, Documentary Chanel, SuperChannel, Autentic and OUTtv. Recent productions include documentary series Phantom Signals, Secret Nazi Expeditions, Forgotten Frontlines, A World Without NASA, The Animal Within, Colossal Machines and Secret Nazi Bases, popular lifestyle series Moms vs. Matchmaker and Sense Appeal.

(From left to right: Patrick Thomas and John Henry Phillips)