UK ONLINE PITCHBOX — MEET THE PLAYERS

Meet the attending companies

Filmarket Hub opens its call for projects for the UK Online Pitchbox — a two-day pitch event dedicated to British feature films and scripted series in development. In partnership with Film London, this brand new online initiative aims to discover high-quality unproduced projects, either at the script stage or with some finance secured and match them with leading companies in the industry. Confirmed participants include Curzon, Film4, FilmWave, Gaumont, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal International Studios, Protagonist Pictures and Studiocanal.

The event will take place online on the 2nd and the 3rd of July — day one dedicated to feature films and day two showcasing TV series. Seven films and seven series will be selected and representatives from the projects will have seven minutes each to pitch to the industry executives. The creators will then be offered fifteen-minute speed meetings with each of the attendee companies.

Meet some of the attending companies:

BBC FILMS

BBC Films is the feature filmmaking arm of the BBC. At the forefront of British independent film, BBC Films commissions around 15 films a year. BBC Films aims to make bold, distinctive and fearless films with range and ambition. We find, nurture and develop new talent and collaborate with world-class directors and producers.

CURZON

Curzon is a branded customer-facing platform covering film exhibition, distribution, production and on-demand streaming. The company currently operates 20 cinemas across the UK exemplified by flagship venues Curzon Mayfair, Curzon Soho and Curzon Bloomsbury. The distribution business has over 40 years of experience in independent film and boasts a library of over 400 critically acclaimed films by the world’s greatest directors including Ingmar Bergman, Michael Haneke, Andrei Tarkovsky, and recently Celine Sciamma and Bong Joon Ho. Streaming service Curzon Home Cinema pioneered day-and-date releasing and is available to customers through TV, Mobile apps and over-the-top-platforms, with reach into 6.5 million homes.

Curzon is part of the Cohen Media Group which produces and distributes independent, foreign language and arthouse film in North America. It owns Landmark Theatres, America’s largest specialized theatre chain dedicated to the independent cinema with 252 screens in 27 markets.

FILM 4

Film4 is Channel 4 Television’s feature film division. Film4 develops and co-finances films and is known for working with the most distinctive and innovative talent in the UK and international filmmaking, both new and established. Film4 has developed and co-financed many of the most successful UK films of recent years, Academy Award®-winners such as Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Favourite, Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Lenny Abrahamson’s Room, Alex Garland’s Ex Machina, Asif Kapadia’s box office record-breaking documentary Amy, Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire and Phyllida Lloyd’s The Iron Lady, in addition to critically-acclaimed award-winners such as Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here, Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War, Andrea Arnold’s American Honey, Rungano Nyoni’s I Am Not a Witch, Chris Morris’s Four Lions, Shane Meadows’ This is England, Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin and Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years.

Film4’s recent releases include Chris Morris’s The Day Shall Come, Asif Kapadia’s Diego Maradona, Tom Harper’s Wild Rose, Stephen Merchant’s Fighting With My Family, Sebastián Lelio’s Disobedience and Steve McQueen’s Widows. Forthcoming releases include Armando Iannucci’s The Personal History of David Copperfield, Michael Winterbottom’s Greed, Sarah Gavron’s Rocks, Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang, Rose Glass’s Saint Maud, Nick Rowland’s Calm With Horses, Euros Lyn’s Dream Horse and Coky Giedroyc’s adaptation of Caitlin Moran’s How To Build a Girl. Films in production include Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho, Florian Zeller’s The Father, Jonathan Butterell’s Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Prano Bailey-Bond’s Censor, Will Sharpe’s Louis Wain, Rebecca Hall’s Passing, Ben Sharrock’s Limbo, Cathy Brady’s Wildfire and Chasing Chaplin from Peter Middleton and James Spinney.

FILMWAVE

FilmWave produces high-end television drama and feature films for audiences of all ages, most recently the Netflix Original series THE LETTER FOR THE KING (2020). With the passionate belief that telling stories can cross generations in both exciting and impactful ways, we create entertainment for, by, and about young people worldwide

Founded by Paul Trijbits and Christian Grass in 2013, FilmWave’s other credits include SING STREET (2016), EVERY DAY (2018), BRIMSTONE (2017) and ALONE IN BERLIN (2016).

LIONSGATE

The first major new studio in decades, Lionsgate is a global content platform whose films, television series, digital products and linear and over-the-top platforms reach next generation audiences around the world. In addition to its filmed entertainment leadership, Lionsgate content drives a growing presence in interactive and location-based entertainment, gaming, virtual reality and other new entertainment technologies. Lionsgate’s content initiatives are backed by a nearly 17,000-title film and television library and delivered through a global licensing infrastructure. The Lionsgate brand is synonymous with original, daring and ground-breaking content created with special emphasis on the evolving patterns and diverse composition of the Company’s worldwide consumer base.

On the film side, their recent releases include Military Wives, Brooklyn, Their Finest, John Wick 3 and the upcoming The Father with Olivia Colman and Anthony Hopkins, The Courier with Benedict Cumberbatch and The Hitman’s Bodyguard 2 with Ryan Reynolds, Sam Jackson and Salma Hayek. On the TV side they have produced series ranging from Mad Men to Nashville, Orange is the New Black to Zoey’s Infinite Playlist and have been behind such UK series as Damned for Channel 4 and the returning BBC comedies Motherland and The Goes Wrong SHow, as well as Viaplay current drama, Cold Courage.

STUDIOCANAL

STUDIOCANAL, a 100% affiliate of CANAL+ Group held by Vivendi, is Europe’s leader in production, distribution and international sales of feature films and TV series, operating directly in all three major European markets — France, the United Kingdom and Germany — as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

STUDIOCANAL owns one of the most important film libraries in the world, boasting more than 6,000 titles from 60 countries. Spanning 100 years of film history, this vast and unique catalogue includes among others the iconic Terminator 2, Rambo, Breathless, Mulholland Drive, The Pianist and Belle de jour.

STUDIOCANAL has fully-financed box office hits Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Paddington 1 and 2, The Commuter and Shaun The Sheep Movie. Upcoming films backed by STUDIOCANAL include Marjane Satrapi’s Radioactive starring Rosamund Pike as Marie Curie and Marc Munden’sThe Secret Garden produced with Heyday Films (Paddington 1 & 2) starring Colin Firth and Julie Walters.

STUDIOCANAL is actively developing and distributing high-end TV series through its network of award-winning European production companies, including TANDEM in Germany (Shadowplay), the UK’s RED Production Company (Years and Years), Spain’s BAMBÚ PRODUCCIONES (On Death Row) and France’s STUDIOCANAL ORIGINAL (Mouche). STUDIOCANAL is also an associate of Danish-based SAM Productions founded by Søren Sveistrup and Adam Price (Ride Upon The Storm) as well as of UK-based GUILTY PARTY PICTURES; Benedict Cumberbatch’s production company SUNNYMARCH TV (Patrick Melrose) and URBAN MYTH FILMS (War of the Worlds).

ENTERTAINMENT ONE

Entertainment One Ltd. (eOne) is a talent-driven independent studio that specializes in the development, acquisition, production, financing, distribution and sales of entertainment content. As part of global play and entertainment company Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS), eOne’s expertise spans across film, television and music production and sales; family programming, merchandising and licensing; digital content; and live entertainment. Through its extensive reach and scale, and a deep commitment to high-quality entertainment, eOne unlocks the power and value of creativity.

eOne brings to market both original and existing content, sourcing IP from Hasbro’s portfolio of 1500+ brands, and through a diversified network of creative partners and eOne companies including: international feature film distribution company Sierra/Affinity; Amblin Partners with DreamWorks Studios, Participant Media, and Reliance Entertainment; Makeready with Brad Weston; unscripted television production companies Renegade 83, Daisybeck, Blackfin and Whizz Kid Entertainment; live entertainment leaders Round Room Live; world-class music companies Audio Network, Dualtone Music Group and Last Gang; and award-winning emerging content and technology studio Secret Location.

NBCUNIVERSAL

NBCUniversal International Studios delivers award-winning content to millions across the globe. Based in London, the company’s portfolio of production labels include Carnival Films (Downton Abbey, The Last Kingdom), Monkey Kingdom (Made In Chelsea, Don’t Hate the Playaz) and Matchbox Pictures (Stateless, Glitch) in Australia. NBCUniversal International Studios also operates an in-house UK and LA-based Scripted unit that comprises the television remake Hanna for Amazon Prime Video, which will launch globally for a second season on 3 rd July 2020. In addition, it operates joint production ventures with Working Title Television (Tales of the City, Lady Parts) and Heyday Television (The Capture, The Long Song), and owns an equity stake in LARK Productions (Fortunate Son) in Canada.

Some of the company’s recent global scripted successes include Belgravia, co-produced by Carnival Films and EPIX for ITV; six-part drama Stateless, co-produced with Cate Blanchett’s Dirty Films, which recently aired on ABC Australia and will be launching globally on Netflix later this year; and Transplant in Canada, which is produced by Sphère Média Plus and is the most-watched Canadian series of this broadcast year on CTV.

GAUMONT

Formed in France in 1895, Gaumont is the oldest film company in the world, with offices in Paris, Los Angeles, London, Berlin, and Buenos Aires. Gaumont produces and distributes high-quality TV programming worldwide such as the award-winning series Narcos in its 5th season, and F is for Family in its 4th season for Netflix; the German show The Barbarians for Netflix; the 3rd season of the British show Tin Star for Sky and Amazon Prime Video; the French show Arsene Lupin with Omar Sy for Netflix; and the animated show Do Re & Mi with Kristen Bell, for Amazon Prime Video.

Gaumont co-produces and distributes around ten films a year in theaters, and the film library encompasses over 1400 titles from prestigious directors such as Louis Malle, Jean-Luc Godard, and more recently, Toledano and Nakache for The Intouchables, the highest-grossing French-language movie ever with over $450 million in revenue to date.

WILD BUNCH TV

Wild Bunch is a leading independent European film & TV content distribution and production services company. With the launch of WILD BUNCH TV in 2015, the company expanded its activities to co-production and distribution of TV series dedicated to the international market. Wild Bunch is extremely well-positioned to:

• attract talent to initiate and coproduce new TV series and source high-quality TV content
• offer a state of the art financial servicing, which makes it a unique production and acquisition partner in Europe.
• provide privileged access to local TV broadcasters and local partners relying on a multidomestic cinema and television distribution network in France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Austria, as well as on strong relationships in the UK and the USA

SUNNY MARCH PRODUCTIONS

Sunny March is a UK-based film and television production company run by Adam Ackland and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Credits: Latest TV company credits would be Patrick Melrose, and The Child in Time.

BANKSIDE

Based in London Bankside is a leading international sales and film finance company for independent films. Founded in 2007, the company offers a bespoke sales and executive producer service to production companies. The company seeks to finance and distribute distinctive films of quality for theatrical release internationally.