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A new film and TV maker has pledged to co-finance more than $150mn of UK independent British productions in the next three years backed by a leading US talent agency and UK producer and director Matthew Vaughn.
True Brit Entertainment has been founded by Zygi Kamasa, the former chief executive at Lionsgate UK and Europe, where he helped raise financing for more than 50 British films such as Brooklyn and Bend It Like Beckham.
Kamasa will aim to invest in and release between four to eight British films every year, with an annual budget of more than $50mn to co-finance productions alongside other investors.
Kamasa told the Financial Times that the independent British film industry was making a resurgence in cinemas after a period dominated by superhero sequels.
True Brit Entertainment will exclusively co-finance, co-produce and distribute British feature films, which he says international audiences are once again seeking after growing tired of repetitive Hollywood blockbusters.
“Where are the Four Weddings? Where are the Full Montys and Billy Elliotts,” he asked, pointing back to a period when UK filmmaking was both critically acclaimed as well as commercially successful.
Funding for True Brit Entertainment was led by LA-based talent management and entertainment company Three Six Zero, which represents artists such as Calvin Harris and Jaden Smith.
Mark Gillespie, chief executive of Three Six Zero, said that this would allow his group to expand into films and television, with “Zygi and his new venture as the centre of that growth”.
Kamasa will step down as chief executive of Matthew Vaughn’s Marv Studios, which will be a small shareholder in True Brit Entertainment.
Vaughn, who produced films such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and directed others such as X-Men: First Class, said: “British independent films are something I want to support more of so I’m delighted to be a small shareholder in his business and hope to find new British independent films we can make together.”
True Brit Entertainment will build a theatrical team in 2024 but will start investing and acquiring UK rights to projects immediately. Kamasa wants to release films in the cinema rather than directly to streaming services.
He said that the British industry had been more focused on producing hit TV shows made for the boom in streaming services, but a slowdown in spending among some of the largest groups such as Netflix meant that this talent could now return to filmmaking.
While the UK has extensive studio facilities and skilled film technicians, much of this has been used to make Hollywood movies too, rather than homegrown productions.
“The industry has been focused more on TV services and as a result films fell by the wayside in the UK. Indie filmmaking has suffered,” Kamasa said. “But since Covid-19, cinema has seen a resurgence. People are keen to get back to the cinema. It’s a unique opportunity for both young and established British film makers to make great stories for the cinema.”
Kamasa added: “We want bums on seats. Our taste is more on the commercial side.”
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