UK sales outfit AMP International launches with Salt team

Production and finance company Alliance Media Partners (AMP) is joining with former Salt sales boss James Norrie to launch London-based sales outfit AMP International, which will take on the Salt slate and some of its staff.

Norrie (below), previously of Icon and Capitol Films, will spearhead sales at AMP International. Joining from Salt will be Nina Kolokouri and Timo Suomi, sales and acquisitions executive.

The current Salt slate includes Walking Out - launching at Sundance in the US Dramatic Competition later this month - produced by Brunson Green, Laura Ivey and starring Matt Bomer and Bill Pullman; and Malicious, a supernatural horror thriller starring Delroy Lindo, Josh Stewart, Bojana Novakovic, Melissa Bolona and Yvette Yates, directed by Michael Winnick, and produced/financed by Lost Hills Films.

The new AMP group (Alliance Media Partners and AMP International) will work across film sales, production, finance, and distribution. AMP International will handle all future AMP-produced titles.

AMP, with offices in London and Toronto, was set up by  financier Inderpal Singh and producer Bob Portal. It is part of Alliance Capital Partners group, a private asset management and finance company based in Dubai.  

Since late 2015, the company has produced five movies, all currently in post, financed in whole or in part from its own equity and gap funds.

Films backed by AMP to date include Trent Haaga’s pulp thriller 68 Kill;  Simon Rumley’s thriller Fashionista;  Marko Makilaakso’s action monster movie It Came From The Desert;  Greg Carter’s urban teen comedy My B.F.F.;  nd Matt Winn’s horror thriller The Hoarder.

The company’s next film to go before the cameras will be Mexican director Edgar Nito’s first feature Drain, produced by Joshua Sobel, shooting March 2017 in Mexico.

Bob Portal of AMP said: “Coming from the production and financing side, bringing sales into the alliance was a logical step for AMP. The opportunity to work with James Norrie was one we couldn’t afford to miss: he and his team bring an enviable reputation for honesty, hard work, clear communication and transparency, qualities we and our fellow producers hugely value.

“AMP International will be forward-looking, flexible in a changing market, and crucially able to offer filmmakers a partner that understands their concerns and knows the marketplace inside out.”

“Access to finance and the ability to move fast when required is vital in today’s marketplace,” added Norrie.

“I’m delighted to be working with partners whose taste and ambitions dovetail perfectly with my own.  I look forward to growing the business with them by continuing to work with top filmmaking talent and by exploring the opportunities this new alliance will no doubt present”.

Inderpal Singh commented:  “This new venture enhancesAMP’s reach, as ultimately vertical integration is the most sensible way to operate in the evolving distribution world. 

“Acquiring an experienced sales team is an important step into the distribution space - not only giving a fully integrated service to producers, but also enabling us to partner with distributors and offer consistent quality content.”

The merger brings to an end the market presence of the Salt brand, which has been a regular at festivals and markets for a number of years and has sold titles including Miss You Already starring Drew Barrymore, horror The Void, TIFF Midnight Madness movie Baskin,Welcome to the Jungle with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Adam Brody and Viking epic Northmen ­ A Viking Saga.