The London-based distributor has set up a new $3m (£2m) distribution fund called the Soda Film Fund to bolster its acquisitions and optimise their release campaigns.

Soda Pictures is “upping its game” with a new fund to buy slightly bigger films. The London-based distributor has set up a new $3m (£2m) distribution fund called the Soda Film Fund (SFF), to bolster its acquisitions and optimise their release campaigns. The SFF has already attracted seed money for its first two films: Tetro by Francis Ford Coppola and Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, the continuation of the Chanel story starring model Anna Mouglalis and Mads Mikkelsen. Both films were acquired from Wild Bunch. They will be released this summer.

The SFF aims to pick up 8-10 films over the next year and release them all by the end of 2011. This venture is a partnership between Soda Pictures and Lumiere Film Investments, and was put together by Soda Pictures Managing Director Eve Gabereau and Lumiere Film Investments founder and film financier Nick Crossley.

A “significant portion” of the $3m (£2m) fund is already in place. Soda will keep fund raising until the end of June prior to the release of Tetro on June 25.

The aim is to acquire projects currently in post-production or production, all of which will be released by the end of next year.

“It allows us to buy slightly bigger films, release them on a slightly bigger level with a better impact in marketing,” Gabereau said. She described the Fund as “a response to the changing landscape of film distribution” and “a great opportunity for people to invest in the sector at a buoyant time.”

“There is room in the marketplace at the moment for us to up our game, provided we take an innovative approach to acquiring, releasing and collaborations. As important as the financial influx is, so too is the added value the Fund gives to us as a company looking for new films,” Gabereau added.

“The Soda Film Fund is a rare opportunity for investors to enter the film distribution market, which is arguably the least risky and most lucrative sector of the film industry,” Crossley stated. “Soda has an enviable track record in independent distribution and the Fund offers investors the chance to tap into their talent and experience.”

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