Major European production and distribution groups: Beta Film

Beta’s origins go back to 1956 when German entrepreneur Leo Kirch travelled to Italy to buy a print of — then little known — Federico Fellini’s La Strada. This deal laid the foundation for the creation of Munich-based producer, financier and distributor Beta Film three years later. Beta was a core part of Kirch Group until Leo Kirch’s media empire collapsed into bankruptcy in 2002. It has been owned by top European producer and dealmaker Jan Mojto — Kirch’s former right-hand man — since 2004. Since then, Beta has helped to finance and produce seminal German films and series including Downfall, The Lives Of Others, Babylon Berlin and Generation War.

Beta is unusual among European groups in that it is fully independent — it is privately owned, with no broadcaster affiliation, stock market listing or private equity backing.

The company now has stakes in more than 30 production companies in Europe — from the Nordics down to Spain and Croatia — making it one of the biggest independent producers and distributors in the region. It is particularly known for high-end co-production series such as eco-thriller The Swarm, social technology thriller Concordia and maritime disaster series Estonia.

Beta has just signed a first-look deal with Nico Hofmann, the former boss of German production powerhouse UFA, who has set up his own (as yet unnamed) firm. Beta’s film sales and financing subsidiary Beta Cinema has backed movies such as Tom Tykwer’s upcoming The Light and Nick Hamm’s William Tell, while Autentic handles sales and distribution of documentaries.

• In focus: the major European production and distribution groups