Align, the Los Angeles-based financier and production company launched by Adrian Politowski and Nadia Khamlichi in 2019, has closed its second fund, Take Two, to pump $120m worth of financing into international feature film and TV drama over the next four years.
The company, which provides bridge loans, and cash flows presales and tax credits as well as offering gap financing, is involved in three features premiering in Sundance this week: Sophie Hyde’s Jimpa, starring Olivia Colman and John Lithgow; Bryn Chainey’s Rabbit Trap starring Dev Patel; and Dylan Southern’s The Thing With Feathers starring Benedict Cumberbatch, which will also screen at the Berlinale.
Politowski said the new funding had been mainly raised from “family offices” in the UK, France, Switzerland, Italy and Benelux. There has also been support from “high-net- worth individuals”.
“Typically we target projects between $5 and $25m. That is typically the sweet spot,” Politowski said. “Our involvement is mainly financial but we can also help on the festival strategy and give some creative input.”
Politowski is a producer on Rabbit Trap and an executive producer on Jimpa and The Thing With Feathers.
For Rabbit Trap, Align cashflowed the UK tax credit and, according to Politowski, provided around 80% of the budget. The film is produced by SpectreVision with whom Politwiski also collaborated on the 2018 Nicolas Cage horror picture, Mandy.
The company is one of several producers on The Thing With Feathers, working alongside Film4 and SunnyMarch among others and international sales agent is mK2 Films.
Jimpa is the second Sophie Hyde feature made with Align support, following Bafta-nominated Good Luck To You, Leo Grande.
Further projects financed or co-financed by Align include the $50m animated martial arts feature Paws Of Fury: The Legend Of Hank.
Upcoming projects with Align financing include BBC-backed thriller series, I Jack Wright, produced by Federation Stories, and Kiefer Sutherland action thriller, Sierra Madre, sold by UTA Independent Film Group. Both are in post-production.
Politowski previously ran Belgium-based film financier Umedia which backed films including Oscar- winner The Artist.
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