Rose Garnett, director of BBC Film, and Piers Wenger, director of BBC Drama, are joining US production and distribution firm A24 in London-based, internationally-focused roles.
They will join A24 in May.
BBC Film commissioning executive Eva Yates will take over BBC Film as acting director; while BBC drama commissioning editor Ben Irving will work as acting director of BBC Drama.
According to A24, the incoming duo’s work ”will be inclusive and wide-ranging, working with producers, directors and writers – new and established – to make forward-thinking, talent-focused work.”
“We have loved our time at the BBC where we learnt so much working with brilliant storytellers and wonderful colleagues,” said a joint statement from Garnett and Wenger. “Leaving was a difficult decision but A24 has built something unique – we feel lucky and exhilarated to be joining them.”
BBC Film and A24 are collaborating on several titles including Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer’s God’s Creatures, starring Aisling Franciosi, Emily Watson and Paul Mescal, written by Shane Crowley and now in post-production.
Also in the works from the two companies are Joanna Hogg’s The Eternal Daughter, starring Tilda Swinton; and Shane Meadows’ first BBC series The Gallows Pole. Both projects are with Element Pictures; The Eternal Daughter is in post, while The Gallows Pole began shooting in October last year. BBC Film and A24 previously worked together on Part I and Part II of Hogg’s The Souvenir.
Garnett joined BBC Film as director in 2017, having worked at Film4 for three years, as head of editorial, head of development then head of creative.
“The BBC film team was the best team to be part of”
“Rose Garnett has been a dynamic and inspirational leader who passionately believes in the BBC and the creative power of British independent film,” said Charlotte Moore, chief content officer at the BBC. “She has transformed and energised BBC Film to become the home of creative risk taking, defining its core remit around growing new talent and becoming the home of the most exciting authorial voices in British film.
“Working with both world-class and debut filmmakers, Rose is a champion for talent at every level. Her passion for nurturing writers and protecting and promoting the directors’ vision is never short of impressive. Since joining the BBC in 2017, she has fearlessly pushed the boundaries of BBC Film and developed some of the most distinctive voices in the industry. The phenomenal number of nominations at this year’s Baftas, Oscars and Bifas is testament to her bold, ambitious and diverse slate at every level of British independent filmmaking.”
“Piers Wenger has been an outstanding director of drama over the last six years at the BBC,” continued Moore. “Under his inspirational leadership, BBC Drama has flourished and at a time of intense competition, he has cemented the BBC’s reputation as the home of creative risk taking and the most original, fearless and ambitious British storytelling.
“Piers is an exceptional creative with a huge regard for public service, an eye for both the popular and the profound and an appetite for complexity and provocation. His vision has delivered a scope and scale that’s truly unique to the BBC and he’s been responsible for commissioning a slate that’s both genre-busting and celebrates British authorship, identity and life in all its most diverse forms.”
“The BBC is unparalleled as a place to make great work,” said Garnett. “Under the inspiring and generous leadership of Charlotte Moore, myself and the film team have been able to discover, support and celebrate voices and stories from across the UK and beyond. The BBC film team was the best team to be part of: dedicated, bold, passionate and rigorous. I know that the creative confidence and the imagination of the next generation of commissions and commissioners will produce wonderful films. Thank you to all my colleagues and to the filmmakers that let me work alongside them.”
“After a decade as a drama commissioner it is high time I gave someone else a go,” added Wenger. “The last six years working for Charlotte and the BBC have been more creatively challenging, more emboldening and more fun than anyone has the right to in the name of work. I am indebted to the BBC and the extraordinary range of writers, producers and directors it has been my privilege to work alongside. There are mountains to climb everywhere but I predict a magical time ahead for BBC Drama as the next generation of thinkers and taste-makers step up to shape its future. I want to pay tribute to the colossal talents of the team in place and I will be watching with pride and awe as they start the process of carving out a fresh vision.”
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