Powerhouse Paris-based media group Federation Studios has joined forces with veteran sales executive Sabine Chemaly to launch international film sales company Ginger & Fed.
The new venture, a partnership between Federation and Chemaly’s Ginger Films, will take on acquisitions and international sales for both in-house and third party films.
The feature-focused foray is an extension of Federation’s existing distribution of fiction, documentary and children’s programming and presence in production via global companies like Bonne Pioche, Cheyenne and Monkey Pack (Robin & Co) in France, Vertigo in the UK, and Picture Perfect Federation in the US.
Chemaly comes from more than 11 years as head of international sales at TF1 Studio and Newen Connect, where she spearheaded the global tours of hit titles like film franchise Serial (Bad) Weddings and series Call My Agent!.
Chemaly said she was “thrilled to join forces with Federation to launch this label at a time when cinema worldwide is on the cusp of a new era and revival”, and cited “the creativity and inspirational energy from the Federation team and their great producers”.
The executive will be based in Federation’s Paris headquarters and will work with the company’s current sales team including Monica Levy, Guillaume Pommier, Sarah Zarka, Lucile Avezard and Jéromine Ader, plus its business affairs, marketing and servicing departments.
She will work in tandem with Federation Studios’ co-founders Pascal Breton and Lionel Uzan. They will be joined by Marco Chimenz, the former co-CEO of Cattleya who will become co-managing director on January 1, 2024.
Uzan called Chemaly “a true partner”, adding: “We have something to build together and we share the same idea of what we want to build. We are blending our expertise.”
Strategy and market positioning
Uzan told Screen that the move was the “right timing” since “most of our producers in France and around the world are producing feature films, so this was a natural next step”.
With branches in Los Angeles, Rome, Madrid, London, Berlin, Cologne and Tel Aviv, Uzan said, “We always thought of Federation as a company for both production and distribution, not one or the other, and now we can be as complementary as we are in the audiovisual space.”
Uzan said the sales company was designed as “a tool for our producers” and also hoped to capitalise on the rapidly evolving and increasingly interconnected audiovisual and feature film industries.
“The border between the world of cinema and that of streamers and broadcasters is increasingly thin,” said Uzan. “There’s been a real evolution in the market and we feel we can carve out a niche in that space.”
Chemaly told Screen: “We launched this because we believe there is a future for theatrical distribution. That is our main objective. However, we always adapt and listen to the market, so we’re open to working with broadcasters and streamers.”
There is no first look-deal in place for films made under the Federation banner. Uzan explained, “Our multiple in-house producers will guarantee a certain volume of films, but also leave us room to take on new projects and develop relationships with other external producers.”
The company also has its eyes on the remake market which both Chemaly and Federation are well-equipped to tackle as The Bureau gets set for a starry Paramount-produced US remake.
While the move positions Federation as a one-stop-shop for production and distribution, Uzan insists that “we will never be a theatrical distributor” and added: “We see ourselves as a platform of services for producers. That is our singularity and the next company is a continuation of that strategy.”
Inaugural slate
Ginger & Fed is kicking off what will be an annual slate of between eight to 10 films with a trio of titles including Thierry Klifa’s police comedy Rachel’s Game (Les Rois de La Piste), Claude Zidi Jr.’s comedy Oldies But Goodies (Maison de Retraite 2) and apocalyptic thriller Survive.
While Uzan said there will be some exceptions, the editorial strategy for Ginger & Fed is focused on “quality commercial cinema”, setting them apart from other France-based sales powerhouses more focused on arthouse fare.
Rachel’s Game features a star-studded French cast including Fanny Ardant, Mathieu Kassovitz, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Laetitia Dosch and Ben Attal. Ardant plays a domineering family matriarch trying to keep her family together after a stolen painting threatens to tear them apart and a shrewd detective sets off on their trail.
The film is produced by rising French production compan Nolita (Rise Above, Jane By Charlotte, Lost Bullet) and will be released in France by Apollo Films.
Oldies But Goodies, produced by My Family and released in France by Apollo, stars Kev Adams and Jean Reno and is set at a retirement home where a group of elderly residents and young orphans live together. When they are forced to relocate, the facility’s manager (Adams) and his new mentor (Reno) join forces to keep the unique facility afloat as love and other adventures ensue.
Ginger & Fed is also joining forces with Paris-based WTFilms to co-sell Frederic Jardin’s Survive starring multiple Cannes-winning Belgian actress Emilie Dequenne and German actor Andreas Pietschmann about a family fighting for their lives in a post-apocalyptic world as the oceans drain and hungry creatures lurk.
The film is produced by Revenge producers Monkey Pack Films, part of the Federation Group’s Robin&Co and M.E.S Productions. WTFilms represent the film at the upcoming AFM and KMBO will distribute in France.
Ginger & Fed will unveil its full slate to date at January’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous with French cinema in Paris.
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