zeller

Source: Samuel Kirszenbaum / Hussein Katz

Florian Zeller, Federica Sainte-Rose

Oscar-winning French filmmaker Florian Zeller has launched Blue Morning Pictures, a France- and US-based production company backed by independent European studio Mediawan.

Zeller will run Blue Morning from Paris and Los Angeles, alongside co-founder Federica Sainte-Rose, who joins the company from Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

Mediawan will finance and produce both features and high-end series for Blue Morning, across ‘an array of platforms’, according to the companies.

Zeller said he and Sainte-Rose “have a shared vision for telling bold, character-driven stories with the hope of moving and engaging audiences on a global scale.”

“This new collaboration is fully in line with Mediawan’s strategy, which is to bring together the best creative talents to develop premium content with international appeal,” added Pierre-Antoine Capton, founder and president of Mediawan.

Having made his name as a writer, Zeller’s debut directorial feature The Father, based on his own play, received six nominations at the 2021 Oscars, with Zeller winning best adapted screenplay alongside co-writer Christopher Hampton.

Zeller subsequently adapted another of his plays, The Son, which has just had its world premiere this week in competition at Venice Film Festival.

Sainte-Rose was an agent in CAA’s Media Finance department, working on titles including Audrey Diwan’s Happening, Ninja Thyberg’s Pleasure, plus The Father and The Son.