Teresa Moneo, Netflix’s newly appointed director of global film, has said one of her key focuses will be on “big European filmmakers and bigger budget European films” following the restructure of its EMEA team last week.
News emerged on Friday that London-based David Kosse is leaving his role as vice president of international film at Netflix as part of the EMEA restructure. Moneo, until recently director of international original film, will now head the international film team, reporting to Netflix head of global film Scott Stuber.
Speaking during a Q&A hosted on October 3 by Women in Film and Television International (WIFTI), she said Stuber “has his own team that does big budget films - our Bird Box, The Gray Man and films of that ilk. In Europe, there’s been a recent restructure, and I will lead the international film team and continue to help build Netflix’s growing international slate. And my focus will be on European film - but big European filmmakers and bigger budget European films.”
Aside from this, Moneo said Netflix has a network of local film executives in the EMEA and MENA regions, with each reporting into a local content executive who works across film, series as well as non-fiction.
Pitching in
Moneo urged filmmakers to pitch projects to Netflix via a production company, talent agent or literary agent rather than sending in ideas unsolicited. She also recommended approaching Netflix with pitch decks rather than sending in scripts.
“Ideally, a pitch deck or a dossier would include a synopsis; a statement from a director that gives you a sense of what tone and what genre the film is going to be; an idea of what budget it is going to be; an idea of what your cast or what you would like that dream cast to be; and an idea of who the audience is. It’s really, really important to think of your audience.”
Moneo also urged creatives to “persist and persist” in trying to get projects in front of gatekeepers like Netflix. “It’s really hard out there to get your project through, but build a good case, prepare a good document. There are a lot of content creators out there looking for material in non-English language and in English language.”
She stressed that Netflix wants to elevate underrepresented voices and “to support and represent these communities in the regions we operate.” She cited initiatives such as the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity which was launched last year to create new opportunities for underrepresented communities within the entertainment industry.
A career in film
Moneo also sketched out her career trajectory to WITFI members tuning into the Q&A. Born in Spain, Moneo studied at university in the US and started her film career in the 1990s working in acquisitions at Miramax in New York, where she bought films including Walter Salles’ Central Station, Oscar winner Life Is Beautiful and Japanese romantic comedy Shall We Dance? She later moved into production, transferring to Miramax’s London office.
After 11 years at Miramax, Moneo joined Focus Features where she honed her skills as a producer. “That’s where I learned development and the importance of having a script - how everything begins and ends with the script, and how vital it is to have real vacuum sealed product at the beginning,” she said.
At Focus, she worked on productions including Joe Wright’s Hanna, Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges and Lone Scherfig’s One Day. After eight years at Focus, she took a career break and lived in Madrid, before returning to London three and a half years ago to help Netflix set up its international film department.
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