After securing major investment, Federation Entertainment has set its sights firmly on Europe, with a new prodco in the UK and plans to expand even further.
Pascal Breton
Since its launch just seven years ago, Paris-based Federation Entertainment, the producer and distributor behind hit shows such as The Bureau and In Treatment, has grown exponentially.
The company now has a Madrid office, a kids and family division and a wildlife and nature factual label launched with Fred Fougea’s Boreales, along with other outfits.
This growth will accelerate over the coming year, after the group secured a €50m (US$59m) investment from French private equity firm Montefiore.
It is the third round of investment Federation has drummed up since 2014, following a €16m boost from several finance firms including BPiFrance in 2018, according to Federation’s co-founder and group chairman Pascal Breton. Overall, Breton estimates the firm has raised €80m.
Federation plans to spend the latest cash injection on setting up more European production companies, according to Breton.
To date, the company has prodcos in France (Cottonwood Media, We Make, Cheyenne Federation and Mercer Productions), Italy (Fabula Pictures), Spain (Fedent Espana) and Germany (Cottonwood Media). Next, Breton and Lionel Uzan, Federation’s co-founder and group CEO, will launch the firm’s first UK outfit, as revealed exclusively to C21 in June.
Lionel Uzan
The UK production entity, which will launch this autumn, has been founded with two producers, who have yet to be named. Breton says the prodco will produce English-language content for the UK and international markets and will focus on finding international coproduction partners.
The outfit is just the first step in what Federation hopes will be a wider push into Europe. “If you look at the map, the UK was the missing piece in the puzzle for Federation,” Uzan says.
There are other reasons for targeting the UK, such as its talent base and relationships with US firms, as well as producer-friendly regulations that include allowing prodcos to retain the rights to shows they make for terrestrial broadcasters, he adds.
“The level of talent and creativity is unmatched in the UK, and UK companies have a great synergy with US producers. There is a natural bridge between UK and US producers and we could really benefit from that,” Uzan says.
Federation has already established roots in the US, with an LA presence, dubbed Federation Entertainment of America, headed by Ashley Stern, and a prodco, Picture Perfect Federation, founded with the former co-chairman of Lionsgate, Patrick Wachsberger.
For now, Uzan says further US companies aren’t on the horizon and Europe is the firm’s sole focus.
This is largely because Uzan believes European dramas are second to none, from Scandi Noir to Spanish crime series via UK comedies.
“We really feel the European market is at the beginning of its growth and it’s growing really fast. American companies now want to invest in Europe, but it’s not as easy for them because of cultural differences and regulations, among other things. We feel we have a competitive advantage – we are European so let’s play to our strengths,” he explains.
Federation and Slim Film + Television partnered on Around the World in 80 Days
Breton cites Federation and London-based Slim Film + Television’s drama Around the World in 80 Days, adapted from Jules Verne’s classic novel, as an example of the pan-European content that Federation wants to continue to produce.
The eight-parter starring David Tennant (Doctor Who, Broadchurch) has been greenlit and coproduced by pubcasters France Télévisions, Germany’s ZDF and Rai in Italy, as part of The Alliance coproduction partnership. Other cast members include French actor Ibrahim Koma (Je Suis Daddy, Mother Is Wrong) and Leonie Benesch (The Crown, White Ribbon).
“Around the World in 80 Days is the perfect business model for us because it’s a show that is shot over Europe with UK and European talent. It is also mainly financed in Europe but will be sold in the US and the rest of the world by Federation. This is exactly the kind of show we want to develop: European shows with UK talent and filmed in English,” Breton explains.
But where next in Europe do the execs hope to launch a production company, as the UK will soon be ticked off?
Uzan and Breton have both set their sights on Germany, believing its drama productions are overdue a moment in the sun.
“We are definitely now looking at the market in Germany and want to set up an outfit there, hopefully around the same time as the company in the UK. Germany is producing some really exciting dramas and they have amazing talent, from actors to directors,” Breton says.
