Access Entertainment looks to Red Skies as makes first investment in Israeli content

Israeli drama series Red Skies

Access Entertainment, the arts investment firm run by former BBC director of television Danny Cohen, has made its first move into Israeli TV production by financially backing new drama series Red Skies.

A division of Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries, Blavatnik and Cohen serve as executive producers on the 8×50’ thriller for Israeli broadcaster Reshet 13, which has been nominated for a Best Series award at next week’s Series Mania festival in Lille, France.

Based on a book of the same name by Daniel Shinar, Red Skies is set during the Second Intifada (2000-2005) and tells the story of two friends forced to choose sides during the bloody Israel-Palestine conflict.

“Access Entertainment is passionate about supporting the Israeli entertainment industry and taking its content to a global audience,” said Cohen, who is president of Access Entertainment.

Ron Leshem, creator of the series, said: “For Red Skies to be selected by Series Mania from over 500 series from 62 countries around the world is an absolute thrill for us.”

As well as serving as director of television at the BBC, Cohen has also held posts as controller of Channel 4’s youth-skewing network E4 and head of Channel 4 documentaries.

He was hired as head of Access Entertainment in 2016 and given a budget of “several hundred million dollars” to invest in entertainment media globally, with a focus on TV content, films and theatrical productions.