Ben Donald’s prodco Cosmopolitan Pictures boards The Story Collective
L-R: Ben Donald, Simon Vaughan and Damian Keogh
Europe-focused UK production company Cosmopolitan Pictures has joined Fifth Season-backed UK content studio The Story Collective, it was announced today.
Cosmopolitan Pictures said joining The Story Collective will allow it to expand its slate of European projects and build on its relationship with the region’s talent and commissioners. Its credits include Italian true crime series Per Elisa: il Caso Claps for Italian public broadcaster Rai and season three of Spanish crime drama The Mallorca Files for Amazon Prime Video.
The prodco said: “With several local European projects in advanced development from a combination of local and British writers and directors, the company will now be able to tap into The Story Collective’s creative, strategic, operational and commercial resources to continue developing and expanding its remit.”
The move reunites Cosmopolitan founder Ben Donald with The Story Collective co-chair Simon Vaughan and CEO Damian Keogh, after he worked with them at Lookout Point and its parent company, then called BBC Worldwide.
“I have always been drawn to European stories, characters and ideas and see a unique opportunity, with an outside eye, to bring these to the screen with the best of British and European talent,” said Donald, whose credits include Death in Paradise, Parade’s End and Spies of Warsaw.
Vaughan and Keogh added in a joint statement: “Ben has been finding European stories and developing and producing brilliant shows with varying degrees of European creative and story elements. No-one in Britain knows the key European markets like Ben, and his relationship in each territory is genuine, deep and always focused on the creative.
“Together we hope to bring distinctive local shows to life and then help them reach audiences beyond their borders.”
The executive trio is also working with Fifth Season’s co-CEOs Chris Rice and Graham Taylor on an initiative to help other companies, producers and talent get their projects over the line.
Also part of The Story Collective’s group, Artis Pictures’ founder Kate Croft is joining the initiative and will work with Vaughan on setting up projects with an Anglo-American axis, while Donald will focus on Europe.
