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Federation confirms Cottonwood deal

Federation Entertainment, the company behind Netflix’s first original French series, has confirmed a move into animation, after C21 revealed it was joining with start-up Cottonwood Media.

Pascal Breton

Pascal Breton

Federation, launched last year by Pascal Breton, co-founder of Marathon Group and later CEO of Zodiak Media’s French production arm after it bought the business, has acquired an undisclosed shareholding in Cottonwood.

Cottonwood was also set up last year, by Breton’s former Zodiak colleague David Michel after he stepped down as general manager of animation arm Marathon Media.

As part of the deal, which C21 revealed earlier today was imminent, Michel becomes a founding partner in Federation and the company’s head of kids and family programmes and sales. He remains Cottonwood’s president and a key shareholder along with co-founders Zoé Z Carrera and Cécile Lauritano.

While at Marathon, Michel was co-creator and coproducer of 15 international series, including Totally Spies! and Redakai for Cartoon Network.

“We’re excited to have such a talented new addition to Federation’s group of producers,” said Breton.

“David was at the heart of some of Marathon’s biggest hits and has become one of the most respected producers of children’s content today. He joins Federation with an impressive slate of projects ranging from live-action fiction to animation.”

David Michel

David Michel

Michel added: “We both share the same vision of a media world wherein producing premium content for digital platforms and major North American and European clients is key.

“This vision requires capital, ambition and, most importantly, an investment in high-end creators’ ideas and properties. Cottonwood joining Federation is a fantastic opportunity for us to develop this vision with the financial and strategic backing of a great partner.”

Federation started out with a focus on drama, landing Netflix’s first original commission in France with the drama Marseille.

Cottonwood has two series underway, Squish for Gulli in France and Ollie & Moon for NBCUniversal’s Sprout in the US.

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