Mediawan acquires Bac Nord prodco

France’s Mediawan Group has acquired a majority stake in producer Hugo Sélignac’s production company Chi-Fou-Mi, maker of forthcoming Netflix feature Bac Nord.

Pierre-Antoine Capton

The acquisition expands Mediawan’s film business in Europe and comes shortly after it bought Drama Republic, the UK producer behind dramas including Doctor Foster and The Honourable Woman.

Sélignac set up Chi-Fou-Mi in 2012 after 10 years at Productions du Trésor, where he worked alongside Alain Attal as executive producer on titles such as Les Petits Mouchoirs.

Chi-Fou-Mi joins Mediawan Pictures, the company’s cinema arm, which is headed up by Elisabeth d’Arvieu.

The company said it continues to look for creative talent in order to grow its production of premium European content with strong international potential.

Bac Nord received its world premiere on Monday as part of the official selection out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival and will be released in cinemas in France on August 18.

Distributor StudioCanal has also agreed a deal that will see it made available on Netflix worldwide.

Created in late 2015 by Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse, Mediawan now has over 50 production labels in France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Finland and Senegal.

“This acquisition is in line with our ambition to bring together the best creative talent and create the best IP. This new association will allow us to amplify the development of Mediawan’s film activity and to offer Chi-Fou-Mi our support in continuing to export major European successes,” said Capton.