Super7even Productions, MN Media form ‘impact-led’ factual studio SuperIndie

Jonathan de Jong (left) and Jeffrey de Graaff

Dutch unscripted outfits Super7even Productions and MN Media have joined forces to launch factual studio SuperIndie, which is seeking to establish a network of European partners.

SuperIndie is headed by Super7even founder Jonathan de Jong and MN Media co-founder Jeffrey de Graaff.

It will focus on premium documentary and factual storytelling with mainstream global appeal, with a particular emphasis on human-interest, nature and social impact-driven projects.

SuperIndie will oversee the end-to-end lifecycle of both its own and third-party projects, from development and financing through to production, marketing and distribution.

The first international partner to join the new venture is Belgian outfit High Mass, led by Benny Haesebrouck.

SuperIndie’s first slate of programming includes doc A Girl Like Rose, about Belgian supermodel Rose Bertram, alongside titles There is No Society, Patterns of Life, WOW! and Ecolopolis.

Amsterdam-based Super7even specialises in human-interest docs such as recent feature Human Forever, while MN Media has produced titles including The Wild North Sea and Planet Soil.

De Jong, founder of Super7even Productions, said: “We believe audiences are increasingly looking for stories that connect them to the world we live in.

“Documentary storytelling should not be confined to specialist audiences, and ambitious non-fiction can absolutely reach mainstream viewers when it’s developed and positioned with the same ambition, scale and creative discipline as scripted storytelling – this is the gap in the market that SuperIndie is going to fill.”

De Graaff said: “Too often, documentaries are treated as niche from the outset. Our approach is to think about the audience, our mode of outreach and long-term impact from the very beginning of the creative process.

“Rather than handing projects over once production is complete, we’re building audience and partner engagement from the earliest stages of development, alongside organisations, communities and stakeholders connected to each story.”