Global drama prodcos unite under The Creatives, with Fremantle backing

The Young Pope

The Young Pope prodco Haut Et Court and the Israeli outfit behind No Man’s Land are among nine indies from eight countries that have formed a new scripted TV and film label, which is being backed by Fremantle.

The Creatives is being led by French firm Haut Et Court and counts Netherlands-based Lemming Film (Remy), Belgium’s Versus Production (Lost Bullet), Norway’s Maipo Film (State Of Happiness) and Germany’s Razor Films (Waltz With Bashir) among its members.

Christian Vesper

Israel’s Spiro (No Man’s Land), France’s Unité (Mythomaniac), Masha in the US (False Flag) and Good Chaos (Quo Vadis) in the UK are also part of the collective, which has struck a three-year partnership with Fremantle.

The global production and distribution firm will help to develop and fund new global drama series, in collaboration with the company’s president of global drama, Christian Vesper, and his team.

Distribution question

TBI understands distribution deals will be worked out on a case-by-case basis and will likely, but not necessarily, be handled by Fremantle. In a release, the group said its nine members will “retain control of their stories and keep hold of rights, as much as possible.”

It added: “In this hugely competitive world, we all believe it is the only way to swim upstream and stay ahead of our competitors.”

Carole Scotta, Haut Et Court co-founder, added that the new group “will protect the independent development process”, which she said had been “the backbone of storytelling in Europe for decades.”

Scotta added: “We unite in order to stay as free and creatively interesting as possible, and supply films and series which audiences will respond to. We are committed to offer fair conditions to the talent we work with and to strengthen the long-term relationships with our writers, showrunners, and directors as well as with new talent.

Collective vision & global scale

The nine companies collectively have more than 100 shows and films in various stages of development or production and those produced by the group will now be signed under The Creatives label.

Fremantle said the companies would work together on co-production and strategic partnerships, sharing information and also combining each other’s talent and networks. The new label will focus on sustainability, diversity, and fair practice, as well as bolstering talent relationships, it added.

The Creatives described itself as “nine companies, nine different identities, who want to keep their individuality and their cultures as well as that of the talent they work with.”

No Man’s Land 2

The group added that its member prodcos will co-operate, exchange ideas, develop, produce, and “maintain our idiosyncrasies” while also offering writers and directors a home “of a significant scale where they will benefit from a global approach”.

Vesper, meanwhile, said that the announcement underlines a commitment to the independent production community.

“We believe passionately in providing our valued partners and our brilliant talent with the right level of support, whilst also fully embracing their independence, creativity, and complete freedom to work unencumbered with the network or platform that is best suited for each project. This successful formula is in the Fremantle DNA and represents a perfect fit for this ground-break and innovative new label.”