Red Arrow Studios International Promotes Tim Gerhartz to President and Managing Director – Global Bulletin
In today’s Global Bulletin Tim Gerhartz to head Red Arrow Studios International; “Fisherman’s Friends 2” begins U.K. shoot; new Agent Hamilton episodes in the works; Studiocanal sells series “Paris Police 1900”; BBC Studios licenses “First Love” and “Phone Dater”; Darpan Global sets biopic “Slow Joe”; and Nadja Tennstedt to take charge of DOK Leipzig’s industry offerings.
Tim Gerhartz has been promoted to the position of president and managing director at Red Arrow Studios International, the distribution arm of Red Arrow Studios, effective immediately.
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Gerhartz was previously SVP, global sales at Red Arrow Studios International and is based in the company’s Munich office. He will report into Martin Metzger, chief business affairs and commercial officer, Red Arrow Studios.
He takes over from Joel Denton, acting president of Red Arrow Studios International, who will stay on till June.
Gerhartz first joined Red Arrow Studios International from distributor ZDF Enterprises in 2012, as VP sales and acquisitions. In 2016, he moved to music licensing agency Audio Network as head of sales and business development for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He rejoined Red Arrow in 2019.
Red Arrow Studios International’s key titles include dramas “Bosch” and “Vienna Blood” and format “Married at First Sight.”
PRODUCTION
Flying Fish and Entertainment Film Distributors have begun principal photography in Cornwall, U.K., on “Fisherman’s Friends 2,” the sequel to the 2019 hit about a sea-shanty singing group, based on a true story. The sequel continues the journey with the group, as they navigate fame, second album syndrome, and performing at Glastonbury.
It reunites the original’s creative team, with Meg Leonard and Nick Moorcroft co-directing from their screenplay co-written with Piers Ashworth. Returning cast members include James Purefoy (“Altered Carbon”), Maggie Steed (“Elizabeth Is Missing”), Dave Johns (“I, Daniel Blake”), Sam Swainsbury (“Mum”), Jade Anouka (“His Dark Materials”) and David Hayman (“Finding Your Feet”). New faces include Richard Harrington (“Hinterland”), Ramon Tikaram (“Pennyworth”) and Joshua Maguire (“Lovesick”), and the film introduces Irish musician Imelda May in her debut acting role.
James Spring, Meg Leonard, Nick Moorcroft, Deepak Sikka, Helene Theodoly, Nigel Green and Purefoy produce.
Entertainment Film Distributors will release the film in the U.K., with Legacy handling international sales.
Meanwhile, Dramacorp Pampas Studios will begin filming this summer, in France, Sweden, Poland and Croatia, a new collection of Agent Hamilton spy thriller movies based on Scandinavia’s literary by author Jan Guillou. Commissioned by Sweden’s commercial broadcaster TV4 and Nordic streaming service C More, the new adaptation of the Hamilton books will consist of four closed feature-length stories. It will be co-produced with German public broadcaster ZDF and Beta Film, which also leads international sales. Co-financing partners are Filmpool Nord and Nordisk Film & TV Fond.
The Hamilton books centre on a Swedish intelligence officer called Carl Hamilton who, having been trained by U.S. Navy Seals, becomes part of a black ops cell within the Swedish military.
Norwegian star Jakob Oftebro (“Kon-Tiki”) will reprise the titular role of the young Carl Hamilton, joined once again by Nina Zanjani, Jörgen Thorsson and Annika Hallin.
Erik Leijonborg (“The Last Kingdom”) will be the concept director, with Per Hanefjord confirmed to direct two of the four episodes. The producer is Renée Axö, executive producers are Petra Ahlin for C More and TV4, and Patrick Nebout and Jens Alex for Dramacorp Pampas Studios.
SALES
Studiocanal has sold eight-part crime drama franchise “Paris Police 1900” to Sky Germany, French-speaking Canada to Radio Canada, Amediateka Russia, RTP Portugal, NOVA Greece, M7 for Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania and SBS Australia.
A Canal Plus Creation Originale, “Paris Police 1900” is set in the dark world of Paris during the Belle Époque, and is written by graphic novelist Fabien Nury (“The Death of Stalin”). Produced by Tetra Media Fiction and AFPI, the French-language series stars Jérémie Laheurte (“Blue is the Warmest Colour”), Evelyne Brochu (“Orphan Black”) and Patrick D’Assumçao (“Stranger by the Lake”).
The series follows a police chief who is urgently called out of retirement to restore order in Paris, and a young, ambitious detective.
LICENSING
BBC Studios has licensed its dating format “First Love” to Brazilian broadcaster Globo to feature as part of long-running weekly television news series “Fantástico,” Brazil’s highest rating program on Sunday evenings. The four-part series, a Motive Television production, tells the stories of people who are curious to find out how life panned out for their first great love.
BBC Studios has also agreed a deal with Norwegian public broadcaster NRK to license the “Phone Dater” format. This 20-part series from Kalel Productions will be adapted locally by Banijay and will air on P3 channel in Norway. “Phone Dater” features blind dates with a twist — as couples swap phones during the date, and with full access to each other’s messages, pics and apps they get to know a lot about each other very quickly.
CASTING
Indian star Jackie Shroff will lead the cast of “Slow Joe,” a film biopic of a colorful 64-year-old musician from Goa who beat the odds to be a hit at 2009 edition of a music festival in Rennes, France. The film is to be structured as a coproduction between France, India and Singapore, with Sreyashi Sen of Darpan Global as producer, Soumik Sen as director and Mauricio Vidal (“Narcos” season 1) as cinematographer. Slow Joe and the Ginger Accident were booked to headline the festival, but it turned out that ex-con former junkie Slow Joe did not have a passport, a bank account, proof of identity or residence. The film emerged from research done by the musician’s French agent in his attempt to get his client to France. – Patrick Frater
LEADERSHIP
Nadja Tennstedt will take charge of DOK Leipzig’s industry offerings this month, succeeding long-time head Brigid O’Shea. Tennstedt most recently coordinated The DocSalon, the documentary film platform at the Berlinale’s European Film Market, where she led networking and community building activities within the documentary industry.
Previously, she directed international sales and acquisitions at Milestone Films, and was in charge of marketing at Zeitgeist Films, a distributor of independent features and documentaries.
DOK Leipzig is an annual festival for documentaries and animations that celebrates film and promotes debate and focuses on the values of peace, tolerance, human dignity and freedom of expression.
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