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INDUSTRY / MARKET France / Belgium / Netherlands / Luxembourg

Studiocanal acquires Dutch FilmWorks

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- The French giant has bought a majority stake in the Dutch production and distribution outfit operating in the Benelux region

Studiocanal acquires Dutch FilmWorks
Studiocanal CEO Anna Marsh and Dutch FilmWorks CEO Willem Pruijssers

Earlier this week, Studiocanal acquired a majority stake in Dutch FilmWorks, one of the leading film and distribution outfits, based in Utrecht and operating in the Benelux region.

The acquisition of the Dutch firm is part of Studiocanal’s strategy to consolidate its pipeline of premium European content with international potential. The announcement was first reported by Variety.

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Dutch FilmWorks will benefit from “Studiocanal’s international network, distribution capacities and wealth of content”, with its management team and operational structure remaining unchanged.

Commenting on the acquisition, CEO of Studiocanal Anna Marsh said: “I am proud to welcome Dutch FilmWorks to Studiocanal. Our values align across production, acquisitions and distribution, as well as through a shared creative vision. Together, we will realise our ambition to produce first-class European content out of Benelux, which will captivate audiences worldwide.”

Dutch FilmWorks’ CEO, Willem Pruijssers, added: “Dutch FilmWorks and Studiocanal are a perfect match to strengthen each other in business and creativity. We both work with the same vision in the field of production, acquisition and distribution of films and series, and very importantly, we operate with the same values. After 25 years working as an independent outfit, it is an exciting step but with many opportunities for growth, including more possibilities to bring Dutch and Flemish content to an international audience. [...] Studiocanal will give us the resources we need to keep producing local content with high production values and budgets, and to be in a strong position to deal with streamers.”

Recent local titles handled by the Utrecht-based firm include Ben Sombogaart’s drama My Best Friend Anne Frank, Pim van Hoeve’s family flick Pirates Down the Street [+see also:
trailer
film profile
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and Joram Lürsen’s 2019 Oscars hopeful The Resistance Banker [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
. The outfit has also been releasing a number of Hollywood hits within the region, including Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street.

According to the plans, Dutch FilmWorks will keep its focus on features, but will also develop its slate of other scripted content. Presently, the company is collaborating with the German division of Studiocanal on the film adaptation of Anna Ruhe’s bestseller The Magical Pharmacy.

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