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Federation Entertainment’s distribution arm significantly augments its burgeoning documentary slate with latest acquisitions
THE VATICAN (6 x 52’), an exclusive investigative series produced by Panenka for VRT.
THE SECT (5 x 52’ & 2 x 45’) a series based on the Order of the Solar Temple,
produced by What’s Up for Salto.
LIL’ BUCK: REAL SWAN, a 60’ multi-award winning film about a hip hop dance prodigy from Memphis who becomes a ballet étoile, produced by Lechinski and Machine Molle.
MAKE ME A MAN, a 52’ film that explores the subject of masculinity in today’s world, created by Jerry Hyde and Mai Hua.
Federation has also acquired the rights to various titles from renowned producer Frédéric Fougea such as PARIS: A WILD STORY, HOMO SAPIENS, THE APPEAL OF 1940 along with other gems from the Boréales catalogue
Paris, 09, February 2021 – Federation Entertainment (Pascal Breton, Lionel Uzan) has significantly bolstered the company’s burgeoning slate of documentary fare with the announcement of its latest premium acquisitions which include The Vatican, a captivating investigation into the pinnacle of Catholicism, and how incessant scandals and an ever changing society have weakened its foundations, The Sect, an in-depth look into the Order of the Solar Temple by prodco What’s Up Films (The Staircase, Trial 4) and marking the first original documentary series commissioned by Salto.
Federation has also secured worldwide distribution rights to Lil’ Buck: Real Swan, a multi-award winning film that charts the journey of a hip hop dance prodigy from the streets of Memphis who also becomes a standout ballet dancer, and Make Me a Man, which features a series of candied interviews from a ‘Men’s Group’ and led by their charismatic therapist.
These deals are handled by a team dedicated to documentary acquisitions as part of Federation’s distribution division.
The Vatican:
6 x 52’
Best Pitch Award CONNeXT 2019.
Produced by Belgian company Panenka for VRT, this six-part investigative documentary series drives to the heart of the mysteries surrounding the Vatican, addressing some of the burning questions of the day such as: Can a Pope really change the church? Is sexual pleasure really a sin? What is the role of women in the church? The Vatican has given Panenka exclusive access to its video archives. Journalist Rik Torf talks to Pope Francis himself, as well as Mgr Barbarin, and other leading Christian figures from across America, Italy, Germany etc The Vatican is directed by Kat Steppe, co-written by Rik Torfs and Jo Badisco, and produced by Kato Maes and Kristoffel Mertens. Filming has commenced with delivery scheduled for Q1 2022. The series has already been presold to Salto.
The Sect
5 x 52’ /2 x 45’
A detailed investigation into the Order of the Solar Temple which tells the story of the murderous madness which took place between 1994 and 1997 and led 74 people to commit mass suicide across France, Switzerland and Canada. The series is produced by What’s Up Films (Matthieu Belghiti and Jean-Xavier De Lestrade, producers of Trial 4 for Netflix, and The Staircase among various films). The Sect is the first original documentary series commissioned by Salto.
Make Me a Man: meetings with incredible men
60 mins.
Psychotherapist and author Jerry Hyde, known for leading men’s talk groups for the past 20 years, has teamed up with French director Mai Hua to bring a series of fascinating interviews whereby men (his patients) question the different definitions of masculinity in today’s world, whilst providing overwhelmingly honest insights. The film was incredibly well-received when it screened in New York (NeueHouse), Paris and London.
Lil’ Buck: Real Swan: from the Memphis ghetto to the dizzy heights of classical dance.
85 mins.
Winner of Best Film at the San Francisco Festival 2019 (dance category) and Memphis Indie Festival. Selected for the Tribeca Film Festival and presented out of competition at the Festival des Champs Elysées 2019.
Lil’ Buck, is a hip hop dance prodigy from Memphis, one of the most admired street dancers of his generation, who later trained in ballet, taking his dance to a whole new level. From this alchemy a legend was born, that of a virtuoso defying gravity, fusing two unique styles of dance and establishing himself as a reference for artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Benjamin Millepied, Spike Jonze and even Madonna.
Lil’ Buck: Real Swan is directed by Louis Wallecan and co-produced by Lechinski (Victor Lech) and Machine Molle. The music is composed by Arthur B. Gillette.
Some months ago, Federation acquired global distribution rights to a selection of breathtaking documentaries from Frédéric Fougea’s company Boréales, recognised worldwide for premium and multi-award winning nature, science and history documentary programming (more than 100 international awards over the past 20 years). These gems added to the Federation catalogue include Paris: a Wild Story, First Man, The Secret Journey of Migratory Birds, Homo Sapiens, as well as docu-dramas The Assassination of Henry IV, The Escape of Louis XVI and The Appeal of 1940, to name a few.
Federation will definitely make its mark in 2021 as it consolidates a robust line-up of documentary fare with the announcement of further acquisitions, and the roll-out of several premium in-house documentaries currently in production and scheduled for delivery this year – all spearheaded by Federation’s Head of Documentaries, Myriam Weil. These include Wenger, Invincible, (for Canal+ in co-production with Noah Media Group), a documentary special about the legendary Arsenal football coach, L’amour sous Algorithme (english title tbc), based on an adaptation of a book by Judith Duportail, originally published by La Goutte D’or (written by Judith Duportail and co-writer/director Jérôme Clément-Wiltz), A Stolen Life, a new documentary from Anissa Bonnefont for Canal+, co-produced by Echo Studio.
These new titles will be added to an impressive catalogue for international distribution that already includes completed productions such as will be new additions to other completed in-house productions which include Les Bleus 2018, at the heart of the Russian Epic (4 x 30’, TF1/Prime Video Amazon), Varane: Destiny of a Champion (3 x 30’, Prime Video Amazon), and A Lifetime Apart (52’, Canal +/France 3).
Furthermore, Federation’s recent announcement (on 7th Dec 2020) of a strategic partnership with So Presse (Frank Annese) which sees the two powerhouses join forces to produce audio-visual content as adaptations of select investigative reports and stand-out articles that featured in So Press group’s magazines, will add another significant dimension to Federation’s documentary catalogue, further strengthening and positioning the company as a key player in the documentary arena over the coming months.
Press contact:
Valérie Tailland
06 82 57 06 09 / valerie.tailland@fedent.com
About Federation Entertainment:
Federation heralds a new breed of independent studios, focusing on the creation, production, financing and distribution of high-quality original productions for the global marketplace.
Since its creation in 2013, the group spearheaded by Pascal Breton and Lionel Uzan is experiencing fast growth. Federation now has multiple companies in Paris (Federation’s headquarters, production & distribution operations, Cottonwood Media, WeMake, Cheyenne Federation, Mercer Production), Los Angeles (Picture Perfect Federation, Federation Entertainment of America, Animal Federation), Rome (Fabula Pictures), Madrid (Spain Fedent España) and Berlin (Cottonwood Media GmbH).
Active in the drama, kids & family, documentary and light entertainment space, Federation works with all platforms and major broadcasters in the market. Its rich portfolio includes major award-winning and international successes such as the cult spy series The Bureau (50 X 52’), the financial thriller Bad Banks (12 x 52’), the Netflix original hit series Baby (now 3 seasons), Find Me In Paris (78 X 26′), the premium live action hit for tweens, Partisan, (6 X 52’), Best series award at CanneSeries 2020, In Treatment, the adaptation of cult format BeTipul by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache, as well as Varane, Destin de Champion (Amazon Prime-Video), to name a few.
