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Global Bulletin: Maven Screen Media Secures U.K. Creative Content EIS Fund Investment

Jamie Lang
·4 min read

In today’s Global Bulletin, Maven Screen Media gets backing, Venice unveils its VR offerings, Little Mix teams with BBC Three and AMC Networks International extends ties with Formula 1.

U.K. Creative Content EIS Fund has invested in Celine Rattray and Trudie Styler’s media and entertainment development company Maven Screen Media.

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The investment was made to bolster Maven’s multi-platform strategy, dedicated to increasing representation of female content creators and pushing female-focused stories in a commercially viable way. The company develops and produces for film, TV and digital media platforms, and looking at the resumes of Maven’s co-founders, its clear to see why the Fund was eager to get on board. Rattray has produced over 40 films, including four-time Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning “The Kids Are Alright,” “Black Nativity” and “American Honey.” Styler is an established producer, director and actor, and has produced several U.K. hits that have gone global including “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” “Snatch” and “Moon.”

“This investment will help us drive our strategy of producing premium content across multiple platforms whilst keeping the unique narratives that address social issues and inspire change at the heart of what we do,” said Maven’s co-founders in a statement. “We are very excited about the prospect of working more closely with established and emerging UK female writing and directing talent.”

The announcement was made by the Fund’s manager Calculus Capital and media adviser Stargrove Pictures.

FESTIVALS

Venice International Film Festival’s virtual reality section Venice VR Expanded will be made accessible in several VR lounges in major cities around the world, letting audiences who can’t travel to the Italian festival experience the sidebar in the comfort of their local cultural institutions.

These institutions, which belong to the Satellite Programme network, will screen 44 projects from 24 different countries which compose the Venice VR Expanded. The centers will have access to the program for the duration of the festival. While the program will not be shown on the Venetian island, it will be available online with the support of HTC Viveport, Facebook’s Oculus, VRChat and VRrOOm.

FACTUAL

U.K. super-group Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock will headline a new BBC Three one-off special exploring racism and colorism, delivered through the lens of her own experiences as a black woman in the U.K., but addressing wider issues facing the U.K.’s POC population.

Made by Dragonfly Film and Television and produced by Kandise Abiola, “Colourism & Race” (working title) will be directed by first-timer Tash Gaunt, a childhood friend of Pinnock’s.

“She is aware that having lighter skin and being a celebrity means she is sometimes said to be in a more privileged position than others,” reads the press release, explaining that the series will explore these often under-discussed aspects of racism while demonstrating that racial inequalities affect people of color regardless of social class, celebrity, income or skin tone.

*****

Danish broadcaster DR1 has commissioned local production house Metronome, an Endemol Shine Nordics-now-Banijay company, to produce a new three-part factual series about fathers of drag queens titled “Fabulous Dads.”

The series will feature father-son duos in which the dads have little to no understanding of the drag world. The pairs will spend one week together, dedicating their time and energy to learning more about one another while the father will get to know their son’s drag persona.

Featuring top billed performers as coaches and mentors, the dads will then get a makeover and perform a drag show of their own in front of friends and family.

SPORTS RIGHTS

AMC Networks International – Central and Northern Europe has extended its TV rights with Formula 1 for the FIA Formula 1 World Championships through 2023 in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with races to be broadcast on networks Sport1 and Sport2.

Viewership for the channels is trending up across the region, powered in part by F1 racing and a slate of related programming including a popular F1 magazine show. F1’s support championships, Formula 2 and Formula 3 are all included in the rights deal, adding up to 14 hours of live broadcasting on any given race weekend.

Other top sports broadcast by the network include the PGA Championship Tournament, WTCR − FIA World Touring Car Cup, KHL, Champions Hockey League, UEFA European National Team Qualifiers, UEFA Nations League, Coppa Italia, Copa del Rey and the EHF Champions League.

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