Federation Entertainment expands in English language content

Williams and Gottlieb will focus on working with premium drama creators in making ambitious commercial content for a global audience. They are also keen to bring more female led content to the Federation Entertainment slate. With a slate of high-profile projects currently in development that will be announced shortly, the new UK venture will develop, produce and invest in drama content for TV and film. They will offer flexibility for creators beyond the traditional in-house production model and will be looking for co-productions, co-financing and distribution opportunities. 

As the French company continues to expand its operations, the media entity now boasts prodcos across France (Cottonwood Media, We Make, Cheyenne Federation, Mercer Productions, Empreinte Digitale), Los Angeles (Federation Entertainment of America, Picture Perfect FederationTV, Animal Federation), Rome (Fabula Pictures), Madrid (Fedent Espana), Berlin (Cottonwood MediaGmbh), and Tel Aviv (Drama Team).

Pascal Breton, President, Federation Entertainment, said: 'The UK has always been on our radar, but it was crucial we secured the right kind of creative talent to steer this new operation.  Both Polly and Arielle are dynamic executives with impressive track records who will be able to bring exceptional, original content into the company. We are absolutely delighted to welcome them to our ‘federation’ network'.  

Williams added: 'I am thrilled to be partnering with the brilliant Arielle in this new venture. We both think Federation is a very smart, exciting company. The opportunity to tap into their European networks with wonderful British writers and directors is very unique. Pascal and Lionel are incredibly inspiring and nimble, and we can’t wait to get going'. She was previously Head of Scripted for eOne where she built a diverse, premium slate with partners in the UK, Europe and the US. During her tenure she developed Run for HBO, written by Vicky Jones and is currently exec producing Red Rose with Eleven Film for the BBC and Netflix. She brought Mam Tor/Tally Garner into eOne and backed her varied, distinctive slate with some of the UK’s top talent which are now in late stages of development with broadcasters.

Gottlieb was VP of Scripted, eOne. In recent years, she developed and was the script executive on Dublin Murders (BBC, Starz) and script edited The Sister (ITV, HULU) for Euston Films. Prior to eOne, and over the course of her career, she has also script edited long-running British dramas such as Casualty and The Bill. Over the past decade she has worked in development, production and business affairs for companies in the UK and Canada including: Red Planet Pictures, Ink Factory Films, BBC, Nutopia and TVO.  

Federation Entertainment has experienced exponential growth since it launched. The company behind international hits such as The Bureau, In Treatment, and Marseille also wrapped filming earlier this year with co-pro partners Slim Film+ Television on the series Around the World in 80 Days for the European Alliance of France Televisions, ZDF and RAI, as well as SBS Masterpiece and BBC, starring David Tennant (Broadchurch, Jessica Jones, Good Omens).