Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International After 15 years running the Zurich Film Festival, directors Viviana Vezzani and Karl Spoerri stepped down in late 2019 to take their expertise to the next level and launch a film financing outfit.
And then the pandemic struck. The Los Angeles- and Zurich-based SPG3 Entertainment was formed in 2020 by Spoerri and Urs Wietlisbach and Alfred Gantner, the founders of international private equity outfit Partners Group, with Vezzani as COO.
But gaining momentum amid the COVID crisis had its share of challenges, not to mention the creative detachment of being financiers as opposed to hands-on producers on a project.
Last year, the duo launched production banner Zurich Avenue in a bid to become more active creatively on feature films, and leverage their strong talent relationships borne out of running the festival.
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