Newen Studios Acquires Majority Stake In ‘Icarus’ & ‘All That Breathes’ Producer Rise Films To Expand UK Footprint

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: Acquisitive French media giant Newen Studios has expanded its UK footprint with the purchase of a majority stake in Rise Films, the Oscar-winning producer of Netflix’s Icarus and All That Breathes, Deadline can reveal.The deal closed very recently but Rise had been on Newen’s radar for a while, according to the TF1-backed studio’s Director of International Philippe Levasseur, and the acquisition of an undisclosed majority stake brings the number of UK labels Newen has an interest in to 10.Deadline understands several buyers were interested in acquiring Rise, which has grown over 16 years to become one of the UK’s most respected premium documentary makers.The firm was behind Netflix’s Icarus about doping scandals in sport, which won a 2018 Oscar, along with the likes of Oscar-nominee The Invisible War, HBO Max’s George Carlin’s American Dream from Judd Apatow and environmental pic All That Breathes, which became the first film to win the the Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Cannes L’Œil d’or and has since been acquired in a global deal by HBO and HBO Max.Rise is also pushing into drama, developing a scripted series on the Rupert Murdoch UK tabloid scandal with the BBC, and runs comedy sub-label Rise Comedy, helmed by Plebs exec Sam Leifer.

That label will continue to operate independently.Levasseur praised the outfit for being part of a “small community” of premium European high-end doc producers and praised Leifer’s entrepreneurial approach to filmmaking, singling out All That Breathes.“They took a risk on a topic, the environment, that’s been covered hundreds of times that broadcasters say is not attractive,” he added. “Rise didn’t have a client when they started shooting but were confident in the story and the