Lea Fels: Last News

Addie Morfoot Contributor On Tuesday at Copenhagen doc festival CPH:DOX, European broadcasters, funders and producers, as well as key players from the U.S. market, gathered for a private lunch at the Odd Fellow Palace to discuss the growing threats to journalistic political feature documentaries.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent After tackling climate change in his Oscar-nominated political satire “Don’t Look Up,” filmmaker Adam McKay has produced “You Need This,” a thought-provoking documentary tackling consumerism and hyper-capitalism. Directed by Ryan Andrej Lough (“Entertainment”), “You Need This” is produced by McKay via Yellow Dot Studios; Isidoor Roebers and Lea Fels at Scenery, a joint venture with Banijay Benelux; and Tyler Owen and Cecilia Butler with Hôtel Motion Pictures.

Red Sea Fund & Film AlUla Partner On Production GrantThe Red Sea Fund has partnered with Film AlUla to offer a production grant for filmmakers with projects set within the landscape of AlUla in northwest Saudi Arabia. The Red Sea Fund and Film AlUla will be named as co-producers on all selected films, and Saudi Arabia will be a co-production country. The two bodies said chosen filmmakers will be given “free rein” on their creative project and will be judged purely on the quality of the production, talent, and script. Projects from Saudi Arabia, the Arab regions, and Africa are eligible for the Film AlUla fund. The fund will sponsor at least 10 projects. Mohammed Al Turki, CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation, said: “Our aim as an organization is to uplift and support filmmakers from the Arab and African region and to promote the industry in Saudi Arabia – which is home to incredible filming locations like AlUla. We are delighted to have Film AlUla as a partner on this third cycle of funding, which will provide fund recipients the opportunity to bring their creative visions to life on the big screen as well as showcase the beauty and diversity of this country, with the backing of two significant partners.”

EXCLUSIVE: Dutch docs indie Scenery is lining up a feature about a Ukrainian refugee ballet company.

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we’re talking with Isidoor Roebers and Lea Fels, partners at Dutch doc producer Scenery, a joint venture with Banijay Benelux that has served up artistic but commercial unscripted projects for everyone from local public broadcaster NPO to Netflix and Prime Video.

EXCLUSIVE: Banijay Benelux joint venture producer Scenery has signed an exclusive partnership deal with the director of the company’s Netflix doc series Human Playground, Tomas Kaan.