K5 International
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K5 International is an international distribution and sales company [1].
Contents |
[edit] History
Bill Stephens, Daniel Baur and Oliver Simon established a new international sales company, K5 International, in January 2007. The three are partners in the new entity and have offices in Germany and the UK.
Bill Stephens handles sales and marketing from London, Oliver Simon in Munich oversees development and production, with Daniel Baur based in Cologne for finance and business affairs. K5 is also represented in Los Angeles by Kerry Rock.
[edit] Strategy
The new company combines international sales expertise and an in-depth knowledge of film production, finance and business affairs. Through its extensive relationships, K5 International has access to some of the most dynamic distributors worldwide, making it a knowledgeable partner and an ideal home for producers and their projects at all stages of production – from development through to distribution.
With a determined strategy on quality over quantity, K5 International seeks to represent 4 to 6 feature films per year with budgets up to $15 million. Priority will be given to commercial English language productions with unique qualities – be it story, cast, director or producer. K5 International works closely with its producers in all aspects of the production and sales cycle – financing, production, sales & marketing, distribution and collection.
K5 International is uniquely positioned in being able to offer co-production partnerships with Germany through its sister company, K5 Film, which has broad experience accessing film production subsidies in the German speaking market. Combining their offices and access to funding in Germany and UK, and with the strengths of the partners’ solid background K5 is able to offer producers a wide range of financing, production and international sales opportunities.
[edit] Staff
[edit] Bill Stephens
Bill Stephens (Sales and Marketing Partner) has worked in film sales for over 25 years, including 14 years as Director of Sales & Marketing at Film Four where he worked with many award-winning directors such as Mike Leigh and Ken Loach as well as Danny Boyle on his groundbreaking and international hits Shallow Grave and Trainspotting. For 2 years he was Director of Sales for Renaissance Films and then in 2001 set up his own independent consultancy company, Nexus, where he advised clients on various aspects of sales, marketing, and festival-market launch strategies.
[edit] Daniel Baur
Daniel Baur (Business Affairs Partner) is an entertainment lawyer with extensive experience in finance and production. He is a graduate from the Media Business School in Ronda and worked at Deutsche Bank in the media division and the European Commission. Since 2002 he advised national and international film production companies. In 2005 he joined Oliver Simon in K5 Film where he handles all business and legal affairs. Daniel is a founding partner of K5 International.
[edit] Oliver Simon
Oliver Simon (Production Partner) established his production company K5 Film in 2001 where he has produced five feature films. In 2006 his film Happy As One was in Official Selection of the Berlinale and was also nominated for Best Film in the German Film Academy Awards. Prior to K5 Film, Simon co-founded FreeX, the first German script development agency in Munich, in 1994. He is a graduate of New York University's Dramatic Writing programme and has been involved in over 20 productions as a co-writer, or script editor. He is also a member of Ateliers du Cinema Europeen (ACE).
[edit] Karin Binnberg
Karin Binnberg ( Sales and Marketing) is in charge of project submissions and project evaluations at K5 International, having joined K5 Film in May 2006. She has 12 years experience in the area of film development, including areas such as project development, licensing and film financing subsidies.
[edit] Filmography
[edit] The Visitor
The Visitor (2007) tells a story of a college professor (Richard Jenkins from Six Feet Under and North Country) who travels to New York City to attend a conference and finds out that his apartment is occupied by a young immigrant couple. The Visitor was written and directed by Tom McCarthy (The Great New Wonderful, Flags of Our Fathers) [2].
The film was presented on Toronto International Film Festival and has been theatrically released in the USA in April 2008 making $86,488 on its opening weekend despite from being released on 4 screens only and has since made over $5 million at the box office [3]. Production and distribution companies apart from K5 International include Groundswell Productions, Participant Productions, Next Wednesday Productions and Overture Films.
[edit] Wonderful World
Wonderful World (2008) is a story about a bitter divorced man, Ben Singer, who refuses to believe even the tiniest miracle is possible. When his roommate, Ibou, falls ill, Ben is forced to host his Senegalese sister, Khadi (Sanaa Lathan from Something New and Alien vs. Predator) . What starts as an awkward living arrangement soon turns into something more, and Ben's usual self-destructive nature gives way as he begins to find inspiration in the most unlikely of places.
Ben Singer is played by Matthew Broderick, who is famous for his roles in Infinity, Godzilla, Inspector Gadget and The Producers. The film was produced by Ambush Entertainment, Back Lot Pictures and Cold Iron Pictures and is currently in post-production.
[edit] Ping Pong Playa
Ping Pong Playa tell a story of Christopher "C-dub" Wang, a suburban guy who sports an urban swagger, waxes political on all things Asian American, and clings to pipe dreams of a career as a pro basketball player. Blaming genetics for his failure to make the NBA, C-dub faces the dismaying task of taking over his mom´s ping pong classes after his mom and brother Michael are hurt in a car accident. With the National Golden Cock Tournament coming up and an injured Michael unable to defend his title, C-dub must become the player he pretends to be and defend his family´s ping pong dynasty.
Ping Pong Playa was written and directed by Jessica Yu, and stars Jimmy Tsai, who also co-wrote, Elizabeth Sung, Roger Fan, Khary Payton, Peter Paige and Smith Cho.
[edit] The Disposables
Three narratives weave their way from the tragic slums of Bogotá to the artificial tranquility of Hollywood. A 12-year-old prostitute and an eccentric American writer forge a strange companionship. A Colombian university student invites a terrible danger into her world, while a Los Angeles day-care teacher does everything she can to fight the weight of a tragic secret.
The Disposables is directed by Daniel Gillies (Spider-man 2, Captivity), executive produced by Ryan Gosling (The Notebook, Half Nelson, Lars and the Real Girl), and stars Rachel Leigh Cook (She's All That, Josie and the Pussycats), Seymour Cassell and Daniel Gillies.
[edit] Get Low
Felix Bush (played by Robert Duvall, an Academy Award-, two-time Emmy Award-, and four-time Golden Globe Award-winning American film actor and director best known for his roles in To Kill a Mockingbird, The Godfather and Apocalypse Now) is organizing his own funeral to reveal one of his darkest secrets from the past and resolve an unclear case of murder in a small town.
The film is being directed by Aaron Schneider, the director of the Oscar-winning live action short Two Soldiers, and produced by an an Academy Award-winning American film producer Richard D. Zanuck and Dean Zanuck.
[edit] Notes and References
1. Homepage of K5 International
2. Homepage of K5 Film
3. K5 International at the Internet Movie Database
4. The Visitor Official Web Site
5. K5, Stephens launch sales company, Adam Dawtrey, Variety, January 16, 2007
6. K5 takes in 'Visitor', Adam Dawtrey, Variety, October 31, 2007
7. K5 picks up 'Wonderful World', Adam Dawtrey, Variety, February 4, 2008
8. Matthew Broderick and Sanaa Lathans in WONDERFUL WORLD, Charles McDonald, February 4, 2008
9. Ping Pong Playa, Justin Lowe, The Hollywood Reporter, April 23, 2008
