MONTREAL: Seville Pictures is positioned for new growth in the home market through both acquisitions and an increase in its Canadian release slate.

The company is among the most active in current industry consolidation efforts and has made an offer for a majority stake in distrib Film Tonic, controlled by Montreal entrepreneur Daniel Langlois. Seville is also actively looking to expand its rights market through strategic acquisitions and partnerships, particularly in the U.S. in the year ahead, and also in Europe, says president David Reckziegel.

‘We still believe there are too many players in Canada, small Canadian distributors. I think there’s really a need for only three [companies] and I think we are well on our way to that,’ adds Reckziegel. But he says seven or eight competing distribs are too many, ‘because the pie just gets spread over too many people. You need a certain critical mass to be in this business because there is a lot of overhead.’

Seville’s branding is tied to its quality foreign films, titles such as In The Mood for Love, Run Lola Run and 8 Femmes. It also had a hit with the Canadian comedy Nuit de Noces, which earned more than $2 million at the box office.

Industry distrib Pierre Brousseau, EVP marketing, acquisitions and distribution, says Seville can rightly claim to be ‘the leading distributor of foreign films in Canada.’

Brousseau makes the point Seville has not had significant access, or interest, in sub-distributing U.S. mini-major product in Canada. ‘We have had to build [the company] on credibility and being an attraction for the best filmmakers from around the world.’

Noted recent foreign releases by Seville include Francois Ozon’s 8 Femmes, which grossed over $1 million in Canadian theatres this fall; Monsieur Batignole; Pedro Almodovar’s Hable Con Ella (Talk to Her); Cannes festival winner Divine Intervention; and Finnish director’s Aki Kaurismaki’s The Man Without a Past, which chalked up 500,000 theatre admissions in France last month and is slated for a March release. Tanguy earned $850,000 in Canada, while La Gout des autres took in $515,000.

Brousseau says the average box-office take for a French movie in Canada is currently in the $150,000 range.

Seville’s international release slate in ’03 includes the suspense A la folie pas tout, picked up by Goldwyn in the U.S.; Alexander Sokurov’s L’Arche Russe, which will have special screenings at Cinematheque Ontario in Toronto and the MMFA in Montreal; Patrice Leconte’s light comedy L’Homme du train, presold to Tele-Quebec; and the art house film Respiro, also acquired by Paramount Classics.

Also on tap, Sophie Marceau’s Parlez-moi d’amour; Chinese New Wave director Yee Chih-Yen’s Blue Gate Crossing; the Icelandic hit The Sea; Deauville winner Peter Sollett’s Raising Victor Vargas, also picked up by Goldwyn; and Francois Ozon’s first English-track feature Swimming Pool, a psychological suspense slated to preem at WFF ’03.

Brousseau sells about 30 French and foreign-language films to Tele-Quebec each year.

Acquiring Canadian films

In 2002, Seville showed a small profit on gross sales of $10 million, mainly from sales to the home video/DVD and TV markets. Reckziegel is projecting 20% growth in both ’03 and ’04. Cultural risk-capital investor FICC recently invested $1 million in the company. And last month, Seville acquired the assets of the former Malofilm Productions, including rights to eight films, among them The Decline of the American Empire, Sonatine and the live-action kids series Mighty Machines.

The distributor has committed $6 million over the 12 next months for the acquisition and marketing of seven Canadian feature films. In sum, the distrib expects to release 40 mostly international films in Canadian theatres in the year ahead.

Seville’s Canadian release slate for 2003/04 includes Deepa Mehta’s The Republic of Love, based on the Carol Shields novel. The Works in the U.K., formerly The Sales Co., has international.

The dramatic feature Falling Angels, based on the Giller prize finalist by Barbara Gowdy and directed by Scott Smith (Rollercoaster), was shot for $4 million and is a coproduction between Triptych and Minds Eye. Wild Bunch in the U.K. has international.

The social comedy Les Belles-Soeurs, adapted from the internationally acclaimed Michel Tremblay stage play, is a $6-million coproduction between Montreal’s Cite-Amerique and Moncton’s Grana Productions. It is slated to start filming in early March under the direction of John N. Smith (Random Passage).

The contemporary drama Emile, written and directed by Carl Bessai (Lola) stars Oscar and Golden Globe winner Sir Ian McKellan (Lord of the Rings). It is produced by Raven West of Vancouver. BV International of Norway has international. Helkon has U.K. rights.

The drama Bleeding, slated to begin principal photography in February, is scripted by Angus Fraser (Kissed) and will be directed by Steve Surjik (Kids in the Hall, Wayne’s World 2) and is a $9-million coproduction between Vancouver’s Crescent Entertainment and Spice Factory of the U.K.

Seville is also signed to distribute the next two installments in the successful Canadian teen horror franchise Ginger Snaps. Both films are being produced by Toronto’s 49th Parallel on combined budgets of $12 million and are slated to shoot this winter. Lions Gate Films has U.S. and international rights.

‘The P&A range on these films, subject to change, could be between $400,000 and over $1 million,’ says Andrew Austin, Seville’s senior VP and general manager.

The ‘ballpark’ acquisition price or minimum guarantees for Seville’s new slates ranges from $300,000 to $600,000.

Distribs can no longer use their Telefilm Canada credit lines for acquisition purposes. The price, says Austin, reflects budget and anticipated revenue stream. ‘We are trying to deliver quality films to the marketplace, films that fit the bill in terms of living up to the lofty goals set by Telefilm Canada in terms of box office [and market] share. It’s not an easy task, but it is a doable task,’ says Austin.

Seville is one of only three companies with a Telefilm performance distribution envelope, with an effective line of credit for P&A marketing of approximately $1.5 million.

Seville was in talks last year to acquire or merge with a U.S. distribution company. That deal fell through because of price, but the distrib is pursuing other avenues.

‘There are companies like Seville in every territory around the world buying the same film,’ says Reckziegel. ‘And some of those smaller films may not make a lot of sense in Canada, but if you have [the rights] in three or four territories then it starts to make more sense. Our objective is to expand Seville into the United States and then possibly European territories in a couple of years.’

Major catalogue

Seville holds Canadian rights to a 500-film library and world rights to 50 titles. ‘These are very exploitable films. Our catalogue is a very profitable business in the world of DVD and digital channels. It is probably about 30% of our overall revenues, and that’s something that you get every year,’ says Reckziegel.

The Francois Ozon musical caper 8 Femmes was released on some 30 screens across the country this past fall and pulled in $1 million in theatres, generating a 300% to 400% profit.

‘With Kandahar, which was obviously a shot in the dark, we’ll make five or six times our money on that. They are small investments but we are not a big company, either. We also did Air Bud IV last year on video. We don’t talk about it but it paid a lot of bills,’ says Reckziegel.

Seville was launched in December 1999 following the $4-million acquisition of Behaviour Distribution. The company employs 26 and has made significant infrastructure investments in computer and rights management systems. Seville Pictures is the distribution division of Seville Entertainment. Reckziegel and producer John Hamilton are co-presidents of Seville Entertaiment, and its controlling shareholders. Hamilton is president of Seville Productions.