E1 Entertainment is looking to boost its presence in Quebec through a partnership with Christian Larouche that will see the producer/distributor run its new subsidiary Le Films Christal.

The company has no ties to Larouche’s recently revived Christal Films Distribution, however. Larouche continues to oversee CFD and its catalogue of 250 titles following a deal reached with its creditors in March, which also prevents him from combining the two entities into one.

Christal Films Distribution ‘still exists only for the creditors who we’ve made an arrangement with for the next five years,’ Larouche tells Playback Daily, adding that he’s not acquiring any new titles under the CFD banner.

Les Films Christal will acquire and distribute films from Quebec and the rest of Canada, with Larouche serving as co-president alongside David Reckziegel, who is also co-president of E1 Entertainment Canada. Sébastien Létourneau will be director of distribution.

Larouche says he suggested to E1 toppers Patrice Théroux and Reckziegel that the subsidiary be named Les Films Christal — which will operate alongside E1’s Les Films Seville.

‘The [Christal] name is very well known in Canada and internationally,’ he says.

Teen sequel ¿ vos marques…Party! 2 — the follow-up to the 2007 box-office hit — will be the first film released under Les Films Christal on June 16. Other titles on its slate include the Luc Picard and Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge starrer Léo Huff, to be released Oct. 19; the drama Afterwards, featuring John Malkovich and Evangeline Lilly; and the sci-fi Mr. Nobody, with Sarah Polley and Jared Leto.

‘We are creating a second entity because the product lines are different and to give Christian some autonomy,’ said Reckziegel, adding that Les Films Christal will focus primarily on distribution of local films for the Quebec market, whereas Seville handles a wider range of films from American and Canadian to world cinema.