Steven Silver (The Bang Bang Club) and Neil Tabatznik of Blue Ice Productions are teaming up with Doug Mankoff’s Echo Lake Entertainment to launch a private equity film fund.

The deal, unveiled at Berlin, will see Toronto-based Blue Lake Entertainment fund mid-budget movies with bankable stars and directors for global sale.

The eight figure fund is backed by private investors in both the U.S. and Canada and will look to invest in three to four titles each year.

Blue Lake has a non-exclusive deal with Glen Basner’s FilmNation, which packages films for the global market, and handles foreign sales.

Tabatznik and business partner Silver co-founded indie producer Blue Ice Productions in 2005.

Tabatznik in 2006 became a partner and board member of Barna Alper Productions until the indie production house was sold to Entertainment One.

He then went on to executive produce two Canadian movies, Shake Hands With the Devil, directed by Roger Spottiswoode, and The Bang Bang Club, which Silver directed and Daniel Iron’s Foundry Films co-produced.

“Blue Lake is an extension of what Neil and I have always looked to do, find special projects driven by talented filmmakers,” Silver explained.

“We have been working with Echo Lake and FilmNation for almost a year now. They are partners we would like to be working with well into the future,” he added.

Echo Lake is known for cast-driven films like John Carpenter’s The Ward and The Joneses, which starred Demi Moore, David Duchovny and bowed in Toronto.

Echo Lake’s management division also represents Deepa Mehta.