EXCLUSIVE: Major European indie Federation Entertainment is getting into the American market by launching a Los Angeles-based management and production company with a trio of top-tier executives.
Animal Federation will act as a subsidiary of Paris-based group Federation, which has credits including The Bureau, Bad Banks and the upcoming Around the World in 80 Days starring David Tennant.
The offshoot will be spearheaded by producers Juan Solá (Extinction, Horizon Line, The Commuter) and Nacho Manubens (Money Heist, Gran Hotel, Velvet), alongside Talent Manager Adil Chamakh. Solá and Manubens first came into the Federation fold when they teamed with the Paris-based company to launch Federation Spain last year.
Animal Federation will have a global outlook bridging the U.S. market and the rest of the world, its executive team said. The outfit is developing original content and adaptations from Federation’s IP library for the Latam and U.S. market and is looking to highlight diverse, multi-hyphenate and multilingual talent, they added.
“Federation’s producers are already involved in launching the creations of a large number of European showrunners and directors. We had long been eager to help these talents grow into global names, including in the immensely competitive market that is Hollywood,” Federation Entertainment President Pascal Breton told Deadline. “Following Nacho and Juan’s lead, we needed to find the right manager for the job, and Adil Chamakh is the perfect fit: his extensive experience both in Los Angeles and the major European capitals makes him an ideal person to manage their careers.’’
Solá has worked alongside director Jaume Collet-Serra (Jungle Cruise, Black Adam) for many years and recently produced the Liam Neeson-starring Retribution, which is in post-production. Manubens is responsible for spotlighting top Spanish TV network Atresmedia on an international scale and also produced La Templanza, the first original series from Amazon Prime Video in Spain. Earlier this year, Solá and Manubens teamed to produced Netflix original film Las Niñas de Cristal starring María Pedraza.
Adil Chamakh is an experienced manager of American and international talent, including Australian-American actor Aisha Dee (The Bold Type) and musician/actor Masego. He previously launched the talent company Creative Room.
Animal Federation will have an initial client roster including Love Victor’s Isabella Ferreira, Italian actress/model Alice Pagani (Netflix’s Baby), and writer/director Lluis Quílez, who is responsible for the Netflix hit Below Zero (Bajocero).
Federation also has offices in Madrid, Berlin, Rome, London, and Tel-Aviv.