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South Korea is one of the world’s hottest markets for exports across the entertainment spectrum, from K-pop stars to movies and TV shows to social media content creators and webtoons.

But South Korea also has some work ahead to further open up its content marketplace to outside investment and larger partnerships with media and entertainment giants in the U.S. and other territories. That was one of the key takeaways from the U-Knock: International Content Investment Forum 2024, held Nov. 7 in Las Vegas and sponsored by South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the state’s Korea Creative Content Agency.

The gathering brought together producers, distributors, investors and technology firms to discuss the turbulent state of the global content industry and how South Korea can continue to keep its sector growing at a fast clip. The aim is to help state officials and business leaders “build lasting...

Leading film and entertainment execs from Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia converged this week at the Tablakera, the former tobacco factory turned contemporary culture centre, for the third annual Creative Investors’ conference, held as part of San Sebastian International Film Festival.

Among those participating in the two-day event that aims to encourage collaboration between the Spanish and international industry were leading financiers and agents (Roeg Sutherland from CAA), former studio heads (ex-Universal chairman and Participant CEO David Linde), high-profile investors (Vania Schlogel from Atwater Capital) and top producers among them Killer Films’ Christine Vachon and Recorded Picture Company’s Jeremy Thomas.

CAA Media Finance’s Roeg Sutherland, Goodfellas’ Vincent Maraval and Recorded Picture Company’s Jeremy Thomas are set for the San Sebastian Festival’s 2024 Creative Investors’ Conference, co-organised for the third year running in collaboration with CAA Media Finance.

The Conference runs Sept. 24-25 at San Sebastian’s Tabakalera center.

Other high-profile execs confirmed as the world’s film industry debates ways forward for growth –despite still lagging post-pandemic box office recovery and the contraction of global streamer investment – are Netflix’s Teresa Moneo, Mubi’s Bobby Allen, Anton Corp.’s Louis Balsan, Charades’ Yohann Conte, Caroline Benjo at France’s Haut et Court, David Davoli at Anonymous Content, Infinity Hill’s Axel Kuchevatzsky, Good Chaos’ Mike Goodridge, Matías Mosteirín at K&s Films, Bronte Payne at Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment, Killer Films’ Christine Vachon and Michael Weber at The Match Factory.

Sutherland, from CAA Media Finance as well as...

Events include the inaugural Creative Investors’ Conference, a panel on crisis in streaming and a focus on Serbia.

The 70th San Sebastian International Film Festival (September 16-24) will mark a return to full form for its industry programme, with a higher industry attendance expected than ever before and the inaugural edition of the much-anticipated Creative Investors’ conference.

Some 2,009 industry delegates will attend in-person, with 1,956 on site, and just 53 participating online as the festival continues to offer an online-only industry accreditation.

Last year, 1,625 delegates from industry attended, with 140 participating online – a time when strict Covid restrictions were in-place, including mandatory mask wearing,...

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Private equity firm Atwater Capital made an additional investment in wiip, the production company behind the HBO’s Mare of Easttown and Apple TV+’s Dickinson.

The investment, for an undisclosed amount, makes Atwater Capital the second largest shareholder in wiip, behind South Korean television company Studio LuluLala, formerly known as Jtbc Studios, which acquired wiip from CAA in June 2021. CAA remains a minority shareholder.

Atwater made its first investment in wiip in 2020. Vania Schlogel, founder of Atwater, is a member of wiip’s advisory board.

In addition to Mare of Easttown and Dickinson, Wiip’s projects include FX’s limited series Pistol, based on the Sex Pistol’s guitarist Steve Jones’ memoir Lonely Boy, Amazon’s The Summer I Turned Pretty, and HBO’s The White House Plumbers, led by Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux. Wiip will soon produce Bodkin, a scripted...

Wiip, the studio behind series such as HBO’s Mare of Easttown and Apple’s Dickinson, has secured further investment.

The company, run by former ABC boss Paul Lee, has received additional investment from private equity company Atwater Capital. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Atwater Capital first invested in the studio in 2020 with Atwater’s Founder and Managing Partner, joining wiip’s advisory board at the time.

CAA subsequently sold a majority stake to South Korean company Studio LuluLala (Sll), then known as Jtbc Studios. CAA remains a minority shareholder and Atwater will now become the second largest shareholder in wiip after Sll.

Atwater further supported wiip, which was founded in 2018, with a debt facility in 2020.

Other projects for wiip include FX’s limited series Pistol, Amazon’s The Summer I Turned Pretty, from Jenny Han, and HBO’s The White House Plumbers starring Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux.

‘Run Rabbit Run’ Adds Cast

Damon Herriman and Greta Scacchi have joined Sarah Snook in Run Rabbit Run, the horror-thriller that commenced production this week in South Australia and Victoria. Further cast includes Trevor Jamieson, Neil Meville, Naomi Rukavina, Georgina Naidu, Genevieve Morris, Katherine Slattery and newcomer Sunny Whelan. In the movie, Snook plays a fertility doctor whose firm grasp on the cycle of life is put to the test as her young daughter begins to exhibit increasingly strange behavior. Daina Reid is directing the project. Hannah Kent wrote the script from an original idea developed with Carver Films, with Anna McLeish and Sarah Shaw of Carver Films producing. XYZ Films is executive producing, financing and handling world sales.

Spanish Soccer Piracy Case

Mediapro, the Spanish media outfit that controls the majority of soccer rights in the country, is calling for a six-year jail term for the creator of Rojadirecta.

Epidemic Sound, which provides a music subscription service for creators to soundtrack their videos, has announced three new appointments to its board, including the addition of former Shazam CEO and chairman Andrew Fisher as its new chairperson.

Fisher will succeed Vania Schlogel -- the founder and managing partner of Atwater Capital, who will remain on the Epidemic board as a director. 

At the same time, Epidemic added former Salesforce exec Kirsten Wolberg and former Googler Adrienne Gormley to its board last month as non-executive directors.

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