E1 Entertainment and Christal Films Productions sign distribution agreement
26 January 2009
Montreal, January 26, 2009 – E1 Entertainment is proud to announce that it has signed an exclusive long-term agreement with Christal Films Productions for the distribution of all of the company’s feature films in Canada and internationally.
Effective immediately, the agreement makes E1 the exclusive distributor for all upcoming films produced by Christian Larouche, and also includes sales and representation rights for the international market through E1 Films International.
“This agreement confirms E1’s position among the country’s leading distributors and significantly strengthens our Quebec subsidiary, Seville Pictures, in the Quebec market. Christian Larouche is a producer who knows who to reach and please its audiences. He is a first-rate prolific producer and his productions by Christal Films have a solid reputation for quality and a history of box-office success that we will carry on as their distributor,” explained Seville Pictures and E1 Entertainment Canada Co-President David Reckziegel.
“I’m delighted with this agreement with Seville/E1, which is presently going through extraordinarily growth. I have the utmost respect for David Reckziegel and Patrice Théroux, and as a producer, to be associated with one of the biggest distributor, not only in Canada but internationally, is an asset from which all of my projects will benefit” said Christian Larouche.
Christal Films Productions’ catalogue of recent films includes box-office hits that have made a strong impact on the Quebec film scene, including Les 3 petits cochons ($4.8 million at the box office and the winner of the Golden Ticket, awarded to the most popular film of the year), Maman Last Call ($1.7 million), Elvis Gratton 2 and 3 (total $5.8 million), Le Dernier tunnel ($1.8 million) and l’Homme idéal ($1.2 million). All of these films also have generated significant DVD sales and continue to be regularly on the television programming schedules.
The first film subject to the new E1–Christal agreement will be À vos marques…Party 2 by Frédérik D’Amour, produced by Caroline Héroux (Gaëa Films) and Christian Larouche (Christal Films Productions), and scheduled for theatrical release on June 19, 2009. À vos marques… Party, released in 2007, earned more than $2 million at the box office, making it a remarkable success!
Among the forthcoming projects from Christal Films Productions are many titles with strong critical and commercial potential. They include:
- Les Grandes chaleurs by Sophie Lorain, written
by playwright Michel Marc Bouchard, based on his play of the same
title. Produced by Christian Larouche (Christal Films Productions)
and Valérie Bissonnette (Vélocité
International), and starring Marie-Thérèse Fortin and
François Arnaud. (release: August 7, 2009);
- Synopsis: A 52-year-olf widow discovers her husband’s infidelity and takes up with a man 30 years her junior.
- Léo Huff by Sylvain Guy, with Luc
Picard, Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge, Louison Danis and Sylvie
Boucher. Produced by Marcel Giroux (GPA Films), Sam Grana (Grana
Production), and Christian Larouche (Christal Films Productions).
(release: October 17, 2009);
- Synopsis: For 22 years, Léo Huff has been a secretary, sitting behind the same little desk. He has lived with his wife in the same little bungalow, with the same furniture that’s always been in the same place. One day, Léo’s routine is shattered when he’s pressed into service to go out of town to give a presentation for an engineer.
- Noémie by Frédérik
D’Amour, based on the bestselling novels by Gilles Tibo (over
385,000 copies sold in Quebec), starring Camille Felton, Rita
Lafontaine, Raymond Bouchard and Marina Orsini. Produced by
Christian Larouche & Caroline Héroux (Christal Films
Productions). (release: December 11, 2009);
- Synopsis: Noémie, age 7 3/4, is brimming with curiosity and has workaholic parents. Luckily, the wonderful Mrs. Lumbago lives in the apartment upstairs. Remembering a story told by Mrs. Lumbago’s husband, Noémie starts hunting for a treasure hidden somewhere in the apartment.
- Afterwards by Gilles Bourdos, with Romain
Duris, John Malkovich and Evangeline Lilly. Produced by Marc
Missonnier and Olivier Delbosc (Fidelité Films), and
co-producers are Christian Larouche (Christal Films Productions),
and Dirk Beinhold(Akkord Film Produktion). (release to be
confirmed);
- Synopsis: When New York lawyer Nathan Del Amico meets a mysterious doctor, Garrett Goodrich, he learns some things he’d rather not know about his own life.
- Mr. Nobody by Jaco van Dormael, with
Jared Leto, Diane Kruger and Sarah Polley. Produced by Philippe
Godeau (Somebody Production), and co-producers are Jaco Van Dormael
(Toto & Co Films – Belgique), Alfred Hürmer(Integral
Film – Allemagne), Marco Mehlitz (Lago Film –
Allemagne) and Christian Larouche (Christal Films Productions
– Canada. (release: fall 2009);
- Synopsis: Nemo Nobody lives an ordinary life with his wife, Elise, and their three children. Until the day his life turns upside down: he wakes up as an old man in the year 2092. At the age of 120, Mr. Nobody is both the world’s oldest man and the last mortal in a world where humans have become immortal. Yet he doesn’t seem too interested in all that. The only questions that matter to him are whether he lived the life he wanted, loved the woman he was supposed to love, had the children he was destined to have. Now his only goal is to find the answers.
Seville Pictures is a distributor and international sales agent of quality independent feature films with a catalogue of Canadian rights to over 800 quality independent feature films and world rights to 100 features and docs. Seville is an E1 Entertainment company.
E1 Entertainment (AIM: ETO) is a leading independent entertainment content owner that acquires film, television and music rights and exploits these rights in all media in more than 190 countries.
The company currently operates in Canada, the U.S., the UK, Holland and Belgium through its four primary businesses units: E1 Television, E1 Films, E1 Music and E1 Distribution. These businesses collectively represent E1’s extensive expertise in film distribution, television and music production/distribution, Kids content, Licensing and Distribution.
E1 Entertainment is the largest distributor of entertainment content on the Canadian market. Since the acquisition of Seville Entertainment in 2007, E1 has held a leading position in the market for theatrical releases in Canada via E1 Entertainment Canada and Seville Pictures in Quebec, and International Sales via E1 Films International.
E1’s content library includes more than 3,700 feature films, 2,700 hours of original television programming and 15,000 music tracks.
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Information:
Genevieve Robitaille
514.841.1910 # 299
geneviever@sevillepictures.com