E1 Entertainment Makes Its Presence Felt at 2009 Toronto International Film Festival
11 September 2009
E1 Entertainment is creating a significant wake at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), E1’s third festival since launching its Filmed Entertainment division in 2007. This year E1 has distribution rights to 31 separate TIFF films, including 21 films for which it has secured the Canadian distribution rights. In addition, E1 has world distribution rights for six TIFF films, as well as UK and Ireland rights for five films and Benelux rights for six. This lineup includes several high profile films including:
· Atom Egoyan’s Chloe, starring Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore
· Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, starring Heath Ledger, Tom Waits and Christopher Plummer, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law
· The Men Who Stare at Goats, featuring George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey and Ewan McGregor
· Antichrist, a Danish film directed by Lars Von Trier and starring Willem Dafoe
·
And the highly touted
Spanish film Agora, directed by Academy Award
winner Alejandro Amenábar
and featuring Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz with Max
Minghella
E1 has been steadily building its presence as a leading international filmed entertainment content distributor over the past several years, and is increasingly being selected by international content owners and producers to distribute their films around the globe, as evidenced by its strong showing at this year’s TIFF. E1 is currently the second largest independent film distributor in Canada, the largest in Benelux, and is on track to finish the year among the top three indie distributors in the UK. E1 will also release New Moon, the sequel to the box-office smash hit Twilight, in Canada and the UK later this year.
“E1’s footprint at TIFF demonstrates that there is huge demand for a large independent multi-territory distribution partner that can help content owners and producers market their films around the world,” said Patrice Theroux, president of E1’s Filmed Entertainment division. “We’re very pleased by our ability to build relationships with premier content owners, and we’re actively looking to capitalize on this success by expanding our distribution capabilities to new markets over the next 12 months.”
Beyond its accomplishments securing film rights in 2009, E1 is experiencing tremendous success with its Television properties as well. E1 is the producer of the critically acclaimed HBO’s series Hung, which is one of HBO’s top-rated shows this year and was recently picked up for a second season. In addition, E1 has two highly anticipated shows slated to premiere in the coming months: The Bridge, which has been picked up by CTV in Canada and CBS in the U.S., and Copper, which will air on Global and ABC. E1 also controls world rights to The Bridge and Copper.
E1 also has a rapidly growing Kids division which continues to develop and house some of the most loved preschool properties in the marketplace, including Peppa Pig and Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom, and has recently expanded its expertise into older age groups and different genres including the soon to premiere Majority Rules (Teletoon).
About E1 Entertainment
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.
Media Contact:
Tom Sargent
Edelman for E1
416-979-1120 x250