Leading UK Film and TV Facilities Village, Molinare, Pact with Film and Music Entertainment (F&ME) on long term multi-picture facilities/housekeeping deal. Five films already slated in first twelve months, more to follow.

Molinare, has renewed its commitment to servicing the international feature film business by inking an exclusive facilities deal with one of Britain’s most prolific independent production outfits, Sam Taylor and Mike Downey’s Film and Music Entertainment (F&ME), which is chaired by Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Reader) .

Under the terms of the arrangement, F&ME, which in the 2008 UK Film Council Statistical Yearbook was the listed as the UK’s most prolific UK independent, and which since its inception in 2001 has produced 34 features, will run all its post production business through Molinare.

Molinare, run by chief executive Steve Milne and managing director Mark Foligno, which earlier this year secured a multi-million pound cash infusion from Century Communications of India, see the partnership with F&ME as part of an overall growth strategy that will see Molinare, based off Carnaby Street, emerge over the next year with overhauled buildings, renewed infrastructure and greater capacity.

The deal was brokered by the newly appointed Head of New Business Richard Conway, who until last May headed up the Videosonics Cinema sound facility and worked with Downey and Taylor on a variety of films including Dominic Murphy’s Sundance/Berlin selected White Lightnin’, Mark Dornford May’s Sundance hit Son of Man, and Jason Biggs starrer Guy X.

First films in the pipeline include slasher/horror Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre directed by Julius Kemp and starring Gunnar "Leatherface" which completed prinicpal photography before Christmas, Johnny O’Reilly’s The Weather Station produced by MONGOL’s Sergey Selyanov, Hansen, Ed Blum’s $15 million FAKE!, and the European co-productions Mission London by Dimitar Mitovski and The Debt by Joona Tena both slated to shoot in mid 2009 in the UK.
"In forging this new relationship, we are not merely consolidating our buying power in post production, "says F&ME’s Downey, "we are creating a partnership that can structure productions and co-productions in such a way as to maximise the tax credit potential not only for our own indigenous productions but also in the rapidly dwindling co-production market. Together we have developed a template that will bring back to the UK some of the co-production business that was lost in the wake of the demise of section 48 and section 42."

Over the last five years Molinare has invested over £4.5 million in state of the art technology and grown turnover from £5 million in 2003 to £11 million in 2008. Using the slogan ‘Believe in storytelling" the company has worked on over 100 feature films in the last three years including the Acadamy award nominated "Man on Wire". F&ME’s production budgets over the last two years have exceeded £15 million.
Through its collaboration with majority shareholders Century Communications which acquired Men From Mars in December 2007 the missing visual effect part of the post production puzzle was brought in house. Century’s post production arm, Pixion, is one of India’s fastest growing facilities and will have over 1000 staff by the end of 2009.

Upcoming F&ME productions include Dominic Murphy’s Jesus Christ Airlines, Ed Blum’s The Laughter Clinic, Noor -The Spy Princess with Kishwar Desai, VIKING by Egil Odegard, and in development is The Voyage of the Beagle by Stephen Daldry.
Film and Music Entertainment’s White Lightnin’ has its European Premiere in Panorama on Friday at 2245. Turtle: The Incredible Journey and Buick Riviera are also screening.

Contact at F&ME:

Katy Moylan +447768686509

Contacts at Molinare in Berlin:

Richard Conway Head of New Business +447973875893
Steve Milne Chief Executive +447748986939
Mark Foligno Managing Director +447799717709