French Producers Matthias Weber, Thibault Gast’s 2425 Films Develops New Projects Under Mediawan’s New Ownership (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Paris-based company 2425 Films, recently acquired by Mediawan, is working with a pool of rising filmmakers on timely movies, including Charly Delwart’s “1,5 degré,” Ilan Duran Cohen’s “Le coup d’apres” and Thomas Kruithof’s “Les Braises.”

2425 Films, founded by Thibault Gast and Matthias Weber, has been thriving with smart, high-concept commercial movies, such as Yann Gozlan’s “La boite noire” and “An Ideal Man,” as well as the thriller “Burn Out.” The company also presented Gozlan’s latest film, “Visions,” a thriller starring Diane Kruger (co-produced by Eagle Team Entetainment) at this year’s Angouleme Film Festival.

More from Variety

Duran Cohen’s “Le coup d’apres” is a film set in the world of French politics, with a duo of French stars, Marina Fois and Laurent Laffite, who previously co-starred in “Papa ou Maman,” a French hit comedy franchise. Laffite, who also stars in Netflix’s limited series “Tapie,” plays a veteran communication advisor working for a minister on the eve of an overhaul of the government. Fois, meanwhile, plays a famous TV host. “Le coup d’apres” will “show the power struggle and use of seduction within high political circles,” said Weber.

The company is also developing an eco-themed comedy called “1,5 degré,” which marks the feature debut of Delwart, the showrunner of “Under Control,” a Series Mania Festival winner. The film is set during a high-profile climate change congress in Tahiti bringing together environment ministers from industrialized countries. While negotiations between ministers begin to stall, a tornado wreaks havoc the event. Gast said the comedic tone of the film was similar to that of “Don’t Look Up” and “In the Loop,” and said the setting was reminiscent to “White Lotus.”

Kruithof’s “Les braises” is a romantic drama about a couple who clash because of their divergent political stances. The film is set against the backdrop of the Gilets Jaunes movement in France. 2425 Films previously worked with Kruithof on “La Mecanique de l’ombre” and “Les Promesses.”

Speaking to Variety, the pair said becoming part of Mediawan allows them to expand their scope and develop a wider range of content, from movies to TV series and animation.

“We’ve been an independent company since we launched the company 13 years ago and we felt that the timing was ideal for us join Mediawan and seize the opportunity to be part of a big group,” said Weber, citing the “growing presence of streamers” as factors. Being part of Mediawan gives them the financial muscle to develop a roster of projects independently and have more leverage in negotiations with streamers.

Mediawan is also a strong ally for 2425 Films due to its expertise in TV content. Weber and Gast have recently started working on TV series with “Cuisine Interne,” and are currently developing “Kabul,” an ambitious political thriller penned by Olivier Demangel and Thomas Finkielkraut. Co-produced by Cinétévé and the alliance of European broadcasters, the series will start shooting in the spring in Greece. 2425 Films has also been diving into animation and presented “Objectopia” at the Annecy Film Festival.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.