Studio behind Danny Dyer and Hugh Jackman films calls in administrators
A British film studio founded by an ex-Lionsgate boss has folded into administration just a few years after taking $150m in start-up financing.
True Brit Entertainment, which was founded by former Lionsgate UK chief executive Zygi Kamasa, appointed administrators on Monday, according to filings.
The distributor was set up in 2023 hoping to boost the UK’s independent film industry and has recently released features starring Danny Dyer, Pierce Brosnan and Hugh Jackman.
In November of that year, the project secured $150m in financing, led by LA-based talent agency Three Six Zero, which represents celebrities including Calvin Harris and Jaden Smith.
Kamasa said he hoped to fuel a renaissance in the independent British film industry, saying audiences had grown tired of Hollywood blockbusters.
He told the Financial Times in 2023: “The industry has been focused more on TV services and as a result films fell by the wayside in the UK. Indie filmmaking has suffered.
“But since Covid-19, cinema has seen a resurgence. People are keen to get back to the cinema. It’s a unique opportunity for both young and established British film makers to make great stories for the cinema.”
While at Lionsgate, Kamasa helped raise financing for more than 50 British films, including Brooklyn and Bend It Like Beckham.
True Brit’s website says its “vision is to become the foremost distributor of British films in the UK, with a goal to release between six to eight British films annually”.
True Brit’s latest large-scale release is The Death of Robin Hood, starring Hugh Jackman, Jodie Comer and Bill Skarsgard.
Other recent and scheduled releases from the distributor include 500 Miles, starring Bill Nighy; Giant, featuring Pierce Brosnan; and Rapture, which recently cast Kit Connor and Will Poulter.
Marv Studios, a film distributor run by Kingsman director Matthew Vaughn, took a small shareholding in True Brit when it was founded.
Vaughn had said: “British independent films are something I want to support more of so I’m delighted to be a small shareholder in his business and hope to find new British independent films we can make together.”
London-based law firm Simons Muirhead & Burton is advising True Brit on the administration.
Kamasa said in a statement sent to Variety: “In extremely challenging market conditions, the company has taken the difficult decision to enter administration.
“An independent specialist has now been appointed to oversee the company and assess the options available, with the aim of achieving the best possible outcome for the company and its creditors.”
True Brit Entertainment, Zygi Kamasa and Three Six Zero did not respond to multiple requests for comment.