PARIS– Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp, which jointly bowed a distribution platform with Relativity earlier this year, is now launching an L.A.-based acquisitions department.
The new division will be spearheaded by Federica Sainte-Rose, who will serve as EuropaCorp’s head of worldwide acquisitions, reporting to the company’s CEO, Christophe Lambert.
Sainte-Rose’s team will focus on acquiring films for domestic distribution through Relativity EuropaCorp Distribution (RED), as well as multi-territory film rights including France.
This latest development anchors the French studio’s international strategy which aims to ramp up the number of English language films in order to feed RED’s distribution pipeline. Lambert told Variety that EuropaCorp was also looking to expand its scope and diversify its slate with films that aren’t necessarily actioners.
“EuropaCorp is becoming a new distribution alternative for filmmakers, who will benefit from close interaction with world class acquisitions and productions executives as well as a robust marketing and distribution infrastructure both domestically and internationally,” said Lambert.
Sainte-Rose previously worked as head of acquisitions for StudioCanal in Paris and was involved in such well-received indies as “Silver Linings Playbook,” “The Place Beyond the Pines” and “Moonrise Kingdom.” She then moved to Los Angeles to join Universal’s Worldwide Acquisitions team, where she reported to Peter Kujawski, exec VP.
Sainte-Rose started her career as an entertainment lawyer and is a member of the New York and Paris bars.
EuropaCorp has also tapped former FilmNation acquisitions exec John Zois as director of worldwide acquisitions.
The department will officially bow in August, in time for the next Toronto Film Festival.
Besson’s latest movie, “Lucy” (pictured above), an action-packed sic-fi thriller starring Scarlett Johansson, will be released by Universal Pictures on Aug. 6.
Meanwhile, the “Transporter” reboot will be the first film handled by RED in the U.S.
