Newen alum Romain Bessi surfaces at indie collective

Former Newen Studios and StudioCanal exec Romain Bessi has been named as the first chief exec at European production outfit The Creatives.

Bessi, whose appointment was unveiled at MIA in Rome this morning (15 October), left Newen in February following a six-year spell in charge of the TF1 Group-owned company and joins The Creatives three years since its foundation.

The group was launched to enable closer cooperation between its member indies, which include The Triangle of Sadness label Good Chaos (UK), The Young Pope producer Haut Et Court (France), Waltz With Bashir firm Razor Films (Germany) and Remy firm Lemming Film (Netherlands).

Bessi’s remit includes establishing an integrated structure for the alliance and launching a first financing round for a new form of studio owned by its producers.

The Creatives – whose other founders include Maipo Film (Norway), Spiro (Israel), Unité (France), Masha (US) and Komplizen Film (Germany) – aims to forge co-productions and strategic joint ventures together.

It had initially been backed by Fremantle, which helped to develop and fund new dramas for global audiences.

However, rights and distribution were controlled by The Creatives’ companies, which have produced more than 330 films and 50 TV series between them.

Bessi said: “I feel extremely privileged to work with the incredibly talented producers of The Creatives. Proud that they chose me, and eager to start exploring all the opportunities ahead.

“After almost 30 years in the industry, this feels like the most natural step in my career, and certainly the most exciting. The companies that are part of the Creatives Studios certainly stand out in the industry, and together they bring unparalleled creative and business capacities, which will be further magnified by being part of this group.”

Haut Et Court chief Carole Scotta, who founded The Creative Studios, described Bessi’s hire as “a very strong signal from the market place [that] we are very happy to build a unique form of studio with his experience and understanding of our collective project.”

Bessi has almost three decades of experience in the TV business, most recently as chairman and chief exec at Newen Studios where he drove revenue from €100m when it was acquired by TF1 in 2016 to more than €400m when he left.

Former Warner Bros Discovery exec Pierre Branco was hired earlier this year to replace him at the French firm.

Before Newen, Bessi was chief operating officer of StudioCanal from 2012 to 2016, having spent a decade in the Canal+ group rising from financial controller to chief financial officer of channel activities.