Veteran media executive Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann took over as CEO of Telepool in January, barely a year after Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook took full control, in December 2021, of the German rights giant.
The appointment was a bit of a coup. The Japan-born, Germany-educated Higuchi-Zitzmann has more than a quarter century of experience in some of Europe’s biggest media companies. She was an acquisitions exec for Constantin Film — scoring Olivier Dahan’s Oscar winner La Vie En Rose for the German market among other deals — and producer at renowned German groups Ziegler Cinema — where she delivered sleeper hit My Blind Date With Life, a romantic comedy that earned more than $5 million at the German box office for distributor StudioCanal — and Studio Hamburg, where her hits included Herzogpark, a Desperate Housewives-style series for leading German network Rtl. She joined Telepool from Matthias Schweighöfer’s production outfit Pantaleon Films...
The appointment was a bit of a coup. The Japan-born, Germany-educated Higuchi-Zitzmann has more than a quarter century of experience in some of Europe’s biggest media companies. She was an acquisitions exec for Constantin Film — scoring Olivier Dahan’s Oscar winner La Vie En Rose for the German market among other deals — and producer at renowned German groups Ziegler Cinema — where she delivered sleeper hit My Blind Date With Life, a romantic comedy that earned more than $5 million at the German box office for distributor StudioCanal — and Studio Hamburg, where her hits included Herzogpark, a Desperate Housewives-style series for leading German network Rtl. She joined Telepool from Matthias Schweighöfer’s production outfit Pantaleon Films...
- 5/19/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
German film and TV distribution and licensing company Telepool, which is owned by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook, is moving into lead producing movies and series, its CEO Yoko Higuchi-Zitzmann tells Variety exclusively in her first interview since joining the company in January.
Munich-based Telepool is celebrating its 60th anniversary on Wednesday, and although it has a barrel-load of experience in selling, distributing, licensing, financing and co-producing movies and series, this shift into initiating and lead producing represents a significant step for the company. It also forms part of Westbrook’s broader strategy for international expansion, which – in part – lay behind its acquisition of Telepool in December 2021.
Higuchi-Zitzmann seems ideally suited to the task as she has worked for several leading German film and TV companies, giving her experience in both distribution and production. Most recently, she served as the managing director of Pantaleon Films, whose founders include German star Matthias Schweighöfer,...
Munich-based Telepool is celebrating its 60th anniversary on Wednesday, and although it has a barrel-load of experience in selling, distributing, licensing, financing and co-producing movies and series, this shift into initiating and lead producing represents a significant step for the company. It also forms part of Westbrook’s broader strategy for international expansion, which – in part – lay behind its acquisition of Telepool in December 2021.
Higuchi-Zitzmann seems ideally suited to the task as she has worked for several leading German film and TV companies, giving her experience in both distribution and production. Most recently, she served as the managing director of Pantaleon Films, whose founders include German star Matthias Schweighöfer,...
- 4/14/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Main awards won by films from Uruguay, Romania and Switzerland.
Germán Tejeira’s A Moonless Night (Una Noche Sin Luna) has won the International Feature Film Golden Eye award at the 10th Zurich Film Festival (Sept 25 - Oct 5).
The drama centres on three lonely lives in rural Uruguay.
The International Documentary Film Golden Eye was won by Alexander Nanau’s Romanian film, Toto and His Sisters, about a 10-year-old and his two teenage sisters who learn to survive while waiting for their mother’s release.
Both awards come with a cash prize of more than $30,000 (CHF25,000) and (CHF100,000) for Swiss promotion.
The Golden Eye in the Focus: Switzerland, Germany, Austria section was won Bruno Deville’s Swiss comedy, Boucoule.
The prize include Chf 20’000 ($20,0007) cash prize. Each winner also receives Chf 100’000 ($10,700) for the promotion of their film in Swiss cinemas.
The newly introduced Emerging Swiss Talent Award went to Bruno Deville’s Boucoule (Switzerland), and the Critic’s Choice...
Germán Tejeira’s A Moonless Night (Una Noche Sin Luna) has won the International Feature Film Golden Eye award at the 10th Zurich Film Festival (Sept 25 - Oct 5).
The drama centres on three lonely lives in rural Uruguay.
The International Documentary Film Golden Eye was won by Alexander Nanau’s Romanian film, Toto and His Sisters, about a 10-year-old and his two teenage sisters who learn to survive while waiting for their mother’s release.
Both awards come with a cash prize of more than $30,000 (CHF25,000) and (CHF100,000) for Swiss promotion.
The Golden Eye in the Focus: Switzerland, Germany, Austria section was won Bruno Deville’s Swiss comedy, Boucoule.
The prize include Chf 20’000 ($20,0007) cash prize. Each winner also receives Chf 100’000 ($10,700) for the promotion of their film in Swiss cinemas.
The newly introduced Emerging Swiss Talent Award went to Bruno Deville’s Boucoule (Switzerland), and the Critic’s Choice...
- 10/4/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
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