Fernando Szew and José Bastón
Independent movie studio Marvista Entertainment and Elefantec Global, the media-entertainment startup launched by former Televisa executives José Bastón and Jeff Symon, have joined forces to create a Spanish-language movie studio, Variety reported. Both companies would already have 15 movies in pre-production and 30 more in development.
The “pre-eminent movie studio,” as the founders describe it, will focus on “crafting original, highly commercial and locally produced Spanish-language content to meet the growing appetite of existing and emerging platforms,” the partners added. Films in development run a broad gamut of comedies, romantic comedies, dramas, family features and thrillers.
MarVista, which adds approximately 60 new movies per year to its distribution pipeline, will leverage its studio infrastructure and expertise at producing at scale, plus distribution deals to handle global distribution. Selling to 125 territories, the company has become what it describes as a pre-eminent programming partner to major cable networks, as well as key international broadcasters and digital platforms.
“I’ve long admired Bastón’s creative and business acumen. Bringing together the dynamic studio structure we’ve created at MarVista with his career history and the team he is building at Elefantec will allow us to adapt our library of universal narratives to Spanish-speaking audiences worldwide, and create new ones,” said Fernando Szew, CEO of Marvista Entertainment.
Meanwhile, Bastón added: “MarVista’s best-in-class know-how and what Fernando has built in the United States is astonishing, especially in respect to the high quality and volume of production and distribution. Partnering together to create a Spanish-language movie powerhouse couldn’t be a more perfect fit”.
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