Fremantle has announced that they have taken a majority stake investment in one of Asia’s largest independent TV and Film production companies, Beach House Pictures – the hit making company behind Emmy-nominated Netflix lifestyle series Mind Your Manners and the Buzzies-winning documentary series for Amazon Prime & Curiosity, Evolve.
The acquisition of Beach House Pictures further underlines Fremantle’s strategic growth plans to invest in and partner with premium production companies and work with the world’s most exceptional creative talent.
Founded in 2005 by producers Donovan Chan and Jocelyn Little, Beach House Pictures (BHP) specialises in creating and co-financing original IP across not just non-scripted content but also scripted, entertainment and brand-funded programming for all major regional and international platforms.
Most recent productions include Netflix Indonesia’s number one documentary feature Ice Cold: Murder, Coffee and Jessica Wongso; the Emmy-nominated lifestyle series for Netflix Mind Your Manners; Netflix Global Top 5 true crime documentary Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case; Grierson Awards nominated science series Evolve (Amazon Prime Video & Curiosity); Asian TV Award-winner scripted children’s series Mr Midnight (Netflix) and highly rated wildlife drama Otter Dynasty (Max/Discovery+, Love Nature). BHP also produces long-running franchises including Masterchef Singapore (Mediacorp), Ed Stafford: First Man Out (Discovery+, Bilibili) and Wild City with David Attenborough (Netflix, Sky, BBC America).
BHP is currently in production on the IMAX documentary feature The Elephant Odyssey, the Sung Kang (Fast and Furious) led car culture series The Ride Life for Insight TV, and wildlife meets survival documentary series Survival of the Beast for Love Nature. In 2021 BHP took a majority stake in Singapore-based Momo Film Co., to further grow its scripted output and extend its reach across South-East Asia. Momo Film Co’s projects include Dreaming & Dying which won two awards at the 2023 Locarno Film Festival as well as A Useful Ghost and Don’t Cry, Butterfly which featured at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
Jennifer Mullin, Group CEO, Fremantle commented: “Fremantle invests in and works with the best creatives in the industry, and Jocelyn, Donovan and the team at Beach House Pictures are exactly that. Their taste and approach to storytelling is inspirational. Asia is a dynamic market and one we have targeted for strategic growth, and I am proud we have found a wonderful partner in Beach House Pictures to be part of our family.”
Ganesh Rajaram, CEO Asia and Latam, Fremantle added: “We have been looking for the right partner in Asia to expand our output and footprint, and I can think of no one better than Jocelyn, Donovan and entire team at Beach House Pictures. They are a true powerhouse, with great synergies to our business, and we are lucky to welcome them into the Fremantle family.”
“This is a significant milestone in the growth of Beach House Pictures; from a small and scrappy documentary company over 18 years ago to the multi-genre Asian super indie today.” Said Jocelyn Little and Donovan Chan, Founders of Beach House Pictures, “we are very proud of what we have achieved but we are even more excited about the many things we can build together with our new partners Fremantle, whose immense scale and reach, incredible quality and deep library of formats is second to none.”
The investment in Beach House Pictures follows a number of acquisitions and step-ups made by Fremantle over the last few years, including Belgium-based A Team Productions (Baghdad Messi, Land of the Heroes), UK production company Dancing Ledge Productions (The Responder, Big Mood), scripted Italian production company Lux Vide (Devils, Leonardo), international development and production company Fabel (Bosch), Australian-American television production company Eureka Productions (Parental Guidance, Finding Magic Mike), Irish production company Element Pictures (Normal People, Poor Things), 72 Films (All or Nothing: Arsenal, 9/11: One Day in America), Wildstar Films (America The Beautiful, Epic Adventures with Bertie Gregory) and Silvio Productions (Shadow of Truth, The Baby Daddy, Buried).
As part of the transaction, Blue Ant Media has sold its stake in Beach House Pictures.
“Donovan Chan, Jocelyn Little and the team at Beach House Pictures have been great colleagues and collaborators for many years now. We wish them well on their next chapter with Fremantle which we are certain will be a great success,” said Sam Sniderman, Chief Commercial Officer, Blue Ant Media
