FremantleMedia has acquired a majority stake in French scripted producer Kwai. The Paris-based fiction company specialises in TV films and series and is headed up by writer and producer Thomas Bourguignon (pictured), creator of Femmes de Loi, the French detective series that ran from 2000-2009.
Together with the recent acquisition of Fontaram, FremantleMedia hopes the deal will increase its scripted presence in France. Bourguignon has extensive experience in France and aims to produce series that appeal beyond the French borders. The deal was brokered by Monica Galer, CEO FremantleMedia France, who will also be the CEO of Kwai.
Galer commented, “Thomas Bourguignon is a brilliant writer and producer and we look forward to creating some really exciting scripted projects with him, in France and beyond.”
This is the latest in a number of acquisitions and creative talent partnerships by FremantleMedia including Corona, Wildside, Fontaram, Naked Entertainment, No Pictures Please and Skylark.
Kwai has recently delivered two TV films, Un Fils and Meurtre a Carcassonne, as well as pilot Le Zebre, all on air earlier this year. Upcoming series include Republican Gangsters for Canal+ and Godzilla for Arte.
Prior to founding Kwai, Bourguigon was a film critic for Positif as well as a member of Gilles Jacob’s selection committee for the Cannes Film Festival for five years. He also worked as a TV programme counsellor for M6; then joined Alizés Films where he created and produced the series Femmes de Loi. In 2002, Bourguignon set up BB Films with Patrick Benedek with whom he produced series for various French TV channels.
