European film and TV group Wild Bunch is riding further into Italy with the formation of BIM Production. Former Leone Film Group exec Riccardo Russo will serve as CEO and Managing Director of the new company and will report to Antonio Medici, President of BIM Production and COO of BIM Distribution, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wild Bunch.
The new entity will produce Italian TV shows and films, responding to a growing demand from local players and electronic distribution platforms, Wild Bunch said.
BIM Production joins Wild Bunch’s existing production companies Senator Film Produktion, Wild Bunch SA, Wild Bunch TV and Vertigo Films and gives it an Italian distribution and production foothold to go with those in Germany, France and Spain.
Russo was previously in charge of Leone Film Group’s international TV productions and of international co-productions at LUX (where he produced the series Medici: Masters Of Florence). He is also a former Fox International Channels Italia exec with oversight of the History Channel, Cult, Fx and Fox Retro.
The move to form BIM Production follows Wild Bunch’s creation earlier this year of Wild Bunch International, a subsidiary focused specifically on international film sales. It also comes after Wild Bunch in 2018 struck a $130M financial restructuring plan with its creditors.
Wild Bunch today noted that the restructuring has “enabled it to consolidate its equity capital and strengthen its financial resources” as the group “continues to deploy its production strategy.”
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