Aiming to create a “pre-eminent” film studio focused on crafting original, highly commercial and locally-produced Spanish-language content to meet the growing appetite of existing and emerging platforms, MarVista Entertainment has formed a strategic content partnership with Elefantec Global.
Based in Los Angeles and Mexico City – and founded by a team of industry veterans including José Pepé Bastón, Jeff Symon, Carlos Sandoval, Antonio Alonso and Daniel Ucrós – Elefantec Global describes itself as a technology-driven media and entertainment start-up serving the Global Latino audience.
Elefantec says that its technology-driven strategy aligns with Los Angeles-based media and entertainment company MarVista’s “nimble” approach to the content landscape, with a dedication towards forging new partnerships that focus on the development, production and distribution of content that adapts to shifting global audience trends.
The partnership has 15 titles currently in pre-production with over 30 movies in development. The original films – spanning comedy, romcom, drama, family and thriller genres – will be created and produced in Spanish by Elefantec, drawing from what the company says is its deep understanding of the Global Latino Audience. MarVista adds that it will use its expertise in high volume production and distribution deals to handle global distribution. The companies are actively engaging with a line-up of platforms and clients to develop and produce films to serve the 460 million plus native Spanish-speaking audience worldwide.
For MarVista Entertainment founder and CEO Fernando Szew (pictured right) , the partnership with Elefantec Global is aligned on both a personal and professional level. “I’ve long admired Pepé’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,” he remarked.
Pepé Bastón (pictured left) added: “MarVista’s best-in-class know-how and what Fernando has built in the US 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.”
The deal with Elefantec comes just after MarVista established a content deal with MiMO Studios, teaming up with the former president of Nickelodeon Cyma Zarghami for kids and family programming that speaks to digitally-native young audiences.
