DATSIT SPHERE, Quebec’s most prominent television and film content creation, adaptation and production company, has executed an agreement to acquire the award winning, scripted prod co, SIENNA FILMS, helmed by producers Jennifer Kawaja and Julia Sereny, from the Kew Media Group Inc., subject to customary closing conditions.
Following the execution of an agreement for the acquisition of BGM by DATSIT SPHERE last week, the acquisition of SIENNA FILMS strengthens DATSIT SPHERE’s ambitions for expansion into the global market and positions the company to become a world leader in the creation of dramatic content. DATSIT SPHERE is a well-known and respected production company working in Quebec’s and Canada’s audiovisual sector for over 35 years with well established Montreal and Toronto offices.
Bruno Dubé, president and CEO of DATSIT SPHERE said: ‘We are proud to welcome the exceptional talent of Jennifer Kawaja and Julia Sereny and all of the SIENNA team to our company. The addition of SIENNA FILMS to our talented and creative team already in place in Toronto and best known for primetime drama and comedy, including Transplant, Bad Blood, 19-2, Rumours and This Life, will give us the opportunity to increase our production capacities in scripted television and feature films, for which the demand is growing rapidly around the world.’
SIENNA was founded in 1992 to create premium entertainment from distinct perspectives. Globally minded since inception, the company’s first production was a co-production with the UK’s C4 and October Films. The company has grown into one of Canada’s pre-eminent English language narrative producers.
In the past few years SIENNA has been behind some of the top TV series produced in Canada including four seasons of Cardinal for BellMedia/HULU/BBC4/Canal+, and three seasons of Ransom for Corus /CBS, both of which have aired in over 100 territories worldwide. Upcoming is the first season of Trickster for CBC and APTN, the indigenous supernatural inspired drama series based on the award winning best seller ‘Son of A Trickster’ trilogy by celebrated author Eden Robinson.
SIENNA’s other credits include award-winning iconic works such as internationally acclaimed feature films How She Move, (Paramount/Mongrel) Touch of Pink (Sony Classics/Mongrel) and New Waterford Girl (eOne).
Jennifer Kawaja said: ‘Sienna has always produced stories from diverse creators and filmmakers that take us into highly specific worlds. DATSIT SPHERE is a great platform from which to strengthen and build on the work we have done with our team. Their focus on investing in development is exciting to us.’
About SIENNA FILMS
Helmed by Jennifer Kawaja and Julia Sereny, in collaboration with their long standing team, SIENNA is one of Canada’s pre-eminent scripted content companies, producing film and television internationally since 1992. Over the past several years Sienna has made its mark in television and was named Canada’s broadcast trade publication Playback’s Production Company of the Year for 2017. Previous television includes the Afghanistan-set 13 part limited series COMBAT HOSPITAL (Global/ ABC/ Sony Int’l) which is still amongst the top 5 most highly rated shows in the country, UK-Canada Julian Fellowes-penned mini-series TITANIC (ITV/Global/ABC), and UK-Canada-SouthAfrica mini-series DIAMONDS (CBC/ABC) starring Derek Jacobi, James Purefoy and Judy Davis; their documentaries include internationally distributed BLACK, BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL: BLACK WOMEN AND THE POLITICS OF THEIR HAIR and EROTICA: A JOURNEY INTO FEMALE SEXUALITY.
About DATSIT SPHERE
Leader in the creation, adaptation, production and distribution television and film content, DATSIT SPHERE offers a wide range of high-end content for the domestic and international markets, covering all genres, from documentaries to feature films, as well as scripted television series, dramatic serials, game shows, magazine programs, variety shows, 2D animation and digital projects. In the recent years, DATSIT SPHERE has gone on to acquire factual and kids production company BGM, theatrical scripted producer Go Films, Montreal based 2D animation specialist Oasis Animation and launched international sales agency Wazabi Films.
