American Film Market Dailies

Craig Conway will make his Directorial Debut; Production to commence in South Africa in March 2018

Kaleidoscope Film Distribution (KFD) and Goldfinch Studios announced today a partnership on the upcoming dark psychological thriller Kruger, which marks the directorial debut for actor/producer Craig Conway (Giantland). The project is fully-financed by Goldfinch Entertainment, and produced by Kirsty Bell and Craig Conway of Bird Box Pictures, a Goldfinch Studio company.

Kruger is set within the vast and dangerous backdrop of South Africa’s Kruger National Park, twisting a dysfunctional family’s attempts to repair into a desperate journey towards survival. Casting is currently underway with production set to commence in South Africa in March 2018.  

Spencer Pollard of Kaleidoscope Entertainment said: “We are excited to be working with Goldfinch Studios on this highly commercial genre film that we believe stands every chance of standing out in the marketplace next year.   Craig’s vision and the team behind the film should lead to a lot of interest as we package the film and announce cast in the near future.”

Conway recently starred opposite Olga Kurylenko in Mara, produced by Scott Mann and directed by Clive Tongue. He also stars alongside Pierce Brosnan in Mann’s Final Score, and will be joining the cast of Neil Marshall’s Hellboy. Past titles include: Dog Soldiers Descent and Doomsday. The progression from actor to director for Conway is a natural step as he has spent the last few years co-producing and producing on the indie circuit on films including: Estranged, Broken, Four, Giantland (currently in post-production), and Lawrence Gough’s Gatecrash starring Olivia Bonamy, Ben Cura, and Samuel West, which shot at the new GOLDFINCH STUDIOS of which Conway is Director of Creative and Production.

Conway is represented by Elaine Murphy Associates and Marc Von Arx at Nelson Davis LLP.

During AFM, Kaleidoscope also locked a multi-territory deal with Gravitas Ventures for Kyle Rideout’s Public Schooled, which premiered during TIFF. 

XXX

About KFD

Kaleidoscope Film Distribution (KFD) is an established International Sales outfit based in London, offering full UK and international distribution and sales capabilities. KFD specialises in commercial feature films and branded documentaries.

New titles include: Hurricane, the true story of the Polish pilots in the Battle of Britain, from BAFTA Award-winning Director, David Blair; Irvine Welsh’s Creation Stories, the unforgettable tale of infamous record label head Alan McGee; and Mission Monsters, a stunning family animation from the producer of Hoodwinked and Fantasia 2000.

Coming soon are new animated superhero adventure SpaceDog and TurboCat, and The Land of Sometimes, starring the voice talent of Ewan McGregor, Helena Bonham Carter, Terry Jones, and David Walliams.

KFD titles include: Prevenge, the critically acclaimed dark comedy from director Alice Lowe; Monster Island, a hilarious family animation telling of one small boy who finds out he is really a monster; and Little Princess & The Legend of Blue Foot, a family animated feature from the creator of On Angel Wings, The Snowman and Father Christmas;  Joss Whedon’s acclaimed Much Ado About Nothing; Top Cat Begins, the feature length prequel to the much-loved television series; and Tank 432, a heart-stopping thriller from executive producer, Ben Wheatley, director of Kill List and High Rise.

About Goldfinch Studios Group

Goldfinch Studios Group was launched in October 2017, when Goldfinch Entertainment acquired a majority stake in GSP Studios, the prolific production company based in York, after several years of both businesses working closely together.

Goldfinch Studios is the umbrella group for Goldfinch Entertainment (the finance and structuring business, established in 2014), Bird Box Finance (BBF) and flourishing production company, Bird Box Pictures (formerly BB88). Goldfinch Studios is able to provide independent, integrated expertise across finance, production and facilities, including editing, post and VFX, to any film or TV projects.

Over the last 3.5 years, Goldfinch Entertainment has raised over £75 million to help finance and EP over 130 projects in the creative industries at various stages of development, production and distribution. Projects have included a variety of festival-selected and award-winning films, including James Erskine’s BUILDING JERUSALEM; MAD TO BE NORMAL starring David Tennant; HECTOR with Peter Mullan; BURN, BURN, BURN starring Laura Carmichael; MY FERAL HEART with Steven Brandon; ADULT LIFE SKILLS starring Jodie Whittaker and THE CARER starring Brian Cox.

In April 2017, Goldfinch announced the launch of Bird Box Finance (BBF), a UK & International company that provides debt financing to the film, television, animation and games industries, across a number of areas. This includes short-term loans to film production companies fully collateralized by the UK Film Producer’s Tax Credit and/or discountable distribution contracts.  BBF also lends against other UK Creative Industry Tax Credits (TV, animation, games), and in similar markets, such as the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as providing GAP and Super GAP financing for productions that satisfy their investment criteria.

Also launched in 2017 was the independent, London-based production outfit Bird Box Pictures (formerly BB88), headed by Craig Conway and Kirsty Bell.  BBP’s eclectic film slate currently includes BHARAL- directed by Jake L Reid, with Sebastian Foucan (widely recognized as the founder of free-running/parkour) and Kelsey Grammer on board to star. Also on the Bird Box Pictures slate is big budget VIGILANTE, a co-production with Mann Made films.