Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s production company Artists Equity has established a new division, Artists Equity Independent Pictures, to release new films from emerging filmmakers.
Jennifer Westin, SVP, Creative Affairs and Production, will lead day-to-day supervision of the AEIP slate under the guidance of Amy Baer, Artists Equity’s president of film and television.
“We owe much of our careers to independent cinema, so we’re keenly aware of its enormous role in discovering and refining talent,” said Affleck and Damon, Artists Equity’s CEO and CCO, respectively. “Artists Equity Independent Pictures is a way for us to empower rising voices with real potential, broaden the type of stories we’re telling, and serve in an audience that continues to express a growing desire for high-quality independent films.”
AEIP says it is backed by its own independent film fund and will be based around a “creatively ambitious, fiscally prudent model.” Among the early projects AEIP is developing is “A Woman in the Sun,” the directorial debut of Julia Cox, who wrote the Oscar-nominated “Nyad” and the recent TIFF hit “The Love of Your Life.” Renée Zellweger and Sissy Spacek will star in the film alongside “The Phoenician Scheme” star Mia Threapleton.
AEIP is also developing “Downriver,” the scripted feature debut of Sam Jones, whose past work includes episodes of “Ted Lasso.” He is directing from a script he co-wrote with bestselling author and three-time Pulitzer Prize nominee Carl Hiaasen. AEIP is producing alongside Seth Caplan, Dori Rath, Hungry Bull Productions’ Joseph Restaino, and Groundswell Productions’ Michael London. Executive producing are William P Foley II, Douglas K Ammerman, Castille Landon, William Crawford Shippey and Tony Stopperan for Hungry Bull Productions.
Artists Equity’s flagship slate includes the Netflix drama “Animals,” which is directed and co-written by Affleck and stars him alongside Academy Award nominee Steven Yeun and Emmy winners Kerry Washington and Gillian Anderson. The company is also producing “Free Byrd,” the upcoming film from “Sing Sing” director Greg Kwedar and starring Dwayne Johnson in a daredevil action-drama.
