EXCLUSIVE: TV and film investment fund APX Capital is expanding into Latin America with a co-financing deal with Cenya Productions, the investment group founded by a financier behind films such as The Revenant.
APX, which takes advantage of Italy’s tax credit program, was launched by Yona Wiesenthal, former CEO of the Israel Broadcast Authority and content chief at Israeli DBS platform YES and New York real estate entrepreneur Noam Baram.
It will work with venture capital investor Paula Linhares, founder and CEO of Cenya Productions to lead the new Latin American financing division to invest $20M per year for the next five years. It will focus on film co-productions in in Italy, Morocco and South America, concentrating in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.
Linhares, together with her partner at Reagant Media Marcos Tellechea, were involved in financing films including Paxton Winters’ Pacified, Fernando Grostein Andrade’s Abe, Jordan Ross’ Thumper and American Made starring Tom Cruise.
It is the latest deal for APX Capital Group, which recently merged with Mathew Knowles’ Music World Entertainment Group with plans to launch his own King Richard-style biopic.
“Latin American cinema has come a long way in the past 15 years, having a significant presence among major festivals around the world, including The Academy Awards, Cannes Film Festival and many others,” said Noam Baram, Head of North America Operations and Co-CEO of APX Capital Group. “Specifically, Brazilian cinema has rapidly grown as a major market for unique storytelling, which reflects the nation’s core issues, including acute poverty, crime, redemption and environmental issues. APX is delighted to bring these stories to a worldwide audience.”
“Cenya strives to tell stories that bring awareness to important issues, and strongly believes in the Latin American market and all the incredible stories that must be told, added Paula Linhares, CEO of Cenya Productions. “The collaboration between Cenya Productions, in association with Reagent media, and APX Capital Group will broaden our reach to better tell these relevant stories.”
