Majority acquisition of Vesuvius Pictures bolsters the company’s production capacity as a creator of scripted and unscripted programming for international and U.S.-based streamers and broadcasters
Former Youku Senior Producer, Felix Feng, leads Beach House Pictures’ development and production in Beijing, including expanding the company’s slate of premium content for Chinese audiences
(Singapore – January 26, 2021) – Beach House Pictures (BHP), a Blue Ant Media company, announced today a significant expansion of its operations throughout Asia Pacific, bolstering the production company’s position as one of Asia’s largest indies. This growth includes a majority stake acquisition of Tokyo-based production company, Vesuvius Pictures and the appointment of Felix Feng to General Manager, Beach House Pictures China, which supports the company’s ever-growing slate of China-based productions for Chinese audiences.
Vesuvius Pictures’ co-founders Hyoe Yamamoto and Deborah Barillas will maintain a minority stake in the production company and their roles as Creative Director and Managing Director, respectively. Both will report to Jocelyn Little, Managing Director and Donovan Chan, Creative Director, Beach House Pictures. Felix Feng will be based in Beijing and also reports to Donovan Chan and Jocelyn Little. All changes are effective immediately.
“China and Japan are two of the world’s fastest growing TV markets and if you take the future of premium content seriously, you would want to be there. With this latest expansion, Beach House Pictures is poised for significant growth in 2021 and beyond,” said Donovan Chan, Creative Director, Beach House Pictures.
“These investments in Japan and China reflect our excitement about these two markets, as well as the creative and economic dynamism of the Asia Pacific region in general. We are honoured to welcome Hyoe, Deborah and Felix to our company,” said Sam Sniderman, Co-president, Global Production, Blue Ant Media.
Vesuvius Pictures specializes in premium original Factual, Factual Entertainment, Reality and Scripted programming. Founded in 2012, the production company’s credits include high profile fiction and documentary films, including an episode of Alex Gibney’s Dirty Money for Netflix and an episode for Earn a Living, an interactive web documentary series produced for ARTE and VPRO; and a feature-length documentary film, Samurai and Idiots – The Olympus Affair, which was released theatrically in Japan with BBC, ZDF, ARTE, SVT and Danmarks Radio. The company’s short films include Keihiro Kanyama’s Paramedic and Yosep Anggi Noen’s Rumah.
The acquisition of Vesuvius Pictures complements BHP’s production capacity as a creator of scripted and unscripted programming for international and U.S.-based streamers and broadcasters. Vesuvius Pictures has integrated seasoned English-speaking talent across all of its pillars of business, including development, production, casting, post-production, legal and finance, creating a unique offering for North American co-producers and commissioners who seek opportunities to create premium content in Asia.
Felix Feng, General Manager, Beach House Pictures China, is charged with growing and overseeing an exciting slate of broadcast, digital and branded content for the China market and international distribution. His role will also include overseeing the company’s development and production, while also creating and maintaining relationships and business in the region. Felix will work closely with Donovan Chan and Managing Director of Beach House Pictures, Jocelyn Little on the company’s overall production strategy.
Felix is a television veteran with over a decade of experience in developing, producing and overseeing factual content. Before joining, Felix was a senior producer at Youku, a top Chinese streamer of Alibaba; a former Director of Business Development at Discovery Channels China and senior producer for NHNZ China. Felix possesses a unique working knowledge of the China content market and maintains extensive and well established relationships throughout the Chinese and international industries. His international programming credits include Eddie Peng Journey to Save Sea Turtles (Youku, WildAid, Amazon Prime), Celebration Nation (Tencent & Natgeo), Megastructures (Natgeo), Secrets of Ancient Man-made Marvels (Discovery), Life Force II (NHK, CICC, Discovery), End of the Wild (Animal Planet & CCTV9), China Revealed China (3DNet), Big Pacific (PBS & CCTV9), China from Above (Natgeo & NDR) and China War Diaries (ZDF).
Beach House Pictures, a Blue Ant Media company, is one of Asia’s largest indies. Headquartered in Singapore and operating in the US, Japan and China, Beach House Pictures specializes in scripted and unscripted programming for international streamers and cable networks, creating high-profile series such as Ed Stafford: First Man Out, Wild City, Masterchef Singapore, Raffles: Remaking an Icon and China From Above. Other divisions include: Beach House Kids which is behind scripted series My Buddy Bonemasher and the live action puppetry show Teddies; Beach House Entertainment which produces formats and general entertainment programs like Record Rides and Cesar’s Recruit; Beach House Labs, experts in digital and branded content and; Beach House Academy, which offers outreach programs and skills training to established and aspiring producers throughout Asia. Beach House Pictures launched its foray into scripted production in 2019, acquiring the rights to iconic Asian properties such as the 1970s action heroine Cleopatra Wong and Mr. Midnight, a best-selling kids horror fiction book series. Beachhousepictures.com
Blue Ant Media is a privately held, international content producer, distributor and channel operator. We own and operate numerous production companies in North America and Asia-Pacific under the Blue Ant Studios banner, creating content for broadcasters and streaming platforms in multiple genres including factual entertainment, natural history, documentary, adult animation and drama. Our distribution business, Blue Ant International, offers a substantial catalogue of content, including one of the world’s largest 4K natural history offerings. Blue Ant Media operates channels under nine brands including Love Nature, Smithsonian Channel Canada, BBC Earth (Canada) and more. Blue Ant Media is headquartered in Toronto, with nine international offices in Los Angeles, New York, Singapore, Japan, London, Dunedin, Washington DC and Beijing. Blueantmedia.com
-30-