UK production company Barryfilms and Rainer Mockert's German-based financing outfit MBP have closed a $50m funding deal to finance $25m family picture Ogopogo as part of a slate of pictures.

Ogopogo, which is first to go through the deal, is to be directed by John Henderson (Loch Ness) from a script by Barryfilms head Barry Authors. The project, currently in pre-production ahead of a ten-week shoot in Canada in August, is being produced with Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Based on a native Indian legend, it follows a ten-year old boy and his father who encounter a monster in a remote Canadian lake.

Other projects in development at Barryfilms include ghost-horror story TheEnd; World War 2 tale Shadow Of The Wolf; and The Honour Scouts, a time travel adventure featuring a platoon of American native Indians who are transported back to the time of the American Indian wars.

Mockert has been developing the MBP fund to develop, produce and co-produce features. He has previously consulted and executive produced for private film fund Hollywood Partners, which was involved on projects such as Tango, Titanic Town and The Last Yellow.