Celine Rattray and Trudie Styler founded their female-focused production company in 2011
Need to know: Founded by Celine Rattray and Trudie Styler in 2011, the New York and London-based outfit really hit its stride in 2017 when Maggie Betts’ Novitiate picked up the Sundance special jury prize. The following year, Sara Colangelo’s The Kindergarten Teacher won the directing prize.
“Both are complicated portraits of women with extraordinary female directors behind them,” says Rattray.
That female focus is still embedded in Maven’s projects, including Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut Eleanor The Great, which premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard earlier this year, and Katie Holmes’ upcoming romantic trilogy Happy Hours. Pablo Trapero’s Toronto premiere & Sons may be an exception, although Sarah Polley penned the screenplay and many department heads were female.
Maven planted its foot more firmly in the UK this year with Rattray’s move back to the country and Anna Smith Tenser coming aboard as chief content officer with a focus on developing the TV slate.
Key personnel: Celine Rattray, Trudie Styler, founders; Anna Smith Tenser, chief of content; Jenny Halper, EVP, head of creative.
Incoming: Next up is Gurinder Chadha’s Christmas Karma, a Bollywood twist on A Christmas Carol, which Maven produced alongside Chadha’s Bend It Films and Amory Leader. True Brit Entertainment is releasing in the UK-Ireland.
Recently wrapped projects include Rose’s Baby, directed by Styler and starring Antonio Banderas. The film shot in London and follows a dysfunctional divorced couple who decide to have another baby in order to help their other child. Two out of the three titles in Holmes’s independently financed trilogy have also wrapped production in the US.
In development are several UK-set feature projects, two of which are headlined by Rosamund Pike and Ruth Wilson respectively. The team are also developing a couple of features with UK-based filmmaker Camille Griffin, with whom they made her 2021 debut Silent Night. “She’s an interesting voice because she comes up with concepts that are hugely original and out of the box,” says Rattray. They are also in early development on a project with Baby Reindeer director Josephine Bornebusch.
On the TV side, Maven recently sold an original concept to Fremantle after developing it together. “It’s American-set but the TV slate, for the most part, will be British stories and, of course, very female-driven,” says Rattray.
Celine Rattray says “Being female-driven in front of and behind the camera is a priority for us but we also love the idea of our films opening minds and fostering discussions.”
Contact: info@mavenscreenmedia.com
No comments yet