The Brit 50: See-Saw Films

Need to know: Founded in 2008 by London-based Iain Canning and Sydney-based Emile Sherman, and propelled into the stratosphere by 2011 best picture Oscar winner The King’s Speech, which grossed more than $400m worldwide, See-Saw has continued to deliver high-profile features for the theatrical market.

It has also been riding the streamer-­led TV commissioning wave of recent years to fire out returning hits such as Slow Horses for Apple TV (five seasons to date), Heartstopper for Netflix (two seasons with a concluding film to come) and Sweetpea for Sky (renewed for a second series), as well as distinctive one-offs like Clio Barnard’s The Essex Serpent and Andrew Haigh’s The North Water.

“When the streamers came into the marketplace, we benefited hugely from that expanding market and boom,” says Canning.

On the film side, See‑Saw’s close relationships with filmmakers has seen the likes of Jane Campion’s Bafta best film winner The Power Of The Dog, Steve McQueen’s Shame and Widows, John Madden’s Operation Mincemeat and Garth Davis’s Lion come out of the stable. Its most recent theatrical release, 2024’s One Life starring Anthony Hopkins, was a substantial UK-­Ireland hit, grossing $13.3m (£10m) for Warner Bros.

Earlier this year, See-Saw sold a 51% stake to Paris-based media giant Mediawan, driven by a desire to continue growing its TV productions in particular with access to deficit finance and an in-house sales team.

“Emile and I realised that we were one of the biggest independents that wasn’t majority owned by a bigger group,” explains Canning. “We were thinking about the benefits of that – that as the boom shifts from when all the streamers came in and there is consolidation taking place in the marketplace, it is good to be part of something bigger.

“We met a group of companies and just felt with the partnerships that Mediawan had done previous to us, they were a really good partner for us,” adds Canning, referencing the group’s stakes in the UK’s Drama Republic and Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment. “They love film, they love TV and at a time when everybody was going to be looking after their own, it made sense for us to find that bigger partnership going forward.”

See-Saw’s TV arm was originally spearheaded by Jamie Laurenson and Hakan Kousetta, who departed in 2021 to launch their own outfit, with seasoned producers Helen Gregory and Liz Watts coming on board later that year as UK-based creative director and Sydney-based head of film and TV, respectively.

Gregory has since been promoted to joint managing director alongside longstanding COO Simon Gillis, and the See-Saw team now numbers close to 40, including eight in-house EPs who are each driving their own slates.

See-Saw continues to operate film sales arm Cross City Films for selling in-house productions as well as Australia-New Zealand distributor Transmission. It even has its own podcast now, The Sandbox, hosted by Sherman and offering deep-dives into See-Saw productions.

Key personnel: Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, joint founders/CEOs; Simon Gillis, Helen Gregory, joint managing directors; Liz Watts, head of film and television.

Incoming: Two feature productions are eyeing production starts next year. Tilda Swinton will star in David Lowery’s Death In Her Hands, a psychological thriller about a widow trying to solve another woman’s murder without a body, while Colman Domingo and Demi Moore are set for Roger Ross Williams’ alien-abduction romantic drama Strange Arrivals. Cross-City teamed up with WME Independent and Rocket Science respectively to launch international sales on the pair at this year’s Cannes market.

In post-production are Jennifer Peedom’s Tenzing, an Apple Original Film about the 1953 expedition to climb Mount Everest, with Chinese-Tibetan actor Genden Phuntsok as sherpa Tenzing Norgay alongside Tom Hiddleston as Edmund Hillary; and a feature-length conclusion to Heartstopper directed by Wash Westmoreland (Still Alice). The company’s busy production year also saw shoots for season six of Slow Horses (with a seventh greenlit) and season two of Sweetpea.

A huge priority for the company is developing Michael Ende’s 1979 fantasy novel The Never­ending Story into a multi-­film, live-action franchise. Canning and Sherman will produce the new film series in a joint venture with the author’s estate, Michael Ende Productions.

“That’s something new for the company and it’s one of our key focuses – getting that ready to take to market,” says Canning. “Whereas before, perhaps we would have been adapting a book that not many people had heard of, or telling a true story like Lion, this is broadening how we look at material and IP in a big way.”

Iain Canning says: “It’s challenging in film and TV, and has been for a while. It just puts more pressure on producers to find that something special and making sure you have those relationships with commissioners or financiers whereby you’re a trusted source for producing something special – and making work where you feel there will be engagement from audiences.”

Contact: info@see-saw-films.com 

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