Film4 chair Daniel Battsek will step down in March after eight years with the UK organisation.
Battsek joined as director of Film4 in 2016, taking over from David Kosse. He became chair in May 2022 and sat on the Channel 4 board, with Ollie Madden, then head of creative, being promoted to director.
Madden will now lead Film4 and will join Channel 4’s executive management board.
Film4’s current slate features a raft of strong awards contenders, including Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone Of Interest, Molly Manning Walker’s How To Have Sex and Andrew Haigh’s All Of Us Strangers.
“Daniel has been a key partner to me, a trusted champion and friend to countless filmmakers and has driven Film4 towards ever-greater success,” said Alex Mahon, Channel 4 chief executive, in an internal statement (read in full below).
A Channel 4 spokesperson confirmed Battsek’s exit is “completely separate to the other changes at Channel 4” following a report first published in UK newspaper The Guardian on Sunday (January 7) that the public service broadcaster is potentially cutting 200 jobs in its biggest round of layoffs in 15 years.
According to the spokesperson, the departure is a personal decision by Battsek and has been in the works for some time. He plans to be based and working out of the US after he departs Film4 in March.
The spokesperson was unable to confirm if Film4’s budget will be impacted by the Channel 4 cuts.
Battsek joined Film4 in July 2016 from his role as president of Cohen Media Group. He was previously based in the US and has worked at National Geographic Films, Miramax Films, Buena Vista International Films, Palace Pictures and Hoyts Entertainment.
Film4 was honoured with the special recognition award for outstanding contribution to UK film at Screen International’s Big Screen Awards 2023.
Alex Mahon statement
Hi everyone,
I’m writing to share that Daniel Battsek, Chairman of Film4, will be leaving us at the end of March after a trail blazing eight years.
Daniel has been a key partner to me, a trusted champion and friend to countless filmmakers and has driven Film4 towards ever-greater success.
Thanks to Daniel’s charismatic leadership and the outstanding team he’s built, Film4 has punched far above its weight – competing with the biggest international powerhouse studios for awards – and cementing its reputation as one of the most pioneering and influential film companies anywhere in the world.
The current slate epitomises everything Film4 stands for and is a tribute to Daniel, Ollie Madden and the team. Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, a fantastical comedy about a young woman’s search for liberation, won two Golden Globes last weekend for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy and Best Performance for Emma Stone, plus the Golden Lion at Venice. Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone Of Interest contrasts the hideous evil of Auschwitz with the banality of everyday life for the commandant’s family, and won the Grand Prix at Cannes. Molly Manning Walker’s How To Have Sex gave us a vibrant and complex look at female friendship and consent, taking home the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. Film4 broke its own record at the 2023 BFI London Film Festival with 10 feature films, including: Andrew Haigh’s All Of Us Strangers, exploring the search for love and connection; Steve McQueen’s Occupied City, a documentary about Amsterdam under Nazi occupation; and the intimate story of a pregnant mother in Savanah Leaf’s debut feature Earth Mama. Film4 also closed the festival with Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya’s The Kitchen, a high-energy drama set in a dystopian future London.
Additionally, Screen International recently awarded Film4 its Outstanding Contribution to UK Film, testimony to what Daniel and the team have achieved.
Ollie Madden, Director of Film4, has been working closely with Daniel for the past six years, as Film4 has gone from strength to strength. I am delighted Ollie will now lead Film4, in his role as Director of Film4. Ollie is passionate about our mandate to take risks and innovate, and he has a clear vision of how Film4 will continue to support the very best of British talent.
I want to thank Daniel and wish him all the very best for the future.
Alex [Mahon]
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