Davis Guggenheim, Jonathan King of Concordia Studio

Source: Courtesy Concordia Studio

Davis Guggenheim, Jonathan King of Concordia Studio

Davis Guggenheim and Jonathan King have launched Concordia Studio to create nonfiction and scripted films, series, and streaming content.

The company will develop, produce or finance content across all platforms and is being launched in partnership with Emerson Collective, founded by Laurene Powell Jobs.

Concordia Studio’s nonfiction division led by Jonathan Silberberg (president of nonfiction), Nicole Stott (executive vice-president of nonfiction), and Shannon Dill (executive vice-president of nonfiction physical production and operations) will premiere four films in US competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival: Boys State, Time, A Thousand Cuts, and Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets.

In addition to the four films premiering at Sundance, Concordia produced and financed Laura Nix’s Oscar-nominated Walk Run Cha-Cha.

The new venture is also announcing an artists in residence programme to nurture the creative talent of filmmakers of diverse backgrounds in the U.S. Rahdi Taylor, formerly the head of the Sundance Documentary Fund, leads the initiative and Oscar-nominated director Bing Liu (Minding The Gap), and Garrett Bradley (America) are among the inaugural class of fellows.

“We’ve been working hard for two years and waiting for the right moment to announce our new studio,” said founder and chief creative officer of Nonfiction, Davis Guggenheim, who won the Oscar for directing An Inconvenient Truth. “Our strength is a small group of executives committed to great storytelling with the very best filmmakers. Now with four films at Sundance and Jonathan King joining as co-founder, the timing could not be better.”

“Audiences worldwide are more hungry than ever for high-quality films and television that mean something in their lives,” said founder and chief creative officer of fiction at Concordia Studio, Jonathan King, the former Participant executive whose credits include Spotlight, Roma, Green Book, and A Fantastic Woman. “We want to produce ambitious, impactful stories in all genres and formats, delivering to established distributors and the growing ranks of new platforms. Having the extraordinary support of Laurene and the ability to collaborate with Emerson is invaluable.”

Jobs added, “I’ve long believed that when you bring visionary, creative minds together, extraordinary things can happen. Davis and Jonathan share a commitment to using storytelling as a force for good in the world, and I cannot wait to see what powerful and inspiring stories they – and the whole Concordia Studio team – bring to life. The diverse voices elevated through the Artists in Residence program will contribute to a richer, truer portrayal of the human experience.”