Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton, the acclaimed Australian producers of Sundance horror hits Talk To Me and Leviticus, have launched film distribution company Baby Jane.
The new venture has been launched in partnership with Talk To Me and Bring Her Back directors Danny and Michael Philippou. It is a separate entity to Causeway Films, the award-winning production company launched by Jennings and Ceyton in 2014.
A statement from the company said Baby Jane will “release auteur-driven genre films for Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences, serving new generations of audiences with distinctly relevant and fearless films”.
“We’re known for producing bold titles and now we want to distribute bold titles,” said Jennings. “Theatrical must-see films from a new wave of singular creatives for a new generation of film lovers.”
The company has already made two key hires. Felix Hubble joins as head of exhibition and acquisitions while Michelle Melky has been appointed head of marketing.
Hubble co-founded screening collective Static Vision where he curated multiple festivals and oversaw the theatrical release of Kristoffer Borgli’s Sick Of Myself. He managed the Screen program at SXSW Sydney and worked as a programme adviser at Sydney Film Festival from 2019 to 2026.
Melky has spent the last year working in the market and audience team at Screen Australia, providing strategic marketing support to a variety of titles. She was previously the global creative director of creator economy agency Amplify, where she led campaigns for Warner Bros., Universal and Google.
“They have non-traditional backgrounds,” said Ceyton of the core team. “But we’re not looking to be a traditional distribution company,”
Causeway titles will not be exclusive to Baby Jane. Both the production company and Philippou brothers will continue to partner with various local distributors.
While initial titles have yet to be announced, the company said its team have “a history of working with non-traditional filmmakers to reach underserved audiences and are looking to continue this with Baby Jane”.
Most recently, Causeway Films produced Adrian Chiarella’s Leviticus, which premiered at Sundance earlier this year and was acquired by Neon. When it opened in Australian and New Zealand cinemas, it took $1.5m over 14 weeks, doubling the usual percentage of US box office for homegrown films. Upcoming releases include Dario Russo’s black comedy The Fox.
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