Blue Lake Entertainment Fund, the new financing entity from Doug Mankoff’s Echo Lake Entertainment and Canadian financier-producer Blue Ice Entertainment, has teamed up with Celluloid Dreams on a slate of specialty films.

The parties said they planned to back “high-end” films from proven directors with global appeal. Celluloid will handle sales on the slate and produce certain titles. FilmNation, which has a separate, non-exclusive deal with the fund, will play an advisory and supporting role.

Celluloid’ Hengameh Panahi said no titles had been confirmed but the fact that Blue Lake’s first investment is in Pedro Almodovar’s The Skin That I Inhabit, which FilmNation is selling overseas, indicates the calibre of filmmakers the parties expect to attract.

“Hengameh Panahi is a visionary with amazing taste, and we believe that with the right war chest, she will continue her track record of bringing world class films to the international marketplace,” Echo Lake’s Doug Mankoff, who will serve as co-manager of the fund alongside Blue Ice’s Steven Silver and Neil Tabatznik, said.

“Good is no longer good enough, and there is no such thing as an exceptional film without great talents and strong storytellers,” Panahi said. “I’ve known Doug Mankoff for many years and I’ve been following with admiration his astute capacities as well as his successes in the entertainment business.”

“The partnership with Blue Lake will provide [Panahi] with the financing component to select some of the best projects to bring to the world market,” Tabatznik added. 

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