Fernando Szew

MarVista Entertainment was founded in 2003 and has been producing, acquiring and distributing film and TV product around the world. It has also been co-producing original movies with such major outlets as Lifetime, Hallmark Channel, Disney Channel and Disney XD. The company is a significant supplier of TV movies to international markets, where demand for telefilms remains strong—particularly in European countries where broadcasters have regular time slots for thrillers, romantic comedies and holiday movies. As MarVista’s CEO and founding partner, Fernando Szew, tells World Screen, the company is expanding its slate of movies, growing its digital entertainment division and bolstering its development and production of TV series.

WS: Has MarVista been expanding its slate of movies?
SZEW: We have significantly grown the amount and the quality of the movies we produce and distribute, from thrillers, romance and action-disaster to family and children’s movies. We’ve also expanded a bit more into different genres. Recently, we announced a partnership deal with Elijah Wood’s company, SpectreVision, to produce four films over the next two years, and we already wrapped production on the first one, Bitch, starring Jaime King and Jason Ritter. It is a provocative tale of a woman who snaps under crushing life pressures and assumes the psyche of a dog.

We are also focused on expanding our tween and teen movie production slate. We have a long-standing relationship with Disney Channel and continue to co-produce original movies [for them], including our most recent collaboration, called The Swap, which premiered in the U.S. on October 7 and stars Peyton List. Also, we recently launched another movie for the same audience called Jessica Darling’s It List, which is based on a New York Times best-selling book series by Megan McCafferty and is executive produced by Disney darling Debby Ryan. That movie has been released on digital and we’re seeing some great results. We are also offering a movie at AFM starring Bailee Madison that is a mystery for tweens/teens called Annabelle Hooper and the Ghosts of Nantucket.

WS: What demand for TV movies are you seeing in the U.S. and internationally?
SZEW: The demand continues to be very strong globally. In the U.S. we tend to produce for and license to Disney Channel, Lifetime, LMN, Hallmark Channel and Hallmark’s new channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. We are also seeing, as we did with our strategy for It List, great traction domestically on VOD, SVOD and all the digital distribution platforms like iTunes, Netflix, Amazon, etc. As one of the market leaders, if not the market leader in original movies, we’re seeing great demand for a variety of genres from established players and newer players.

Internationally, we have also seen steady demand and new entrants, especially on the digital side. On the broadcast side, we continue to see solid ratings in several countries, particularly in Europe, primarily for the thrillers, romantic comedies and holiday movies. Those slots are extremely solid, and we are one of the main suppliers.

WS: Viewers, young and old, have so much scripted programming to watch and are becoming increasingly sophisticated. How has MarVista been elevating the quality of its movies to keep pace with viewers’ expectations?
SZEW: We love the challenge of having our stories shine within the golden age of television. We continue to push the envelope with the stories and talent we are bringing into our fold. From creating production alliances with the aforementioned award-winning talent of Elijah Wood’s SpectreVision to producing A Deadly Adoption, starring Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig, Caught with Anna Camp and future projects with recording artists and top directors, MarVista definitely offers an ideal environment for creatives who want to tell their stories.

WS: How has MarVista Digital Entertainment been growing?
SZEW: On the digital side, we are seeing opportunities with various genres. One of the main ones we have been focused on is the tween/teen or young-adult-themed movies. Jessica Darling’s It List and Annabelle Hooper and the Ghosts of Nantucket are examples of that. We will also be launching The Swap on digital platforms immediately after it premieres on Disney Channel. In addition, we are actively partnering with talent and digital influencers, digital natives, to do what are called in the current lingo “influencer movies.” So YouTube, Vine and Snapchat stars, people with major influence and followers on these platforms, will be the driving vehicles for long-form movies. This is a big focus for us at the moment. We are having several conversations and will soon be announcing projects with not just the talent but also with a marketing platform behind it. It’s a really exciting and culturally relevant area of growth for MarVista Digital Entertainment.

WS: That is quite innovative.
SZEW: This is something that we started to plant a flag in about nine months ago because we saw that our core capabilities are such that we can be one of the key players in the industry to bring those influencer-driven movies that are high quality but within the budget ranges that make business sense. We’ve been really navigating the digital world, talking to partners, agencies and a lot of the talent. Part of bringing Deena Stern on board as senior VP of marketing and communications was to bring solid marketing support to these initiatives. She has great experience having launched Esquire Network, but also with E! Entertainment, using digital and social media as marketing tools.

WS: What other types of products is MarVista producing and distributing?
SZEW: We are very much focused on growing our scripted series development. We are currently in post-production on two shows that are very likely to move forward: Rebel, a procedural drama with BET directed by John Singleton [Boyz n the Hood], and Sea Change, a supernatural drama, which we are producing with Piller/Segan for Lifetime.

WS: You have been interested in series for quite some time.
SZEW: Absolutely. Again, it’s all about looking at the natural expansion of what we have been able to accomplish with the business, taking our core competencies, relationships and abilities and asking ourselves, where do we expand as the world changes? We have made investments in that arena both in people and in the development of IP. Right out of the gate we have two significant series, Rebel and Sea Change, and we are rapidly expanding this area of our business with more projects. We are very good partners for people to collaborate with because we offer a strong internal creative and production team, as well as solid relationships with a lot of external storytellers.

WS: Selling and windowing product is becoming increasingly complex. Are movies a little less complicated than series when it comes to carving out windows and choosing how to best exploit your product territory by territory?
SZEW: Generally speaking, there is the same level of complexity but perhaps the stakes are lower on a movie for obvious reasons. Most movies are “one and done” from a premiere perspective as opposed to series, especially if a series takes off and becomes very successful—for example, Mad Men or Breaking Bad were able to lift networks. When negotiating exclusivity or non-exclusivity, the stakes are much higher for a series but the complexity and the deal making is very similar. The conversations are the same—[they are] highly complex. It’s part of what I deem a competitive advantage of ours; we’ve been having those conversations as to the best windowing strategies for a very long time. We try to help bring some clarity to the growing complexity of windowing and rights. It’s something our distribution [executives] do very well.

WS: Whether it’s a new territory or a platform, are you seeing emerging business opportunities?
SZEW: All the time. This is why I am so encouraged about MarVista’s growth path and our current and future business. This excitement and constant flow of opportunities have allowed us to recruit talent internally and externally. Among the driving forces of our expansion are the numerous new platforms looking to acquire content as a vehicle to grow. It’s not just the traditional platforms; we’re also seeing it with Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook, which are becoming content platforms as well. So, you have the whole traditional broadcast market, the cable landscape and the established and growing over-the-top services—there is an explosion of platforms that require content! And the driving force is that as content providers and distributors, we sit right in the middle of that intersection. We couldn’t have planned this any better. We had no idea when we started MarVista that we were going to be where we are today. It is an incredibly exciting time for us.