The Creatives is forming a jointly owned holding structure with Anton Studios joining as a partner and minority investor, making it the first European-scale producer-owned group of its kind, with Romain Bessi remaining CEO.

Anton Studios’ investment signals deeper strategic alignment and added capital to support The Creatives’ expansion.

Bessi outlined next steps for The Creatives, a producer-owned alliance of nine international production companies that will formalize into the jointly owned holding structure as Anton joins as partner and minority investor.

Within the alliance, each company retains its own name, leadership, culture and creative direction, while collective control rests with the 17 founders and Bessi.

The Creatives brings a strong awards pedigree, including Cannes and Venice prizes, multiple Academy nominations and wins, and notable projects such as Toni Erdmann, Sisu, Foxtrot, Waltz With Bashir, and others across member companies.

This arrangement marks the first European-scale producer-owned collective where founders receive shares and governance remains with producers, focusing on creativity as the primary KPI rather than external investors or networks.

The Creatives unites leading European production companies, including Haut et Court and UNITÉ (France), Komplizen and Razor Film (Germany), Good Chaos (UK), Lemming Film (Netherlands/Belgium), Maipo Film (Norway), Spiro (Israel), and Masha (US).

The Creatives was formed in response to industry consolidation, streamer growth, AI pressures, and public funding challenges, offering a cooperative alternative that preserves individual identities.

Bessi noted that collaboration within The Creatives is easier than past acquisitions-driven partnerships because the member companies already know each other and share synergies.

Independence remains a core principle, with members maintaining autonomy over projects and creative direction while gaining scale through the network.

The strategic goal is to accelerate collaboration, broaden access to European talent and projects, and deliver elevated content to major distributors and streamers.

Zurich Studio coverage highlights statements from Bessi and Jackowski about the group’s philosophy and future trajectory.