XYZ Films

XYZ Films is an American independent film company founded in 2008 in Los Angeles by Aram Tertzakian, Nate Bolotin and Nick Spicer, who met at the University of California, Los Angeles. The company operates across film production, international sales and distribution, with a focus on international genre films. Its credits include Gareth Evans' Indonesian action films The Raid: Redemption (2012) and The Raid 2 (2014), Erik Matti's On the Job, Karyn Kusama's The Invitation, Babak Anvari's Under The Shadow, Joe Penna's Arctic, Panos Cosmatos' Mandy and Matt Johnson's BlackBerry. It has also produced Netflix original films including Apostle (2018), The Night Comes For Us (2018) and I Don't Feel at Home in this World Anymore (2017).

Beyond producing, XYZ has built out sales, US distribution, documentary, production finance and talent management operations. Tatyana Joffe was hired as president of international sales and distribution; James Shapiro heads domestic distribution; Peter Van Steemburg oversees talent management, whose clients have included Spanish director Carlota Pereda; and Maxime Cottray, EVP of production and finance, brokered the company's financing partnership with Finnish fund manager IPR.VC. Nick Spicer is identified as CEO in 2024 trade coverage. In 2023 the company launched New Visions, a label for speculative fiction and horror films from new and emerging directors, whose first release was Zarrar Kahn's In Flames.

Current and upcoming titles listed by the company include Flesh of the Gods, Over Your Dead Body, The Furious, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, Miley Cyrus: Something Beautiful, Havoc, Skywalkers: A Love Story and Tatami, alongside a slate of further films such as Saccharine, Mile End Kicks, He Bled Neon, Kill Me, Hallow Road and Honey Bunch.

Founding story

Aram Tertzakian, Nate Bolotin and Nick Spicer met at the University of California, Los Angeles and founded XYZ Films in 2008 in Los Angeles; all three had prior industry experience. Their stated strategy from the outset was to identify talent from around the world and grow alongside those filmmakers.

Business model

XYZ Films combines production, financing, international sales and distribution. It develops and produces its own projects, co-finances or fully finances features using third-party fund capital, licenses third-party content for sales and distribution, and releases some titles itself in the US. Management describes the company as operating as an independent studio and a "one-stop shop for production, distribution and financing," while retaining flexibility not to perform every function on every project and not committing to a fixed number of financed films per year.

Revenue derives from film sales and licensing across territories, distribution (including US theatrical releases through its domestic distribution arm), producing fees and ownership stakes in content acquired or financed through its financing vehicle, plus a talent management division.

Traction

The Raid: Redemption, made on a budget of around $1 million, grossed over $14 million worldwide. I Don't Feel at Home in this World Anymore won the Grand Jury Prize in Drama at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, and Dual was named best independent film at the Saturn Awards. The IPR.VC financing vehicle established in 2019 had resulted in 20 productions within four years, including BlackBerry, Skywalkers: A Love Story and Krazy House. As of late 2022 the company reported around 20 projects in active development.

Latest developments

In January 2024 XYZ Films renewed its slate financing agreement with IPR.VC, first struck in November 2019, which had by then supported 20 productions. Titles backed by the arrangement include BlackBerry, Atom Egoyan's Seven Veils with Amanda Seyfried, Ash directed by Flying Lotus and starring Eiza González and Aaron Paul, Nacho Vigalondo's Daniela Forever, and Sundance premieres Skywalkers: A Love Story and Krazy House. The company's site lists newer releases including Flesh of the Gods, Over Your Dead Body, The Furious, Havoc, Tatami and Miley Cyrus: Something Beautiful.