Producers Ed Barratt and Richard Wylie have launched new UK-based film and television production company, Public Pictures.
The company is developing a slate of director-led scripted and unscripted feature films and television projects, including elevated genre and premium factual titles, “developed in close collaboration with established industry partners.”
Collectively, Barratt and Wylie have produced projects recognised by BAFTA, BIFA and the National Television Awards, with films premiering at major international festivals including Sundance, Toronto, SXSW and Berlin. Their credits include award-winning documentaries and scripted features for theatrical release and platforms including the BBC, Amazon, Disney+ and Apple TV+.
Barratt is a former Chief Operating Officer at Lorton Entertainment. He began his producing career in scripted film, producing the feature Wasteland (also known as The Rise), which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and led to his selection as a BAFTA Breakthrough Brit. He went on to play a central role in the development, financing and production of a diverse slate of feature films, documentaries and television projects for a global audience, including AppleTV+’s Boom! Boom! The World Vs Boris Becker, BBC’s cult hit Bros: After the Screaming Stops, and upcoming feature documentary Mandela: Troublemaker from director Antoine Fuqua.
Richard Wylie’s producing credits include the critically acclaimed feature Muscle, which earned a BIFA Discovery Award nomination and won Best Actor at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival; Tales from the Lodge, which premiered at SXSW; A Kind Of Kidnapping, winner of multiple international festival awards; and most recently Stable, a four-part boxing documentary series for the BBC.
Alongside its production activity, Public Pictures will invest directly in development and is preparing to launch a debt financing vehicle that will support a select number of high-quality film and television projects.
“We set up Public Pictures to be a place where filmmakers feel properly supported — creatively and practically,” said Ed Barratt, co-founder, “That means bold ideas, but also clear thinking around finance, production and audience. We’re interested in long-term creative relationships and in building projects that are ambitious, distinctive and genuinely sustainable.”
“The company is designed to be flexible and filmmaker-first, with collaboration at the core of every project and throughout the company,” added Richard Wylie. “Our aim is not only to see our own work thrive, but to help foster the growth of others within an industry that flourishes through openness, face-to-face connection and a welcoming, social culture.”
Jon Creamer
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