Rodolphe Buet Joins Newen as Head of Distribution

By Elsa Keslassy

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Rodolphe Buet has joined Newen, the TF1 Group-owned production and distribution company, as head of distribution. Buet is joining from On Entertainment (“Playmobil”) where he worked as head of the film division for two years. The executive previously held a 12-year tenure at Studiocanal as president of international distribution and marketing for films, library and TV series.

The appointment of Buet underscores Newen’s international growth strategy and the development of its business in Europe. The company is looking to develop a slate of premium content, ranging from drama to TV films, animated series and documentaries created by well-established European and North American producers both within and outside of the group.

Buet will be in charge of overseeing the activities of Newen Distribution, which is led by Malika Abdellaoui, and TF1 Studio, whose international sales division is headed by Sabine Chemaly. Buet will also be collaborating with teams at the Newen-owned Canadian company Reel One, which is headed by Tom Berry, as well as developing distribution activity with third-party producers.

The company, whose drama credits include “Versailles” (pictured), boasts a sales team including 20 executives located in Paris, London, Montreal, New York and Buenos Aires.

Newen is backed by Anton Capital, a major player in the TV and film financing, co-production and distribution.