Curzon Film (), formerly known as Artificial Eye or Curzon Artificial Eye, is a British

film distributor A film distributor is a person responsible for the marketing of a film. The distribution company may be the same as, or different from, the production company. Distribution deals are an important part of financing a film. The distributor may set ...

, specialising in independent, foreign-language and

art house An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...

films for cinema and

home entertainment A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be pe ...

History

Artificial Eye was founded in 1976 by Andi Engel (11 November 1942 – 26 December 2006), a German-born film enthusiast, and his then wife, Pamela Balfry, who had a background working with

Richard Roud Richard Stanley Roud (July 6, 1929 – February 13, 1989) was an American writer on film and co-founder, with Amos Vogel, of the New York Film Festival (NYFF).London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the British Film Institute, BFI estim ...

. She became the company's first managing director. In 2006 Artificial Eye became a part of Curzon World, a group of companies in the film entertainment industry which also includes the Curzon chain of cinemas,

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

service Curzon Home Cinema, the retail DVD distributor Fusion Media Sales, and

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

distributor Chelsea Films (launched in 2010).Curzon group website
Retrieved 2015-10-27 Curzon Artificial Eye releases some 20 new theatrical films and 30 DVD and Blu-ray titles in the UK each year, as well as digital releases via several platforms, such as

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

and in-house Curzon Home Cinema. In 2016, Curzon Artificial Eye renamed to Curzon Film. On 23 December 2019, Curzon Artificial Eye, along with parent company Curzon, was acquired by American film distributor Cohen Media Group. In 2020, Curzon Film, in association with

StudioCanal UK StudioCanal Limited, trade name, doing business as StudioCanal UK (formerly known as Optimum Releasing), is a British film distribution division and the official British branch of the French film & television production and distribution company ...

, released ''

Parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

'' to UK audiences, which would become UK's highest grossing foreign language film of all time. In February 2024, American investment firm

Fortress Investment Group Fortress Investment Group, LLC is an American investment management firm based in New York City. It was founded as a private equity firm in 1998 by Wes Edens, Rob Kauffman, Pete Briger, Michael Novogratz, and Randal Nardone. Overview When ...

sued Cohen Realty Enterprises for defaulting on loans amounting to $534 million. Fortress then requested the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

to grant a motion for a foreclosure sale, which was later set for November 8 that year. Fortress was reportedly the only bidder for Curzon and related entities, initially offering $5 million to acquire the company. A few days later, it was announced that Fortress had acquired Curzon for an undisclosed sum. In April 2024, Curzon announced that it would revive the storied Artificial Eye label, dormant for nearly a decade, for arthouse and indie films curated by Curzon's acquisitions team with a special focus on world cinema. The first release under the relaunched banner will be the

Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

title '' My Favourite Cake'', with a rebranded look debuting with the film.

References

External links

* – official site {{Authority control Curzon Artificial Eye films Film distributors of the United Kingdom