See-Saw Films is a British-Australian

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

production company founded in 2008 by Iain Canning and Emile Sherman, with offices in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Their productions include ''

The King's Speech ''The King's Speech'' is a 2010 historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays the future King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language ther ...

'', ''

Top Of The Lake ''Top of the Lake'' is a mystery drama television series created and written by Jane Campion and Gerard Lee, and directed by Campion and Garth Davis. It was broadcast in 2013, and the sequel, entitled ''Top of the Lake: China Girl'', in 2017 ...

'', ''

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

'', '' The Power of the Dog, Slow Horses'', and the British teen series '' Heartstopper''.

History

Producers Iain Canning and Emile Sherman co-founded See-Saw Films in 2008. In 2011, See-Saw won the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film a ...

for their film ''

'' directed by

Tom Hooper Thomas George Hooper (born 5 October 1972)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''. 5d: 2485. is a British-Australian filmmaker. Known for his work in film and television he has received numerous accolades includ ...

. The film stars

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Colin Firth, several accolades, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Aw ...

Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. Known for often playing eccentric roles on both stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Geoffrey Rush, numerous accolades, including an Academy Aw ...

and

Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. Known for her roles in Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, List of awards and nominations received by Helena Bonham Carter ...

. See-Saw's first television series was ''

'', directed by

Jane Campion Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''The Piano'' (1993) and ''The Power of the Dog (film), The Power of the Dog'' (2021), for ...

and starring

Elisabeth Moss Elisabeth Singleton Moss (born July 24, 1982) is an American actor and director. The recipient of several accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a nomination for a Tony Award, she was named the "Queen of P ...

and

Holly Hunter Holly Hunter (born March 20, 1958) is an American actress. For her performance as a mute Scottish woman in ''The Piano'' (1993), she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She earned three more Academy Award nominations for '' Broadcast News'' ( ...

. The first series released in 2013 and was nominated for eight

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s and two

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

s. The second series, '' Top Of The Lake: China Girl'', also directed by Campion, premiered at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

2017.

reprises her role as Detective Robin Griffin in '' Top Of The Lake: China Girl,'' which also stars

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

and

Gwendoline Christie Gwendoline Christie (born 28 October 1978) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Brienne of Tarth in the HBO fantasy-drama series ''Game of Thrones'' (2012–2019), and the First Order (Star Wars), First Order Stormtrooper (Star War ...

. See-Saw produced ''

'', which premiered in 2016 at the Toronto International Film Festival and stars

Dev Patel Dev Patel (; born 23 April 1990) is an English actor and filmmaker. List of awards and nominations received by Dev Patel, His accolades include a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and two Golden Globe A ...

, Nicole Kidman and

Rooney Mara Rooney Mara Phoenix ( ; born Patricia Rooney Mara; April 17, 1985) is an American actress. Her accolades include nominations for two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a British Academy Film Award. Born into the Rooney and Mara fam ...

. The film was nominated for six

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

, won two

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and Worl ...

, and won 12

AACTA Awards The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the cinema of Australia, film and ...

. In 2019, See-Saw produced short-form British comedy series, ''State of the Union'', which premiered on

Sundance TV Sundance TV (formerly known as Sundance Channel) is an American pay television channel owned by AMC Networks that launched on February 1, 1996. The channel is named after Robert Redford's character in ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' and, w ...

. The first season won three Emmy Awards and stars

Rosamund Pike Rosamund Mary Ellen Pike (born 1979) is an English actress and producer. Known for psychological thrillers and dramas, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Rosamund Pike, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Em ...

and

Chris O'Dowd Christopher O'Dowd (born 9 October 1979) is an Irish actor and comedian. He received wide attention as Roy Trenneman, one of the lead characters in the Channel 4 comedy ''The IT Crowd'', which ran for four seasons from 2006 to 2010. He has star ...

. In 2021, the series was renewed for a second season and stars

Brendan Gleeson Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor. He has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, two British Independent Film Awards and three IFTA Awards, along with nominations for an Academy Award, three BAFTA Aw ...

and

Patricia Clarkson Patricia Davies Clarkson (born December 29, 1959) is an American actress. She has starred in numerous leading and supporting roles in a variety of films ranging from independent film features to major film studio productions. Her accolades incl ...

. In 2021 releases included British TV series ''The North Water'', written and directed by Andrew Haigh, starring Jack O'Connell and

Colin Farrell Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A Leading actor, leading man in blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films since the 2000s, he has received various List of awards and nominations received by Col ...

; and Australian TV series ''

Firebite ''Firebite'' is an Australian drama/horror television series featuring vampires created by Warwick Thornton and Brendan Fletcher. A co-production between See-Saw Films and AMC Studios, the series premiered on AMC+ on 16 December 2021 and r ...

'', written by

Warwick Thornton Warwick Thornton is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and cinematographer. His debut feature film '' Samson and Delilah'' won the Caméra d'Or at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and the award for Best Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awar ...

and Brendan Fletcher and directed by Thornton, Fletcher and Tony Krawitz. Both series premiered on

AMC+ AMC+ is an American subscription video on demand streaming service owned by AMC Networks that was launched on June 11, 2020. The service is a premium bundle that includes the live feeds and program libraries of the company's television networks ...

in the United States. Toward the end of 2021,

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

released '' The Power of the Dog'', which is See-Saw's second collaboration with Jane Campion. In 2022, the film won two

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

s including Best Film, and was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, with Jane Campion going on to win Best Director. The film originally premiered at the

78th Venice International Film Festival The 78th annual Venice Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival was held from 1 to 11 September 2021, at Venice Lido in Italy. This edition marked the festival's return to its full format following the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, COVID ...

and Campion was awarded the

Silver Lion The Silver Lion (, also known as Silver Lion for Best Direction) is an annual award presented for best directing achievements in a feature film in the official competition section of the Venice Film Festival since 1998. The prize has been awar ...

for Best Director. TV released in 2022 include '' Slow Horses'' seasons one and two and '' The Essex Serpent'' for

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

, and '' Heartstopper'' season one for Netflix. See-Saw's films that released in 2022 were ''

Operation Mincemeat Operation Mincemeat was a successful British disinformation, deception operation of the Second World War to disguise the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. Two members of British intelligence obtained the body of Glyndwr Michael, a tramp who die ...

'' and '' The Stranger''.

Florian Zeller Florian Zeller (; born 28 June 1979Extrait de naissance /1979LES GENS DU CINEMA ©/ref>) is a French novelist, playwright, theatre director, screenwriter, and film director. He has written over a dozen plays, that have been staged worldwide and h ...

's '' The Son'' premiered at the

79th Venice International Film Festival The 79th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 31 August to 10 September 2022, at Venice Lido in Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Eur ...

and will release theatrically in early 2023. In March 2025, French media conglomerate

Mediawan Mediawan S.A. is a French media conglomerate and audiovisual international production & distribution group. It was founded on December 15, 2015, by Xavier Niel, Matthieu Pigasse and Pierre-Antoine Capton under the legal form of a special-purpose a ...

acquired a 51% majority stake in See-Saw Films in a cash and stock deal for an undisclosed sum.

People

Iain Canning and Emile Sherman co-founded the company, and remain co-managing directors. Executive producer of television in the UK, Patrick Walters, joined the company in 2014 and was promoted in 2018 to head of TV development in the UK, US and Australia as well as serving as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

on selected UK productions. Simon Gillis is

chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

Subsidiaries and associated companies

See-Saw has an in-house sales arm, Cross City Films, which handles international sales of its titles in select territories. Between 2019 and 2020, See-Saw Films launched joint venture production companies I Am That with ''

'' director

Garth Davis Garth Davis (born 1974) is an Australian television, advertising, and film director, best known for directing the films ''Lion'' (2016), and biblical drama ''Mary Magdalene'' (2018). He earlier directed episodes of the series '' Top of the Lak ...

, and Picking Scabs with Samantha Strauss, creator and screenwriter of the Fox Showcase/

Sky Atlantic Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group, Sky Group Limited that launched in 2011 and broadcasts in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel airs original British-produced dramas like ''Fortitude (TV series), F ...

television series ''

The End The End may refer to: Film * The End (1953 film), ''The End'' (1953 film), a film by Christopher Maclaine * The End (1978 film), ''The End'' (1978 film), a comedy by Burt Reynolds * ''The End'' (1995 film), a List of Canadian films of 1995, Cana ...

''. I Am That's 50-50 partnership with See-Saw develops feature film and TV projects for Davis to direct and produce alongside See-Saw's managing directors, Canning and Sherman, while Picking Scabs develops projects for Strauss to write and produce with See-Saw

Productions

Film

Television

References

External links

* * Includes interview with Patrick Walters. {{Authority control Film production companies of Australia Entertainment companies established in 2008 British companies established in 2008 Australian companies established in 2008 Film production companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in Sydney Mass media companies based in London 2025 mergers and acquisitions