‘Benediction’ Backer M.Y.R.A. Entertainment Opening Asia Office – San Sebastian

‘Benediction’ Backer M.Y.R.A. Entertainment Opening Asia Office – San Sebastian

EXCLUSIVE: M.Y.R.A. Entertainment, the film financing company that has credits including Terence Davies’ recent Toronto premiere Benediction, screening in San Sebastian this week, and Call Me By Your Name, is opening an office in Singapore as it eyes a move into Asian projects.


The all-female company founded by Margarethe Baillou has presences in New York and London; Baillou will now move to Singapore.


“Cultural diplomacy is now more important than ever. Cross-cultural misconceptions and racial prejudice are absolutely unacceptable. At M.Y.R.A., we gravitate toward stories that benefit global audiences, hence the ambition to familiarize ourselves with foreign cultures, be it geographically, sociologically or simply topic-related,” Baillou told Deadline.

“Having recently gone into animation, a genre elevated by outstanding talent across Asia, M.Y.R.A. hopes to learn from our Asian colleagues. Singapore will be the perfect gateway to the continent for us on the search for opportunities to contribute to cross- cultural understanding. Singapore is visionary, innovative and thinking globally, and we look forward to exploring opportunities to immerse ourselves in, collaborate with and champion Asian cinema from within Asia.”


M.Y.R.A. recently partnered with Splash Entertainment in Los Angeles on an animated anthology of fairy tales from around the world.


Also on the upcoming slate are: Welcome To The Tempest Hotel, a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest that has been written and will be directed by Robin Swicord (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and is aiming for a 2022 shoot; The Knowledge, a remake of the BBC TV film by Jack Rosenthal from the 70s, which is being readapted by BAFTA nominee Simon Block; and The Salzburg Affair, an adaptation of an Erich Kästner book being penned by William Boyd.