National Geographic and Imagenation Abu Dhabi form joint venture to finance feature films

National Geographic Entertainment and Imagenation Abu Dhabi will commit $100 million for the production of 10 to 15 films over the next five years. The fund was announced today by Tim Kelly, president of National Geographic Global Media, and Edward Borgerding, CEO of Imagenation Abu Dhabi, a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Media Company.

National Geographic Entertainment, a division of National Geographic Global Media, will, in association with Imagenation Abu Dhabi, develop, produce, finance and acquire films that focus on people’s relationship to the world, their environment and each other. The films will be budgeted between $5 million and $60 million.

National Geographic’s Tim Kelly said, “National Geographic has many exciting and important stories to tell, and at the heart of each film will be something vital, a subject that matters. When we talk to talent, we discover that National Geographic has always been part of their lives. With this film fund, we will be able to expand our outreach into the creative community and help filmmakers produce the kinds of films they dreamed of making when they entered the industry.”

Other key personnel involved in the fund include David Beal, president of National Geographic Entertainment; Adam Leipzig, president, National Geographic Films; Lisa Truitt, president, National Geographic Cinema Ventures, which produces and distributes giant screen films; and Stefan Brunner, chief financial officer of Imagenation Abu Dhabi.