FilmNation Entertainment

FilmNation Entertainment is an American independent entertainment company that produces, finances, and distributes films, television series, podcasts, and theater, headquartered in New York with offices in Los Angeles and the UK. It is best understood as a behind-the-scenes studio: a top-tier international sales agent that also packages, finances, and produces its own slate, with a reputation built on prestige and awards titles rather than a consumer-facing brand.

FilmNation was co-founded in 2008 by Glen Basner and Steven Samuels. Basner, who had run international sales at The Weinstein Company, built the company first as a foreign-rights sales operation, handling international distribution for titles including The King's Speech (which won the Best Picture Oscar in 2011), Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, and Denis Villeneuve's Arrival. Over time the sales business expanded into financing and production, with FilmNation backing films such as Room (2015), which won Brie Larson a Best Actress Oscar, and The Big Sick (2017). The company has since diversified into television, theater, and podcasts, and its recent prestige slate includes Anora and Conclave, both highlighted in its own marketing.

Glen Basner is co-founder and CEO and remains the public face of the company, giving extensive interviews on the art of film sales and financing and receiving industry honors such as the Zurich Summit tribute in 2026. Steven Samuels is the co-founder. A major leadership development was the arrival of Stacey Snider, the former 20th Century Fox and Universal chairman, who now features alongside Basner in company Q&As about the slate and future strategy. Toby Emmerich, the former Warner Bros. film chairman, joined FilmNation's production label Infrared as a consultant in October 2026.

FilmNation's core business lines are: international film sales (licensing distribution rights territory by territory), film production and financing, television (including a global TV slate), theater, podcasts, and a library of titles. Its production label Infrared is a distinct imprint for its own productions. The company's model is to assemble financing, package talent, and sell distribution rights rather than release films itself, which keeps it nimble and lets it compete for projects that might otherwise go to a studio. [edit]