Weydemann Bros., German producers with a strong international reputation and Steffen Kottkamp, AVOD & FAST specialist with extensive channel curation experience join forces to launch Directors Collection.
Directors Collection is a curated AVOD and FAST ecosystem for films that deserve lasting visibility beyond premieres, cinema runs and initial release windows. It combines algorithmic reach with editorial curation — and translates long-tail attention into measurable, transparent revenues.
First licensing deals will be closed at the European Film Market.
THE INITIAL SITUATION
After the festival circuit and first exploitation windows, visibility of films fades fast. Films may remain available, but without active positioning they are rarely rediscovered. Revenues stay marginal and performance data is often fragmented. And many of the films that premiered at the major A-List festivals don’t get released in more than a handful of territories at all, thus never reaching a large part of their potential audience.
THE SOLUTION
A clearly branded destination for independent cinema: curated AVOD channels and FAST programming, supported by online premieres, playlists, thematic events and social amplification or in short: Directors Collection.
Editorial framing is the product: directorial voices, themes, seasonal moments, premieres, and re- discovery campaigns. All these measures keep titles present in audience discovery flows — beyond passive catalogue availability. The Directors Collection adresses a cinephile audience that is currently dissatisfied with the growing mainstream uniformity of SVOD offerings and the unavailability of a large portion of independent cinema.
LED BY FILM PROFESSIONALS
Behind the Directors Collection is a team of enthusiastic film professionals with extensive experience in commissioning, producing, releasing and marketing high-quality independent films and arthouse cinema.
About Weydemann Bros.:
Weydemann Bros. produces films and series for the German and international market. The team is guided by the vision of an equally political and entertaining filmic storytelling. Weydemann Bros. develops projects together with authors and directors and builds long-term creative partnerships. Films by Weydemann Bros. have won over 100 prizes, among them ten German Film Awards, a Berlinale Silver Bear, an Un Certain Regard Award, a Grand Prix by the Critics Week in Cannes, a Leopard in Locarno, and a European Film Award.
The films have been selected as official entries to the Oscars Best Foreign Language Film, have been preselected for numerous German Film Awards and were screened on international film festivals worldwide. 2019 Weydemann Bros. was awarded as one of Variety’s „10 producers to watch“ at the Cannes film festival, won the Bavarian Film Award for Best Producers in 2020 and the Hamburg film festival Best Producers Award in 2021.
About Steffen Kottkamp:
Steffen Kottkamp is a curator, producer, and media executive and the initiator of Directors Collection. He held senior editorial and production roles at Paramount and for major German public broadcasters, including ARD and ZDF, with responsibility for commissioning, curating, and programming scripted content.
As Vice President Head of Production at Paramount Global, he oversaw German-language original productions for Paramount+ across development, production, and delivery.
Across more than 25 years, his work has focused on editorial strategy, channel building, and long- term audience development.
CONTACT
Jonas Weydemann and Steffen Kottkamp will be available at the European Film Market and will represent the Directors Collection. Call or text them +49 157 925 371 80 or email at info@directorscollection.com.
More information: directorscollection.com
