BAC Films is a French film production and distribution company. Based in Paris, the company was founded in 1986 by Jean Labadie, Éric Heumann, and Stéphane Sorlat. Capital shares of the company were re-allocated in 1988 when Vivendi took 10% followed by a 20% stake in the capital of the company, which allowed BAC Films to make major and ambitious acquisitions.
History
BAC Films had an early success in 1990 with Sailor et Lula, a Palme d'Or winner at the Cannes Film Festival. The releases of Barton Fink and Tous les matins du monde in 1991, Indochine and Le Zèbre in 1992, and La Leçon de piano in 1993 placed BAC Films at the top of the independent film distribution industry in France.
In 1994, BAC Films started diversifying its activities with the creation of a movie theater subsidiary named -Les Écrans de Paris, in association with Simon Simsi. In 1997, another movie theater business was created under the name Majestic, and the group underwent a reorganization, splitting into three: BAC Films (distribution); Majestic (movie theaters); and Séance Privée (special events). In 1998, BAC Films set up Mars Films to distribute its numerous acquisitions.[1] Two years later, StudioCanal bought an 80% stake in the company while BAC Films retained management control.