Veteran producer-diistrbutor David Kosse has set up a first-look development deal with Prime Video for the UK under his new production outfit Rockwood Pictures.
Kosse was most recently the London-based head of international film at Netflix.
The company’s development deal sits with the streamer’s UK licensing team under Chris Bird, managing director of Prime Video UK. It will cover the development and production of films, Prime Video confirmed to Screen.
The London-based Kosse set up Rockwood in 2023 with former Netflix colleague Claire Willats, who led the Nordics team at the US streamer and produced films such as Troll, Black Crab and Platform.
The duo — who have a long professional history that goes back to Kosse’s time as managing director of Momentum Pictures before joining Universal Pictures International in 2003 — have kept a tight lid on their strategy for Rockwood, but are quietly developing a slate of film and TV projects with streamers and studios in the UK and US.
Kosse is also listed as an executive producer on Steven Knight’s forthcoming Peaky Blinders feature for Netflix.
US-born Kosse joined Netflix as VP of international film in 2019 from STX International, at a time when the streamer began investing heavily in international movies for global subscribers. He was in charge of all international film productions and acquisitions, with a focus on growing non-English-language titles.
He was responsible for more than 40 films at the streamer, including Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand Of God, the Spanish-language spin-off Bird Box Barcelona, Romain Gavras’ Athena, Sally El Hosaini’s The Swimmers and Sebastián Lelio’s The Wonder.
Kosse also oversaw the German-language All Quiet On The Western Front, which went on to win four Oscars and the Bafta for best film in 2023, shortly after the executive departed Netflix in 2022.
Prior to Netflix, Kosse oversaw Film4 from 2014-2016, where his credits included Oscar winner Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Room. Before that, he launched the distribution and production division of Universal Pictures International, where he worked from 2003 to 2014.
He started his career in the UK working in marketing and distribution for Polygram.
Willats was a director of international original films at Netflix from 2019 to 2022, where she commissioned and greenlit films from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. She was previously the London-based director of acquisitions for STX Entertainment.
Netflix has not replaced Kosse’s overarching international film role since his exit, instead moving to a strategy of installing dedicated regional leads. Earlier this year, Screen revealed Teresa Moneo, who joined Netflix in 2019, was taking over as head of UK original film.
The streamer’s film operation has undergone a significant restructure in recent years. Kosse previously reported to Netflix film head Scott Stuber, who exited in January 2024. Stuber was replaced by It producer Dan Lin, who joined the company in April and reorganised the film division by genre rather than budget.
Originally published at https://www.screendaily.com/news/david-kosses-rockwood-pictures-signs-first-look-development-deal-with-prime-video-uk-exclusive/5197318.article
