Modern Films

Overview

Modern Films is a London-based independent film distribution company founded in 2017 by Eve Gabereau, who previously co-founded and ran Soda Pictures for 15 years (representing over 350 films including Toni Erdmann, Paterson, and multiple works by Joachim Trier and Kelly Reichardt). Modern Films operates as a production, distribution, and digital exhibition company, working with rising and established international talent to bring arthouse and socially engaged films to UK and Ireland audiences. The company is headquartered at 1-13 Charlotte Street, London W1T 1RH.

Modern Films represents a library of over 100 films. Notable titles include the Academy Award and BAFTA winner Drive My Car (Ryusuke Hamaguchi), plus two further Hamaguchi features (Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, Berlinale Silver Bear; Evil Does Not Exist, Venice Silver Lion), Agnieszka Holland's Venice Special Jury Prize winner Green Border, Babak Jalali's Sundance selection Fremont (featuring Jeremy Allen White), Alice Rohrwacher's Cannes winner Happy as Lazzaro, and the Camera d'Or winner Murina (executive produced by Martin Scorsese). The company's first major projects were the distribution of Julian Rosefeldt's Manifesto (starring Cate Blanchett in 13 roles) and executive production on the BAFTA-winning I Am Not a Witch (Rungano Nyoni), which was the UK's entry for the 91st Academy Awards.

Distribution Model

Modern Films operates three distinct distribution channels that can be combined per title:

Theatrical releases place films in arthouse cinemas across the UK and Ireland. For Drive My Car, the company opened on 27 sites, reaching a widest point of 50 screens, with the film playing at over 100 sites total across the UK and Ireland over 15 weeks. The company handles its own publicity and marketing.

Event Cinema is a sub-brand (Modern Event Cinema) that creates one-off screening events with Q&As, panels, and discussions. Event partners range from the Royal Opera House, The Barbican, Tate Modern, and Serpentine Galleries to Penguin Books, Frieze Art Fair, the British Museum, the British Library, The Guardian, Southbank Centre, Rough Trade, the British Fashion Council, the V&A Museum, UN Women, UK Parliament, Sky, BBC, Channel 4, and A24. This model extends distribution to venues without permanent cinema programming: arts centres, museums, galleries, universities, and community organisations.

Virtual Cinema operates as a partnered online screening model. Modern Films shares virtual box office ticket sales between distribution and exhibition, working similarly to physical theatrical partnerships. For Drive My Car, the company ran a 31-day theatrical window before opening concurrent virtual cinema channels across 17 Modern Films cinema partners, 8 third-party platforms (including Curzon Home Cinema and BFI Player), and 5 cultural partners, creating 30 additional ways to watch the film.

Modern Projects Venture

In 2026, Modern Films launched Modern Projects, a collaborative distribution division created by Eve Gabereau (who remains owner and chair of Modern Films but has also taken on the role of director of distribution at Vue Lumiere, the theatrical releasing arm of exhibitor Vue Cinemas). Modern Projects acquires niche, event-driven titles and brings together third-party sales, marketing, and PR agencies with the producers of each film to collectively raise P&A costs through private funding, cultural funds, or sponsorship.

Partners include marketing agency Mustard Studio, publicity agency Margaret Communications, and consultants across theatrical delivery, promotions, outreach, and digital platforms. The first Modern Projects release was Leonora In The Morning Light (a biopic of British surrealist artist Leonora Carrington, starring Olivia Vinall, acquired from Indie Sales), which opened in UK and Ireland cinemas in May 2026 after its UK premiere at Glasgow Film Festival.

This model differs from standard Modern Films releases, where the company handles P&A costs itself. Modern Projects was previously trialled on Uberto Pasolini's The Return (2025), where the company collaborated directly with Pasolini, who also produced and part-financed the film.

What Filmmakers Should Know

Modern Films is a realistic acquisition target for documentary and arthouse filmmakers whose work combines theatrical quality with community or social resonance. The company's library skews toward films dealing with environmental, social justice, healthcare, educational, or cultural subjects that connect with defined community audiences. The event screening infrastructure means distribution through Modern Films can deliver national reach even for films that would not achieve wide arthouse cinema bookings.

For filmmakers evaluating UK distributors, Modern Films occupies a specific niche: more socially engaged and event-oriented than Dogwoof (which focuses on documentary theatrical), more curatorial than Together Films (which focuses on impact distribution), and more flexible than Axiom Films (which focuses on pure arthouse theatrical). The company's Global Screen Fund Grant for Business Development and Transformational Strategies, received in 2024, supports its international scope and innovative distribution models.

Filmmakers should note that Gabereau's dual role at Vue Lumiere means she is acquiring more mainstream arthouse titles through that separate channel (such as the Marianne Faithfull documentary Broken English and Ferzan Ozpetek's Italian box-office hit Diamanti, which opened in over 25 UK and Ireland cinemas). Modern Films itself remains focused on its core arthouse and social impact identity, with Satoko Sekiguchi coordinating development, production, and distribution of international projects.

The company does not publicly disclose standard MG ranges or P&A commitments. Filmmakers should approach Modern Films through a sales agent or at festivals where the company acquires (Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, Toronto, Venice, Glasgow Film Festival). The company acquired UK and Ireland all-rights deals for titles including Memoir of a Snail (2025 theatrical release), When the Light Breaks (2025 theatrical release), and Girls Will Be Girls (2024).

Notable Releases

Drive My Car (2022, Academy Award winner Best International Feature, BAFTA winner Best Film Not in the English Language), I Am Not a Witch (2018, BAFTA winner, UK Oscar entry), Happy as Lazzaro (2018, Cannes winner), Diamantino (2018), The Perfect Candidate (2019), Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (2022), Green Border (2023, Venice Special Jury Prize), Fremont (2023, Sundance), Murina (2022, Camera d'Or), The Return (2025), Memoir of a Snail (2025), When the Light Breaks (2025), Girls Will Be Girls (2024), Leonora In The Morning Light (2026, Modern Projects).

See Also

For UK documentary distribution with more theatrical focus, see Dogwoof in this directory. For impact distribution with similar community engagement focus, see Together Films in this directory. For how UK theatrical distribution deals are structured, see Distribution Deals Explained. To model revenue from a UK theatrical release with event screening extensions, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator.