Production Company

Almega Projects

ALMEGA PROJECTS is a London-based independent production company specialising in the in-house development, production and international co-production of feature films and documentaries. The company was founded in 2006 by British/American managing director and producer Angus Aynsley.

OSCAR® nominated Waste Land (dir. Lucy Walker), Almega Projects’ inaugural feature documentary, won the Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary at Sundance 2010 as well as winning both the Amnesty International Film Prize and the Panorama Audience Award at Berlinale 2010. The film went on to win over 15 major awards at a host of international film festivals before receiving a nomination for the 2011 Academy Awards® for Best Documentary. Waste Land is a UK/Brazilian co-production in partnership with O2 Filmes (City of God), Brazil’s largest film production company. Waste Land received its US theatrical release in October 2010 and will be released in the UK on the 25th February 2011.

Almega Projects are production partners/co-financiers of A Man’s Story, a feature documentary about British fashion designer Ozwald Boateng, directed by Varon Bonicos. The film, which premiered at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2010, is produced by Rachel Robey and Alastair Clark of Wellington Films (London to Brighton, Better Things) and co-financed by the UK Film Council New Cinema Fund (Man on Wire).

Angus Aynsley is also executive producer on the brilliant and controversial Four Lions from production company Warp Films. The Film was officially selected for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition Sundance 2010 and has received nominations for both Outstanding Film Debut and Outstanding British Film at BAFTA 2011. The film opened theatrically in the UK on May 7th 2010 and November 5th in the US.

Almega Project’s most recent film, THE BENGALI DETECTIVE made the official selection at Sundance 2011 (World Cinema Documentary Competition) and will be receiving its European premiere at Panorama, Berlinale, 2011. Future projects from the company include various feature documentaries with strong international themes.

Almega Projects previously produced a number of award winning short films including the drama Oscar & Isabelle and documentary Berrydown Cairn, which was made in collaboration with the British land artist Andy Goldsworthy.

Before founding Almega Projects, Angus worked in senior management positions within the financial sector, in Paris and London, with both AXA Investment Managers and Robert Fleming & Co. He was educated at L’Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA) and Sciences Po in France and has a BA from Indiana University (USA). Angus is an active collector in the art world, and has acted as a consultant to various creative industries, including fashion, design and film.

O2 Filmes

O2 Filmes was established in 2001 and is considered one of the most important and creative Brazilian production companies in the world making independent productions and co-productions with large international studios and television networks.

In 2004 O2 Filmes’ feature-length film CITY OF GOD, directed by Fernando Meirelles, was nominated for four Oscars, including the Best Director and Adapted Screenplay categories. The film was seen by over 3.3 million viewers in Brazil, was released worldwide, and received more than 30 awards including a BAFTA.

O2 Filmes’ documentary about soccer, titled GINGA: THE SOUL OF BRASILIAN FOOTBALL, was co-produced alongside Nike and Wieden & Kennedy in 2005. They also produced DOMÉSTICAS, O FILME (MAIDS); VIVA VOZ (SPEAKER PHONE); CONTRA TODOS (UP AGAINST THEM ALL); and ANTÔNIA, the two last being co-produced with Coração da Selva.

O2 Filmes was the first independent film production company to sign a co-production agreement with TV Globo, which resulted in four seasons of the series CITY OF MEN, a major success with both critics and the public. O2 then went on to produce two successful seasons of the TV series ANTONIA. In 2006 O2 Filmes produced FILHOS DO CARNAVAL (SONS OF CARNIVAL) a 6 part series, for HBO Latin America.

In 2007, they released EL BAÑO DEL PAPA (THE POPE’S TOILET), directed by Enrique Fernandez and César Charlone, a feature-length film co-produced by Uruguay and France, which screened in the official selection of Cannes Film Festival (Un Certain Regard). 2007 also saw the release of the feature film CIDADE DOS HOMENS (CITY OF MEN), directed by Paulo Morelli, and NãO POR ACASO (NOT BY CHANCE), directed by Philippe Barcinski.

In 2008, the company released BLINDNESS, by Fernando Meirelles, starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover and the Brazilian actress Alice Braga. The movie, co-produced by O2 Filmes, Canadian Rhombus Media and Japanese Beevine Pictures, was selected for the Official Competition at Cannes, and opened the festival.

2009 saw the release of O2 Filmes’ feature film ADRIFT, directed by Heitor Dhalia starring French actor Vincent Cassel, American Camila Belle and Brazilian Debora Block. The film participated in the Cannes Film Festival (Un Certain Regard). 2009 also saw the release of the TV series ‘SOM E FÚRIA’ (a Brazilian version of the Canadian series SLING & ARROWS), directed by Fernando Meirelles and co produced with TV Globo. O2 co-produced, alongside HBO Latin America, the second season of ‘FILHOS DO CARNAVAL’ (SONS OF CARNIVAL), which was released in October the same year. In 2010, O2 will release the feature film VIPs, directed by Toniko Melo, starring the actor Wagner Moura.