Jan
Mojto

Mojto established himself as programming chief at the now defunct but once vast Kirch Group, where he oversaw production and distribution of high-end productions. While the collapse of the Kirch Group in 2002 caused a tectonic shift in Germany’s media landscape, it also resulted in the start of Mojto’s successful solo career with EOS Entertainment, whose co-productions included the hit Adolf Hitler film “Downfall.”

Mojto went on to acquire a number of former companies from the ruins of the Kirch empire, including Beta Film, classical music production unit Unitel and Kineos, which handles the German-language free-TV rights to some 8,000 titles, including 6,500 feature films, formerly controlled by KirchMedia. Beta Films is part of the wave of European production houses that are buying into companies or setting up joint ventures and subsidiaries across borders as a way to snag key talent and offset risk.

Beta’s recent and upcoming co-productions include Tom Tykwer’s historical crime drama “Babylon Berlin”; Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s historical drama, tentatively titled “Work Without Author.” Donnersmarck and Mojto are also teaming up on a TV adaptation of the best-selling French fantasy graphic novel “Thorgal.” Beta is also currently backing Rupert Everett’s directorial debut, the Oscar Wilde biopic “The Happy Prince.”