Oscar-Winning Producer Dan Janvey Joins Creative Studio Ventureland As Head Of Film 

EXCLUSIVE: Academy Award-winning producer Dan Janvey (Nomadland) has joined Ventureland, the studio behind the Emmy and PGA Award-winning docuseries Beckham and the Oscar and BAFTA-nominated Bobi Wine: The People’s President, as Head of Film. 

Based in New York City, Janvey joins from the Brooklyn-based Present Company, where he was a producer. His appointment follows news over the summer that Jesse Uram joined as vice president of strategic partnerships, where he is focused on expanding the company’s relationships with partners across the financial, creative, brand and distribution communities. Kerstin Emhoff, John Battsek, Ali Brown launched the studio, specializing in the development of original entertainment across all media platforms, alongside Paul Hunter in 2018.

Producing credits for Janvey include the Best Picture Oscar-winning Nomadland, as well as the Oscar-nominated Time and Beasts of the Southern Wild. Additionally, he has produced Janet Planet, A Love Song, Heart of a Dog, and Patti Cake$. In addition to his Best Picture Oscar win, he is the recipient of the Sundance/Indian Paintbrush Creative Producing Prize, as well as a proud alumnus of the Sundance Producing Labs. A founding member of production company, The Department of Motion Pictures, who was also formerly a manager/producer with Untitled Entertainment, he continues to manager Garrett Bradley, the filmmaker behind Amazon Studios’ Time, alongside Present Company.

“Since the launch of Ventureland, John, Ali, and I have been pursuing Dan, whose vision and approach to filmmaking align perfectly with our mission,” said Emhoff in a statement to Deadline. “He exemplifies the spirit of independent cinema, possessing an extraordinary talent for identifying emerging talent and compelling projects. As a passionate filmmaker and bold risk-taker, Dan embodies our commitment to nurturing exceptional talent and bringing visionary stories to life.”

Commented Battsek, “Dan and I share a deep love of movies, something that I feel is reflected in the remarkable work he has produced in both the scripted and unscripted spaces. I am delighted to have him bring his prodigious creative talents to Ventureland and look forward to collaborating with him as we continue to produce documentary features and series whilst expanding into the fiction space as well.”

Brown added that “in Dan you have this rare combination of impeccable taste, an intuitive sense to story, mutual respect of artists that are both established and emerging, a pragmatic understanding of how the business works, and kindness. Sheer kindness. He is one of one.”

In his own statement, Janvey observed, “Kerstin, John, and Ali have built Ventureland into a truly dynamic production company. Through their ingenuity and grit, they’ve made a home for artists to do original and bold work that reaches audiences worldwide.” The exec added, “I’ve long admired everything they’ve done – it’s particularly thrilling to move from being a fan to a collaborator. The internal culture of the company is inspiring. It’s great people taking creative risks, knowing that this is the best way to tell stories.”

Recently producing titles like Wham!, The Rescue, and The Deepest Breath, Ventureland’s other credits include the Emmy-winning  Rising Phoenix (Netflix); Critics’ Choice nominee The Real Charlie Chaplin (Showtime); TIFF-selected Werner Herzog documentary Theater of Thought; Mary McCartney’s documentary on Abbey Road Studios, If These Walls Could Sing (Disney+); and Boom! Boom! The World vs Boris Becker (Apple TV+), Alex Gibney’s portrait of the former tennis legend, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival.

At present, the company has several big projects on the horizon, including the David Oyelowo-led scripted series Government Cheese for Apple TV+, as well as several to-be-announced feature documentaries currently in post-production.