French Film Vet Launches Action Powerhouse

French film executive Sara May has established Sonderworld, a new production company focused on action and genre films. With financial backing from Goodfellas, Sonderworld aims to develop original intellectual property and franchises originating from the French and European markets.

May, who previously held executive roles at TF1, EuropaCorp, and spent six years at Netflix, intends to create a "metaverse of action" from Europe. She believes the continent possesses the talent, infrastructure, and stories to produce high-quality action content for a global audience at a reduced cost.

Sonderworld is currently developing six projects, including action, elevated genre, urban, and dark comedy/crime features. While prioritizing French-language productions, the company is open to English-language projects for large-scale productions. Goodfellas will handle international sales and co-productions for all Sonderworld projects.

May emphasizes a business-savvy approach, leveraging her experience in acquisitions and sales to ensure projects are bankable. She also plans to ethically incorporate new technologies like AI to enhance filmmaking tools for creators. May sees a growing market gap and aims to modernize production models.