MK2 Films

In 1974, when director Marin Karmitz couldn't find a distributor for his politically charged films, he didn't just search for a new partner; he built his own vertically integrated film company. This was the beginning of MK2, a family-run enterprise built on a simple premise: champion artistically and politically minded cinema. Karmitz started by opening his own three-screen theater in a Paris neighborhood known more for karate and pornographic films than for art-house cinema. The company is a three-pronged business: film production, distribution, and cinema operation. This structure allowed Karmitz to not only produce the films he believed in but also ensure they found an audience. Over the decades, MK2 built a catalog of films from legendary directors like François Truffaut, Charlie Chaplin, and David Lynch. The playbook was to acquire the rights to entire collections, such as all of Chaplin's films and Truffaut's production company's library. A key transition occurred in 2005 when Marin Karmitz handed leadership to his sons, Nathanaël and Elisha. Under their direction, the company expanded its cinema network into Spain by acquiring the Cinesur chain in 2014. They also embraced digital innovation, making their theater network the first in Paris to become fully digital in 2009. Today, MK2 continues to operate as a leading independent film company, producing and distributing acclaimed features like the Oscar-winning 'Anatomy of a Fall'.