Whitney director Kevin Macdonald has struck a multi-project deal with rebranded Banijay label Workerbee Group.
Macdonald, whose past credits include the celebrated Houston doc, Oscar winner One Day in September and Marley, will work closely with Workerbee’s new Films division to jointly identify premium unscripted projects to collaborate on.
The pair have previously collaborated on hit A+E Janet Jackson doc series Janet and the new partnership has already spawned a major feature doc for a streamer, which will be announced shortly.
“On a personal level I’m huge fan of Kevin’s approach to storytelling and his partnerships with our lead Director Ben Hirsh have produced our most exciting documentary projects to date,” said Workerbee CEO Rick Murray. “Knowing we are going to forge more high-profile films together is a great way to kick start our Workerbee Films division.”
Macdonald added: “I’ve had a rewarding time working with Rick and the Workerbee team on several projects over the last few years and am excited to formalise our relationship and work with them on a host of new documentaries.”
The move comes as Workerbee rebrands to Workerbee Group. It is now split into two divisions – Films and Formats – and has forged a new senior team under Creative Director Ben Mitchell and newly-promoted Managing Director Michelle Chappell. Speaking to Deadline last year, Banijay UK Exec Chair Patrick Holland said Workerbee, which has credits including Channel 4/HBO’s The Bridge and Netflix’s upcoming Idris Elba-narrated Human Playground, would be given additional investment as a reward for being high performing. The indie recently unveiled plans to invest in unscripted businesses and talent based outside of London.
