October Films was a major U.S.

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

production company and

distributor A distributor is an enclosed rotating switch used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have mechanically timed ignition. The distributor's main function is to route high voltage current from the ignition coil to the spark plugs ...

founded in 1991 by

Bingham Ray Bingham Ray (1 October 1954 – 23 January 2012) was an American independent film executive. Career He was a co-founder of indie film distributor October Films and president of United Artists from 2001 to 2004. At the time of his death, he was exec ...

and Jeff Lipsky as a means of distributing the 1990 film '' Life Is Sweet''. A series of

mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

began when

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

(then a division of the

Seagram Company The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was once (in the 1990s) the lar ...

) bought a majority stake in October Films in 1997.

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

then sold its shares to

Barry Diller Barry Charles Diller (born February 2, 1942) is an American businessman. He is Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC and Expedia Group and founded the Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting. Diller was inducted into the Television Hall of ...

in 1999, who renamed the company

USA Films Focus Features LLC is an American film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as part of Universal Pictures, a division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and foreign films in the U ...

and merged it with

Gramercy Pictures Gramercy Pictures was an American film production label. It was founded on May 20, 1992 as a joint venture between PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Universal Pictures. Gramercy was the distributor of PolyGram films in the United States and Canada ...

Vivendi Vivendi SE is a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris. Widely known as the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Editis, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion, the company has activities in television, film, video ...

then acquired USA Films, who in 2002 acquired

Good Machine Good Machine Productions was an American independent film production, film distribution, and foreign sales company started in the early 1990 by its co-founders and producers, Ted Hope and James Schamus. David Linde joined as a partner in the late ...

and merged it with USA Films, forming

Focus Features Focus Features LLC is an American film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as part of Universal Pictures, a division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and foreign films in th ...

Filmography

1990s

2000s

Distributor

* '' Rebro Adama'' (1990) (1992) * '' Tous les matins du monde'' (1991) (1992) * '' Two Mikes Don't Make a Wright'' (1992) (1993) * ''

Un coeur en hiver ''A Heart in Winter'' (french: Un cœur en hiver) is a French film which was released in 1992. It stars Emmanuelle Béart, Daniel Auteuil and André Dussollier. It was chosen to compete at the 49th Venice International Film Festival, where it won ...

'' (1992) (1993) * '' Bad Behaviour'' (1993) * ''

The War Room ''The War Room'' is a 1993 American documentary film about Bill Clinton's campaign for President of the United States during the 1992 United States presidential election. Directed by Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker, the film was released on D ...

'' (1993) * ''

Dellamorte Dellamore ''Cemetery Man'' ( it, Dellamorte Dellamore) is a 1994 Comedy horror, comedy horror film directed by Michele Soavi and starring Rupert Everett, François Hadji-Lazaro and Anna Falchi. It was produced by Tilde Corsi, Gianni Romoli and Soavi and bas ...

'' (1994) (1996) * '' Le Colonel Chabert'' (1994) * '' Moving the Mountain'' (1994) (1995) * '' Pao Da Shuang Deng'' (1994) (1995) * '' Mécaniques célestes'' (1995) (1996) * '' Badkonake sefid (White Balloon)'' (1995)'' (1996) * ''

Hollow Point upright=0.2, Cross-section of a hollow-point bullet; proportions are those of a .22 Long Rifle cartridge Jacketed soft point (JSP) round. Right: Jacketed hollow-point (JHP) round. JSP is a semi-jacketed round as the jacket does not extend to ...

'' (1996) * ''

Natural Enemy Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

'' (1997) * ''

Kicked in the Head Kicked in the Head were a ska punk band founded in Boston, Massachusetts in the mid-1990s. Known for Halloween shows with Big D and The Kids Table, the band signed with the label run by Big D, Fork in Hand Records, and released their debut album ' ...

'' (1997) * '' 24 7: Twenty Four Seven'' (1997) (1998) * ''

The Peacekeeper ''The Peacekeeper'' is a 1997 action film directed by Frédéric Forestier, and starring Dolph Lundgren, Michael Sarrazin, Montel Williams, and Roy Scheider. The film follows U.S. Air Force Major Frank Cross, who is the only man who can prevent the ...

'' (1997) * ''

The Death Train ''The Death Train'' (alternately titled ''Death Train'') is a 1978 Australian made-for-television horror thriller filmEd. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p42 directed by Igor Auzins, and starri ...

'' (1998) * ''

Touch of Evil ''Touch of Evil'' is a 1958 American film noir written and directed by Orson Welles, who also stars in the film. The screenplay was loosely based on the contemporary Whit Masterson novel ''Badge of Evil'' (1956). The cast included Charlton Hes ...

'' (1958) (1998) * '' Thick as Thieves'' (1998) * '' Testimone dello sposo, Il'' (1998) (1999) * ''

Conte d'automne ''Autumn Tale'' (french: Conte d'automne) is a 1998 French romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Éric Rohmer, starring Béatrice Romand, Marie Rivière, Didier Sandre, Alain Libolt, Alexia Portal, Stéphane Darmon and Aurélia Alc ...

'' (1998) (1999) * '' The Best Man (1999/II film)'' (1999/II) * ''

Trippin' ''Trippin'' is a 2005 MTV environmental documentary television series hosted by Cameron Diaz. It also features many other celebrities, including Drew Barrymore, Redman, Jessica Alba, Eva Mendes, Mark Hoppus and Justin Timberlake Justin Ra ...

'' (1999) * ''

Detour __NOTOC__ A detour or (British English: diversion) is a (normally temporary) route taking traffic around an area of prohibited or reduced access, such as a construction site. Standard operating procedure for many roads departments is to route an ...

'' (1999)

References

External links

October Films at IMDb

Focus Features

October Films UK
Film distributors of the United States Film production companies of the United States Mass media companies established in 1991 1991 establishments in the United States American independent film studios Universal Pictures {{US-film-company-stub