About atlas international
atlas international Film GmbH was founded in February of 1967 by Dieter Menz.
The company’s core business is the worldwide licensing of feature films, series and documentaries for all media. The Menz family also owns atlas Film & TV Production GmbH and American atlas international Films Inc.
Today, atlas international manages a library of well over 600 titles and represents more than 120 individual producers. In the years since it was founded, atlas has made more than 12,000 license agreements with clients from all over the world. Since 1986, all contracts, availabilities, payments and materials are handled by a specialized computer software, developed and programmed in-house. From sales and marketing to servicing and deliveries, all aspects of international program sales are handled by in-house specialists. This has given atlas the flexibility and fast response demanded by today’s competitive market.
atlas international attends five to seven markets a year, and has representatives in several major territories. atlas international is a member of the German Film Exporters Association (VDFE), a member company of IFTA (Independent Film & Television Alliance) was a founding member of EFEX (Association of European Film Exporters) and is a member of EFEA (European Film Exporters Association).
Dieter Menz, founder of atlas international, is a lawyer who comes from a film family. His father Erich Menz, opened his first cinema in Berlin in 1926, rising to become a director of the massive UFA corporation before falling foul of the Nazi authorities. After the war he went on to found his own chain of cinemas which, until 1993, the Menz family owned and operated. Among these was the famous "Lichtburg", the biggest cinema in Germany, with a capacity of 1.690 seats.
Apart from his sales activities, Dieter Menz has always been involved in film - and media politics. Since 1973, he has served as both chairman and member of the board of EXU (Export Union of German Film) and is a longtime Chairman of the VDFE (Association of German Film Exporters). He is a member of the German Producer’s Association and has numerous times represented them at FIAPF meetings. More than once, he has been a member of the German Oscar selection committee and today, he represents the VDFE at the FFA (the Federal Film Subsidy Fund) where he worked on the amendment of the German Film Subsidy Law. Since early 2000, he is a board member of SPIO, the umbrella organization of all German Film Associations. When time permits, he lectures at the HFF (University for Film and Television) in Munich on international sales of feature films. In 1994, he co-founded EFEX (Association of European Film Exporters e.V.) and was elected as its first president.
atlas international has over the years changed from a "features only" foreign sales company to a multifaceted Media Company. Through worldwide contacts, atlas today sells features, TV-movies and series in all media, aided by its long-standing experience in worldwide film sales and its intimate knowledge of the copyright situation in the international markets.
In August of 2007, atlas international announced their merger with Entertainment Value Associates (EVA) which gives the company access to an attractive library of 12 Film Funds managed by EVA and to a wealth of new product created through EVA’s international co-production and financing structure.
atlas international today combines more than forty years of experience with a feel for the future of the entertainment industry.
(C) 2008 atlas international - All rights reserved