EXCLUSIVE: U.S. sales and production outfit XYZ Films and Paris-based producer-financier Vixens have joined forces on a multi-picture slate financing deal. 

The first film on the slate is the upcoming feature Flesh Of The Gods, starring Kristen Stewart and Wagner Moura, with XYZ’s financing backed by IPR.VC, alongside YouRoc.

The A24 acquisition is Panos Cosmatos’ follow-up feature to fellow genre movie Mandy starring Nicolas Cage, which was also produced by XYZ Films. 

Gary Farkas, Clément Lepoutre and Olivier Muller-led Vixens is part of a wider group that also includes Phantasm, a commercials and music video label, and Phenomena, a photography agency. The label has also brought in finance for multiple high-profile indie movies, including Cannes entries Paper Tiger and Full Phil, also starring Stewart.

“XYZ and Vixens have a long friendship built on shared creative taste. We are excited to deliver a strong slate of films supporting visionary filmmakers with a bold approach to cinematic storytelling,” said XYZ co-founder Nate Bolotin. 

“We’ve long been impressed by the distinctive model XYZ has built: producing bold films, often shot internationally, and with a keen understanding of the market. A key aspect of our culture at Vixens is our international outlook and our appetite for global collaboration. Together with XYZ, we will produce a slate of ambitious, filmmaker-driven films that resonate with audiences worldwide,” commented Vixens’ co-founder Gary Farkas.  

XYZ’s current slate includes SXSW Audience Award winner Over Your Dead Body with Jason Segel, Samara Weaving, Juliette Lewis and Timothy Olyphant, and TIFF action title The Furious, which will be released theatrically by Lionsgate this summer.

Vixens is in Cannes with anticipated Competition drama Paper Tiger, starring Adam Driver, Miles Teller and Scarlett Johansson, and Full Phil, starring Woody Harrelson, Kristen Stewart and Charlotte Le Bon. The company previously contributed financing on features including Dog 51 and Emilia Perez.