Train Dream Duo Ink Preferred Deal Netflix

Chu, Chu.

Filmmakers Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar behind Netflix’s Oscar-nominated drama train dreamWe have signed a priority contract with the streamer.

The pair will develop and produce features for Netflix through their production banner Ethos. The filmmakers co-write their own projects and then take turns working together on who sits in the director’s chair. train dreamBentley, for example, took on Kwedar’s previous job in 2023. sing a song.

But there’s a creative direction to the proceedings, harkening back to the filmmakers’ indie roots.

Bentley and Kwedar will also develop the slate with emerging filmmakers selected from the world’s leading festivals and film schools. Netflix will finance the development and production of these low-budget films and release them.

Now with Netflix, the two filmmakers have turned their focus to discovering new voices and making what they see as high-risk titles in the indie space, where many traditional financing and distribution methods have collapsed in the post-pandemic era.

Ethos, launched by the two in 2024, is already operating differently from most other production companies. In that production, everyone involved in the film, from above the line to down the line, is paid the same wage. Additionally, everyone employed in the production gets equity in the film.

Making a living through independent films is the duo’s defining principle.

“In founding Ethos, our hope was to create an environment where independent filmmakers could make bold, sustained work in an equitable and sustainable environment for the entire community of artists who work on these films,” Bentley and Kwedar said in a statement. “We are grateful to Netflix for their commitment to this vision and their belief in us as artists, and we are excited about this partnership.”

Sean Berney, head of film acquisitions at Netflix, said: “I’ve been fortunate to meet so many talented filmmakers at festivals and in the marketplace, including Clint and Greg. What really stood out about working with them was, beyond their natural talent, how truly invested we both are in nurturing the next generation of filmmakers and giving them real opportunities to succeed.”

Bentley and Kwedar are favorites on the festival circuit thanks to their increasingly acclaimed independently produced work. their full-length debut Transpecos It premiered at SXSW and won the Audience Award, and its sequel did the same. horseman It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won a Special Jury Award for Best Actor for Clifton Collins Jr.

sing a song After premiering at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, it won the Audience Award at the 2024 SXSW Festival, and received three Academy Award nominations, three Independent Spirit Award nominations, and more.

train dream It was a major contender last awards season after debuting at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, which was acquired by Netflix. He has won four Independent Spirit Awards, winning three, and has been nominated for five Oscars.

The two are currently posting on . saturn returnis a romantic film set in Chicago starring Charles Melton, Rachel Brosnahan, and Will Poulter. Kwedar directed the feature from a script written by Gaelyn Golde, revised by him and Bentley. The film is scheduled to be released on Netflix later this year.

To manage the growing company, Bentley and Kwedar are currently seeking a Creative Director to be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Ethos.

The duo is repped by CAA, Joanne Roberts Wiles of Black Bear, Johnson Shapiro and Paula Woods Consultants.