Red Bull Studios and IPR.VC have joined forces in a groundbreaking multi-year financing deal aimed at producing premium sports documentaries that resonate culturally and cinematically.
Red Bull Studios and IPR.VC Forge Multi-Year Sports Documentary Financing Deal
EXCLUSIVE: Austria’s Red Bull Studios and Helsinki-based fund IPR.VC have announced a multi-year slate financing commitment focused on premium sports and sports-adjacent documentary projects.
Recent Productions and Future Aspirations
The agreement follows a series of high-profile sports-themed productions from Red Bull Studios, including Jalil Lespert’s Dakar: Race Against The Desert, produced in collaboration with Universal Pictures; the BAFTA award-winning documentary The Real Mo Farah; and the Emmy-nominated The Dawn Wall.
The partners stated that their collaboration would leverage Red Bull Studios’ proven track record in the sports documentary space alongside IPR.VC’s investment expertise. This partnership underscores Red Bull Studios’ commitment to producing compelling sports-themed content that transcends mere highlight reels to tell human stories with cultural relevance and cinematic execution.
Philipp Manderla’s Vision
“We are excited to partner with IPR.VC, which will enable us to accelerate our ambition to tell bold, visually striking stories rooted in the world of sport and beyond. Together, we’re crafting a slate that reflects our shared passion for high-quality, globally relevant storytelling with cultural impact,” said Philipp Manderla, Global Head of Red Bull Studios.
IPR.VC’s Financial Expertise
Bridging the gap between traditional finance and content investment, IPR.VC, which also has an office in London, has raised over $200 million from institutional investors, pension funds, family offices, and non-profit sector investors to date. It has financed more than 50 premium film and television productions over the last decade through slate-wide alliances with top U.S. and European production houses, including XYZ Films (Blackberry, Skywalkers: A Love Story), mk2 films (Gentle Monster), and A24 (Civil War, Materialists, and Eddington).
Collaboration and Cultural Impact
“At IPR.VC, we collaborate with companies that bring ambitious, culturally resonant ideas to the global stage, and Red Bull Studios is a benchmark in that space,” stated Andrea Scarso, Partner at IPR.VC. “They’ve been truly inspiring in how they’ve built the Red Bull Studios brand, creating something genuinely unique in the world of sports and sports-adjacent storytelling. This collaboration reflects our ongoing strategy to support premium, globally relevant stories told through scripted and non-scripted genres across film, television, and the wider content economy, while offering investors seeking relevance a vehicle to shape culture.”
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Upcoming Titles
Upcoming Red Bull Studio titles include Girl Climber, directed by Jon Glassberg, profiling climber Emily Harrington as she defies expectations by taking on the challenge to free climb El Capitan in under 24 hours. The film world premiered at the Telluride-set Mountainfilm festival in May 2025 and will have both theatrical and digital releases.
Further recent titles include Reggae Girlz, about Jamaica’s Women’s Soccer team, directed by two-time Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Trish Dalton, and The Balloonists, directed by John Dower, recounting the untold story of the first aeronauts to circumnavigate the globe in a hot air balloon.
Earlier this year, the European Investment Fund committed €25 million to IPR.VC’s latest alternative investment fund, consolidating its position as the largest independent Film and TV investment fund manager operating in Europe.
The slate financing deal was negotiated by Sebastian Burkhardt on behalf of Red Bull Studios and Scarso on behalf of IPR.VC.
