Roeg Sutherland is Co-Head of the Media Finance department and Co-Head of the International Film Group at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Based in Los Angeles, Sutherland specializes in the packaging and representation of independently financed film, television, and digital content. In addition, he consults with select class-leading producers and financiers on their media investments. In just the past 5 years, films packaged and/or sold by CAA Media Finance have generated approximately $5 billion at the worldwide box office.
Sutherland also represents a global roster of filmmakers, helping to package, source financing for, and/or sell distribution rights to their films, both English and local language releases. Clients include Ladj Ly (LES MISÉRABLES); Sam Mendes (1917); Rian Johnson (KNIVES OUT); Roland Emmerich (MIDWAY); Martin McDonagh (THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI); Alejandro González Iñárritu (THE REVENANT, BIRDMAN); Ana Lily Amirpour (BAD BATCH); James Gray (AD ASTRA, LOST CITY OF Z); Nadine Labaki (CAPERNAUM); Juan Antonio Bayona (A MONSTER CALLS); Claire Denis (HIGH LIFE); Dan Gilroy (ROMAN J. ISRAEL, NIGHTCRAWLER); Paul Thomas Anderson (LICORICE PIZZA); Kathryn Bigelow (THE HURT LOCKER, ZERO DARK THIRTY); Darren Aronofsky (THE WRESTLER, BLACK SWAN); Gaspar Noé (CLIMAX); Terrence Malick (A HIDDEN LIFE), Yann Demange (’71), Jacques Audiard (THE SISTERS BROTHERS); Karim Aïnouz (INVISIBLE); Julian Schnabel (AT ETERNITY’S GATE); Joe Talbot (THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO); Khalil Joseph (BLKNWS); and Steve McQueen (12 YEARS A SLAVE), plus Arthur Jafa, Walter Salles, and Morten Tyldum among others.
Under Sutherland’s leadership CAA Media Finance has become one of the largest suppliers of feature films into the U.S. theatrical marketplace, brokering more than 100 distribution deals per year for films with budgets ranging from $100K to more than $150M. In addition the films noted above, He has led the packaging, financing and sales of such projects as the Best Picture Academy Award-winning CODA, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO SEVEN, BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM, PIECES OF A WOMAN, and THE FATHER, plus GREYHOUND, MALCOLM & MARIE, 12 YEARS A SLAVE, HER, SICARIO, NOCTURNAL ANIMALS, and YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE; plus many others.
In addition, Sutherland has led the expansion of the Media Finance department’s international activities. Building on CAA’s more than 16-year presence in China, Media Finance serves as a bridge to and within the Chinese film market and, to date, has directed more than three-quarters-of-a billion dollars in Chinese capital into English-language content. Sutherland and the Media Finance team have partnered Chinese financiers with U.S. and European sales agents and production companies, forging strategic partnerships across the globe.
Media Finance’s long-standing work across the global entertainment arena includes extensive experience in architecting financing and distribution entities such as Elevation (Canada), Library Pictures International, Wild Bunch International (France), NEON (U.S.), FilmNation Entertainment (U.S.), AC Brazil, Elysian Film Group Distribution (UK), Wild West (France), UMA (Indonesia and Southeast Asia), and Asbury Park Pictures (U.S.).
He joined CAA in 2001.
Sutherland received his B.A. from Princeton University.
