Variety Coverage of Participant Media Conference and Panel at Toronto Film Festival

Toronto: Jeff Skoll Foresees Massive Growth For Participant
September 6, 2013 | 05:35PM PT
Founder forecasts 2,000 employees in 10 years

By Dave McNary

On the heels of its film “The Fifth Estate” launching the Toronto Intl. Film Festival, Participant Media topper Jeff Skoll has offered a thoroughly bulllish vision of how his nine-year-old company will look in 2023.

“Ten years from now, I’d like Participant to have 2,000 employees and be producing content in every country of the world,” Skoll said Friday at the festival’s keynote industry panel at the Glenn Gould Center. “I believe that in 10 years, the majority of our content will be in languages other than English.”

The company currently has 219 employees and has produced about 45 films. It also announced Friday that it had partnered for a sixth time on a film with DreamWorks on “The Hundred Foot Journey”; in addition to “Estate,” that association has brought hits “The Help” and “Lincoln.”