John Fremes is President, International and oversees international sales, distribution, and business affairs for all of Essential Entertainment’s motion pictures.
Prior to his position at Essential, Fremes served as President of Element Films International, where he handled worldwide sales on Five Fingers (Lionsgate) starring Laurence Fishburne and Ryan Philippe, Waiting... (Lionsgate), the teen comedy starring Ryan Reynolds, Dane Cook and Anna Faris, The Last Time (Sony Pictures) starring Michael Keaton and Brendan Fraser, Last Resort (Lionsgate), and Mr. Brooks (MGM), the psychological thriller starring Kevin Costner, Demi Moore, and William Hurt.
Prior to Element, Fremes founded Fusion International Sales Corp in 1999. During that time, he served as Executive Producer on the Miramax feature Steal, directed by Girard Pires (Taxi) and starring Stephen Dorff and Natasha Henstridge.
Before launching Fusion, Fremes was an independent producer and the founding President of Le Monde Entertainment Sales Corporation, a division of Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. He established Le Monde as an independent venture in 1992, was courted by Alliance, and merged with them in 1993. During Fremes’ tenure, Le Monde experienced a rapid expansion. The division handled more than 30 features including Black Mask (Jet Li), released in the U.S. by Artisan Entertainment, and the HBO thriller The Last Witness starring Johnathan Schaech, Natasha Henstridge, and Lauren Hutton.
Fremes also served as head of production for the division, greenlighting more than 20 productions and Executive Producing 14 films including Hidden Agenda, The Fall, Dearly Devoted and the Emmy Award nominated Dead Silence.
Fremes began his career in international sales as President of SC Entertainment, where he spearheaded worldwide sales and production for this fast growing entity.
With over 20 years experience in the industry, Fremes is a frequent speaker on industry trends and worldwide distribution. Notably, he was a guest panelist at the internationally acclaimed Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) and the Toronto Film Festival symposium.
