Empowering diverse voices to uplift the power of authentic storytelling
About Countess Films
In 2022, producing partners Ghizlane Morlot and Jean-François Cavelier co-founded Countess Films, a production outfit in Los Angeles. Countess Films focuses primarily on feature film projects that uplift women's voices while facilitating opportunities to tell more inclusive, authentic stories.
Projects
The Ramp
Big, warm feature-length romantic dramedy about a big-city, self-absorbed lawyer that takes her therapist's advice to visit her estranged mother in her hometown and all of the complex dynamics that ensue
Meet Me in the Kitchen at Midnight
Big, warm feature-length romantic dramedy about a big-city, self-absorbed lawyer that takes her therapist's advice to visit her estranged mother in her hometown and all of the complex dynamics that ensue
The Art of Living Dangerously
In the bustling streets of Dhaka and the polished halls of Washington D.C., a determined young environmental activist risks her safety and future to expose a global conspiracy of toxic waste dumping, facing corrupt officials, violent threats, and the limits of her own resolve.
Meet the Team
Co-Founder, Producer
Jean-François Cavelier
Jean-François Cavelier (he/him), originally from Paris, France, has over 33 years of experience in the combination of international Film and TV Sales/Distribution and Production. He was the Domestic and International Distribution Consultant for Comerica Bank (Los Angeles), Liberty International (Los Angeles), Pueblo (Geneva, Switzerland), and Syrena (Warsaw, Poland) on the financing side and held various Executive positions for worldwide film and television distribution companies in Hollywood before consulting with several clients both in the US, Latin America, France, and China. Cavelier has handled world sales of countless titles, active in the acquisition and distribution of media content in Mainland China and Latin America as well as in the distribution of Hollywood content to the global markets.
Cavelier turned his full attention to production in 2017, co-producing Jean-Michel Cousteau's "Wonders of the Sea", a feature documentary narrated by Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also acted as a Producer for "Air Strike," the biggest budget feature film ever produced in China, negotiating the hiring of Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson. In 2022, Cavelier co-founded a production outfit in Los Angeles with his producing partner Ghizlane S. Morlot called Countess Films, which focuses primarily on feature film projects that allow for women’s voices to be heard while creating opportunities to tell more inclusive stories.
Cavelier still owns and operates his own consulting boutique, Gallico Media, educating filmmakers, screenwriters, and others about the "secrets" of the field of film and TV distribution and sales.
Co-Founder, Producer, Director
Ghizlane Morlot
Ghizlane S. Morlot's (she/her) first step as a director was shooting a feature documentary about renowned artist Trimpin. Since then, she has gone on to write and direct several narrative shorts, all featuring troubled women on the verge of a nervous breakdown. A native from Morocco and France, Morlot finds inspiration in Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's masterpieces about psychotic women and transgenders. Morlot received an M.F.A. in Television and Screenwriting from Stephens College, Columbia MO. She was granted a fellowship by the Alliance of Women Directors in Los Angeles and participated in a six-month directing workshop with USC School of Cinematics Arts Associate Professor Jennifer Warren, as part of a diversity initiative supporting women in film.
In the fall 2019, Morlot shadowed producer/director Randy Zisk (pre-production and production) on the set of “Almost Family” (Fox Television). During the 2021 pandemic, Morlot directed “Snow on The Farm”, a comedy web-series featuring women, chicken (mostly female) and goats (YouTube/IGTV).
In 2022, Morlot co-founded a production outfit in Los Angeles called Countess Films with her producing partner Jean-François Cavelier. Countess Films is set to focus primarily on feature films projects that shall allow for women’s voices to be heard while opening-up opportunities to tell more inclusive stories. Morlot is attached to direct her debut feature-length film “Meet Me in The Kitchen at Midnight”, a dramedy about yet another woman on the edge.
