EXCLUSIVE: UK indie studio HaZimation is rebranding as Atelier 11 under the sole leadership of co-founder Paula Crickard following the recent exit of Hasraf ‘HaZ’ Dulull.
The company, which works across feature films, TV series and video games, has in the past provided production services to the likes of Expend4bles and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Under its new guise, it is positioning as a “boutique transmedia studio committed to shaping the future of storytelling across film, animation, gaming and TV series.”
Crickard’s co-founder Dullul announced he was exited the business three months ago to establish a games business called Beyond The Pixels. He told Deadline today that he is in production on a game, Astro Burn, which is company’s debut project.
As for his former company’s new branding, ‘atelier’ means ‘workshop’, which is part of a shift towards a “collaborative, multi-disciplinary model.”
“Atelier 11 reflects our growth, our ambition, and our belief in bold, boundary-pushing storytelling,” said Crickard. “It draws from the spirit of Warhol’s Factory — a place where art, media, and culture intersected in unexpected ways. We’re building something global in scale, but intimate in its creative heart.”
The company has credits for work on Rap Game UK, which Fremantle’s Naked produced for the BBC, Fortnite sci-fi project Moontopia and Prisoners of Paradise, which was a co-production with AMG International. Crickard acted as an exec producer on the latter.
Atelier 11 also collaborated on projects like La Bohème and Deadline, and provided in-game cinematics for Dune Awakening. Elsewhere, the company developed Galaxy Dance, a hybrid live-action and animation short film for BBC Three, and has MODS, an upcoming comedy series and Fortnite game, in development.
Going forward, Crickard will continue her role as Vice Chair of the Production Guild of Great Britain Committee (Northern Ireland). She was Artistic Director of the British Urban Film Festival in 2023.
