Artificial Eye was founded in 1976 by Andi Engel (11 November 1942 – 26 December 2006), a German-born film enthusiast, and his then wife, Pamela Balfry, who had a background working with Richard Roud at the London Film Festival. She became the company's first managing director.[1][8]
In 2006 Artificial Eye became a part of Curzon World, a group of companies in the film entertainment industry which also includes the Curzon chain of 13 cinemas plus eight joint venture cinemas,[9]video on demand service Curzon Home Cinema, the retail DVD distributor Fusion Media Sales, and horror film distributor Chelsea Films (launched in 2010).[10]
Curzon Artificial Eye releases some 20 new theatrical films and 30 DVD and Blu-ray titles in the UK each year, as well as digital releases via several platforms, such as iTunes and in-house Curzon Home Cinema.[10]
In 2016, Curzon Artificial Eye renamed to Curzon Film.[11]
On 23 December 2019, Curzon Artificial Eye, along with parent company Curzon, was acquired by American film distributor Cohen Media Group.[3]
In 2020, Curzon Film, in association with StudioCanal UK, released Parasite to UK audiences, which would become UK's highest grossing foreign language film of all time.[12]
In April 2024, Curzon announced that it would revive the storied Artificial Eye label, dormant for nearly a decade, for arthouse and indie films curated by Curzon's acquisitions team with a special focus on world cinema. The first release under the relaunched banner will be the Berlinale title My Favourite Cake, with a rebranded look debuting with the film.[13]
