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Breakthrough’s Lambur launches prodco

An executive at Canadian producer and distributor Breakthrough Entertainment has left the company to form her own prodco.

Joan Lambur

Joan Lambur, who led Breakthrough’s family entertainment division, has set up Lambur Productions, which will focus on creating global children’s and family programming for linear television, SVoD and licensing.

Lambur has had financial support from Canadian production and new media company Sinking Ship Entertainment, which has taken a minority stake in the nascent outfit.

Commenting on its participation in the venture, Sinking Ship partner JJ Johnson said: “Canada desperately needs new production companies. There’s no one better suited to helm its latest than Joan Lambur. She is a producing powerhouse who we have admired, and competed against, since Sinking Ship’s inception.”

At Breakthrough, Lambur was exec VP of family entertainment and exec producer for all animation and kids’ live-action and family programming.

Under her stewardship, Breakthrough was responsible for US pubcaster PBS’s recent adaptation of LM Montgomery’s classic novel Anne of Green Gables, which was also acquired by Canada’s Corus Entertainment.

She also exec produced British coproduction RIDE and comedy Max & Shred, both for Nickelodeon, and handled acquisitions of children’s and family programming, with oversight of creative development and financing.

Breakthrough VP of family entertainment Suzanne Wilson is also leaving the company to become Lambur Productions’ chief operating officer.

Wilson had only returned to Breakthrough in December 2016 after spending four years at Canuck broadcaster TVO, for which she left Breakthrough in 2013.

Lambur and Wilson previously worked together at New York-based The Itsy Bitsy Entertainment Company and at Lambur’s development, distribution and brand management company, Lambur & Associates.

Reporting directly to Lambur, president of the company, Wilson will be responsible for devising strategy and handling the firm’s business affairs and financing activities, roles she performed in her first stint at Breakthrough.

Lambur Productions will be housed at Sinking Ship’s headquarters in Toronto.

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