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SPEAKERS

Sunder Aaron
Principal, Locomotive Global Inc

Aaron has lived and worked in India for the past 17+ years. Aaron is currently a principal with Locomotive Global Inc. (LGI), the media company he founded with its investors in 2012. LGI’s primary focus is to incubate and launch new India oriented media and entertainment businesses. Its present activities in India include investment in companies active in content development and production, prog... read more

Aaron has lived and worked in India for the past 17+ years. Aaron is currently a principal with Locomotive Global Inc. (LGI), the media company he founded with its investors in 2012. LGI’s primary focus is to incubate and launch new India oriented media and entertainment businesses. Its present activities in India include investment in companies active in content development and production, programming sales and distribution, and television broadcast and OTT platforms.

Through LGI, Aaron is primarily active as an independent producer of film and premium television content. LGI has a number of projects in various stages of financing and development, including the Indian languages version of Ray Donovan, the long running and award-winning Showtime series.

Prior to becoming an independent producer, Aaron served as executive vice president for Sony Pictures Television Networks India. He served as country manager for both AXN and Animax from 2005 to 2008, and his primary responsibility was as general manager for PIX, the network group’s English language movie channel in India, which he launched in 2006. Aaron also conceptualized and produced several original TV series while with Sony Television Networks including The Man’s World Show, Gateway to India, and Chicks on Flicks

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Lenny Abrahamson
Director,

Some of Abrahamson’s work include; Garage (won the awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Script and Best Actor at the 2008 Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs), Adam & Paul (won the Best First Feature award at the 2004 Galway Film Fleadh and the Grand Prix at the 2005 Sofia International Film Festival, as well as the best Director 2005 Irish Film and Television Awards), What Richard... read more

Some of Abrahamson’s work include; Garage (won the awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Script and Best Actor at the 2008 Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs), Adam & Paul (won the Best First Feature award at the 2004 Galway Film Fleadh and the Grand Prix at the 2005 Sofia International Film Festival, as well as the best Director 2005 Irish Film and Television Awards), What Richard Did and Frank. Frank premiered to great praise at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Both Frank and What Richard Did won numerous awards at the Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTAs), including best director for both.

Abrahamson is the director of the critically acclaimed Room starring Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress for which Brie Larson won and Best Adapted Screenplay. In addition, Room won the People’s Choice Award at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, was one of the AFI Awards Movies of the Year, and appeared on numerous critics’ top ten lists. Room is Abrahamson’s fifth feature film.

He is currently in production on Normal People a 12×30 mins series for BBC, HULU and RTE adapted by and based on Sally Rooney’s Man Booker long-listed novel of the same name. His latest feature The Little Stranger was released in 2018, based on the novel by Sarah Waters and stars Domnhall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson, Will Poulter and Charlotte Rampling. He is also in development on a number of projects, Neverhome an adaptation by Lucy Kirkwood of Laird Hunt’s civil war novel, with Element Pictures and Film4, A Man’s World, which he is adapting from Donald McRae’s book with co-writer Jon Raymond for Element/Film4.

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Moderator Steven Adams
Partner and head of management division, Buffalo 8

Award winning producer, Adams develops new business, produces and consults for international media and finance companies. Producer of the Netflix Original adaptation of Roger Guenveur Smith’s solo performance piece Rodney King, directed by Academy Award nominee Spike Lee. Adams recently collaborated on the marketing of Spike Lee’s hit series She’s Gotta Have It, and the Academy Award winning... read more

Award winning producer, Adams develops new business, produces and consults for international media and finance companies. Producer of the Netflix Original adaptation of Roger Guenveur Smith’s solo performance piece Rodney King, directed by Academy Award nominee Spike Lee. Adams recently collaborated on the marketing of Spike Lee’s hit series She’s Gotta Have It, and the Academy Award winning Blackkklansman, as well as such series as Delhi Crime Story and the Sundance indie pilot It’s Not About Jimmy Keene.

He also served for 4 years as a VFX executive producer representing Paris-
based VFX house BUF to the US Studio system. Adams brought in such Academy Award winners as James Cameron’s Avatar, Ang Lee’s Life Of Pi, Thor for Marvel Studios, as well as Green Lantern, Green Hornet, Stephen Sommers’ Odd Thomas, and Tim
Burton’s Dark Shadows.

Adams is a member of the Producers Guild of America, the Television Academy, Board Ambassador for the Blackhouse Foundation, Advisory board member for Content London and the Los Angeles Art Association.

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Leye Adenle
Author,

Adenle is the winner of the first ever Prix Marianne in 2016, and is a Nigerian writer living and working in London. His short story, The Assassination, in the anthology, Sunshine Noir, was a finalist for the 2017 CWA Short Story Dagger award. Adenle has written several short stories under his own name, and over a hundred satirical pieces under various other appropriated names. He is the author of... read more

Adenle is the winner of the first ever Prix Marianne in 2016, and is a Nigerian writer living and working in London. His short story, The Assassination, in the anthology, Sunshine Noir, was a finalist for the 2017 CWA Short Story Dagger award. Adenle has written several short stories under his own name, and over a hundred satirical pieces under various other appropriated names. He is the author of the Amaka Series: Easy Motion Tourist and When Trouble Sleeps, published by Cassava Republic Press and the series has just been optioned by Big Talk Productions and Top Boy producer Yvonne Ibazebo.

His writing has appeared in publications such as the Big Issue, and he has written and recorded pieces for BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service. Adenle has also appeared on stage in London in plays including Ola Rotimi’s Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again. Adenle comes from a family of writers, the most famous of whom was his grandfather, Oba Adeleye Adenle I, a former king of Oshogbo in South West Nigeria. Adenle’s latest novel, The Beautiful Side of the Moon, was published earlier this year (Hoatzin Books). He is currently writing the third novel in the Amaka Series.

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Kemi Adesoye
Writer,

Originally trained as an architect, Adesoye’s interest in screenwriting began after discovering a screenwriting book in a university library. Over a ten year career, she scripted short films; Mama Putt, Prize Maze (Mnet) National Cake, The Line Up (Goethe institute), A New You, New Horizons (EbonyLife), Mnet /Endemol series Doctors’ Quarters, Tinsel S1-6, Hotel Majestic and Edge of Paradise. ... read more

Originally trained as an architect, Adesoye’s interest in screenwriting began after discovering a screenwriting book in a university library. Over a ten year career, she scripted short films; Mama Putt, Prize Maze (Mnet) National Cake, The Line Up (Goethe institute), A New You, New Horizons (EbonyLife), Mnet /Endemol series Doctors’ Quarters, Tinsel S1-6, Hotel Majestic and Edge of Paradise.

In 2017, Adesoye was head writer for Mnet’s popular Nigerian series Battleground S1 and season 1 of MTV’s series Shuga Naija. She returned again this year to head write Shuga Naija S4. Kemi penned award winning Nigerian features; The Figurine, Phone Swap, Omugwo, Lottanna and is currently developing content for local and international markets under her company BKProductions Adesoye is enthusiastic about stories from a myriad perspectives. For five years she worked as a copywriter and radio on air talent before fully embarking on her “Adventures in storytelling”

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Koby Adom
Director,

Adom who graduated from the London Film School on the tail end of 2016. He has made three short films all which have been selected for prestigious film festivals globally including the BAFTA qualifying London Short Film Festival, BAFTA qualifying Carmarthen Bay Film Festival, Africa International Film Festival and many more. Since graduating from film school, he’s been developing a debut feature... read more

Adom who graduated from the London Film School on the tail end of 2016. He has made three short films all which have been selected for prestigious film festivals globally including the BAFTA qualifying London Short Film Festival, BAFTA qualifying Carmarthen Bay Film Festival, Africa International Film Festival and many more. Since graduating from film school, he’s been developing a debut feature film as well as working on a host of honourable events most notably a BFI short film screening which he curated.

Adom was listed as one of Screen Daily’s 2018 ‘Stars of Tomorrow. His latest short film Haircut was selected by David Yates as best film on the slate and premiered at London Film Festival as well as getting longlisted for a British Short Film BAFTA. Currently Adom is directing three episodes of Mammoth Screen/BBC 1 drama Noughts and Crosses based on the best selling novel by acclaimed writer Malorie Blackman.

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Moderator Jimmy Akingbola
Actor, producer and co-founder, The TriForce Creative Network

The TriForce Creative Network is an organization set up to promote equal opportunities in the entertainment industry. The company has enjoyed unprecedented success: in just twelve years it has become a trusted source for the industry to discover diverse talent including new actors, writers, directors, and other behind-the-scenes technical crew. TriForce Creative Network is a unique company, creati... read more

The TriForce Creative Network is an organization set up to promote equal opportunities in the entertainment industry. The company has enjoyed unprecedented success: in just twelve years it has become a trusted source for the industry to discover diverse talent including new actors, writers, directors, and other behind-the-scenes technical crew.

TriForce Creative Network is a unique company, creating opportunities for individuals and companies to develop and thrive within the industry. Its mission is to put talent in front of those with the power to move careers forward.

The company launches careers and supports talent through numerous events such as the celebrated MonologueSlam, WritersSlam and the TriForce Short Film Festival at BAFTA. A phenomenal series of initiatives means that opportunities are constantly being created for people from all backgrounds to develop and thrive in the business no matter what their circumstances.

Akingbola is living and working between Los Angeles and London producing and managing TCN events, creating business relationships and expanding the TCN brand in the USA. Akingbola is best known for his roles as super-villain – Baron Reiter – in DC Comics’ superhero drama, Arrow; the sharp-shooting surgeon – Antoine Malick – in the BBC’s award-winning hospital drama, Holby City, and the hilarious character – Valentine – in the SKY1 comedy In The Long Run starring Idris Elba.

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Milad Alami
Director, When The Dust Settles

Alami was born in Iran in 1982, grew up in Sweden, and graduated from The National Film School of Denmark in 2011. From 2012-2016 he directed 3 short films that were all selected for numerous film festivals, amongst other Director’s Fortnight in Cannes, Clermont Ferrand and Karlovy Vary. In 2018 Milad directed his feature film debut The Charmer that premiered and won the critic’s award in San ... read more

Alami was born in Iran in 1982, grew up in Sweden, and graduated from The National Film School of Denmark in 2011.
From 2012-2016 he directed 3 short films that were all selected for numerous film festivals, amongst other Director’s Fortnight in Cannes, Clermont Ferrand and Karlovy Vary.
In 2018 Milad directed his feature film debut The Charmer that premiered and won the critic’s award in San Sebastian before winning numerous awards in festivals like Chicago, Palm Spring, Wasaw, Lübeck and Gothenburg.
Milad is currently in production with the TV-series When the Dust Settles for DR.

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Monica Albuquerque
Head of development, Globo

Albuquerque is currently head of artistic development at Globo, in charge of all the content portfolio and artistic resources such as, casting, directors and writers. She was previously head of corporate communications of Globo, responsible for strategic conceptualization of all communication actions in our programs and telenovelas. With over 20 years of experience in the area of Corporate Communi... read more

Albuquerque is currently head of artistic development at Globo, in charge of all the content portfolio and artistic resources such as, casting, directors and writers. She was previously head of corporate communications of Globo, responsible for strategic conceptualization of all communication actions in our programs and telenovelas. With over 20 years of experience in the area of Corporate Communications, she has worked at major media players. In 2019, Albuquerque was recognised in Variety’s  International Women’s Impact Report for her achievements.

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Foz Allan
Executive producer on As Dead As It Gets and creative director , Bryncoed Productions Ltd

Allan has a strong history of delivering record-breaking high-end drama and children’s series for the major networks; his productions have won multiple awards. He is the executive producer on the BFI funded development ‘As Dead As It Gets’ and has recently executive produced the new Sky Kids Tween Drama The Athena, which has received BAFTA and Broadcast award nominations. He was seri... read more

Allan has a strong history of delivering record-breaking high-end drama and children’s series for the major networks; his productions have won multiple awards. He is the executive producer on the BFI funded development ‘As Dead As It Gets’ and has recently executive produced the new Sky Kids Tween Drama The Athena, which has received BAFTA and Broadcast award nominations. He was series producer for Riveria – Sky Atlantic’s most downloaded original commission and led the production process for ITV’s Jekyll & Hyde. Allan co-created Robin Hood – one of the BBC best-selling drama – with Dominic Minghella for BBC1, as well as creating the long running series Belonging for the BBC in Wales. He has extensive experience in Children’s Drama, as the originating producer behind BAFTA-winning series: Wolfblood, The Dumping Ground, Hetty Feather and Harriet’s Army.

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Simon Allen
Lead writer and executive producer, The Watch,

Allen recently served as a writer/producer on the acclaimed television sequel to Wolfgang Petersen’s Das Boot for Sky/Sonar/Hulu, having previously served as a showrunner on The Musketeers for BBC One. In addition to showrunning The Watch for BBC Studios and BBC America, he is developing a number of new projects with multiple producers including Left Bank Pictures, Scott Free, Endeavour, Conten... read more

Allen recently served as a writer/producer on the acclaimed television sequel to Wolfgang Petersen’s Das Boot for Sky/Sonar/Hulu, having previously served as a showrunner on The Musketeers for BBC One.

In addition to showrunning The Watch for BBC Studios and BBC America, he is developing a number of new projects with multiple producers including Left Bank Pictures, Scott Free, Endeavour, Content, Fremantle Media and Two Brothers Pictures.

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Callan Allen
Actor and originator of As Dead As It Gets,

Allen is a 19 year old from Croydon, South London. His acting career started at the age of 9 where he appeared as a Young Shenzi in the west ends Lion King. He later appeared in a number of tv shows and commercials. Aged 16 he wrote, produced, directed and starred in his own feature length film Clued Up, now available on Amazon Prime. Allen wants to tell new, exciting, authentic stories about y... read more

Allen is a 19 year old from Croydon, South London. His acting career started at the age of 9 where he appeared as a Young Shenzi in the west ends Lion King. He later appeared in a number of tv shows and commercials. Aged 16 he wrote, produced, directed and starred in his own feature length film Clued Up, now available on Amazon Prime.

Allen wants to tell new, exciting, authentic stories about young people, written by young people. Bryncoed Productions’ gave Callan the opportunity to workshop some of his ideas with other new young writers. This workshop process resulted in As Dead As It Gets, a series about a group of 16 year old friends living in Croydon who have just completed their GCSEs.

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Jonas Allen
Producer and CEO, Miso Film

Allen is specialised in development of feature films and TV series and takes care of the creative side of production in Miso Film. As a Fulbright scholar Allen has studied at the producer’s program at UCLA’s School of Film and Television, Los Angeles, USA and holds furthermore an M.A. in film studies from the University of Copenhagen. Allen has previously worked as a producer at Yellow Bird Fi... read more

Allen is specialised in development of feature films and TV series and takes care of the creative side of production in Miso Film.
As a Fulbright scholar Allen has studied at the producer’s program at UCLA’s School of Film and Television, Los Angeles, USA and holds furthermore an M.A. in film studies from the University of Copenhagen. Allen has previously worked as a producer at Yellow Bird Films, FilmPeople, Per Holst Film/Nordisk Film and as creative producer in one of Denmark’s leading advertising agencies Wibroe, Duckert & Partners.
In 2004 Allen co-founded Miso Film with business partner Peter Bose.

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Eleonora Andreatta
Head of drama, RAI

Andreatta is the first woman to head RAI Fiction, the department of the Italian public broadcaster in charge of producing and co-producing TV drama and docudrama for all RAI channels and the RAI Play platform, with a yearly output of some 500 hours. After a degree in Italian Literature at Bologna University, she began her career with Academy Pictures, one of Italy’s most qualified movie distrib... read more

Andreatta is the first woman to head RAI Fiction, the department of the Italian public broadcaster in charge of producing and co-producing TV drama and docudrama for all RAI channels and the RAI Play platform, with a yearly output of some 500 hours. After a degree in Italian Literature at Bologna University, she began her career with Academy Pictures, one of Italy’s most qualified movie distribution companies. At RAI she formerly headed the programming of Cinema and Fiction at RAI1 and then managed the International Series and Co-productions at RAI Fiction.

As Head of Drama RAI, along with the successful production of high-end prime time domestic TV series awarded internationally and broadcasted throughout the most prestigious foreign channels (e.g. Montalbano, Rocco Schiavone, Maltese, The Hunter, Close Murders among the others), she established a major expansion of the Italian TV series into the global arena thanks to high profile international co-productions: My Brilliant Friend, co-produced with HBO and based on Elena Ferrante’s bestselling novels; The Name of the Rose, based on Umberto Eco’s masterpiece and co-produced with AMC and TeleMunchen Group; Frank Spotnitz’s Medici saga, sold worldwide in more than 100 countries. Since 2018 Andreatta represents RAI in the European Alliance, an initiative launched along with the pubcasters France TV (France) and ZDF (Germany) to jointly produce internationally competitive and high quality TV series and act as a European actor alongside the new global players.

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Gregor Angus
Founder and CEO, TrueRoyalty TV

Angus is the chief executive of ABM Communications, a company he co-founded in 2017. Together with business partners Nick Bullen and Edward Mason, ABM launched True Royalty TV, the world’s only subscription video on demand TV service (SVOD) dedicated to Royal factual content in 2018. Dubbed by Variety as “the Netflix of Royal TV”, True Royalty TV offers subscribers the best documentaries an... read more

Angus is the chief executive of ABM Communications, a company he co-founded in 2017. Together with business partners Nick Bullen and Edward Mason, ABM launched True Royalty TV, the world’s only subscription video on demand TV service (SVOD) dedicated to Royal factual content in 2018.

Dubbed by Variety as “the Netflix of Royal TV”, True Royalty TV offers subscribers the best documentaries and factual dramas about royalty from around the world and through the ages. The service allows users to watch content whenever and wherever they want on a range of devices. True Royalty TV has grown rapidly since its launch, adding multiple original commissions to its original library of acquired content, and with further expansion planned into live coverage of events. In February 2018 it was the first UK-based online subscription video on demand service to be made available through a pay-TV provider in the US, with a launch on Comcast’s Xfinity X1. True Royalty is currently raising series A growth round to build scale, increase its investment in original content and expand its distribution footprint.

Prior to establishing ABM, Angus advised some of the world’s most famous and innovative brands in their transformations and marketing for the digital age.

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Alon Aranya
Producer and writer, Paper Plane Productions

Aranya has set up 40 scripted shows at US and international studios and networks. His shows include Red Widow and Betrayal for ABC and Hostages at CBS. He’s currently in production on Your Honor starring Brian Cranston at Showtime with Peter Moffat writing and Robert and Michelle King co-Producing, as well as Tehran, an international drama thriller from Israel in association with Cineflix Right... read more

Aranya has set up 40 scripted shows at US and international studios and networks. His shows include Red Widow and Betrayal for ABC and Hostages at CBS. He’s currently in production on Your Honor starring Brian Cranston at Showtime with Peter Moffat writing and Robert and Michelle King co-Producing, as well as Tehran, an international drama thriller from Israel in association with Cineflix Rights and Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster.

Aranya‘s company, Paper Plane Productions made a two-year first look deal with CBS Studios International for the purpose of producing original international drams. Alon has helped launch CBS Studios International original drama slate with Districtly, an Israeli drama co-produced by the Israeli Public Broadcaster and CBS Studios International created by Leora Kamenetzky (Fauda) as well as Best Seller Boy, an original Dutch dramedy based on a best-selling book by Mano Bouzamur, a co production with the Dutch NPO.

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Moderator Stephen Armstrong
Freelance journalist,

Stephen Armstrong is a journalist and author. He writes extensively on film and television for the Sunday Times, the Daily Telegraph, Wired and the Guardian. He contributes to the Radio Times, Monocle and Sky Arts Discovering Film series. He has written five non-fiction books and inevitably has a screenplay in development, where he confidently expects it to remain.

Sarah Aubrey
Head of original content, HBO Max

Aubrey heads up original content for HBO Max, presiding over a robust slate that will offer programming options for every audience segment in the household.

 Previously, Aubrey was EVP of original programming for TNT, where she played an integral role in the network’s evolution into one of the premier destinations for prestige original dramas such as Patty Jenkins, Am the Night, Claws, An... read more

Aubrey heads up original content for HBO Max, presiding over a robust slate that will offer programming options for every audience segment in the household.

 Previously, Aubrey was EVP of original programming for TNT, where she played an integral role in the network’s evolution into one of the premier destinations for prestige original dramas such as Patty Jenkins, Am the Night, Claws, Animal Kingdom and the award-winning The Alienist.

 Under her leadership, the number of women holding jobs at the highest levels on the average TNT scripted project more than doubled. TNT also jumped an impressive 320% on the annual GLAAD TV report rankings for LGBTQ representation.

 Prior to joining TNT, Aubrey was a prolific television and film producer, responsible for such projects as Friday Night Lights and The Leftovers while at Film 44, and films including Bad Santa, Lars and the Real Girl before that. 

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Karen Bailey
Senior vice president, original programming, Starz

Based in the company’s Santa Monica office, Bailey oversees creative development and production on a number of programs for the network including the critically-acclaimed Outlander which is currently in production in Glasgow, Scotland; The Spanish Princess, the third in the series of adaptations based on the popular Philippa Gregory novels now filming in Bristol, UK; American Gods, the popular f... read more

Based in the company’s Santa Monica office, Bailey oversees creative development and production on a number of programs for the network including the critically-acclaimed Outlander which is currently in production in Glasgow, Scotland; The Spanish Princess, the third in the series of adaptations based on the popular Philippa Gregory novels now filming in Bristol, UK; American Gods, the popular fantasy series based on Neil Gaiman’s best-selling novel of the same name currently filming in Toronto, Canada; and the newly announced Dangerous Liaisons, which is slated to begin filing in the EU the Spring of 2020.

Bailey joined Starz in 2006 as an executive producer, overseeing development, production and post-production for the company’s studio slate of television movies and mini-series. She was promoted to vice president of production in 2007, overseeing the physical production for the company’s newly launched original programming department. Bailey spent the next few years building the internal production department and focusing on the networks’ new slate of original series, including fan favorite Party Down, Crash, Boss and Starz’s first international series Spartacus & Camelot.

In 2011 she transitioned to creative development and was promoted to SVP of original programming in 2012. Since then she has worked on a number of international co-productions including Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated STARZ Original Miniseries The White Queen and the critically acclaimed STARZ Original Limited Series, The White Princess. Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated limited series The Missing and its sequel; Howard’s End, a 4-part TV adaptation written by Academy Award® winner Kenneth Lonergan and Starz’ first movie for television, The Dresser starring Ian McKellen and Anthony Hopkins.

Bailey has been invited to speak at several events and conferences including BAFTA Women Director’s Panel in London, Create and Cultivate Panel in Los Angeles and the College TV Summit at the TV Academy of Arts and Science in North Hollywood. Among her honors and awards, Bailey has been recognized as one of Cablefax’s “Most Powerful Women” and “Top Women in Cable” many times over.

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Sam Barcroft
CEO, Barcroft Studios

Barcroft Studios is an award-winning factual production company that specialises in producing amazing content, enjoyed and shared by millions of people worldwide. Its partners are platforms, broadcasters and media outlets around the world. Barcroft Studios’ strategy of developing and incubating hit digital series brands and adapting them for linear broadcasters has seen the company produce progr... read more

Barcroft Studios is an award-winning factual production company that specialises in producing amazing content, enjoyed and shared by millions of people worldwide. Its partners are platforms, broadcasters and media outlets around the world. Barcroft Studios’ strategy of developing and incubating hit digital series brands and adapting them for linear broadcasters has seen the company produce programming for partners including Netflix, Facebook, WEtv, Channel 4 and Discovery. The company’s digital channel Barcroft TV is one of the most popular factual channels on the internet. Its hugely successful series brands such as Hooked on the Look, Shake My Beauty, Born Different and Extreme Love have built passionate communities of over 50 million followers across Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat.

Barcroft is a proven entrepreneurial leader who is at the forefront of successful content for new audiences. His reputation as a global digital disruptor has been earned from a 25-year career across news, television and OTT.

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Erik Barmack
Founder, Wild Sheep Content

Barmack has recently left Netflix to start his own production company focused on international series. Prior to this move, Barmack headed international originals for Netflix, and was responsible for the strategy, budget, and creative vision of a team of over forty executives that has helped create over 100 productions in more than twenty-five countries.  These productions — including Dark, ... read more

Barmack has recently left Netflix to start his own production company focused on international series.
Prior to this move, Barmack headed international originals for Netflix, and was responsible for the strategy, budget, and creative vision of a team of over forty executives that has helped create over 100 productions in more than twenty-five countries.  These productions — including Dark, Elite, The Protector and Casa De Las Flores – have consistently reached large audiences outside of their home territories, and have been nominated for, and won, multiple national and global awards, including the International Emmys. Prior to serving in this position, Barmack served in a variety of senior roles at Netflix, including vice president of independent content.  He has also worked at ESPN/Disney in strategy and business development, and created a start-up, Small World Sports, which was later sold to Vulcan Ventures.
With his new venture, Barmack has set up shows with producers in Spain, Brazil, India, and Holland, and will be announcing his first slate of international productions shortly.  

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Sarah Barnett
President, AMC Networks Entertainment Group and AMC Studios

As president, AMC Networks Entertainment Group & AMC Studios, Barnett has oversight of four television networks, AMC, BBC America, IFC, and SundanceTV, as well as the company’s production arm, AMC Studios. She also oversees AMC Premiere, the premium, ad-free version of AMC. The strength of AMC Networks’ original content under Barnett’s leadership was underscored this year with the comp... read more

As president, AMC Networks Entertainment Group & AMC Studios, Barnett has oversight of four television networks, AMC, BBC America, IFC, and SundanceTV, as well as the company’s production arm, AMC Studios. She also oversees AMC Premiere, the premium, ad-free version of AMC.

The strength of AMC Networks’ original content under Barnett’s leadership was underscored this year with the company’s four entertainment networks combining to secure a total of 25 Emmy® Award nominations as well as wins for Killing Eve, (BBC America) with Jodie Comer winning Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama and State of the Union, (SundanceTV) which swept the short-form comedy/drama series category, winning Outstanding Series and Outstanding Actor and Actress for co-stars Rosamund Pike and Chris O’Dowd.

Killing Eve, the Peabody, Golden Globe®, BAFTA, Critics’ Choice and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning series developed at BBC AMERICA under Barnett’s tenure as President and General Manager, has been a significant critical, cultural and business success since it launched in 2018. It finished its first season on more critics’ top 10 lists than any other drama on TV and achieved an unbroken record of weekly ratings growth – something no other show on television has accomplished in the history of Nielsen live+3 ratings. Season two of Killing Eve had the highest rate of growth of any returning TV drama since the final season of AMC’s Breaking Bad six years ago.

During Barnett’s time as the head of BBC America, the network achieved record growth, receiving an Emmy for Tatiana Maslany in Lead Actress Drama category for buzzy fan favorite hit show Orphan Black, and enjoyed breakthrough ratings, awards recognition and critical success. Barnett launched the world-class natural history documentary series on BBC America, with landmark programming such as Planet Earth II, Blue Planet II and Dynasties, which together garnered 15 Emmy nominations and 3 wins for BBC America.

Prior to moving to BBC America, as head of SundanceTV, Barnett redefined the channel as a vital television brand by introducing distinctive dramatic series. Barnett launched the network’s scripted strategy in 2010 with the Golden Globe-winning Carlos, and oversaw a slate of high quality, auteur-driven series that consistently captured critical acclaim and industry awards, including Rectify, Top of the Lake, The Honorable Woman and others.

Prior to this role, Barnett was senior VP of marketing for SundanceTV and oversaw all strategic and creative marketing for the brand, including spearheading SundanceTV’s pioneering branded entertainment short-form series and sponsorship creative executions. Barnett joined SundanceTV from her first stint at BBC America, where she served as VP of on-air and creative marketing. She also executive produced several original shows for the network. Before BBC America, Barnett spent 12 years with the BBC in London, working first for BBC radio and then BBC television.

Barnett was featured in The New York Times Corner Office column and has been profiled in a multitude of trade and consumer facing publications. She was WICT’s Woman Of The Year in 2017, a NYWFT Muse Honoree in 2015, and has been included in The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Power 100 List, Variety’s Women’s Impact Report and Gotham Power List and has been named as an Adweek Woman Trailblazer along with many other recognitions.

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Genevieve Barr
Actress,

Barr is an English actress best known for the role Amelia in the BBC award-winning series The Silence. She plays Debbie in Jack Thorne’s latest drama, The Accident for Channel 4. Further credits include playing psychopathic Lisa in Shameless, BAFTA award-winning The Fades, ITV’s True Love alongside Jane Horrocks, Neal Street Productions’ Call the Midwife for BBC, Two Brother Pictures’ ... read more

Barr is an English actress best known for the role Amelia in the BBC award-winning series The Silence. She plays Debbie in Jack Thorne’s latest drama, The Accident for Channel 4. Further credits include playing psychopathic Lisa in Shameless, BAFTA award-winning The Fades, ITV’s True Love alongside Jane Horrocks, Neal Street Productions’ Call the Midwife for BBC, Two Brother Pictures’ Liar for ITV and BBC’s four parter Press.

Barr was born deaf and was fitted with hearing aids aged four. Genevieve attended the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 2008 with an MA (Hons) in English Literature and History.
Barr can also be seen in the Maltesers advert, part of a huge international campaign celebrating diversity. This was the first advert to ever be aired solely in British Sign Language with captions.

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Lucie Barât
Writer, The Heartless

As a professional actress, Barât appeared in numerous film, TV and theatre productions; including the feature film Troy, and was co-founder of Tenth Planet Productions, a theatre and film production company, securing patronage from Dame Judi Dench. In 2009, Barât founded the award-winning independent press and production company, Little Episodes, under the mentorship of Little, Brown Book Group... read more

As a professional actress, Barât appeared in numerous film, TV and theatre productions; including the feature film Troy, and was co-founder of Tenth Planet Productions, a theatre and film production company, securing patronage from Dame Judi Dench.

In 2009, Barât founded the award-winning independent press and production company, Little Episodes, under the mentorship of Little, Brown Book Group. Together, they published five anthologies and staged numerous plays and events, including contributions and performances from such established artists as Adam Ant, Sadie Frost and Melvin Burgess, all for various charitable causes.

Aside from her work published with Little Episodes, Barât’s short stories and poetry have also been published in anthologies by the Vagabondage Press and various literary magazines. She is also a supremely skilled screenwriter with a unique voice represented by Casarotto Ramsey and a recording and touring singer/songwriter.

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Carl Barât
Executive producer, The Heartless

Barât is a multitalented artist. A gifted musician and songwriter, he also has an impressive acting CV and several directorial credits to his name. Best known for founding the hugely successful indie band, The Libertine’s with Pete Doherty, the band have gone on to write three albums (with a fourth in the pipeline) and sell millions of records worldwide. Barât has also had success with his oth... read more

Barât is a multitalented artist. A gifted musician and songwriter, he also has an impressive acting CV and several directorial credits to his name. Best known for founding the hugely successful indie band, The Libertine’s with Pete Doherty, the band have gone on to write three albums (with a fourth in the pipeline) and sell millions of records worldwide. Barât has also had success with his other bands, Dirty Pretty Things and The Jackals, as well his acclaimed self-titled solo album. Barât has demonstrated a gifted ability with words outside of his famously erudite and poetic lyrics, having penned his biography and worked on his own short film scripts as well as lent his talent songwriting and producing for a plethora of pop stars and bands.

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Larry Bass
CEO and exec producer, ShinAwiL

Bass is an award-winning media practitioner and entrepreneur with 40 years experience in entertainment and business. ShinAwiL is the production powerhouse behind the biggest TV shows in Ireland including Dancing with the Stars, The Apprentice, MasterChef, The Voice of Ireland and Dragons’ Den, with offices in Dublin and Belfast. A strategic visionary, Bass has continuously diversified and innova... read more

Bass is an award-winning media practitioner and entrepreneur with 40 years experience in entertainment and business.
ShinAwiL is the production powerhouse behind the biggest TV shows in Ireland including Dancing with the Stars, The Apprentice, MasterChef, The Voice of Ireland and Dragons’ Den, with offices in Dublin and Belfast.
A strategic visionary, Bass has continuously diversified and innovated within his company to cater to ever changing markets. He launches his first drama in Autumn 2019 Miss Scarlet and The Duke for A&E Networks and has numerous series in development with global co-producers in Canada, France, Germany, Scandinavia, UK and USA.
Bass has been appointed to every media governance body in Ireland including The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, Screen Ireland, (Irish Film Board) Screen Skills Ireland, Screen Producers Ireland, and has served on international juries for the International Emmys, Rose d’Or, BANFF and Real Screen Television Awards. Bass has lectured and spoke about television production all over the world, where his specialist subject is strategic planning for production companies.
Bass is married to Catherine and they have 4 adult children. He is the chairman of Airtricity National League club, Cabinteely FC.

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Morgane Baudin
Sustainable production specialist , Pixetik

Baudin’s mission is to promote and implement environmental and social sustainability in film & TV. On-screen first: she runs the French ethical product placement company she has co-founded, Pixetik. Pixetik creates partnerships between productions in need of financing and green solutions in need of promotion. These solutions are integrated into the content to inspire the audience to adopt s... read more

Baudin’s mission is to promote and implement environmental and social sustainability in film & TV. On-screen first: she runs the French ethical product placement company she has co-founded, Pixetik. Pixetik creates partnerships between productions in need of financing and green solutions in need of promotion. These solutions are integrated into the content to inspire the audience to adopt sustainable behaviours. Behind the scenes, Baudin is a consultant and trainer in sustainable production in order to reduce the industry’s environmental impact. She contributes to initiatives such as Ecoprod or Green Screen.

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Moderator Rola Bauer
Managing Director, STUDIOCANAL TV

Bauer is a pioneer of international productions and a pre-eminent dealmaker. At STUDIOCANAL TV, previously known as Tandem Communications, Founding Partner Bauer has grown its content offering to provide a full studio service including international co-production strategy, business affairs, finance and worldwide sales to support its growing roster of Studiocanal’s production companies across the... read more

Bauer is a pioneer of international productions and a pre-eminent dealmaker. At STUDIOCANAL TV, previously known as Tandem Communications, Founding Partner Bauer has grown its content offering to provide a full studio service including international co-production strategy, business affairs, finance and worldwide sales to support its growing roster of Studiocanal’s production companies across the globe.
She has produced some of the world’s most revered English language series including, The Pillars of The Earth, Crossing Lines, Take Two and the upcoming The Man who Fell to Earth.
As executive producer she has recently choreographed a complex co-production partnership of major international networks including ZDF, Viaplay, CANAL+, CANAL+ POLAND and NPO for the gritty dramatic thriller Shadowplay, produced by TANDEM Productions and BRON Studios, created and written by Måns Mårlind (Bron/The Bridge).
She has also overseen premium scripted content for Studiocanal prodcos including Years and Years; War of the Worlds, SAFE, The Stranger, and spearheaded acquisitions such as global hits Midnight Sun, The Last Panthers, Below the Surface and the highly anticipated ZeroZeroZero, for international coproduction and distribution.
Bauer has received the prestigious Medaille d’Honneur; was recognized in Variety’s first International Women’s Impact Report, and for three consecutive years, named by The Hollywood Reporter as one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Global Television.

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Helen Baxendale
Actor,

Baxendale’s long and varied television career began in 1993 and made step change in 1994 when she was cast as Doctor Claire Maitland in World Production’s comedy Cardiac Arrest for BBC. Baxendale has since gone on to star in some of the UK and US’ most popular dramas including Big Talk’s long-running comedy drama Cold Feet for ITV and Bright/Kaufmann/Crane Productions and Warner Brothers u... read more

Baxendale’s long and varied television career began in 1993 and made step change in 1994 when she was cast as Doctor Claire Maitland in World Production’s comedy Cardiac Arrest for BBC. Baxendale has since gone on to star in some of the UK and US’ most popular dramas including Big Talk’s long-running comedy drama Cold Feet for ITV and Bright/Kaufmann/Crane Productions and Warner Brothers universally-adored, multi award-winning comedy Friends for NBC. More recently, Baxendale has played Lorna Thompson in the Sky comedyCuckoo, Eleanor Richmond in Law and Order UK for ITV and Susan Harmison in Dirk Gently for BBC. Her most recent project, Noughts + Crosses is produced by Mammoth Screen for BBC One and is the much anticipated TV adaptation of former Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman’s best-selling novel series.

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Fayssal Bazzi
Actor,

Bazzi is an accomplished Australian actor with extensive credits in TV, film and theatre. In 2020, Bazzi will star in the ABC’s Stateless, Directed by Emma Freeman and Jocelyn Moorhouse and STAN’s The Commons; other television credits include Chosen, Mr Inbetween, Rake, Wake in Fright, The Let Down, Top of the Lake: China Girl, East West 101, Stupid Stupid Man and All Saints. Bazzi’s feature... read more

Bazzi is an accomplished Australian actor with extensive credits in TV, film and theatre.
In 2020, Bazzi will star in the ABC’s Stateless, Directed by Emma Freeman and Jocelyn Moorhouse and STAN’s The Commons; other television credits include Chosen, Mr Inbetween, Rake, Wake in Fright, The Let Down, Top of the Lake: China Girl, East West 101, Stupid Stupid Man and All Saints.
Bazzi’s feature film credits include Measure for Measure opposite Hugo Weaving, which premiered at Melbourne International Film Festival in 2019. Other feature film credits include the voice role of Mr Todd in the animated feature film Peter Rabbit, The Merger, Down Under, 6 Days, Emulsion, We’re Not Here To F**k Spiders and Cedar Boys. In 2018 Bazzi was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role in The Merger.

Bazzi has performed extensively with many of the national theatre companies. Selected credits include: Mary Stuart, The Other Way, Look the Other Way (Sydney Theatre Company); a national tour of The Merchant of Venice (Bell Shakespeare); Sami in Paradise, Food and Back at the Dojo, Ivanov, The Government Inspector (Belvoir); Blasted (Malthouse); Good Cook. Friendly. Clean, The Pigeons (Griffin Theatre Company); The Motherf**ker With the Hat (Black Swan State Theatre Company) and All the Blood and All the Water (Riverside Theatre).

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Thomas Benski
CEO and co-founder , Pulse Films

BAFTA and Grammy-nominated producer Benski is Pulse Films’s global CEO and co-founder. Since launching Pulse Films in 2005 with Marisa Clifford, Benski has led the company’s evolution into a multi-disciplinary, award-winning global studio. He is responsible for the studios worldwide creative and strategic development as well as producing and overseeing all output from the company’... read more

BAFTA and Grammy-nominated producer Benski is Pulse Films’s global CEO and co-founder. Since launching Pulse Films in 2005 with Marisa Clifford, Benski has led the company’s evolution into a multi-disciplinary, award-winning global studio. He is responsible for the studios worldwide creative and strategic development as well as producing and overseeing all output from the company’s Scripted and Non-Fiction divisions. In March 2016, Vice Media acquired a majority stake in Pulse Films, continuing the company’s rapid growth

Benski’s recent credits include the forthcoming Sky/Cinemax series Gangs of London, 2019’s 8-part Netflix docu-series The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann, as well as the Tribeca Film Festival selected feature documentary XY Chelsea. Further titles include the BAFTA nominated American Honey, directed by Andrea Arnold, which won the Jury Prize at Cannes, and Sundance winners The Witch and All These Sleepless Nights. He also produced 2017’s Grierson Award-winning Kingdom of Us and Sundance hit TROPHY. Benski has also enjoyed success producing television formats for many leading global broadcasters including MTV, Sky, HBO, Channel 4, and ITV, with more currently in development.

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Paul Mayeda Berges
Cheif creative officer, Bend It TV & Films

Mayeda Berges is a screenwriter, director and producer who has often collaborated with his partner, Gurinder Chadha. Bend It Networks develops effortlessly multicultural stories for international audiences. Bend it like Beckham (2002) was the highest grossing British-financed, British- distributed film, ever in the UK box-office. The film received a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Picture (M... read more

Mayeda Berges is a screenwriter, director and producer who has often collaborated with his partner, Gurinder Chadha. Bend It Networks develops effortlessly multicultural stories for international audiences.

Bend it like Beckham (2002) was the highest grossing British-financed, British- distributed film, ever in the UK box-office. The film received a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), a BAFTA Nomination for Best British Film and a Writers Guild of America Nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Bride and Prejudice (2004) was the first film ever to open at Number One in the UK and India on the same day. In 2005, Berges directed The Mistress of Spices, other popular titles include Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008), It’s a Wonderful Afterlife (2010), Viceroy’s House (2017). In 2015, Berges and Chadha mounted the stage musical version of Bend it like Beckham in London’s West End to 5-Star Reviews and critics’ awards.

Beecham House is a returning 6-part drama series set in India in 1795 for ITV and Masterpiece/PBS, which premiered in the UK in June 2019 and in North America early 2020. Blinded by the Light, inspired by the songs of Bruce Springsteen, opened to rapturous reviews and broke sales records at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was released worldwide by Warner Brothers in August 2019.

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Carolyn Bernstein
EVP, global scripted content and documentary films, National Geographic

Bernstein has built a robust scripted slate for the network, including its first-ever scripted global anthology series, Genius, which dramatizes the fascinating untold stories of the world’s most brilliant innovators. The series has garnered 17 Emmy nominations in its first two seasons, Genius: Einstein and Genius: Picasso, and the upcoming season, premiering Spring 2020, will focus on Aretha Fr... read more

Bernstein has built a robust scripted slate for the network, including its first-ever scripted global anthology series, Genius, which dramatizes the fascinating untold stories of the world’s most brilliant innovators. The series has garnered 17 Emmy nominations in its first two seasons, Genius: Einstein and Genius: Picasso, and the upcoming season, premiering Spring 2020, will focus on Aretha Franklin, starring Cynthia Erivo. Last summer, Bernstein launched the network’s most-watched scripted series to-date, The Hot Zone, an adaptation of Richard Preston’s eponymous non-fiction bestseller that recounted the terrifying true origin story of the deadly Ebola virus and its first arrival on U.S. soil in 1989.

Coming up for Bernstein is The Right Stuff, based on Tom Wolfe’s best-seller that looks at what would become America’s first “reality show,” as the ambitious astronauts and their families become instant celebrities in a competition that either will kill them or make them immortal in the quest to be a part of Project Mercury. Also in the works is Barkskins, based on the bestselling novel by Pulitzer Prize-winner Annie Proulx that follows a disparate group of outcasts in the 1600s New France, who must navigate the brutal hardships, competing interests, and tangled loyalties in the unforgiving wilds of North America.

Since launching three years ago, National Geographic Documentary Films has come to be known for excellence in nonfiction storytelling, releasing acclaimed films such as the Academy Award®, BAFTA Film Award and Emmy Award-winning Free Solo, TIFF audience award winner and fellow THR Docs to Watch nominee The Cave, Sundance and SXSW Audience Award-winning Science Fair, Emmy award-winning LA 92 and Jane (both LA 92 and Jane were included in the top 15 documentaries considered for an Oscar® in 2017), and Dupont Award-winning Hell on Earth.

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Peter Berry
Writer,

Berry has written for HBO, Warner Bros., Fine Line, Film Four, BBC Films, Renaissance Films. His work for television includes Prime Suspect (“The Last Witness”), which was nominated for 3 Emmys, 2 BAFTAs, and picked up the Gold Medal at the New York Television Festival and the BAFTA nominated A Life for a Life for which he won the RTS writer award. He has just finished work as a writer and co... read more

Berry has written for HBO, Warner Bros., Fine Line, Film Four, BBC Films, Renaissance Films. His work for television includes Prime Suspect (“The Last Witness”), which was nominated for 3 Emmys, 2 BAFTAs, and picked up the Gold Medal at the New York Television Festival and the BAFTA nominated A Life for a Life for which he won the RTS writer award.

He has just finished work as a writer and co-executive producer on Gangs of London for Sky-Atlantic / HBO. Berry is currently involved in developing two productions for Intaglio Films. He is co-show runner and writer on Doing Good, a six-part thriller set in Berlin, Africa and New York. He is also scripting Quasimodo, adapted from Victor Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris.

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Nathalie Biancolli
Director of acquisitions and international fiction, France Télévisions

Biancolli is a graduate of Paul Valéry University (Montpellier) – LEA / LAE. She has 30 years of experience in the media – sales and program acquisitions. She began her career at CLT (RTL Groupe-Pandora), part of France and part of Luxembourg. She was in charge of sales management. She has notably developed the structure SND (Société Nouvelle de Distribution) – production, acq... read more

Biancolli is a graduate of Paul Valéry University (Montpellier) – LEA / LAE. She has 30 years of experience in the media – sales and program acquisitions. She began her career at CLT (RTL Groupe-Pandora), part of France and part of Luxembourg. She was in charge of sales management. She has notably developed the structure SND (Société Nouvelle de Distribution) – production, acquisition of feature films. She joined the TF1 Group in 2000 and more specifically AB Groupe, as Acquisitions Director to develop the catalog and supply the different channels. She participated in the development of channels and the launch of DTT (NT1 and TMC). She joined TF1 in 2010 and took the lead in the Group’s acquisitions (acquisitions of linear and non-linear rights). In April 2017 she joined the France Télévisions Group. Since May 2018, Biancolli has been director of acquisitions and international fiction at France Télévisions (acquisitions and co-productions). In 2018, she launches the Alliance (ZDF / RAI) for international co-productions.

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Dan Biddle
Strategic partner manager, entertainment, Facebook

Biddle leads strategic partnerships with UK TV, film and digital publishers at Facebook. Prior to this, Biddle was Director of Strategic Innovation and lead TV Partnerships at Twitter for over four years. Prior to that, Biddle spent seven years leading digital and social media productions for TV and iPlayer at the BBC.

Cate Blanchett
Co-creator, executive producer and actor,

Blanchett is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning actress, producer, humanitarian, and dedicated member of the arts community. In recognition of her continued advocacy for the arts and support of humanitarian and environmental causes, Blanchett has been awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia in the General Division; the Centenary Medal for Service to Australian Society through A... read more

Blanchett is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning actress, producer, humanitarian, and dedicated member of the arts community. In recognition of her continued advocacy for the arts and support of humanitarian and environmental causes, Blanchett has been awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia in the General Division; the Centenary Medal for Service to Australian Society through Acting; and the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture. Her countless extraordinary film performances have garnered Blanchett three BAFTAs, two Academy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. In 2018, she was the President of the Jury of the 71st Cannes Film Festival. Blanchett is equally accomplished on the stage, having led the Sydney Theatre Company as co-Artistic Director and CEO for six years alongside Andrew Upton. For her onstage roles, she was nominated for a Tony and honored with the Ibsen Centennial Commemoration Award. Blanchett is a patron of the Sydney Film Festival, an ambassador for the Australian Film Institute and The Old Vic theatre, and a lifetime ambassador for the Australian Conservation Foundation. She is also a Global Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and was honored with the Crystal Award at the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos. She is co-founder and president of production company Dirty Films and a mother to four children.

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Avril Blondelot
Head of content insight, Glance

Glance is the leading global TV audience and content research company. Blondelot heads a team of 20 people, experts in all genres of programmes and audience analysis worldwide. Among her remit, is the service NoTa which exhaustively tracks and detects all the new series launched on 550+ platforms and channels in the world. She joined Glance in 2010, working initially on the UK and Netherlands mark... read more

Glance is the leading global TV audience and content research company. Blondelot heads a team of 20 people, experts in all genres of programmes and audience analysis worldwide. Among her remit, is the service NoTa which exhaustively tracks and detects all the new series launched on 550+ platforms and channels in the world. She joined Glance in 2010, working initially on the UK and Netherlands markets before continuing as research manager, research director and head of content insight. Previously, she worked at Eurosport, France Télévisions and Louvre Museum.
Blondelot specialised in the management of cultural organizations at Paris Dauphine. She also graduated from a tri-national programme from SKEMA Business School / Plekhanov Russian University of Economics / HTW Dresden and studied literature.

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Mikael Borglund
Executive producer, Halifax and CEO & MD , Beyond International Ltd

During an outstanding career in the film and television industry Borglund has executive produced a number of Australian feature films including KISS OR KILL, Lantana, Manny Lewis and Deepsea Challenge 3D. Borglund has been executive producer of hundreds of hours of television for broadcasters from around the globe. His credits include a host of internationally successful shows including Beyond 20... read more

During an outstanding career in the film and television industry Borglund has executive produced a number of Australian feature films including KISS OR KILL, Lantana, Manny Lewis and Deepsea Challenge 3D.

Borglund has been executive producer of hundreds of hours of television for broadcasters from around the globe. His credits include a host of internationally successful shows including Beyond 2000, Beyond Tomorrow, Deep Probe, Hot Property/Hot Auctions, Stingers, Good Guys/Bad Guys, Medivac, South Side Story, Damage Control and the AFI Award winning Day Of The Roses, Halifax FP, Blood & Thunder: The Sound of Alberts, Selling Houses Australia, MythBusters and Beat Bugs.

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Helen Bowden
Producer and MD, Lingo

Helen Bowden is one of Austrailia’s most prolific and highly awarded television drama producers. She is currently in production on ‘The Secrets She Keeps’ starring Laura Carmichael, Jessica de Gouw and Michael Dorman. Other credits include ‘On the Ropes’ for SBS, starring Keisha Castle Hughes and Nicole Chamoun; ‘Wake in Fright’ for Network Ten, which screened in Official Competition... read more

Helen Bowden is one of Austrailia’s most prolific and highly awarded television drama producers. She is currently in production on ‘The Secrets She Keeps’ starring Laura Carmichael, Jessica de Gouw and Michael Dorman. Other credits include ‘On the Ropes’ for SBS, starring Keisha Castle Hughes and Nicole Chamoun; ‘Wake in Fright’ for Network Ten, which screened in Official Competition at FIPA in 2018; ‘Devil’s Playground’ for Foxtel, which won the 2015 AACTA and Logie for best miniseries; ‘Underground’ also for Ten, was about the young Julian Assange; and ‘The Slap’ for the ABA which won five AFIs, a Logie and was BAFTA, and Emmy nominated in 2011.

She is the EP of ‘Lambs of God’ (starring Ann Dowd and Essie Davis) for Foxtel and of ‘Upright’ (starring Tim Minchin) for Foxtel and Sky Atlantic. Bowden was a founder and the foundation Managing Director of Matchbox Pictures, which sold to NBCUniversal in 2014. Bowden formed Lingo Pictures with Jason Stephens in 2015. She is the MD.

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David Brady
CEO, Cream Productions

With offices in Toronto and Los Angeles, Cream develops, finances and produces distinctive and award-winning content for a wide range of TV and digital platforms in North America and internationally. The company’s many credits include Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan (Animal Planet, BBC), BTK: A Killer Among Us (ID), Fear Thy Neighbor (ID), Blood and Fury: America’s Civil War (American Heroes... read more

With offices in Toronto and Los Angeles, Cream develops, finances and produces distinctive and award-winning content for a wide range of TV and digital platforms in North America and internationally. The company’s many credits include Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan (Animal Planet, BBC), BTK: A Killer Among Us (ID), Fear Thy Neighbor (ID), Blood and Fury: America’s Civil War (American Heroes), Paranormal Emergency (Travel), Survivorman (Discovery Channel) as well as the upcoming Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan (Netflix) – among dozens more.


Cream is also a world leader in VR/AR technologies and storytelling. Since 2015, they’ve produced an array of content and products including VR series in coproduction with Hulu, American Heroes Channel, Investigation Discovery, Lexus-Toyota, the Globe and Mail, SIRT and various industrial partners. Cream is currently developing a proprietary technology to create high-fidelity, low-computational A.I.-backed virtual humans. Among their VR/AR credits are A Curious Mind with Dominic Monaghan for Hulu as well as Oak AR, an augmented reality game, among others.

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Niamh Brannigan
Head of communications for environmental governance, UN Environment

Brannigan is a communications specialist at the United Nations Environment Programme where she leads outreach and advocacy efforts to strengthen global environmental governance. Much of her work is devoted to promoting environmental rights and giving voice to environmental defenders on the frontlines of the battle to protect our natural resources from unsustainable use and degradation. Prior to th... read more

Brannigan is a communications specialist at the United Nations Environment Programme where she leads outreach and advocacy efforts to strengthen global environmental governance. Much of her work is devoted to promoting environmental rights and giving voice to environmental defenders on the frontlines of the battle to protect our natural resources from unsustainable use and degradation. Prior to this, Brannigan was engaged in conservation advocacy to end the illegal trade in ivory, humanitarian communications, and agency communications for the public sector. Brannigan also spent several years leading communications for an international NGO with a mandate to enhance socio-economic development by assisting governments to develop realistic and relevant policies for education and training systems through technology integration. Brannigan is passionate about strengthening rule of law and human and environmental rights in countries mired in corruption with weak institutions. Brannigan has an MSc in Technology and Learning from Trinity College Dublin and a Masters in Publishing from University of the Arts London.

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Pascal Breton
President, Federation Entertainment

Breton is president of Federation Entertainment, the top independent production and distribution studio he founded in 2013, with offices in Paris, Los Angeles, Rome and Madrid. Federation Entertainment is behind productions such as Canal +’s highly acclaimed series, The Bureau, and the Netflix original series Marseille. Federation’s rich portfolio includes a range of successful inter... read more

Breton is president of Federation Entertainment, the top independent production and distribution studio he founded in 2013, with offices in Paris, Los Angeles, Rome and Madrid. Federation Entertainment is behind productions such as Canal +’s highly acclaimed series, The Bureau, and the Netflix original series Marseille. Federation’s rich portfolio includes a range of successful international series, as well as an impressive slate of ambitious US and international co-productions.

Prior to creating Federation, Breton directed one of the largest and most successful French production companies, Marathon, which he founded in 1990 and directed for 18 years. Under his direction, Marathon grew exponentially, becoming one of the major player in the international audio-visual landscape. The group was then sold to De Agostini and merged with Zodiak, Magnolia and RDF to form Zodiak Media (now Banijay).Breton recently appeared in Variety’s list of the 500 Most Influential Personalities of the Audiovisual World. He also received a Medal of Honor at MipTV 2018 for his contribution to the international program industry.

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Moderator Anne Brogan
Joint managing director, Kindle Entertainment

Brogan’s career started at the BBC, where she produced the multi-award winning programmes Nice Girls Don’t Swear and Shakespeare Shorts. As executive producer, she looked after an exceptionally diverse and mind-stretching range of programmes which included Teletubbies and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. She moved to Granada Kids as Head of Drama and then became Controller in 200... read more

Brogan’s career started at the BBC, where she produced the multi-award winning programmes Nice Girls Don’t Swear and Shakespeare Shorts. As executive producer, she looked after an exceptionally diverse and mind-stretching range of programmes which included Teletubbies and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. She moved to Granada Kids as Head of Drama and then became Controller in 2004 leading a thriving production department with a broad slate of programming, spanning pre-school, animation, entertainment and drama. The drama portfolio included over 100 episodes of the award winning My Parents Are Aliens which was frequently voted favourite kids’ show in the UK; Girls in Love, one of Granada International’s best-selling teen series, and the phenomenally successful family drama from Jacqueline Wilson’s The Illustrated Mum, starring Michelle Collins, which won two BAFTAs as well as an International Emmy.
In 2007, Brogan founded Kindle Entertainment together with Melanie Stokes. In just over twelve years, Kindle Entertainment has established a reputation in the market place for fresh, innovative content with a twist of comedy. Three times BAFTA-winning, Kindle Entertainment’s portfolio has a wide range of drama and comedy, spanning family, kids, primetime and young adult. Past shows include Treasure Island an action-adventure mini-series for Sky One and Syfy, starring Eddie Izzard, Donald Sutherland and Elijah Wood; Jacqueline Wilson’s Dustbin Baby, for BBC1, which won both an International Emmy and a BAFTA; and Hank Zipzer, starring Henry ‘The Fonz’ Winkler, CBBC’s top rating comedy drama which also won an International Emmy. While Jamillah & Aladdin, a magical action adventure series, the first ever CBeebies/CBBC co-commission, continues to captivate audiences around the world. The A List, a 13 part, psychological thriller was one of the BBC’s first teen commissions and quickly gathered a cult following.
2019 promises to be an exciting year with Kindle Entertainment’s first feature film Four Kids and It based on Jacqueline Wilson’s best-selling book, with Michael Caine, Russell Brand, Paula Patton and Matthew Goode, due to be released in the coming months.

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Georgia Brown
Director of European Prime original series, Amazon Studios

Brown is the director of European Prime original series for Amazon Studios where she oversees the development and production of scripted and non-scripted Amazon originals in Europe, including shows like Good Omens, The Power, The Grand Tour, El Corazon de Sergio Ramos, La Templanza, El Sid,  Bibi & Tina and more. Brown joined Amazon in 2017 from FremantleMedia where she was EVP of content an... read more

Brown is the director of European Prime original series for Amazon Studios where she oversees the development and production of scripted and non-scripted Amazon originals in Europe, including shows like Good Omens, The Power, The Grand Tour, El Corazon de Sergio Ramos, La Templanza, El Sid,  Bibi & Tina and more. Brown joined Amazon in 2017 from FremantleMedia where she was EVP of content and co-productions, overseeing acquisitions for FremantleMedia International (FMI), the company’s distribution business, and working on a range of projects including Young Pope, D83, Apple Tree Yard and American Gods. Previously, Brown was SVP of Acquisitions at Shine International, where she worked on Broadchurch, Educating Yorkshire, One Born Every Minute, 24 Hours in A&E, Masterchef and Code of a Killer. Before Shine, Brown was a commercial manager at BBC Worldwide and worked with over 120 independent producers in the UK and internationally to manage rights acquisitions and early investment on BBC Worldwide-distributed programming including Africa, Mad Dogs, Misfits, Natural World, Primeval, Sherlock and Top Gear.

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Jamie Brown
CEO, Grand River Productions

Brown is CEO of Grand River Productions, a new development-focused content incubator for the international market, with financing and distribution capabilities. Jamie has a long track record in film and television, with substantial experience in utilising the synergies between his production businesses and the international sales market. UK-based, but Canadian-born, and with 30 years of experienc... read more

Brown is CEO of Grand River Productions, a new development-focused content incubator for the international market, with financing and distribution capabilities. Jamie has a long track record in film and television, with substantial experience in utilising the synergies between his production businesses and the international sales market.

UK-based, but Canadian-born, and with 30 years of experience in film and television producing feature films and multiple high-budget television series, Brown is an executive producer on Mammoth Screen’s upcoming War of the Worlds for the BBC. He has also produced, or executive produced a number of renowned feature films, all of which debuted at major international film festivals and were successfully sold worldwide – credits include Country of My Skull (Juliette Binoche, Samuel L. Jackson, Brendan Gleeson), Captive (Isabella Huppert) and The Barber (Macolm McDowell). Brown has also written several successfully produced screenplays, supervised the story department on major television series’ and has had five published novels, including a Canadian best-seller.

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Sarah Brown
Creative director, drama, STV Productions

Brown joined STV Productions in 2014 and oversees a wide-ranging slate of scripted projects as Creative Director, Drama. STV Productions is one of the UK’s leading content businesses with ambitious plans for domestic and international growth. Most recently in her role as creative director, Brown was executive producer on critically-acclaimed BBC One drama series, The Victim starring Kelly Macdon... read more

Brown joined STV Productions in 2014 and oversees a wide-ranging slate of scripted projects as Creative Director, Drama. STV Productions is one of the UK’s leading content businesses with ambitious plans for domestic and international growth. Most recently in her role as creative director, Brown was executive producer on critically-acclaimed BBC One drama series, The Victim starring Kelly Macdonald; and is currently in production on an adaptation of the bestselling novel Elizabeth is Missing also for BBC One, starring two-time Academy Award winner Glenda Jackson in the lead role.

Brown worked in factual television for ten years in the UK and the US before moving into scripted programming, mainly at the BBC in London. As a script editor, script executive and head of development, she worked on a raft of high-profile shows, including the BAFTA winning TV film Care, Peter Bowker’s Blackpool and Tony Marchant’s Passer By. She went on to produce shows such as Oliver Twist (starring Tom Hardy) and The Family Man. As an executive producer at the BBC, her credits include the Sunday night BBC hit show, Lark Rise to Candleford, The Song of Lunch (starring Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman) and The Interceptor.

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Tim Bryans
Co-creator and producer of The Hearios, ALT Animation

Bryans is an animation producer with over 10 years of experience in the animation industry. During this time, he has secured over £12 million of production finance for multiple international co-productions, working with partners such as CBBC, Channel 4, Nick Jnr, Milkshake, Disney and PBS Kids. He was a producer on the first ever animated series to be produced and financed entirely on the island ... read more

Bryans is an animation producer with over 10 years of experience in the animation industry. During this time, he has secured over £12 million of production finance for multiple international co-productions, working with partners such as CBBC, Channel 4, Nick Jnr, Milkshake, Disney and PBS Kids. He was a producer on the first ever animated series to be produced and financed entirely on the island of Ireland Lifeboat Luke and has a wealth of experience working on award winnings children’s animated shows, with talent such as Sir Billy Connolly, Seamus Heaney, Stephen Fry, Harry Hill and Dolly Parton.

Bryans is one of the co-founders of ALT Animation, a production studio based in Belfast, with a focus on developing original animated Intellectual Properties. One of the first projects that the studio has developed is The Hearios – a stop motion and live action series aimed at a pre-school audience, which has received development assistance from the Young Audience Content Fund. The project was pitched at Cartoon Forum in 2019 and is currently in on-going discussions with a number of broadcasters in the UK and beyond.

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Moderator Kate Bulkley
Journalist and media commentator,

An award-winning business journalist both on camera and in print, Bulkley writes regularly for specialist publications, including DTVE, The RTS Magazine and Broadcast in the UK. An American, Bulkley has lived and worked in London since 1990, first as international editor for pay TV title Cable World magazine; then as media editor for European Business News, a 24-hour, pan-European channel, owned b... read more

An award-winning business journalist both on camera and in print, Bulkley writes regularly for specialist publications, including DTVE, The RTS Magazine and Broadcast in the UK.
An American, Bulkley has lived and worked in London since 1990, first as international editor for pay TV title Cable World magazine; then as media editor for European Business News, a 24-hour, pan-European channel, owned by Dow Jones & Co., where she created and co-presented the award-winning, daily half-hour media show called Media Report. Until 2001, Bulkley was on-screen media and telecommunications editor at CNBC Europe.
Bulkley has a master degree in international economics and politics from the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, part of Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA. She began her journalism career at CNN in Washington, DC and subsequently worked in radio and in print in Colorado where she was senior reporter at The Denver Business Journal and international editor of Cable World magazine.

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Amelia Bullmore
Writer and executive producer,

Bullmore studied Drama at Manchester University. She started out as an actress and began writing professionally in 1994. Her first play, Mammals, directed by Anna Mackmin, had an extended sell-out run at The Bush (2005), went on a national tour (2006) and was staged in Los Angeles (2009). Mammals was short-listed for the What’s On Stage Best New Comedy award and co-won the Susan Smith Blackb... read more

Bullmore studied Drama at Manchester University. She started out as an actress and began writing professionally in 1994. Her first play, Mammals, directed by Anna Mackmin, had an extended sell-out run at The Bush (2005), went on a national tour (2006) and was staged in Los Angeles (2009). Mammals was short-listed for the What’s On Stage Best New Comedy award and co-won the Susan Smith Blackburn Award. Her adaptation of Ibsen’s Ghosts, directed by Anna Mackmin, had a sell-out run at The Gate in 2007 and has since been produced at The Citizens Theatre, Glasgow. She wrote a short play for the Old Vic’s 24 Hour Plays (2009). Her recent work includes the play Di And Viv And Rose, originally at the Hampstead before transferring to the West End.

For television, Bullmore has written episodes of This Life, series 2 (Writers Guild Best Television Drama), Attachments and Scott and Bailey series 2, 3 and 4. She devised and co-wrote a series of ten minute films, Black Cab. She was a Dennis Potter Award finalist (2000) for her television screenplay, The Middle. Bullmore ‘s radio writing includes four series of Craven, a Fact to Fiction; Cashflow and the afternoon plays The Middle, Family Tree and The Bat Man.

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Sebastian Burkhardt
Managing director, global content, Keshet International

Burkhardt serves as managing director of global content for Keshet International (KI), the international production and distribution arm of Keshet Media Group, Israel’s biggest and most successful media company. In his role, Burkhardt oversees the creative development, production, funding and acquisition of premium high-end dramas aimed at the global market. Tasked with growing KI’s scripted I... read more

Burkhardt serves as managing director of global content for Keshet International (KI), the international production and distribution arm of Keshet Media Group, Israel’s biggest and most successful media company. In his role, Burkhardt oversees the creative development, production, funding and acquisition of premium high-end dramas aimed at the global market. Tasked with growing KI’s scripted IP catalogue, Burkhardt is tapping into new financing models and revenue streams through creative and commercial partnerships. The division works with international creators, alongside local and emerging platforms on a mix of original development, co-producing opportunities and deficit financing models.

Additionally, Burkhardt and his team actively work with third-party producers on innovative funding models including the KI Content Fund. To date, the fund has invested in several projects, including Ecosse Films’ six-part drama The Trial of Christine Keeler for BBC One and the Blackfella Films political drama Black B*tch for Australia’s ABC. Under Burkhardt’s guidance, KI launched Keshet Digital Studios, which developed and co-produced arguably Snap’s most successful and first Webby-nominated original scripted series, Dead Girls Detective Agency. The darkly comedic supernatural teen soap mystery racked up 15 million-plus viewers in its first season before being recently renewed for a second and third series.

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Anna Burns
Development producer, Buccaneer

Burns has built a slate of television and film projects with talent including Niels Arden Oplev, Ingeborg Topsøe, Charley Miles, Harry Wootliff and Sandhya Suri. Alongside original projects, Burns is developing adaptations from authors Irvine Welsh, Rose Tremain and Elizabeth Macneal. Prior to joining Buccaneer, Burns was creative executive at Blueprint Pictures for three years. There, she worked... read more

Burns has built a slate of television and film projects with talent including Niels Arden Oplev, Ingeborg Topsøe, Charley Miles, Harry Wootliff and Sandhya Suri. Alongside original projects, Burns is developing adaptations from authors Irvine Welsh, Rose Tremain and Elizabeth Macneal.

Prior to joining Buccaneer, Burns was creative executive at Blueprint Pictures for three years. There, she worked across films including Three Billboards outside of Ebbing, Missouri, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and The Riot Club. In development, she sourced a number of novels for the slate and worked with talent including David Farr, Juliette Towhidi and Matt Haig, on projects in partnership with Studio Canal, BBC Films, Film4 and The Kennedy/Marshall Company, amongst others.

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Andrea Calderwood
Producer, Potboiler

Head of drama at BBC Scotland, then head of production at Pathé Pictures between 1994 to 2000, Calderwood has produced, and executive produced over 40 award-winning feature films and TV series to date. Having established Slate Films in 2000, Calderwood has won the BAFTA for Best British Film for the Academy Award-winning The Last King of Scotland as well as receiving an Emmy Award nomination for ... read more

Head of drama at BBC Scotland, then head of production at Pathé Pictures between 1994 to 2000, Calderwood has produced, and executive produced over 40 award-winning feature films and TV series to date. Having established Slate Films in 2000, Calderwood has won the BAFTA for Best British Film for the Academy Award-winning The Last King of Scotland as well as receiving an Emmy Award nomination for the acclaimed HBO TV series Generation Kill.

Calderwood joined forces with Potboiler Productions in 2009 and has since produced I Am Slave, directed by Gabriel Range and written by Jeremy Brock; Half of a Yellow Sun, based on the Orange prize winning novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newton; Andrew Bovell’s adaptation of John le Carré’s A Most Wanted Man; A Little Chaos, directed by Alan Rickman and starring Kate Winslet and Matthias Schoenaerts; Trespass Against Us, starring Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson, and most recently Woman Walks Ahead written by Steven Knight and directed by Susanna White starring Jessica Chastain, Michael Greyeyes and Sam Rockwell; an adaptation of Sarah Waters’ novel The Little Stranger, directed by Lenny Abrahamson, YULI, inspired by the life of Carlos Acosta written by Paul Laverty and directed by Iciar Bollain, and Chiwetel Ejiofor’s directorial debut The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.

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Jamie Campbell
Executive producer, Eleven

Campbell serves as executive producer across Eleven’s factual and drama output. Alongside Joel Wilson, he steers the company’s creative direction. Campbell went to London Film School in 2001, after which he directed, produced, and appeared in multiple primetime documentaries for Channel 4, ITV, the BBC and Sky 1 – including Candid Cameron, Martha & Me, 24 Hours With… and Osama �... read more

Campbell serves as executive producer across Eleven’s factual and drama output. Alongside Joel Wilson, he steers the company’s creative direction. Campbell went to London Film School in 2001, after which he directed, produced, and appeared in multiple primetime documentaries for Channel 4, ITV, the BBC and Sky 1 – including Candid Cameron, Martha & Me, 24 Hours With… and Osama & US. Campbell has directed dozens of commercials for 2AM Films in the UK and Waitemata Film in Australia and New Zealand. His writing has included cover stories for the New Statesman and The Guardian. Campbell started out writing and directing theatre, taking his plays to the Edinburgh Festival in 1993 and to London’s Finborough Theatre in 2001.

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Belinda Campbell
Joint managing director, Red Planet Pictures

Campbell is joint managing director of Red Planet Pictures having joined in 2011 as executive producer before becoming head of drama. Prior to Red Planet Pictures, Belinda was an executive producer at the BBC. A dynamic and truly independent TV production company, Red Planet Pictures was founded by award-winning writer Tony Jordan in 2005 and has produced some of the UK’s most popular drama cont... read more

Campbell is joint managing director of Red Planet Pictures having joined in 2011 as executive producer before becoming head of drama. Prior to Red Planet Pictures, Belinda was an executive producer at the BBC. A dynamic and truly independent TV production company, Red Planet Pictures was founded by award-winning writer Tony Jordan in 2005 and has produced some of the UK’s most popular drama content of recent years.

Campbell has been instrumental in all of Red Planet Pictures’ acclaimed drama content; working as executive producer on the ratings smash and sun-soaked hit crime drama Death in Paradise, which has recently been commissioned for series 10, The Passing Bells, The Ark, Sky One action-adventure series Hooten and the Lady and the critically acclaimed 20-part series Dickensian. Campbell is also the executive producer of Andrew Davies’ adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sanditon, the bold and exciting new drama for ITV and Masterpiece. Campbell oversees all of Red Planet Pictures drama development and productions.

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Joe Caporoso
SVP, Whistle

As SVP of content and brand platforms at Whistle, Caporoso manages the day-to-day posting strategy on all social media platforms, as well as the rollout of new direct to consumer initiatives such as merchandise. He also supervises the wider content and production team, oversees the budgeting behind original productions and content investments, and works closely with the sales and marketing teams t... read more

As SVP of content and brand platforms at Whistle, Caporoso manages the day-to-day posting strategy on all social media platforms, as well as the rollout of new direct to consumer initiatives such as merchandise. He also supervises the wider content and production team, oversees the budgeting behind original productions and content investments, and works closely with the sales and marketing teams to productize Whistle’s content. Additionally, Caporoso runs point on the company’s working relationship with social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram.

Caporoso has been at the company for six years, originally starting as a cross platform editor before moving up to director of social media, then being promoted to vice president of social media and head of content. In the past year, Whistle has had its strongest period of growth on YouTube, rolled out over ten shows per week for Snapchat Discover, and were one of the 12 media companies included in Facebook’s Matchmaker program for 2019.

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Steve Carsey
Senior director, original content (UK) , Audible

Carsey started his media career on Channel 4’s seminal GamesMaster in 1990. Previously he has been chief creative officer of ITN Productions, director of programmes for Endemol owned Initial and the head of entertainment of Mentorn. He has been responsible for many successful formats and managed creative strategy and development for some of the UK’s largest independent television produ... read more

Carsey started his media career on Channel 4’s seminal GamesMaster in 1990. Previously he has been chief creative officer of ITN Productions, director of programmes for Endemol owned Initial and the head of entertainment of Mentorn. He has been responsible for many successful formats and managed creative strategy and development for some of the UK’s largest independent television production companies. Most notably he led the creation and production of three of the UK’s most successful and highest rated shows of all time on their respective channels, Robot Wars (BBC), Britain’s Worst Driver (Channel 5) and The Match (Sky One).

In his current role Carsey oversees a multi-genre commissioning team and content strategy for Amazon’s audio entertainment division, with a particular emphasis on delivering both long and short form scripted drama, comedy, entertainment and factual programming. He is responsible for in excess of 400 hours of original content per year. Stephen Fry’s Victorian Secrets, William Gibson’s Alien 3, The Beautiful Brain, People, Just People with Dermot O’Leary, Jeff Wayne’s The War of The Worlds, Putin: Prisoner of Power and The Kurupt FM Podkast are just some of the notable productions his team have been responsible for in recent times.

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James Cator
Head of podcast partnerships EMEA, Spotify

Cator has always been involved in music. Having started out as a DJ and promoting events while still at school, he went on to run record labels, produce music, and DJ internationally. Cator later joined YouTube as manager of content partnerships, music. Running music in the UK, he was responsible for managing relations with labels, artists and managers, broadening his experience into wider content... read more

Cator has always been involved in music. Having started out as a DJ and promoting events while still at school, he went on to run record labels, produce music, and DJ internationally. Cator later joined YouTube as manager of content partnerships, music. Running music in the UK, he was responsible for managing relations with labels, artists and managers, broadening his experience into wider content and user engagement. After a short period leading a music start-up, Cator joined Spotify in 2015 to build its growing podcast business in the UK. He is now head of podcast partnerships, EMEA, and manages UK partnerships and original commissioning. He continues to produce music.

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Jonathan Cavendish
Co-Founder, Imaginarium

After studying Modern History at Oxford University, Cavendish began his career in advertising where he ran the marketing for the launch of Channel 4 in 1982. He released his first film as producer December Bride in 1991, winning over 30 international awards, and followed this with many other commercially successful and critically acclaimed films, including Into the West, Gangster Number 1, Ordinar... read more

After studying Modern History at Oxford University, Cavendish began his career in advertising where he ran the marketing for the launch of Channel 4 in 1982. He released his first film as producer December Bride in 1991, winning over 30 international awards, and followed this with many other commercially successful and critically acclaimed films, including Into the West, Gangster Number 1, Ordinary Decent Criminal and Croupier. 2001 saw the release of the globally successful Bridget Jones’s Diary, followed by the equally successful Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and then the award-winning Elizabeth: The Golden Age. For television, Cavendish has produced a wide variety of successful projects including the ratings hit Irish famine series The Hanging Gale, Emmy-winning Dirty Tricks and multi-Emmy and Golden Globe nominated Bernard and Doris.

In 2011, Cavendish joined forces with Andy Serkis to found The Imaginarium. He produced its first TV production Fungus the Bogeyman for Sky, closely followed by its first two movies, Breathe, directed by Serkis, and The Ritual, in 2017. In 2018, Cavendish produced Death & Nightingales, starring Jamie Dornan and Matthew Rhys, which was broadcast on BBC2, and the Andy Serkis-directed Mowgli, released worldwide on Netflix in December 2018.

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Gurinder Chadha
Director, writer and producer, Bend It TV & Films

Chadha is one of the U.K.’s most proven and respected filmmakers whose award-winning films have earned over $300 million at the international box office. The British Film Institute’s recent filmography study on British Cinema history named Chadha as the U.K’s most prolific female director working today. Her first feature, the landmark comedy-drama Bhaji on the Beach, received a BAFTA Nominat... read more

Chadha is one of the U.K.’s most proven and respected filmmakers whose award-winning films have earned over $300 million at the international box office. The British Film Institute’s recent filmography study on British Cinema history named Chadha as the U.K’s most prolific female director working today.

Her first feature, the landmark comedy-drama Bhaji on the Beach, received a BAFTA Nomination for ‘Best British Film’ and the Evening Standard British Film Award for ‘Best Newcomer to British Cinema’. Her next film, Bend it like Beckham (2002), was the highest grossing British-financed, British-distributed film ever at the UK box office and topped box office charts internationally. The film received a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), a BAFTA Nomination for Best British Film, a European Film Academy Nomination for Best Film, and a Writers Guild of America Nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Her other hit films include Bride and Prejudice (2004) , Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008), It’s a Wonderful Afterlife (2010 and Viceroy’s House (2017).

Her most recent film, Blinded by the Light (2019), is inspired by the songs of Bruce Springsteen. It opened to rapturous reviews and broke sales records at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Chadha recently created Beecham House, an epic, returning drama series set in India in 1795 for ITV and Masterpiece/PBS, which premiered in the UK in June 2019 and in North America early 2020.

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Juliet Charlesworth
Producer,

Charlesworth is a drama and comedy/drama producer and has worked in the industry for over 35 years, mostly working in the North West region and at production companies such as Red Production Company, Hattrick and Calamity Films, to name a few. She has produced series which have gone on to win BAFTAs, Royal Television Society and Comedy awards. Charlesworth has worked on shows including, Happy Vall... read more

Charlesworth is a drama and comedy/drama producer and has worked in the industry for over 35 years, mostly working in the North West region and at production companies such as Red Production Company, Hattrick and Calamity Films, to name a few. She has produced series which have gone on to win BAFTAs, Royal Television Society and Comedy awards.

Charlesworth has worked on shows including, Happy Valley, Clocking Off and Danny and the Human Zoo for BBC, Leaving for ITV, Hit & Miss and Brassic for Sky, and Traces for UKTV’s Alibi channel.

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Miki Chojnacka
Chief creative and content officer, Hopster

Chojnacka has 20 years of experience in the media and entertainment industries, having held senior executive roles in content, creative and strategy at MTV Networks, Viacom and Pearson. She has a strong track record of launching channels & brands, building winning teams and products across the globe. Today, as a chief content & creative officer at Hopster, the UK’s leading entertainmen... read more

Chojnacka has 20 years of experience in the media and entertainment industries, having held senior executive roles in content, creative and strategy at MTV Networks, Viacom and Pearson. She has a strong track record of launching channels & brands, building winning teams and products across the globe. Today, as a chief content & creative officer at Hopster, the UK’s leading entertainment and learning app for pre-school kids, she is responsible for the creative direction and content strategy of the platform.

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Sean Clarke
Managing director, Aardman

Clarke joined Aardman as head of consumer products in 1998, after several years as UK licensing director for Disney Consumer Products. In 2008, he became head of rights and brand development, responsible for global brand development and distribution of Aardman and third-party rights across all platforms: film, TV, DVD & digital, merchandising and licensing, and themed attractions and live eve... read more

Clarke joined Aardman as head of consumer products in 1998, after several years as UK licensing director for Disney Consumer Products. In 2008, he became head of rights and brand development, responsible for global brand development and distribution of Aardman and third-party rights across all platforms: film, TV, DVD & digital, merchandising and licensing, and themed attractions and live events. He was instrumental in developing Aardman’s rights and marketing team, which now includes 30 people and works across 170 territories worldwide; the launch of the studio’s YouTube channels, which currently exceed 1.2 billion views annually; and the studio diversifying into new areas of immersive storytelling, including its first Shaun the Sheep Land which opened in Sweden in 2015. In 2018, when Aardman became an employee owned organisation, Clarke was appointed a member of the newly formed Aardman executive board.

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Nicole Clemens
President, Paramount Television

As the president of Paramount Television, Clemens oversees a robust slate of over 22 shows on the air and in production. Current shows include Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (Amazon), Catch-22 (Hulu), 13 Reasons Why (Netflix), The Alienist (TNT), The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix), and Boomerang (BET). Upcoming projects include The Angel Of Darkness (TNT), Sexy Beast (Paramount Network... read more

As the president of Paramount Television, Clemens oversees a robust slate of over 22 shows on the air and in production. Current shows include Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (Amazon), Catch-22 (Hulu), 13 Reasons Why (Netflix), The Alienist (TNT), The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix), and Boomerang (BET). Upcoming projects include The Angel Of Darkness (TNT), Sexy Beast (Paramount Network), Looking for Alaska (Hulu), Shantaram (Apple), Defending Jacob (Apple), and Home Before Dark (Apple).
 
Previously, Clemens was a producer at Anonymous Content, where she set up both film and television projects. Prior to joining Anonymous Content, Clemens was executive vice president and head of series development for FX Networks where she guided a coveted roster of critically-acclaimed original series including Atlanta, Better Things, You’re the Worst, Baskets, Snowfall, Tyrant, and Mayans MC. Before that, Clemens was a partner and head of the motion picture literary department at ICM Partners for 16 years. Prior to her tenure at ICM Partners, Clemens ran Rod Holcomb Productions and was a television executive at Spelling Television.

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Alan Clements
Managing Director, Two Rivers Media Ltd

Clements has had a successful career as a dynamic, creative leader in award winning television production and business management. He set up Two Rivers Media in Late 2018 backed by international production and distribution business Kew Media, merchant bankers Noble Grossart and the C4 Growth Fund. He has successfully recruited a senior leadership team all based in Glasgow. These include Mirella B... read more

Clements has had a successful career as a dynamic, creative leader in award winning television production and business management. He set up Two Rivers Media in Late 2018 backed by international production and distribution business Kew Media, merchant bankers Noble Grossart and the C4 Growth Fund. He has successfully recruited a senior leadership team all based in Glasgow. These include Mirella Breda, formerly Commissioning Editor at the BBC, Lizi Wootton, formerly Acting Head of Features at Channel 4, Mick McAvoy, formerly Head of Factual at STV and Lucy Bacon, formerly Development Executive at Wall to Wall.

Prior to forming Two Rivers Media, Alan ran STV Productions and, under his leadership, moved the company from one which made drama for ITV to one which makes programmes in all the genres for all the broadcasters. Before STV, Alan was creative director at the independent television production company IWC Media and before that was founder and MD of WarkClements Productions, where he grew the business from start up to £10m+ turnover. He has excellent links within the UK and international media industry and with business and policy makers across Scotland and the UK. Alan was formerly a freelance journalist and political researcher and journalist at BBC Scotland.

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Philippa Collie-Cousins
Commissioning editor, drama, UKTV

Collie-Cousins is UKTV’s first dedicated drama commissioner. She joined the multi-channel broadcaster in May 2018 and is responsible for overseeing all original drama series. Collie-Cousins’ first commission for UKTV is Traces. The six-part series stars Martin Compston (Line of Duty) and Molly Windsor (3 Girls, Cheat) and is written by Amelia Bullmore (Scott & Bailey). RED Production Comp... read more

Collie-Cousins is UKTV’s first dedicated drama commissioner. She joined the multi-channel broadcaster in May 2018 and is responsible for overseeing all original drama series. Collie-Cousins’ first commission for UKTV is Traces. The six-part series stars Martin Compston (Line of Duty) and Molly Windsor (3 Girls, Cheat) and is written by Amelia Bullmore (Scott & Bailey). RED Production Company (Happy Valley and Years and Years) has produced the series and it will air later this year on the broadcaster’s leading crime drama channel, Alibi. Collie-Cousins has also commissioned “We Hunt Together” by Gaby Hull (Cheat), a six part Thriller directed by Carl Tibbetts (Black Mirror, The Feed).

Prior to joining UKTV, Collie-Cousins was the head of drama development at Hartswood West, head of drama Development at Fresh One and head of production for BBC Series and Serials in BBC Indie Drama Commissioning. She won best european director for her film Happy Now, starring Jonny Rhys Myer and Paddy Considine, and is the BAFTA-award winning director behind The Deadness of Dad starring Rhys Ifans.

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James Cooper
Co-creator and co-host, My Dad Wrote A Porno

Cooper is co-creator and co-host of award-winning British comedy podcast, My Dad Wrote A Porno. The show has been an international hit with more than 200 million downloads across 5 seasons, spawning an HBO comedy special, 2 world tours across 11 countries (including shows at the Sydney Opera House, New York’s Radio City Music Hall and the Royal Albert Hall), as well as a best selling book. B... read more

Cooper is co-creator and co-host of award-winning British comedy podcast, My Dad Wrote A Porno. The show has been an international hit with more than 200 million downloads across 5 seasons, spawning an HBO comedy special, 2 world tours across 11 countries (including shows at the Sydney Opera House, New York’s Radio City Music Hall and the Royal Albert Hall), as well as a best selling book. By day, Cooper is also a television producer, most recently creating the BAFTA-nominated Eating With My Ex for BBC Three, airing its second series in January 2020.

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Nancy Cotton
EVP and head of scripted programming, Epix

Cotton oversees development and production of all original scripted series on the network. Since joining EPIX in February 2018, she has greenlit new originals The Godfather of Harlem starring and produced by Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker and created by Chris Brancato and Paul Eckstein (Narcos); DC origin story Pennyworth created by Bruno Heller (Gotham, Rome) and directed by Danny Cannon; Perpetual... read more

Cotton oversees development and production of all original scripted series on the network. Since joining EPIX in February 2018, she has greenlit new originals The Godfather of Harlem starring and produced by Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker and created by Chris Brancato and Paul Eckstein (Narcos); DC origin story Pennyworth created by Bruno Heller (Gotham, Rome) and directed by Danny Cannon; Perpetual Grace, LTD starring Sir Ben Kingsley and created by Steve Conrad and Bruce Terris (Patriot) as well as the upcoming Julian Fellowes (Downton Abby) series, Belgravia. Under her purview, EPIX’s roster includes Season 3 of critically-acclaimed Get Shorty with Chris O’Dowd and Ray Romano and season 2 of spy-thriller Deep State. Before EPIX, Cotton was President, Heyday TV. Working with David Heyman (Harry Potter, Gravity), she executive produced NBC drama The In Between. From 2007-2016, Cotton was SVP, Creative Affairs at Fox 21 TV Studios. She developed and oversaw multi-awarded drama The Americans (FX), Emmy-nominated The Killing (AMC, Netflix), Queen of the South (USA) with Alice Braga, Emmy winner Lena Waithe’s The Chi (Showtime), Veena Sud’s Seven Seconds (Netflix), The Comedians (FX) with multi-award winners Billy Crystal and Josh Gad, and Oscar-winner Holly Hunter’s Emmy-nominated Saving Grace (TNT). Prior, Cotton was head of Mel Gibson’s Icon TV, ep’ing 4 series. She began as an assistant at William Morris.

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Sarah Cox
Executive creative director, Aardman

Cox is responsible for the development slate of new content aimed at kids and family audiences. She currently is overseeing the latest Shaun the Sheep series 6 directed by Tom Parkinson. Prior to joining Aardman, Cox was the co-owner of ArthurCox, an award-winning film and animation production company, which she launched in 2002 alongside Sally Arthur. During this time, she established a close wor... read more

Cox is responsible for the development slate of new content aimed at kids and family audiences. She currently is overseeing the latest Shaun the Sheep series 6 directed by Tom Parkinson.
Prior to joining Aardman, Cox was the co-owner of ArthurCox, an award-winning film and animation production company, which she launched in 2002 alongside Sally Arthur. During this time, she established a close working relationship with Aardman, collaborating with the studio as a commercials director. She directed the award winning film The Itch of the Golden Nit in 2011, which was created under the ground-breaking and BAFTA-award winning Tate Movie Project, with the participation of 34,000 children across the UK. She also co-directed the road safety mini-series The Peculiar Adventures of Hector, which won her a second British Animation Award in 2008, her first was for her Animate! Short 3 Ways to Go. Her first stop motion film Don’t Let it All Unravel, was made in conjunction with Aardman Animations as one of the 60 environmental films commissioned for the Live Earth concerts and has since won 11 international film awards and has been screened at numerous festivals including the Grand Prize at Tricky Women in Vienna 2008. Cox created and directed the BAFTA-nominated animation pre-school series Nina Needs to Go! for Disney Junior, and the educational BAFTA-nominated online series Search It Up for Azoomee. Her short film Heavy Pockets was also nominated for BAFTA’s Best Short Animation Award in 2004.

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Moderator Valerie Creighton
President and CEO, Canada Media Fund

Creighton is an industry leader in arts, culture and media, recognized for reenergizing some of the country’s most important organizations in the sector over the last 30 years. An expert in organizational change, Creighton has been recognized as a visionary in promoting Canada’s cultural wealth. Currently serving as president and CEO of the Canada Media Fund, Creighton positions Canadian progr... read more

Creighton is an industry leader in arts, culture and media, recognized for reenergizing some of the country’s most important organizations in the sector over the last 30 years. An expert in organizational change, Creighton has been recognized as a visionary in promoting Canada’s cultural wealth.
Currently serving as president and CEO of the Canada Media Fund, Creighton positions Canadian programming at the forefront in world markets advocating successful, innovative Canadian content and software applications for current and emerging digital platforms. Creighton has taken part in foreign trade missions and been recognized with numerous awards nationally and from her home province of Saskatchewan, where she owns and operates the Red Horse Ranch.
Creighton holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Saskatchewan. Most recently she was invested into the 2016 Saskatchewan Order of Merit, was named one of 2016’s 20 most powerful women in global television by The Hollywood Reporter, was recognized in 2017 by Women in Television and Film – Vancouver for her major contribution to promoting gender equality in media and was awarded as the Honorary Maverick for the 2017 Female Eye Film Festival.

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Anna Croneman
Head of dramafilms, SVT - Sveriges Televison

Croneman, producer of TV-drama and feature films, has over 30 productions to her production credit. Anna has also held various industry positions such as vice chairman of the Swedish Film Institute and president of the Swedish Film & TV Producers Association (Film Section). She is currently head of drama at SVT – Sveriges Televison

Ross Crowley
Director of content, Foxtel

In his content role, Crowley oversees investments in drama and unscripted production, and on-demand first viewing, across Foxtel and its entertainment products. Crowley also oversees movies, the 4K content pipeline and content and trends for new platforms. He holds a business degree in finance, statistics and human behaviour and has worked at both the Nine Network and the former Star Group in Asia... read more

In his content role, Crowley oversees investments in drama and unscripted production, and on-demand first viewing, across Foxtel and its entertainment products. Crowley also oversees movies, the 4K content pipeline and content and trends for new platforms. He holds a business degree in finance, statistics and human behaviour and has worked at both the Nine Network and the former Star Group in Asia.

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Sara Curran
Founder and CEO, Tricycle Talent and Tricycle Media.

Tricycle Talent is talent management collective. The collective currently comprises the following talent management boutiques: Voicebank London & Dublin, Rachel Mills Literary, River Talent Management, Kudos Sports Management and Peach Pictures. Tricycle Media is an early stage investor/incubator for content companies and recently announced that it had taken a minority stake in Wildcard Films... read more

Tricycle Talent is talent management collective. The collective currently comprises the following talent management boutiques: Voicebank London & Dublin, Rachel Mills Literary, River Talent Management, Kudos Sports Management and Peach Pictures. Tricycle Media is an early stage investor/incubator for content companies and recently announced that it had taken a minority stake in Wildcard Films. Tricycle Media currently has positions in 8 production companies.

Prior, Curran was key executive and board director at YMU a leading talent management company for clients in Entertainment, Scripted, Sport & Music. Curran was also one of the co-founders of Kew Media Group and served on its board for the first two years. Previously, she was a key executive at Working Title, Universal Pictures International and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment. Over the course of her career Curran has participated in the development and/or production of numerous hits from About a Boy and Bridget Jones to The Night Manager and The Favourite.

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Jos Cushing
Head of factual U.K, October films

Cushing heads up the factual department of October’s U.K offices in London where he’s responsible for overseeing and producing the shop’s core productions for the U.S. and international networks. Cushing began his career working in live sports production before transitioning into both UK and American factual programming. At Raw Television he made the first 3 seasons of hit American show; Gol... read more

Cushing heads up the factual department of October’s U.K offices in London where he’s responsible for overseeing and producing the shop’s core productions for the U.S. and international networks. Cushing began his career working in live sports production before transitioning into both UK and American factual programming. At Raw Television he made the first 3 seasons of hit American show; Gold Rush before executive producing Jungle Gold and Siberian Cut, all for the Discovery Channel. In late 2014 he moved to October where he executive produce the company’s biggest shows, including critically acclaimed and nominated series such as Channel 4′s Walking The Nile, Walking the Himalayas and The Bulger killers: Was justice done, National Geographic’s Mygrations, and History’s Emmy nominated Barbarians. Cushing has recently delivered the Amazon Prime Original series; ‘This is Football’ which filmed in 15 countries around the world with a production crew of 160 people.

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Gary Davey
Chief Executive Officer, Sky Studios

Davey was appointed chief executive officer, Sky Studios in June 2019. Prior to this he was managing director, content where he had the responsibility for Sky’s entertainment, movies and news channels in the UK and Ireland as well as the entire entertainment offering of Sky Deutschland where he was executive vice president programming since 2011. For the majority of his career, Davey has worked ... read more

Davey was appointed chief executive officer, Sky Studios in June 2019. Prior to this he was managing director, content where he had the responsibility for Sky’s entertainment, movies and news channels in the UK and Ireland as well as the entire entertainment offering of Sky Deutschland where he was executive vice president programming since 2011.

For the majority of his career, Davey has worked as a senior executive in the international pay TV industry holding senior roles in Europe, Asia and the US. Before joining Sky Deutschland in June 2010, Davey held a senior role at Sky Italia, where he was responsible for launching its terrestrial TV network, cielo. He has also worked as managing director of BSkyB in England and CEO of STAR TV in Hong Kong.

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Jack Davison
Executive vice president, 3vision

Davison is a content and Pay TV professional with a unique ability to predict and explain the implications of industry changes on stakeholders. Davison is Executive Vice President of leading international content firm 3Vision. He advises major global content owners and broadcasters on optimising their distribution strategy and increasing their revenues. Davison has helped many leading and new vide... read more

Davison is a content and Pay TV professional with a unique ability to predict and explain the implications of industry changes on stakeholders. Davison is Executive Vice President of leading international content firm 3Vision. He advises major global content owners and broadcasters on optimising their distribution strategy and increasing their revenues. Davison has helped many leading and new video operators to launch new services across satellite, IPTV and OTT, often in challenging markets.

Prior to joining 3Vision, Davison was head of VOD product at Virgin Media, the UK’s leading cable operator. Davison was a pioneer of IPTV and VOD whilst VP of content at Yes Television and has worked for IMG Media, the world’s largest independent producer and distributor of sports programming.

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David Davoli
EVP of international television, BRON Studios

Davoli co-heads the television group. Prior to joining the television group, Davoli was senior vice president of business affairs where he closed countless deals with respect to BRON’s active feature film and television slate and sourced and structured several international TV co-productions. Before joining BRON, Davoli was in private practice for 13 years as an entertainment attorney where he w... read more

Davoli co-heads the television group. Prior to joining the television group, Davoli was senior vice president of business affairs where he closed countless deals with respect to BRON’s active feature film and television slate and sourced and structured several international TV co-productions. Before joining BRON, Davoli was in private practice for 13 years as an entertainment attorney where he worked as production, finance or distribution counsel on over 50 independent film, television and new media programs, and spent a decade developing a keen knowledge of the international marketplace. Davoli is also a classically trained draftsman of the human figure and continues to train every morning at his studio in Chelsea.

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Lorenzo De Maio
Partner, Endeavor Content

In his role, De Maio oversees the television sales and advisory group, focusing on financing and selling global television shows. De Maio works with content creators, in-house and third-party financiers, and US and international networks to create optimal ownership and distribution solutions for projects. Endeavor Content’s television series include the Emmy and Golden-Globe Award winning drama ... read more

In his role, De Maio oversees the television sales and advisory group, focusing on financing and selling global television shows. De Maio works with content creators, in-house and third-party financiers, and US and international networks to create optimal ownership and distribution solutions for projects. Endeavor Content’s television series include the Emmy and Golden-Globe Award winning drama The Night Manager, the Emmy-nominated programs Killing Eve, Chef’s Table, Apple’s See from Steven Knight and Francis Lawrence, and Damien Chazelle’s The Eddy.

Prior to joining Endeavor Content, De Maio was president of production at the Dino De Laurentiis Company where he was an executive on the NBC series Hannibal and a producer across its film slate. De Maio sits on the board of the PGA International Committee and has worked with the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office on the campaign to launch and support the California Film and Television Initiative program.

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Robert Delamere
Creative director, Storyglass

Delamere is a critically acclaimed theatre, television and opera director and a specialist in digital capture and screen arts. He is the creative director of Storyglass, a scripted podcast label from Fremantle. Most recently, he co-wrote and directed all six episodes of Hang Ups (Slam Films) which aired summer 2018 on Channel 4. He founded Digital Theatre and Digital Theatre Plus, respectively the... read more

Delamere is a critically acclaimed theatre, television and opera director and a specialist in digital capture and screen arts. He is the creative director of Storyglass, a scripted podcast label from Fremantle. Most recently, he co-wrote and directed all six episodes of Hang Ups (Slam Films) which aired summer 2018 on Channel 4. He founded Digital Theatre and Digital Theatre Plus, respectively the world’s leading digital platform for the arts and for arts education with audiences in more than 80 countries.  

 
He currently works as an executive producer for Slam Films across their television and film work, including directing the forthcoming Bleak House Guest for Sky’s Urban Myths Series. Delamere has also worked extensively in theatre, directing over 40 productions in theatres such as The Donmar, Royal Court, Almeida, Hampstead Theatre, RSC, The Royal Exchange Manchester, Sheffield Crucible Theatres, Liverpool Everyman and in the West End. As well as working in radio both as a director and writer, ‘Gone ’til the Satellites Turn Again,’ for BBC Radio 3. He was recently announced by Creative Review as one of the UK’s top 50 Creative Leaders..

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Sandra Dewey 
President, business operations and productions, HBO Max

Dewey serves as head of business operations for HBO Max with oversight of WarnerMedia Entertainment’s business affairs and production teams for HBO Max, TBS, TNT and truTV. Dewey also continues to play a key role in the cable networks’ ongoing transition from a linear television company to omni-platform media brands with numerous revenue streams.

 Prior to her current position, Dewey serv... read more

Dewey serves as head of business operations for HBO Max with oversight of WarnerMedia Entertainment’s business affairs and production teams for HBO Max, TBS, TNT and truTV. Dewey also continues to play a key role in the cable networks’ ongoing transition from a linear television company to omni-platform media brands with numerous revenue streams.

 Prior to her current position, Dewey served as EVP, head of business affairs for Turner Entertainment Networks and Cartoon Network Originals. In that role she was heavily involved with the growth and strategic evolution of the networks’ original programming, as well as its expansion in the global market.

 She is also a longtime champion of various gender and diversity initiatives at the company, including her role as the founding member of WarnerMedia’s Feminist Fridays, an initiative dedicated to empowering, informing and mentoring women across the organisation.

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Frank Doelger
Creative director, Intaglio Films

Doelger worked as an executive at Columbia Pictures, ABC, Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W Productions, and HBO, overseeing the development and production of a multitude of award-winning documentaries, children’s films, television movies, mini-series, and series. In 1996, Doelger founded Trinity Productions, for which he produced the Emmy and BAFTA Award winning Conspiracy, The Gathering S... read more

Doelger worked as an executive at Columbia Pictures, ABC, Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W Productions, and HBO, overseeing the development and production of a multitude of award-winning documentaries, children’s films, television movies, mini-series, and series.

In 1996, Doelger founded Trinity Productions, for which he produced the Emmy and BAFTA Award winning Conspiracy, The Gathering Storm, My House In Umbria, Rome and John Adams.

In 2006, Doelger co-founded Rainmark Films, producing various projects including Into The Storm, Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight, and The Frankenstein Chronicles. In addition, Doelger served as executive producer for all eight seasons of Game Of Thrones.

In 2018, Doelger was named creative director of Intaglio Films, a new scripted venture launched by Beta Film and ZDF Enterprises which will develop, finance and produce drama for the international market.

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Haley Drage
Vice president corporate affairs, EMEA, Starbucks

Thomas Dubois
Head of unscripted originals, Amazon Studios France

Dubois oversees the development and production of non-scripted content. Dubois joined Amazon 8 months ago from TF1 where he was deputy head of unscripted originals for the three free channels of the TF1 Group, TF1, TMC, and TFX. In that role, he was dedicated to launching and renewing unscripted programming and worked on a range of projects including The Wall, Ninja Warrior, Cats, and Tattoo Fixer... read more

Dubois oversees the development and production of non-scripted content. Dubois joined Amazon 8 months ago from TF1 where he was deputy head of unscripted originals for the three free channels of the TF1 Group, TF1, TMC, and TFX. In that role, he was dedicated to launching and renewing unscripted programming and worked on a range of projects including The Wall, Ninja Warrior, Cats, and Tattoo Fixers. Dubois also worked on creating formats in-house for the group’s channels such as Beauty Match and The Most Beautiful Brides.

Previously, Dubois worked on in the independent production world as a creative manager and/or associate producer on shows such as Secret Story.

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Jackie Edwards
Head of fund, Young Audiences Content Fund, BFI

Edwards is head of the Young Audiences Content Fund at the BFI, and is responsible for the successful implementation of this game changing UK Government initiative to stimulate the provision of public service content for audiences of 0-18. Edwards joined the BFI from BBC Children’s where she had been the head of acquisitions and independent animation, responsible for pre-buying and acquiring li... read more

Edwards is head of the Young Audiences Content Fund at the BFI, and is responsible for the successful implementation of this game changing UK Government initiative to stimulate the provision of public service content for audiences of 0-18.

Edwards joined the BFI from BBC Children’s where she had been the head of acquisitions and independent animation, responsible for pre-buying and acquiring live-action and animated programming for CBeebies, CBBC and iPlayer. She joined the BBC in 2008 as content manager and executive producer. Prior to the BBC, Jackie was a producer in the independent sector. A passionate advocate for public service content, Edwards is living her dream job!

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Nosa Eke
Writer and director,

Eke is a platform agnostic writer and director working in traditional and interactive storytelling. She was chosen for the Soho Theatre Writers Lab and then attended the National Film and Television school, receiving a scholarship from the Royal Television Society and Sky while studying. In 2017, Google Creative Labs’ Tea Uglow chose Nosa as a future creative leader, within the same... read more

Eke is a platform agnostic writer and director working in traditional and interactive storytelling. She was chosen for the Soho Theatre Writers Lab and then attended the National Film and Television school, receiving a scholarship from the Royal Television Society and Sky while studying. In 2017, Google Creative Labs’ Tea Uglow chose Nosa as a future creative leader, within the same year Nosa was spotlighted as a “next level gaming talent” by Apple for writing a real time narrative mobile phone experience. In 2018, she was picked for the BFI Flare/BAFTA mentorship programme. Eke has written episodic series on the Amazon Alexa for the BBC as well as worked on other experiences for BBC Voice and AI. She was chosen as a 2019 Trailblazer by Accenture and TCOLondon for her work in the cross-section between technology and storytelling. She is currently working on her debut interactive feature film in development with the British Film Institute, produced by Marshmallow Laser Feast. Eke is also an Artist In Residence at Blast Theory developing the AR technology for the feature film. She is in post production on her short film, Something In The Closet, funded by the BFI and Film London.

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Pete Eklund
Producer, Reindeer Mafia

Eklund has a long backround in the music industry. He has worked for multinational record companies such as Warner Music and Sony Music since 1998. Eklund has managed wide range of superstars and projects which have sold altogether 2 million album copies in Finland. Since 2008 he has worked with films and television, first with his own company Moshfish Helsinki and in 2013 he co-founded Kaiho Repu... read more

Eklund has a long backround in the music industry. He has worked for multinational record companies such as Warner Music and Sony Music since 1998. Eklund has managed wide range of superstars and projects which have sold altogether 2 million album copies in Finland. Since 2008 he has worked with films and television, first with his own company Moshfish Helsinki and in 2013 he co-founded Kaiho Republic.

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Angharad Elen
Writer, producer and executive producer of Person/a,

Elen is a writer and producer and develops drama for Cwmni Da television company in Caernarfon, north Wales. She is creator and producer of Deian a Loli (79×15′) a Welsh language live-action preschool series for S4C about twins who have superpowers. She was associate producer on William McGregor’s feature, Gwen(Endor/BFI) and was translator and Welsh language advisor on episode 30... read more

Elen is a writer and producer and develops drama for Cwmni Da television company in Caernarfon, north Wales. She is creator and producer of Deian a Loli (79×15′) a Welsh language live-action preschool series for S4C about twins who have superpowers. She was associate producer on William McGregor’s feature, Gwen(Endor/BFI) and was translator and Welsh language advisor on episode 306 of The Crown (Left Bank/Netflix). Her projects have won her Bafta Cymru awards, Celtic Media awards and most recently, a Broadcast Award. She is the executive producer on the live-action multi-platform drama, Person/a which was recently awarded funding from BFI’s YACF and will commence shooting in spring 2020.

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Moderator Bryan Elsley
Managing director and writer, Balloon Entertainment

Elsley is a television writer who created the Channel 4 show Dates and is best known for co-creating teen drama Skins with his son Jamie Brittain. His other writing credits include 40, Nature Boy and the award winning adaptation of Iain Banks novel The Crow Road. Dates was the first production by Balloon Entertainment, the independent production company set up by Bryan and Harry Enfield in 2012. I... read more

Elsley is a television writer who created the Channel 4 show Dates and is best known for co-creating teen drama Skins with his son Jamie Brittain. His other writing credits include 40, Nature Boy and the award winning adaptation of Iain Banks novel The Crow Road.

Dates was the first production by Balloon Entertainment, the independent production company set up by Bryan and Harry Enfield in 2012. It has gone on to produce two Harry Enfield specials for BBC2, Clique in 2017 for BBC3 and upcoming E4/Netflix production Kiss Me First, made with Kindle Entertainment. Bryan is a writer, showrunner and executive producer on the show.

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Dr. Simone Emmelius
SVP international fiction coproduction and acquisitions, ZDF

As SVP international fiction coproduction and acquisition, Emmelius is responsible for the ZDF company with its entities ZDF main channel, ZDFneo (entertainment channel for a younger target audience 25-50 years), 3sat (cultural channel, target audience German speaking territories), ARTE (cultural channel, target audience Germany and France), and Funk (nonlinear program offer, target audience 14-29... read more

As SVP international fiction coproduction and acquisition, Emmelius is responsible for the ZDF company with its entities ZDF main channel, ZDFneo (entertainment channel for a younger target audience 25-50 years), 3sat (cultural channel, target audience German speaking territories), ARTE (cultural channel, target audience Germany and France), and Funk (nonlinear program offer, target audience 14-29 years). Until May, 2018, she was SVP, ZDFneo, responsible for one of the top 10 channels in Germany, focused on drama, crime, and comedy series, feature films and on entertainment programmes (e.g. Neo Magazin Royale / Jan Böhmermann). From 1987 to 2009, Emmelius was in charge in various functions, for the strategic development of the upcoming digital market activities of ZDF, setting up digital channels and initial interactive programmes. After her studies in literature, economy and film in Mainz and Konstanz (degrees: M.A. and Dr. phil.) accompanied by several freelance contracts for ZDF, SWR, Südkurier and FAZ, she started her career in ZDF as a trainee, and later on, as an editor in the social affairs department.

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Gjermund Erikson
Writer and executive producer, Monster Scripted

International Emmy-winner as a writer, creator and executive producer for Mammon 2 (NRK) together with his brother. Mammon has also been remade by HBO in both Poland (Pakt) and Czech (Mamon). He is also creator of light-hearted legal series Aber Bergen (Viapilay) and currently developing two new shows for Monster Scripted. One happy noir, the police procedural For Life (NRK), and Furia (Viaplay/ZD... read more

International Emmy-winner as a writer, creator and executive producer for Mammon 2 (NRK) together with his brother. Mammon has also been remade by HBO in both Poland (Pakt) and Czech (Mamon). He is also creator of light-hearted legal series Aber Bergen (Viapilay) and currently developing two new shows for Monster Scripted. One happy noir, the police procedural For Life (NRK), and Furia (Viaplay/ZDF), a thriller-series about fighting right-wing extremism in an ever polarizing political climate in Europe.

His background is from English/American- and Nordic literature and language, and Culture-studies at the University of Oslo, where he also worked as a teacher until the communication industry grabbed him. There he worked as both creative and a strategist. After 9 years of communications work for media-, consumer- and finance-clients – he finally got his first script sold to the public broadcaster NRK in 2010.

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Iñaki González Esparza
Development director, Alea Media

Esparza graduated in Audiovisual Communication from the University of Navarra and received a Diploma in Screenwriting from the Madrid Film School (ECAM). He was a professional screenwriter until 2008 after which he worked at the drama department of Antena 3 in Madrid until 2017.

O.T. Fagbenle
Actor, writer and director,

Fagbenle is an award-winning writer, actor, composer and director for radio, stage and screen. He can be seen starring opposite Elisabeth Moss in HULU’s drama series The Handmaid’s Tale winning no less than 8 Emmy Awards and a BAFTA in 2019. Fagbenle has recently been welcomed into the Marvel Universe and will be appearing in the new Black Widow franchise. Fagbenle has been the titular lead i... read more

Fagbenle is an award-winning writer, actor, composer and director for radio, stage and screen. He can be seen starring opposite Elisabeth Moss in HULU’s drama series The Handmaid’s Tale winning no less than 8 Emmy Awards and a BAFTA in 2019. Fagbenle has recently been welcomed into the Marvel Universe and will be appearing in the new Black Widow franchise.

Fagbenle has been the titular lead in two flagship UK shows, The Interceptor for the BBC and on Harlan Coban’s The Five for Sky TV. In theatre he led the National Theatre cast of August Wilson’s New York Drama Critic Circle Award-winning play, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, to the prestigious Olivier Award.

Fagbenle hit the scene as a writer / director by winning Best Horror Sci-Fi at the London Film Festival for his debut Short Film Moth. His horror comedy Big Bad Blood was developed by Channel 4 before they green-lit his debut TV series Maxxx. Fagbenle now has a number of projects in development and production for BBC, HULU and Channel 4.

Fagbenle founded OTT Lion, independent television company, with his brother Luti Fagbenle, executive producer. OTT focus on producing high quality scripted drama and comedy productions from diverse voices for global audiences.

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Valeriy Fedorovich
Director, TV-3, producer and head, PREMIER Studios

A graduate of the VGIK Film Drama Department, Valeriy Fedorovich worked as the chief editor and producer for the STV Film Company in 2004-2011, taking part in the creation of more than 20 feature films and animations. 2011 to 2016, as General Producer of TNT channel, he was responsible for the production of a drama line-up and comedy series. His credits include: La Dolce Vita, Chernobyl. Exclusion... read more

A graduate of the VGIK Film Drama Department, Valeriy Fedorovich worked as the chief editor and producer for the STV Film Company in 2004-2011, taking part in the creation of more than 20 feature films and animations. 2011 to 2016, as General Producer of TNT channel, he was responsible for the production of a drama line-up and comedy series. His credits include: La Dolce Vita, Chernobyl. Exclusion Zone, The V.I.P. Cop, etc. Since December 2016, Valeriy Fedorovich has been director of TV-3 channel.
In 2017, he produced Gogol that became one of the most profitable cinematic projects in Russian film distribution.

In 2018, he became one of the leaders of PREMIER Studios. Among his projects are the films The Blackout, Metro 2033, Karamora, as well as the television series An Ordinary Woman (Series Mania Festival Award), The Dead Lake, Identification (Series Mania official selection), The Outbreak (CanneSeries and the 41st Moscow International Film Festival official selection). In 2019 Fedorovich, together with Evgeniy Nikishov was awarded TEFI Russian Television Prize as “Television Producer of the Season.”

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Julian Fellowes
Writer, director and novelist,

Fellowes is an award-winning writer, director, producer, novelist and actor.  He received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2002 for Gosford Park, which was his first produced film.  Fellowes is creator, sole writer and executive producer of the worldwide hit series Downton Abbey for which he won two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe and is the recipient of a Special BAFTA Aw... read more

Fellowes is an award-winning writer, director, producer, novelist and actor.  He received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2002 for Gosford Park, which was his first produced film.  Fellowes is creator, sole writer and executive producer of the worldwide hit series Downton Abbey for which he won two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe and is the recipient of a Special BAFTA Award and the International Emmy Founders Award.  His film writing credits include Vanity Fair, Separate Lies (National Board of Review Directorial Debut Award), From Time to Time, The Young Victoria, The Chaperone and the Downton Abbey movie.  His television writing credits include Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Prince and the Pauper, Titanic, Doctor Thorne and the upcoming Belgravia and The English Game. He is responsible for the ‘book’ of the Broadway musicals, Mary Poppins and School of Rock – The Musical for which he received a Tony nomination.  He also wrote the books for Half a Sixpence and The Wind in the Willows, both of which played in the West End in 2017.  He has written three best-selling books,  Snobs, Past Imperfect and Belgravia.  In January 2011, he was given a peerage and entered the House of Lords as the Lord Fellowes of West Stafford. 

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Moderator Danny Fenton
CEO and executive chairman, Zig Zag Productions

Fenton founded Zig Zag in 1999 and has established the company as an innovative transatlantic television production company, respected for its eclectic approach to over 700 hours of programme making. The company is one of the largest remaining truly independent UK production companies. Prior to Zig Zag Fenton began his career at the BBC and spent a brief time working with a number of UK production... read more

Fenton founded Zig Zag in 1999 and has established the company as an innovative transatlantic television production company, respected for its eclectic approach to over 700 hours of programme making. The company is one of the largest remaining truly independent UK production companies.
Prior to Zig Zag Fenton began his career at the BBC and spent a brief time working with a number of UK production companies. Fenton is renowned in the international TV industry not only as a pioneer of audacious ideas, but he has a strong track record of unearthing new TV talent. Recent discoveries include magicians Dynamo and Troy and adventurer Richard Parks, whom he has taken to international audiences.
Fenton is executive producer on all Zig Zag productions. Recent shows he has created include I Wanna Marry Harry for Fox, Scam City and Apocalypse 101 for National Geographic, Troy for Channel 4 and Xtreme Endurance: Race to the Pole for Channel 5. Other recent hit productions include Body Bizarre for Discovery, Split Second for Nickleodeon and Ultimate Brain for CBBC.
Fenton is a regular speaker at a major industry conferences, judge for several industry awards and a commentator in the international trade media.

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Olga Filipuk
Chief content officer, KinoPoisk HD

After graduation from the Russian State University for the Humanities and later Tokyo University, Filipuk started her career as an international project manager and producer at DLE inc in Tokyo, in charge of international animation co-productions (GI Joe series, Power Puff Girls Z, Heroscape etc.). In mid 2007 Filipuk joined Carmen Film in Moscow as head of acquisitions, in charge of theatrical, v... read more

After graduation from the Russian State University for the Humanities and later Tokyo University, Filipuk started her career as an international project manager and producer at DLE inc in Tokyo, in charge of international animation co-productions (GI Joe series, Power Puff Girls Z, Heroscape etc.). In mid 2007 Filipuk joined Carmen Film in Moscow as head of acquisitions, in charge of theatrical, video and TV acquisitions worldwide, where she stayed till the beginning of 2014. Filipuk Joined IVI.RU in early 2014 as head of acquisitions, then becoming a head of content in June 2014, followed by the position of VP for content strategy in November 2014.

In July 2016, Filipuk joined a Russian branch of Chinese giant LeECO to establish content business in Russia and Eastern Europe for LeECO devices and supervise content export and co-production initiatives between Russia, China, India and North America. Due to the business shut down for Chinese HQ of LeECO, in March 2017 Filipuk joined Yandex Mediaservices as a head of business development. Since early 2018 Filipuk took a position of CEO for Yandex Studio – a production hub of Yandex Mediaservices. Major responsibilities include content strategy and licensing, media partnerships, M&A initiatives and production initiatives.

KinoPoisk is the most popular Russian-language service about cinema. The audience of the service is more than 2,500,000 unique visitors per day and more than 40,000,000 unique visitors per month. KinoPoisk HD streaming catalog includes about 9,000 movies and TV shows, while the number of paying viewers reached half a million monthly.

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Nick Forward
Chief content officer, Stan

Forward is Stan’s chief content officer. He joined the company as employee number 3 in late 2013, establishing the content strategy for the service. Forward oversees all aspects of original production, content acquisition and programming. Forward left his hometown of Melbourne to spend over a decade working in media/entertainment in London prior to joining Stan. He spent five years at Virgin Me... read more

Forward is Stan’s chief content officer. He joined the company as employee number 3 in late 2013, establishing the content strategy for the service. Forward oversees all aspects of original production, content acquisition and programming.

Forward left his hometown of Melbourne to spend over a decade working in media/entertainment in London prior to joining Stan. He spent five years at Virgin Media in a variety of roles, including editor in chief for the business’s suite of content products, and, as director of TV Product, managing the UK’s second largest Pay TV platform. Previously Forward worked in the Entertainment and Marketing divisions at BSkyB.

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Moderator Nico Franks
Editor , C21Kids

As a senior reporter, Franks writes daily news, features and perspective pieces for C21 Media, the UK-based provider of breaking news and industry analysis to the international entertainment community. He has been editor of C21Kids magazine since 2016 and is also part of the team that organises C21 Media’s award-winning conference Content London, including oversight of Kids Content Futures. ... read more

As a senior reporter, Franks writes daily news, features and perspective pieces for C21 Media, the UK-based provider of breaking news and industry analysis to the international entertainment community. He has been editor of C21Kids magazine since 2016 and is also part of the team that organises C21 Media’s award-winning conference Content London, including oversight of Kids Content Futures. He joined C21 Media in 2012 following stints writing for the BBC online and music magazine Clash.

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Elaine Frontain Bryant
Executive vice president and head of programming, A&E Network

Frontain Bryant is EVP and head of programming at A&E Network, a position she has held since March 2015. She manages the A&E programming team and is responsible for overseeing the development, creation and execution of all programming for the network. She is also charged with integrating new programming with digital initiatives and developing ways to expand the brand across multiple plat... read more

Frontain Bryant is EVP and head of programming at A&E Network, a position she has held since March 2015. She manages the A&E programming team and is responsible for overseeing the development, creation and execution of all programming for the network. She is also charged with integrating new programming with digital initiatives and developing ways to expand the brand across multiple platforms. She reports to Rob Sharenow, President, Programming, A+E Networks.

Under Frontain Bryant, the A&E programming team has developed a bold and critically acclaimed non-fiction programming slate, garnering her back-to-back Emmy Awards®. Frontain Bryant launched the 2017 Emmy Award winner Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, and the 2016 Emmy Award winner and recipient of a 2016 Television Academy Honors, Born This Way. She developed the cutting-edge live documentary series, Live PD, as well as the network’s second live franchise Live Rescue, which ranks among A&E’s top new series over the past two years.

Frontain Bryant was previously senior vice president of programming and development at HISTORY where she oversaw series. Prior to joining HISTORY, Frontain Bryant served as senior vice president of non-fiction and alternative programming for A&E Network, responsible for such hits as Wahlburgers, Duck Dynasty and Storage Wars. Earlier in her career, Frontain Bryant served as vice president, creative development and production at Magna Global Entertainment.

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Nick Frost
Co-founder, Stolen Picture

Frost is a well-known writer, actor, author and producer having recently founded the production company Stolen Picture with his long-term collaborator, Simon Pegg. Having started his career with Pegg in the hit comedy series Spaced, Frost has since gone on to star in The Cornetto Trilogy movies, comprising of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and, The Worlds End whilst also co-writing and starring in th... read more

Frost is a well-known writer, actor, author and producer having recently founded the production company Stolen Picture with his long-term collaborator, Simon Pegg. Having started his career with Pegg in the hit comedy series Spaced, Frost has since gone on to star in The Cornetto Trilogy movies, comprising of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and, The Worlds End whilst also co-writing and starring in the alien comedy film Paul. Frost has just finished shooting the Amazon Prime series which he wrote with Pegg and writing team Truth Seekers, the first production under the Stolen Picture banner.

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Marianne Furevold-Boland
Executive producer, NRK Drama

Furevold-Boland was the producer of the web-drama series SKAM, and are now an executive producer at NRK Drama. Besides currently working with different projects both in development and in production at NRK, she also oversees the various Skam re-makes that are being produced in more than eight countries around the world. Furevold-Boland has worked in NRK for many years and has been working on v... read more

Furevold-Boland was the producer of the web-drama series SKAM, and are now an executive producer at NRK Drama. Besides currently working with different projects both in development and in production at NRK, she also oversees the various Skam re-makes that are being produced in more than eight countries around the world. Furevold-Boland has worked in NRK for many years and has been working on various project as a producer, script doctor, writer, journalist and presenter, both in television and radio. She also gives work-shops in insight work as a tool for developing scripts, and the production method on shortforms. Furevold-Boland is educated as an actor from LIPA, Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.

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Aitor Gabilondo
Showrunner, Patria

Gabilondo is one of the most prominent showrunners in Spanish TV drama and has been responsible for some of the most successful series in recent years, such as El Príncipe, Allí Abajo and Vivir sin permiso. In 2017, together with Mediaset España, he founded his production company, ALEA MEDIA. He is currently finishing post-production on Patria, HBO Europe’s first drama series commissioned in ... read more

Gabilondo is one of the most prominent showrunners in Spanish TV drama and has been responsible for some of the most successful series in recent years, such as El Príncipe, Allí Abajo and Vivir sin permiso. In 2017, together with Mediaset España, he founded his production company, ALEA MEDIA. He is currently finishing post-production on Patria, HBO Europe’s first drama series commissioned in Spanish.

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Guy Gadney
CEO, Charisma.ai

Gadney, has been working at the intersection of media and technology for over 20 years, initially as the first Head of Digital for Penguin Books UK, then at the BBC, Fox and the Guardian, before setting up his first games company developing massively multiplayer games. More recently, he produced the official mobile games for Sherlock, Home & Away and other TV series around the world. He is... read more

Gadney, has been working at the intersection of media and technology for over 20 years, initially as the first Head of Digital for Penguin Books UK, then at the BBC, Fox and the Guardian, before setting up his first games company developing massively multiplayer games. More recently, he produced the official mobile games for Sherlock, Home & Away and other TV series around the world. He is CEO of To Play For, the media technology platform behind Charisma.ai which is producing new forms of immersive stories powered by artificial intelligence. The company is working with broadcasters and studios around the world to extend TV series and films into narrative games, and is currently adapting John Wyndham’s sci-fi classic The Kraken Wakes with Charisma.ai. He is Chair of Trustees of The Old Fire Station in Oxford, and a Fellow of the University of Bath, Bristol, Plymouth, Falmouth and Exeter researching the automation of creativity.

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Sophie Gardiner
Managing director, Chapter One Pictures

Chapter One Pictures was set up in June 2018 with the intention of producing the best content, both internationally and for the UK. Gardiner is executive producer of Best Interests, Chapter One’s first show in production – a 4-part drama by Jack Thorne for BBC1 and is developing Team Chocolate alongside Dominic Schreiber at Reel One. Prior to setting up Chapter One Gardiner most recentl... read more

Chapter One Pictures was set up in June 2018 with the intention of producing the best content, both internationally and for the UK. Gardiner is executive producer of Best Interests, Chapter One’s first show in production – a 4-part drama by Jack Thorne for BBC1 and is developing Team Chocolate alongside Dominic Schreiber at Reel One. Prior to setting up Chapter One Gardiner most recently worked at Playground Television, where she executive produced Howards End (by Kenneth Lonergan for BBC/Starz), Little Women (by Heidi Thomas for BBC/PBS) and Chimerica (by Lucy Kirkwood for Channel 4). Before that, she was Commissioning Editor for Drama at Channel 4, where she commissioned many award-winning shows including Utopia, Soutcliffe, Dates, Youngers, Run, The Mill and My Mad Fat Diary. Chapter One Pictures is backed by Casarotto, United Agents and Anonymous Content.

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Rachel Gardner
Executive producer, See-Saw Films

Rachel Gardner joined Academy and Bafta Award winning independent production company See-Saw Films to run the Australian film and television slates after producing John Maclean’s Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winning feature film Slow West (2015) alongside Iain Canning and Emile Sherman. Gardner is a talent focused creative producer, executive producing (television) or producing (film)... read more

Rachel Gardner joined Academy and Bafta Award winning independent production company See-Saw Films to run the Australian film and television slates after producing John Maclean’s Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winning feature film Slow West (2015) alongside Iain Canning and Emile Sherman. Gardner is a talent focused creative producer, executive producing (television) or producing (film) across See-Saw’s Australian content, from acquisition and development through to production and creative delivery. See-Saw’s recent Australian productions include Top of the Lake: China Girl, Academy Award nominated feature film Lion, The New Legends of Monkey and The End. Prior to joining See-Saw Films, Gardner was a partner in Great Southern Television, a dynamic and independent production company based in New Zealand, executive producing or producing over a hundred hours of prime-time programming in the seven years she drove the drama and factual slates.

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Moderator Jeremy Gawade
Law and business affairs advisor,

Gawade is a lawyer/business affairs adviser with over 30 years’ experience in the film and television sectors. Gawade worked in industry, firstly as a partner in an international film and television distribution company and then as a consultant for various film and production companies, before bringing his diverse film and television experience to Lee & Thompson in 1990 when he founded the ... read more

Gawade is a lawyer/business affairs adviser with over 30 years’ experience in the film and television sectors. Gawade worked in industry, firstly as a partner in an international film and television distribution company and then as a consultant for various film and production companies, before bringing his diverse film and television experience to Lee & Thompson in 1990 when he founded the firm’s Film and Television Groups.
Gawade has particular expertise in putting together finance, distribution and production/co-production deals for film and television projects. Jeremy increasingly acts for talent-based production companies allowing actors, writers and directors a greater degree of ownership and control over their work. He also regularly helps producers raise development and production finance for their projects.
The new UK edition of Chambers and Partners ranks Gawade as a leader in his field.

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Sophia Gibber
Development producer, Ugly Duckling Films

Gibber has been the development producer at Lene Bausager’s Ugly Duckling Films since 2016, overseeing the diverse slate of film, TV and documentary. This year, Gibber produced Brit List nominee The Bike Thief, Matt Chambers’ upcoming debut feature starring BIFA-nominee Alec Secareanu, with score written by Graham Hastings from the Mercury Prize-winning band Young Fathers. Last year, she produ... read more

Gibber has been the development producer at Lene Bausager’s Ugly Duckling Films since 2016, overseeing the diverse slate of film, TV and documentary. This year, Gibber produced Brit List nominee The Bike Thief, Matt Chambers’ upcoming debut feature starring BIFA-nominee Alec Secareanu, with score written by Graham Hastings from the Mercury Prize-winning band Young Fathers. Last year, she produced the Ian McKellen documentary McKellen: Playing The Part that was released via Trafalgar Releasing, and several shorts that have played worldwide including What’s On Stage? award nominee Max Gill’s Rosemary & Basil, acquired by ShortsTV and the music video, ‘She Makes Me’ for Rick Astley’s album, ‘Beautiful Life’.

Prior to this as head of development at Amber Entertainment, Gibber worked on the Simon West-directed Stratton starring Dominic Cooper and Gemma Chan and Julian Fellowes’ adaption of Romeo & Juliet. She was the development executive on BBC Storyville’s documentary Decadence & Downfall and produced the poster campaign for Viceland’s Black Market starring Michael K. Williams. Gibber is producing a true crime podcast about the 1970s San Francisco Doodler killings with the SF Chronicle and a scripted series on the same topic by BAFTA Rocliffe winner Ryan J Brown.

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Rebecca Gibney
Lead actress and executive producer, Halifax Retribution

Gibney is one of Australia’s most beloved and respected actresses. Gibney recently finished production on Paul Murphy’s feature Lowdown Dirty Criminals and starred in the third series of the popular Seven Network and Netflix drama, Wanted, which she also co-created and produced. In 2018, the show received eight nominations at the NZ TV Awards including Best Drama Series and Best Actress, and... read more

Gibney is one of Australia’s most beloved and respected actresses. Gibney recently finished production on Paul Murphy’s feature Lowdown Dirty Criminals and starred in the third series of the popular Seven Network and Netflix drama, Wanted, which she also co-created and produced. In 2018, the show received eight nominations at the NZ TV Awards including Best Drama Series and Best Actress, and was also nominated for a 2017 International Emmy® Award for Best Drama Series.

The title character of Dr. Jane Halifax in Halifax f.p. was created especially for her by the producers of her previous show Snowy. Halifax f.p. debuted in 1994 with the episode Acts Of Betrayal and continued with a further 20 telemovies leading up until 2002. The series was an immense success and cemented Gibney’s status as a household name within Australia.

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Dan Grabiner
Head of unscripted, UK, Amazon Studios

Grabiner oversees the development and production of unscripted originals for Amazon Prime Video. This includes returning brands such as The Grand Tour and All or Nothing, and a broad range of original programming across entertainment, documentary, formats and factual entertainment. Previously he was head of development at ITN, where he oversaw a slate of factual series and films including Michael ... read more

Grabiner oversees the development and production of unscripted originals for Amazon Prime Video. This includes returning brands such as The Grand Tour and All or Nothing, and a broad range of original programming across entertainment, documentary, formats and factual entertainment.

Previously he was head of development at ITN, where he oversaw a slate of factual series and films including Michael Palin in North Korea, Interview with a Murderer, The Queen’s Green Planet and easyJet: Inside the Cockpit.

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Gwenllian Gravelle
Drama commissioner, S4C

After a successful and long standing career at the BBC, producing high end dramas such as Casualty and Keeping Faith, Gravelle is the newly appointed drama commissioner for Welsh-language broadcaster S4C. Building on the recent renaissance of Welsh drama and the S4C led invention of Celtic noir, Gravelle is focused on commissioning original drama that not only has a local feel but also a global wo... read more

After a successful and long standing career at the BBC, producing high end dramas such as Casualty and Keeping Faith, Gravelle is the newly appointed drama commissioner for Welsh-language broadcaster S4C. Building on the recent renaissance of Welsh drama and the S4C led invention of Celtic noir, Gravelle is focused on commissioning original drama that not only has a local feel but also a global world -class appeal.

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Ed Guiney
Company director and executive producer, Element Pictures

BAFTA-winning producer Guiney co-founded award-winning international production company Element Pictures with Andrew Lowe in 2001, which has offices in Dublin and London, working across production, distribution, and exhibition. As joint Company Director of Element Pictures Guiney oversees the development of the company’s film and television slate and produces, or oversees the production, of all ... read more

BAFTA-winning producer Guiney co-founded award-winning international production company Element Pictures with Andrew Lowe in 2001, which has offices in Dublin and London, working across production, distribution, and exhibition. As joint Company Director of Element Pictures Guiney oversees the development of the company’s film and television slate and produces, or oversees the production, of all green-lit projects. Through Element Pictures, Guiney has spearheaded the production of several critically acclaimed films including Yorgos Lanthimos’ first English-language film, The Lobster, staring Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz, Room, directed by Lenny Abrahamson and starring Brie Larson, and recently The Favourite, also directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Oliva Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone. His work across these films saw Guiney nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards and BAFTA Awards.

Prior to Element Pictures, Guiney produced several projects under Temple Films including Paddy Breathnach’s Ailsa, Stephen Bradley’s Sweety Barrett, and Kirsten Sheridan’s Disco Pigs. His credits also include television dramas Quirke, Charlie, Ripper Street and Blood. Guiney started his career as development manager at Dublin’s Windmill Lane Productions.


Guiney is executive producing Normal People, the highly anticipated TV adaptation of Sally Rooney’s international literary phenomenon, for BBC Three and Hulu, and Dublin Murders for BBC and Starz.

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Gaurav Gupta
Founder and CEO, FutureWorks Media

Gupta is an entrepreneur with two decades of successful experience working in the Indian motion picture industry. He specializes in media technologies and workflows and has positioned FutureWorks as the most sought after and complete service provider for camera rental, post-production and visual effects services in India. A few of the recent titles they have worked on include Lost in Space, Sacred... read more

Gupta is an entrepreneur with two decades of successful experience working in the Indian motion picture industry. He specializes in media technologies and workflows and has positioned FutureWorks as the most sought after and complete service provider for camera rental, post-production and visual effects services in India. A few of the recent titles they have worked on include Lost in Space, Sacred Games, Typewriter for Netflix and Inside Edge, Mirzapur & The Family Man for Amazon Prime Video.

From introducing cutting-edge technologies like Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision in the Indian market to designing workflows for some of the most challenging productions, Gupta is equally at ease with directors, cinematographers, sound designers and visual effects supervisors. Gupta is an alumni of University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and an active member of the EO Mumbai Chapter.

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Tim Hammond
Executive director, Listen Entertainment

Tim Hammond has over 20 years’ experience of working with media businesses. An expert in commercial development for the content sector, he has advised a wide range of companies on IP management and exploitation and brand and co-production partnerships. Listen is one of the leaders in audio and audio-on-demand creation in the UK, working with some of the world’s biggest brands, talent and b... read more

Tim Hammond has over 20 years’ experience of working with media businesses. An expert in commercial development for the content sector, he has advised a wide range of companies on IP management and exploitation and brand and co-production partnerships. Listen is one of the leaders in audio and audio-on-demand creation in the UK, working with some of the world’s biggest brands, talent and broadcasters to help them use audio as a new platform for IP exploitation.

Hammond’s previous roles include Commercial Director and Director of Production and Operations at Gallowgate, where he was responsible for some of the UK’s biggest TV entertainment format hits including Saturday Night Takeaway, Pokerface and Push The Button. He has also been Director of Operations at Target Entertainment and Commercial Director at Group M Entertainment, an operating unit of WPP, involved in the business of investing in, financing and distributing television content.

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Lydia Hampson
Head of UK scripted, Amazon Studios

Hampson works as part of Georgia Brown’s (Director of European Originals) London-based team. Within her role, she’ll be working on dramas like the forthcoming The Power– based on Naomi Alderman’s best-selling novel, – which will launch globally on Amazon Prime Video, as well as on co-productions with UK broadcasters for series that will launch on Amazon Prime Video in the US, like the up... read more

Hampson works as part of Georgia Brown’s (Director of European Originals) London-based team. Within her role, she’ll be working on dramas like the forthcoming The Power– based on Naomi Alderman’s best-selling novel, – which will launch globally on Amazon Prime Video, as well as on co-productions with UK broadcasters for series that will launch on Amazon Prime Video in the US, like the upcoming Small Axe, from award-winning director Steve McQueen. Hampson joined Amazon from Two Brothers Pictures, the All3Media-backed producer, where she produced Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Emmy-winning Fleabag, which aired in the US on Amazon Prime Video and in the UK on BBC. Whilst at Two Brothers Pictures, she also produced the ITV drama Cheat starring Katherine Kelly and Molly Windsor, which was the second highest rating new drama in the UK so far this year.

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Corin Hardy
Director,

Hardy made his directorial debut in 2015 with The Hallow which premiered at Sundance Film Festival and went on to win Best Horror Film at the UK’s Empire Film Awards 2016 and multiple Festival accolades, including Best Direction, Cinematography, Score, Visual FX and Practical FX at Los Angeles Scream Fest. Hardy was also nominated for the Douglas Hickox Directing Award at the BIFA Awards. Hi... read more

Hardy made his directorial debut in 2015 with The Hallow which premiered at Sundance Film Festival and went on to win Best Horror Film at the UK’s Empire Film Awards 2016 and multiple Festival accolades, including Best Direction, Cinematography, Score, Visual FX and Practical FX at Los Angeles Scream Fest. Hardy was also nominated for the Douglas Hickox Directing Award at the BIFA Awards. His second feature The Nun broke franchise records in its September 2019 opening weekend, landing at No.1 at the U.S and International Box Office, becoming the 6th highest grossing horror movie of all time according to Forbes. The film marked the biggest debut in The Conjuring series to date, amassing $365 million globally. Most recently Hardy has directed multiple episodes of the forthcoming Pulse Films series Gangs of London due for release on Sky Atlantic & HBO Cinemax in 2020.

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Nils Hartmann
Director of original productions, Sky Italia

Hartmann was born in Hannover in 1967. He grew up in Milan, lived in Rome, London and Cairo, he speaks fluent German, Italian and English. He has been working for 25 years in Television Production and he has achieved a master at the London International Film School. Hartmann started as promo producer at Orbit Network Rome. He launched the movie channel Studio Universal as Creative Manager. In ... read more

Hartmann was born in Hannover in 1967. He grew up in Milan, lived in Rome, London and Cairo, he speaks fluent German, Italian and English. He has been working for 25 years in Television Production and he has achieved a master at the London International Film School. Hartmann started as promo producer at Orbit Network Rome. He launched the movie channel Studio Universal as Creative Manager. In 2003 he launched Sky Italia in the role of creative director. He then moved into the position of director of original productions and produced successful international TV series such as: Romanzo Criminale, Gomorra, 1992, The Young Pope with Oscar winner Paolo Sorrentino and Il Miracolo directed and created by bestselling writer Niccolò Ammaniti. 

Currently in post-production with ZeroZeroZero, by the showrunner and director of Gomorra, Stefano Sollima, Diavoli, directed by Nick Hurran and starring Patrick Dempsey, the sequel The New Pope with Jude Law and John Malkovich, in production also with Romulus, an epic tale of the origin of Rome, and with over 35 projects in development. He is also executive producer of X Factor, Masterchef Italia and Italia’s Got Talent.

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Kate Harwood
Managing director, Euston Films

Harwood is MD of Euston Films and the executive producer of Baghdad Central, Dublin Murders and Because the Night. She was the executive producer on Hard Sun and was previously Head of Drama (England) at the BBC. Her early career began in in-house BBC drama production, starting as script editor and then producer and executive producer (Twenty Thousand Streets, Cranford). Her career includes BAFTA-... read more

Harwood is MD of Euston Films and the executive producer of Baghdad Central, Dublin Murders and Because the Night. She was the executive producer on Hard Sun and was previously Head of Drama (England) at the BBC. Her early career began in in-house BBC drama production, starting as script editor and then producer and executive producer (Twenty Thousand Streets, Cranford). Her career includes BAFTA-winning shows such as Holding On and Charles II.

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Toby Haynes
Director,

Haynes most recently directed the pilot of Utopia, written by Gillian Flynn, for Amazon Studios. He directed James Graham’s Brexit, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, and the Emmy winning episode of Black Mirror Series 4: USS Callister. Prior to this Haynes directed and exec produced all seven parts of an adaptation of the acclaimed novel by Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, for C... read more

Haynes most recently directed the pilot of Utopia, written by Gillian Flynn, for Amazon Studios. He directed James Graham’s Brexit, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, and the Emmy winning episode of Black Mirror Series 4: USS Callister. Prior to this Haynes directed and exec produced all seven parts of an adaptation of the acclaimed novel by Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, for Cuba Pictures and BBC1. Prior to that he directed the opener of the BBC’s The Musketeers. Haynes directed the audacious finale to series Sherlock Series 2: The Reichenbach Fall, which was the third most watched TV programme of the decade. He also opened the first series of the hit BBC 3 show Being Human, which won the Broadcast Award for Best New Programme.
Further credits include Wallander Series 3 starring Kenneth Branagh and Five Days II for BBC1 starring Suranne Jones and David Morrissey. Haynes has directed multiple episodes of Doctor Who including the series 5 finale The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang, which won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form), followed by the one-off special A Christmas Carol and the opening to series 6.
Haynes is a graduate of The National Film & Television School.

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Moderator Kat Hebden
Managing director, Shotglass

Shotglass is Fremantle’s youth label. Shotglass creates inspiring and original youth programming across factual, entertainment and comedy. As a digital label, Shotglass launched The Football Republic – a football entertainment brand; produced formats for Radio 1 and Vice Munchies, and delivered digital strategies around X Factor and Got Talent before moving into television with two series ... read more

Shotglass is Fremantle’s youth label. Shotglass creates inspiring and original youth programming across factual, entertainment and comedy. As a digital label, Shotglass launched The Football Republic – a football entertainment brand; produced formats for Radio 1 and Vice Munchies, and delivered digital strategies around X Factor and Got Talent before moving into television with two series of the BAFTA-nominated Eating With My Ex (BBC Three/BBC One).

Hebden has produced a wide range of programming across drama, factual and entertainment and run digital strategies for some of the biggest global brands in broadcast such as The X Factor, The Voice and Got Talent. She has previously held roles at Syco, Wall to Wall Television, and Shed Media.

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Karin Heijink
VP pay-TV channels, Viasat World

Heijink is vice president pay-TV channels and products at leading international broadcaster Viasat World. Her key focus is channel management across the company’s full portfolio of factual, drama and entertainment brands. Karin leads teams which define and roll out the content acquisition and aggregation strategy, harnessing the expertise within the business and building relationships with dist... read more

Heijink is vice president pay-TV channels and products at leading international broadcaster Viasat World. Her key focus is channel management across the company’s full portfolio of factual, drama and entertainment brands. Karin leads teams which define and roll out the content acquisition and aggregation strategy, harnessing the expertise within the business and building relationships with distribution and production partners to curate the company’s successful flagship content brands. She also oversees the planning and execution of creative marketing. In 2017, Heijink played a leading role in launching Epic Drama, now one of the fastest growing channels in Europe, and a destination for the very best, premium drama content from around the world. Previously, she worked at MTG AB between 2011 and 2015 as vice president pay-TV channels East. She has a long-standing career in the media industry, having held senior roles at MTV Networks International as senior director, music content for emerging markets; business development director for the EDL Foundation; channel director, emerging markets for Discovery Networks Europe; marketing manager for Endemol in the Netherlands; and marketing and PR manager for MBPA. She holds an MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management.

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Sofia Helin
Actor and producer,

Recognized as one of the most talented of her generation of Swedish actors, Helin has proved herself to be equally accomplished on stage and screen. Now she is also a producer. Helin was one of the executive producers for the new series Heder (Honour) which was broadcasted on Viaplay/TV3 in Sweden this fall. She also has several other projects in development for other channels. Helin recently wra... read more

Recognized as one of the most talented of her generation of Swedish actors, Helin has proved herself to be equally accomplished on stage and screen. Now she is also a producer. Helin was one of the executive producers for the new series Heder (Honour) which was broadcasted on Viaplay/TV3 in Sweden this fall. She also has several other projects in development for other channels.

Helin recently wrapped the shooting of Atlantic Crossing, a Cinenord TV Drama Production for NRK in coproduction with Beta Film. Helin is starring in the leading role as Crown Princess Martha of Norway in the World War II drama series. Helin is also co-starring as archaeologist Professor Sondra Elmquist in the second season of the Australian series Mystery Road.

Helin ia got her international breakthrough with the role of Saga Norén, a homicide detective in the Swedish/Danish crime series The Bridge. Helin played Saga for four seasons. The final season aired in 2018. Helin, who also was one of the executive producers on the final season, was awarded with the most prestigious TV Awards in Sweden (the Kristallen) and Denmark (the Robert) as Best Actress in a TV Drama for her performance in The Bridge.

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Christina Henne
Producer, Bavaria Fiction

Since Henne began working as a producer, she has been inspired to create moving stories, find innovative approaches to content sourcing and develop television of the future. In addition to taking long-running TV series, movies and feature films through all stages of production, Henne is actively involved in the acquisition and implementation of projects that go beyond classic linear media usage. S... read more

Since Henne began working as a producer, she has been inspired to create moving stories, find innovative approaches to content sourcing and develop television of the future. In addition to taking long-running TV series, movies and feature films through all stages of production, Henne is actively involved in the acquisition and implementation of projects that go beyond classic linear media usage. She played a crucial part in bringing together the multi-platform entertainment company Wattpad and production company Bavaria Fiction and is driving this exciting collaboration forward.

Henne studied Communication and Media Sciences at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich and the Dublin Institute of Technology. She undertook editorial and public relations work for several organisations including Red Bull, ProsiebenSat.1, the Bavarian State Center for New Media and ZDF and has also been a producer at Bavaria Fiction since 2013.
Bavaria Fiction is one of the most successful production companies in Europe. It is renowned for ambitious event television including multi-partner productions Bella Germania and Brecht and international co-productions such as “Das Boot” and “Freud”. Bavaria Fiction also produces long-running daily and weekly series, movie collections such as Tatort, Inga Lindström and a wide range of TV movies.

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Rod Henwood
Chief strategy officer, The Ink Factory

Henwood is an experienced media and digital executive and entrepreneur. In April 2018, he joined the board of The Ink Factory as Chief Strategy Officer, responsible for strategic development, partnerships and story worlds (beyond film and TV into new areas, from games to brand partnerships), having been an adviser to the company beforehand. Over a 30-year career, he has held CEO and other leaders... read more

Henwood is an experienced media and digital executive and entrepreneur. In April 2018, he joined the board of The Ink Factory as Chief Strategy Officer, responsible for strategic development, partnerships and story worlds (beyond film and TV into new areas, from games to brand partnerships), having been an adviser to the company beforehand. Over a 30-year career, he has held CEO and other leadership roles with major European and US TV companies, including Zodiak Media, Channel 4, ITV and Fox Kids. He has been responsible for major IP-based digital innovations, from launching 4oD/All4 while at Channel 4; through negotiating its involvement in the Project Kangaroo VOD joint venture with BBC Worldwide and ITV; to being launch CEO of Pottermore, JK Rowling’s online world of Harry Potter. He achieved a successful turnaround of Premium TV (now Perform Group, the leading online sports content platform) and was an investor in Bin Weevils (the kids online social world), which he sold in 2014. He is a governor of Ravensbourne University of London, and chairman of InQuisiTiVe Media, a subscription video on demand venture, specialising in intelligent quiz shows, which he co-founded in 2017.

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Scott Herbst
Head of scripted development, Lionsgate Television Group

As Head of Scripted Development, Herbst oversees the development of scripted series for Lionsgate’s Television Group, one of the largest independent television businesses in the world. He and his team are responsible for identifying and developing content for an ever-expanding array of buyers across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms, and leveraging the Company’s production partnerships,... read more

As Head of Scripted Development, Herbst oversees the development of scripted series for Lionsgate’s Television Group, one of the largest independent television businesses in the world. He and his team are responsible for identifying and developing content for an ever-expanding array of buyers across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms, and leveraging the Company’s production partnerships, including its 3 Arts Entertainment and Point Grey Pictures relationships, to create premium scripted shows.

Lionsgate Television is coming off its best development year ever and Herbst oversees many of the Group’s highest-profile scripted series. These include the eagerly-anticipated drama Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist for NBC, Love Life for HBO Max, a romantic comedy anthology series reuniting director Paul Feig and star Anna Kendrick, the television spinoff of Lionsgate’s blockbuster John Wick film franchise, The Continental, for Starz, and Fall and Rise, the limited event series about 9/11, for ABC.

Prior to joining Lionsgate, Herbst served as vice president of scripted programming for NBCU International and vice president of development at Lakeshore Films. He has previously produced top series and films including You, Me and the Apocalypse, Glitch, London Spy, Hanna and The Lincoln Lawyer.

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Lucinda Hicks
COO, Endemol Shine UK

Endemol Shine UK is the UK arm of the global production group Endemol Shine Group, responsible for TV hits including MasterChef, Black Mirror and Hunted as well as a large portfolio of digital properties and talent. Prior to this Hicks was managing director of Dragonfly Film and Television and held a number of strategy and commercial roles at Shine Group, FremantleMedia, C4 and the BBC. She bega... read more

Endemol Shine UK is the UK arm of the global production group Endemol Shine Group, responsible for TV hits including MasterChef, Black Mirror and Hunted as well as a large portfolio of digital properties and talent. Prior to this Hicks was managing director of Dragonfly Film and Television and held a number of strategy and commercial roles at Shine Group, FremantleMedia, C4 and the BBC. She began her career as a management consultant.

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Holly Hines
Scripted lead, Spotify Studios

In her role, Hines is responsible for all scripted fiction content on the platform which now has a global audience of more than 248 million monthly active users. Prior to joining Spotify, Hines was SVP at Dynamic Television where she developed and sold scripted series and mini-series to networks in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Before Dynamic, she served as SVP, scripted programming for Pivot... read more

In her role, Hines is responsible for all scripted fiction content on the platform which now has a global audience of more than 248 million monthly active users.

Prior to joining Spotify, Hines was SVP at Dynamic Television where she developed and sold scripted series and mini-series to networks in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Before Dynamic, she served as SVP, scripted programming for Pivot where she oversaw the production and development of original series including Fortitude and Please Like Me. Her resume includes work at FremantleMedia North America, TLC, Bull’s Eye Entertainment and Reveille. She has been involved with more than a dozen hit television series including The Office, Tudors, Trading Spaces, American Chopper, Ugly Betty and Nashville Star.

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Moderator Emma House
International consultant, Oreham Group

House is an independent consultant for the publishing industry focusing on international business development. She was previously deputy CEO of the publishers association and head of international development at the London Book Fair. She spent 6 years working in B2B international trade magazines, including for the television industry.

Kirsty Hunter
Managing director and founder, StoryHunter

Hunter is an Emmy award winning executive who’s worked on some of TV’s biggest brands on all platforms. She’s twice been named to BIMA’s Hot 100 a peer voted poll of Britain’s digital leaders. Past credits include: The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, Made in Chelsea, Grand Designs, Downton Abbey, Sherlock, American Gods, Britain from Above, Horrible Histories and Castaway. After senior... read more

Hunter is an Emmy award winning executive who’s worked on some of TV’s biggest brands on all platforms. She’s twice been named to BIMA’s Hot 100 a peer voted poll of Britain’s digital leaders. Past credits include: The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, Made in Chelsea, Grand Designs, Downton Abbey, Sherlock, American Gods, Britain from Above, Horrible Histories and Castaway. After senior roles at Fremantle, Sony Television Pictures and All3Media’s Lion Television she founded audio/video studio StoryHunter in July 2019. StoryHunter’s remit is to tell stories, build audiences and create IP.

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Henrietta Hurford-Jones
Director of children’s, content partnerships , BBC Studios

Hurford-Jones is responsible for managing the children’s original programming portfolio for BBC Studios globally. Hurford-Jones joined BBC Studios in July 2010 as part of the company’s on-going strategy to work with the UK and international production community to source, develop and executive produce global and locally relevant content for the global CBeebies branded services and the wider co... read more

Hurford-Jones is responsible for managing the children’s original programming portfolio for BBC Studios globally. Hurford-Jones joined BBC Studios in July 2010 as part of the company’s on-going strategy to work with the UK and international production community to source, develop and executive produce global and locally relevant content for the global CBeebies branded services and the wider commercial and brand businesses.

Hurford-Jones works closely with all of the company’s operating divisions. In addition to having editorial oversight of all new productions she also leads commercial negotiations and works to extract maximum value from BBC Studios children’s intellectual property. Hurford-Jones actively seeks returnable global content which can run in all markets. Original productions for BBC Studios so far include Bluey, Hey Duggee, Sarah & Duck, Go Jetters, Andy’s Adventures and Dinopaws.

With a focus on pre-school programming Hurford-Jones is also tasked with strengthening the overall Children’s catalogue for the business covering older children, tween and teen groups.

Before joining BBC Studios, Hurford-Jones worked in programming and sales for RDF Kids and Family, as director of programming Europe and Latin America at Disney and Fox Kids. Prior to that she was Head of Sales at HIT Entertainment plc.

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Luke Hyams
Head of originals, YouTube in EMEA

Hyams previously served as director of global content at The Walt Disney Company where he oversaw collaborations with the worlds best digital creators and legacy Disney brands to create original digital franchises for a variety of platforms. Luke has spent time in Asia partnering with brands to produce web-series and micro-movies and before that worked extensively as a writer and director creating... read more

Hyams previously served as director of global content at The Walt Disney Company where he oversaw collaborations with the worlds best digital creators and legacy Disney brands to create original digital franchises for a variety of platforms. Luke has spent time in Asia partnering with brands to produce web-series and micro-movies and before that worked extensively as a writer and director creating award-winning interactive series including Dubplate Drama and Katemodern, for which he earned the Broadcast Press Guild award for innovation.

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Dorte Høgh
Writer, When The Dust Settles

Høgh, born in 1969, started her career as a successful journalist and radio and TV host during the nineties before graduating as scriptwriter from The National Film School of Denmark in 1999. She collaborated with director Per Fly, co-writing three of his film The Inheritance, Manslaughter and The Woman Who Dreamed of a Man before showrunning three seasons of the popular crime tv-series Dicte fo... read more

Høgh, born in 1969, started her career as a successful journalist and radio and TV host during the nineties before graduating as scriptwriter from The National Film School of Denmark in 1999. She collaborated with director Per Fly, co-writing three of his film The Inheritance, Manslaughter and The Woman Who Dreamed of a Man before showrunning three seasons of the popular crime tv-series Dicte for Danish TV2. In 2009 she was nominated for an Oscar for her short film The Pig, which she both wrote and directed. Høgh is currently writing the TV-series When the Dust Settles for DR.

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Yvonne Isimeme Ibazebo
Producer,

Ibazebo started her media career in the publishing industry before moving into film and television. As a line producer her film credits include Love Is The Devil, the biopic of Francis Bacon starring Daniel Craig and Derek Jacobi; Half Of A Yellow Sun, based on the Orange Prize-winning novel starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Boyega and Thandie Newton and Mira Nair’s Queen Of Katwe, starring David ... read more

Ibazebo started her media career in the publishing industry before moving into film and television. As a line producer her film credits include Love Is The Devil, the biopic of Francis Bacon starring Daniel Craig and Derek Jacobi; Half Of A Yellow Sun, based on the Orange Prize-winning novel starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Boyega and Thandie Newton and Mira Nair’s Queen Of Katwe, starring David Oyelowo and Lupita Nyong’o.
Television credits include Poppy Shakespeare starring Naomie Harris and National Treasure, a 4-parter starring Julie Walters and Robbie Coltrane.
Producing credits include Shoot The Messenger starring David Oyelowo and Daniel Kaluuya; Free Fall starring Riz Ahmed and Dominic Cooper, Guerrilla, a 6-part series written by 12 Years A Slave Oscar winner John Ridley and starring Idris Elba; and Top Boy, the new ten-part series for Netflix with Drake as one of the executive producers.
Yvonne set up Turnover Films in 2018 and is currently developing projects with DNA, Big Talk, Sky Studios, Creative England and Scott Free.

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Moderator Irina Ignatiew
Managing director, Boxworks Media GmbH

A 20+-year veteran in the media industry, Ignatiew has served in various senior management positions for multiple award-winning production and distribution companies in Europe and North America. Her company Boxworks Media’s current and previous partners include Deutsche Telekom, Discovery Communications, filmpool, ndF and the Montreux Jazz Festival. Before the launch of Boxworks Media, she was m... read more

A 20+-year veteran in the media industry, Ignatiew has served in various senior management positions for multiple award-winning production and distribution companies in Europe and North America. Her company Boxworks Media’s current and previous partners include Deutsche Telekom, Discovery Communications, filmpool, ndF and the Montreux Jazz Festival. Before the launch of Boxworks Media, she was managing director of Red Arrow International, where she led the international distribution and financing of highly acclaimed productions such as Netflix’s Lilyhammer and Amazon’s Bosch.

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Thomas Eromose Ikimi
Writer,

Eromose Ikimi was born in London and spent his childhood in Nigeria and England, before studying Literature, Philosophy and Creative Writing at Columbia University, New York. In 2010 he wrote, directed and produced his first feature length film Legacy for just 500K in 21 days starring Idris Elba. Legacy premiered at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival and garnered the Best Film Award at the American B... read more

Eromose Ikimi was born in London and spent his childhood in Nigeria and England, before studying Literature, Philosophy and Creative Writing at Columbia University, New York. In 2010 he wrote, directed and produced his first feature length film Legacy for just 500K in 21 days starring Idris Elba. Legacy premiered at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival and garnered the Best Film Award at the American Black Film Festival, was nominated for Best UK Feature at Raindance in London, was nominated for a British Independent Film Award, and won Best Director at the London Screen Nation Awards 2011. Ikimi then wrote, directed, produced and edited the long short Nostradamus. It premiered at Tribeca in 2015 and was a Critics’ choice with critics tipping it for a 2016 Oscar. His follow up in 2018 was another long form short as writer/director/producer/editor The Locksmith which has also met critical acclaim.

Ikimi has sold projects to NBC Universal, Fox, Legendary Pictures and Sky and worked in both the UK and US markets consistently over the last decade. As a computer programmer and software developer, Thomas released the cross-platform movie review and rating application Qurator in 2019 through his tech company.

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Ben Irving
Commissioning editor, BBC Drama

Irving has been a commissioning editor in BBC Drama since November 2017, having previously joined the BBC as head of drama development. During this time he has overseen dramas including His Dark Materials, Giri/Haji, The Capture, and Gentleman Jack, as well as Doctor Who and Casualty. Upcoming productions include Dracula from Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, Noughts & Crosses based on the novel... read more

Irving has been a commissioning editor in BBC Drama since November 2017, having previously joined the BBC as head of drama development. During this time he has overseen dramas including His Dark Materials, Giri/Haji, The Capture, and Gentleman Jack, as well as Doctor Who and Casualty. Upcoming productions include Dracula from Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, Noughts & Crosses based on the novel by Malorie Blackman, and Life by Mike Bartlett. As part of his role, Irving oversees network drama in Wales, and works closely to support Welsh indies. Prior to joining the BBC, Irving was an executive for David Heyman’s production company Heyday Films, and worked on features including Gravity, Paddington 1 & 2, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Jack Thorne’s forthcoming adaptation of The Secret Garden.

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Moderator Walter Iuzzolino
Chief creative officer, Walter Presents/Global Series Network

Iuzzolino is a former commissioning editor at Channel 4 before leaving to become creative director at Betty. In 2014 Iuzzolino left Betty to pursue his dream of launching a foreign language drama channel. Walter Presents launched January 2016 in the UK as a FREE video-on-demand service and is a joint venture between Channel 4 and Global Series Network, co-founded by Jason Thorp and Jo McGrath. Ded... read more

Iuzzolino is a former commissioning editor at Channel 4 before leaving to become creative director at Betty. In 2014 Iuzzolino left Betty to pursue his dream of launching a foreign language drama channel. Walter Presents launched January 2016 in the UK as a FREE video-on-demand service and is a joint venture between Channel 4 and Global Series Network, co-founded by Jason Thorp and Jo McGrath. Dedicated to showcasing award-winning foreign language drama, the service is named after Iuzzolino. Since then Walter Presents has launched with local partners in a number of global territories including the US, Australia, Italy and Belgium.

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Helen Jackson
Executive chair, The Media Investment Company

Jackson established and built BBC Worldwide’s indie production business, investing start up capital and sitting on the boards of many of the UK’s most successful indies including Left Bank, Big Talk, Baby Cow, Clerkenwell and Lookout Point. She also managed the company’s £180million plus programming fund, backing the creative development and production of hundreds of hours of content annual... read more

Jackson established and built BBC Worldwide’s indie production business, investing start up capital and sitting on the boards of many of the UK’s most successful indies including Left Bank, Big Talk, Baby Cow, Clerkenwell and Lookout Point. She also managed the company’s £180million plus programming fund, backing the creative development and production of hundreds of hours of content annually, including Sherlock, Doctor Foster, Gentleman Jack and Killing Eve.

She is now executive chair of The Media Investment Company which was recently set up with Simon Vaughan and Jonathan Norman to invest in talent driven companies.

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Sidharth Jain
Founder and chief storyteller, The Story Ink

Jain has founded India’s first story company – The Story Ink (2018) and in a span of 12 months, has also become India’s No.1 book to screen company, with over 75 book to screen adaptation deals. He has worked as producer in Hollywood & Bollywood, and as a serial entrepreneur, he founded the world’s first online auction portal for original Bollywood Memorabilia – ... read more

Jain has founded India’s first story company – The Story Ink (2018) and in a span of 12 months, has also become India’s No.1 book to screen company, with over 75 book to screen adaptation deals. He has worked as producer in Hollywood & Bollywood, and as a serial entrepreneur, he founded the world’s first online auction portal for original Bollywood Memorabilia – BollywoodAuction.com (2001) (subsequently acquired by Baazee.com which is now Ebay India), he produced India’s first 5-country coproduction international film – Marigold (2005), founded India’s first script development company – IRock Films (2008), produced India’s first found footage horror film – Ragini MMS – shot on Digital (2010) and after a quick stint at India’s No.1 OTT platform – Hotstar.com (2015-17), he is currently running – The Story Ink & producing a slate of projects. He is a collector of pop-culture memorabilia, shoes and speaks at 15+ forums a year, hosts a monthly talk series at Soho House Mumbai, and is a TEDx Speaker.

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Rohit Jain
Managing director, Lionsgate South Asia

Leading media executive and entrepreneur, Rohit Jain is a 25-year media industry veteran in South Asia. Jain is a certified Charted Accountant and is currently the Managing Director at Lionsgate South Asia. He spearheads incubation and growth of all Lionsgate business from licensing to local linear and digital platforms in the territory from feature films, television series and library content und... read more

Leading media executive and entrepreneur, Rohit Jain is a 25-year media industry veteran in South Asia. Jain is a certified Charted Accountant and is currently the Managing Director at Lionsgate South Asia. He spearheads incubation and growth of all Lionsgate business from licensing to local linear and digital platforms in the territory from feature films, television series and library content under the Lionsgate and Starz brands. Lionsgate India will work closely with the studio’s theatrical distribution partners to maximize box office for Lionsgate films, and will partner with local production companies to develop intellectual property for theatrical release as well as distribution across other media platforms. It will also explore investment opportunities throughout the Indian media market.

Prior to joining Lionsgate, Jain was the Deputy CEO of Videocon d2h, a media company that he helped grow from a start-up to over a billion dollar in annual revenues through a combination of organic growth and strategic transactions. During his seven-year stint with the organisation, Jain helped orchestrate Videocon’s successful listing on NASDAQ in 2015 followed by the announcement of its merger with Dish TV India in 2016. Prior to his tenure at Videocon, Jain worked at Aon, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte.

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Moderator David Jenkinson
Editor-in-chief and managing director, C21Media

Jenkinson is an award-winning journalist, publisher and content industry executive. Having held senior editorial positions at Haymarket, International Thomson, EMAP and Cahners’ Moving Pictures International, he created and co-founded C21Media in 1997, one of the world’s first digital media businesses. He is also CEO of Studio21, a development producer with a mission to discover, and connect n... read more

Jenkinson is an award-winning journalist, publisher and content industry executive.

Having held senior editorial positions at Haymarket, International Thomson, EMAP and Cahners’ Moving Pictures International, he created and co-founded C21Media in 1997, one of the world’s first digital media businesses.

He is also CEO of Studio21, a development producer with a mission to discover, and connect new voices with the global television business.

Jenkinson also leads C21Media Enterprises, the C21-backed investment company that supports high-growth potential businesses within the content sector. Investments include Blonde Mamba, ContentAcademy.TV, Rose d’Or and WritersRoom.net.

He was previously editor-in-chief of Moving Pictures International, running daily, weekly and monthly publications within the film business and led EMAP’s TV World to win the prestigious PPA International Business Magazine of the Year award in 1993.

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Amanda Jenks
Co-founder, Greenacre Films

Jenks is an award-winning film and television producer and the co-founder of Greenacre Films. She recently produced Been So Long (BFI/Film 4) starring Michaela Coel (Dark Earth Rising) and Arinze Kene (Misty). After showcasing at Cannes, a global deal was negotiated with Netflix which was the largest single acquisition of a UK film by the streaming giant at that time. It then premiered at The Lond... read more

Jenks is an award-winning film and television producer and the co-founder of Greenacre Films. She recently produced Been So Long (BFI/Film 4) starring Michaela Coel (Dark Earth Rising) and Arinze Kene (Misty). After showcasing at Cannes, a global deal was negotiated with Netflix which was the largest single acquisition of a UK film by the streaming giant at that time. It then premiered at The London Film Festival before launching on the platform in October 2018. New additions to the Greenacre slate include the best-selling novel The Space Between us by Thrity Umrigar and the sequel The Secrets Between Us both set in contemporary Mumbai. Amanda’s recent television credits as a producer include The Girl (BBC/HBO) by Gwyneth Hughes, directed by Julian Jarrold, starring Toby Jones, Sienna Miller and Imelda Staunton: nominations included 3 Golden Globes, 9 Baftas and 6 primetime Emmys. Mysterious Creatures for ITV directed by David Evans winner of The Mental Health Media Award and An Englishman in New York directed by Richard Laxton, starring John Hurt, winner of the Teddy Award at Berlin and nominated for 3 BAFTA’s. Amanda is also on the PACT Film Policy group and a full voting member of BAFTA.

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Johannes Jensen
CEO, Yellow Bird

Jensen is CEO of Yellow Bird, a Banijay group company, and also serves as deputy CEO for Banijay Nordic. Jensen has been working in the TV industry since 1992 and became CEO of Yellow Bird in 2014. During his time at Yellow Bird, known for its production of Millennium and Wallander, the business has grown rapidly and this year, Yellow Bird was responsible for eight scripted productions across Swed... read more

Jensen is CEO of Yellow Bird, a Banijay group company, and also serves as deputy CEO for Banijay Nordic. Jensen has been working in the TV industry since 1992 and became CEO of Yellow Bird in 2014. During his time at Yellow Bird, known for its production of Millennium and Wallander, the business has grown rapidly and this year, Yellow Bird was responsible for eight scripted productions across Sweden, Norway, and in the UK; Hidden and Occupied season 3 for Viaplay, Bäckström and Rebecka Martinsson season 2 for TV4 and ARD/Degeto, Thin Ice, also for TV4 together with France TV, and Sanctuary for TV4 and Studio Canal.

In the past year, Yellow Bird also launched two new offices, one in London and one in Los Angeles, with a joint goal to produce English content for the UK, US and the international market. At the end of 2018, it was confirmed the first production from Yellow Bird UK would be Young Wallander for Netflix.

Prior to joining Yellow Bird as CEO, Jensen primarily worked within the unscripted business for large groups like Zodiak and Strix, and he was part of the team behind the very first Survivor production in the world for Swedish pubcaster SVT.

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Olivier Jollet
EVP and international general manager, Pluto TV, Paramount

Jollet is executive VP and international general manager of Pluto TV. Jollet’s leadership has propelled Pluto TV to become the world’s leading free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service, with a presence in three continents and more than 30 countries and territories. Jollet leads a coordinated approach to further the expansion of the service outside the US by collaborating with leade... read more

Jollet is executive VP and international general manager of Pluto TV.
Jollet’s leadership has propelled Pluto TV to become the world’s leading free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service, with a presence in three continents and more than 30 countries and territories. Jollet leads a coordinated approach to further the expansion of the service outside the US by collaborating with leaders across Pluto TV’s business, including ad sales, content distribution, marketing, and finance.
In his former role as senior VP and general manager of Pluto TV, Jollet worked to define and develop Pluto TV’s expansion and business development strategies, secured strategic partnerships to drive growth and revenue. Previously, Jollet served as senior VP of strategy and business development, where he was responsible for expanding the company’s international streaming and mobile business units, tapping into new, groundbreaking technologies including 5G and IOT. He also leveraged his extensive expertise, as well as market and competitive analysis, to inform the company’s strategy for the continued expansion of Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
Prior to that, Jollet served as senior VP of emerging business for Paramount in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia, where he was responsible for the development and execution of the company’s digital and streaming business across the region. Jollet led on the strategy and business development of the company’s AVoD and SVoD services including Pluto TV, Paramount+ and Noggin, mobile business, advanced advertising and VDSI.
Jollet was also previously MD Europe and part of the senior management team of Pluto TV, which was acquired by Paramount in 2019, where he has successfully led the international strategy and roll-out of Pluto TV across Europe. Under Jollet’s leadership, Pluto TV successfully launched in the UK, Germany, Switzerland and Austria and quickly became one of the leading FAST (free ad-supported television) platforms.
Before joining Pluto TV, Jollet served as chief product and marketing officer and co-founder at Watchever, a pioneering subscription-based VoD service in Germany, where he supervised operations across marketing, user growth, product management and innovation, and market and business intelligence. Under Jollet’s leadership, Watchever was the most successful brand launch of the past 10 years in Germany and a multi-award-winning product.
Previously, Jollet worked at Vivendi Group where he was involved in different innovative ventures, and Universal Music, where he oversaw the development of new digital business models and helped pioneer the digital music industry in the Germanic territories.
Jollet co-founded Quazer, a unique digital TV-like service, funded by ProsiebenSat1, where he served as MD until Quazer’s acquisition by Pluto TV in October 2016.
Jollet holds an MSc degree in international management from ESCP Europe Business School. During the scope of this course, Jollet studied in Berlin, Oxford, and Paris.

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Hilary Bevan Jones
Founder and producer, Endor productions

Jones has produced numerous ground-breaking and award-winning dramas. A firm believer that scripted programmes can influence as well as entertain, Jones produced the acclaimed BBC/HBO film The Girl in the Café which won three primetime Emmys. The film was about extreme poverty and transmitted at the same time as the G8. Mary and Martha, another BBC/HBO film by Richard Curtis starring Hilary Swank... read more

Jones has produced numerous ground-breaking and award-winning dramas. A firm believer that scripted programmes can influence as well as entertain, Jones produced the acclaimed BBC/HBO film The Girl in the Café which won three primetime Emmys. The film was about extreme poverty and transmitted at the same time as the G8. Mary and Martha, another BBC/HBO film by Richard Curtis starring Hilary Swank and Brenda Blethyn, focused on malaria, and ways to conquer this.
Through her company Endor Productions, a Red Arrow Studios Company, she produced shows including Restless, written by William Boyd, That Day We Sang, by Victoria Wood, and Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot starring Dustin Hoffman and Dame Judi Dench. Other productions reach back to Cracker, Red Dwarf and State of Play.
Feature Films include Richard Curtis’ The Boat That Rocked. More recently, Gwen, a gothic drama film, was directed by William McGregor and produced with Tom Nash premiered at TIFF 2018. Matthew Parkhill’s returning series Deep State was the first scripted drama series commission from Fox Networks Group Europe & Africa and also shown on EPIX. Vienna Blood, co-produced with Jez Swimer, a co-production with Austria’s MR Film, was produced in 2019 for ORF & ZDF. Vienna Blood aired on BBC2 from November.
In 2006, Jones became chair of BAFTA, the first woman chair in its then 60-year history. She is also chair of Watersprite International Student Film Festival.

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Superna Kalle
Executive vice president, international digital networks, Starz

Kalle reports directly to Starz chief operating officer Jeffrey Hirsch and is based in the company’s Santa Monica office. Kalle leads the international expansion of Starz-branded digital and linear services and channels, overseeing strategy and operations. Most recently, Kalle was a senior advisor to several media companies guiding them on international SVOD strategy, digital operations, restruc... read more

Kalle reports directly to Starz chief operating officer Jeffrey Hirsch and is based in the company’s Santa Monica office. Kalle leads the international expansion of Starz-branded digital and linear services and channels, overseeing strategy and operations. Most recently, Kalle was a senior advisor to several media companies guiding them on international SVOD strategy, digital operations, restructuring and global business development. Major clients included Starz, Lionsgate and CBS/Showtime. Kalle spent 16 years at Sony Pictures Television (SPT) where she served as senior vice president and GM, networks. Based out of SPT’s headquarters in Culver City, Calif. Kalle oversaw the company’s television networks portfolio and equity investments in the U.S. and Canada. For the U.S., she launched and served as general manager of the wholly-owned Sony networks, Sony Movie Channel, SPT’s first multi-platform television network; Cine Sony Television, SPT’s Spanish language movie network; and getTV, the Company’s first digital subchannel dedicated to classic programming.

Kalle served on the board of other popular cable and digital channels, including GSN (Game Show Network, LLC) and fearNET (a joint venture with Lionsgate and Comcast). In Canada, Kalle oversaw SPT’s partnership with Hollywood Suite, which carried the Sony Movie Channel brand. Prior to her domestic role at Sony, she was promoted to senior vice president, international networks in 2008 and held multiple board positions at SPT’s television networks business in India, Japan and pan-Asia. Prior to her promotion, she was SPT’s vice president, international networks since 2005. She joined SPT from parent company Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), where she had served as vice president, corporate development since 2004. She joined SPE as manager, corporate development in 1999.

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Tarun Katial
CEO, ZEE5 India

Katial is responsible for steering ZEE5, India’s fastest growing OTT platform, towards gaining industry leadership position. Considered one of the most successful executives in the Indian media industry, he has a robust body of experience across television, radio and digital. Prior to joining ZEE5, Katial was founder COO-CEO, BIG FM where he also set up Thwink BIG (content incubator) and TV chan... read more

Katial is responsible for steering ZEE5, India’s fastest growing OTT platform, towards gaining industry leadership position. Considered one of the most successful executives in the Indian media industry, he has a robust body of experience across television, radio and digital. Prior to joining ZEE5, Katial was founder COO-CEO, BIG FM where he also set up Thwink BIG (content incubator) and TV channels – Magic and Ganga.

Katial has an established record of accomplishment through successful shows – KBC – Who wants to be a Millionaire – Lets make a deal India, daily fiction content at STAR and Indian Idol, Fear Factor, Fame Academy and Ugly Betty at SET.

Instrumental in revolutionizing the media and entertainment landscape in India, Katial is a TEDx speaker, part of industry forums – Jury chair for the Ad club Abby and DMAI, committee member – FICCI and CII, Ex-Com at IAAA and VP at Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI). He has been voted as NewsCorp Achiever for Asia, included among the best in the ‘India Today 30 on 30’ list and was part of the team that won the first Media Gold at Cannes.

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King Kaufman
Senior audio producer, San Francisco Chronicle

Kaufman oversees the Chronicle’s podcasts, including the daily history show he created and hosts, Not Your Century. In 2017 Kaufman created, wrote, produced and hosted Can’t Win 4 Losing, a narrative podcast about losing in sports. He was a key early employee of Bleacher Report, where he oversaw journalism training and writer coaching as well as hosting the SiriusXM interview show R... read more

Kaufman oversees the Chronicle’s podcasts, including the daily history show he created and hosts, Not Your Century. In 2017 Kaufman created, wrote, produced and hosted Can’t Win 4 Losing, a narrative podcast about losing in sports. He was a key early employee of Bleacher Report, where he oversaw journalism training and writer coaching as well as hosting the SiriusXM interview show “Content Is King”. For seven years, Kaufman wrote a daily sports column for Salon, where he was also a key early employee. Kaufman is the only person known to have interviewed both author Elmore Leonard and basketball player Leonard Elmore.

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Jennifer Kawaja
Executive producer, Sienna Films

Kawaja produces with Julia Sereny under their Sienna Films banner. Their series Cardinal for Bell Media, starring Billy Campbell and Karine Vanasse, is entering its fourth season on global platforms including Hulu, BBC4, Canal+ and NBC Universal. Recently completed is Ransom, a 3 season x 13 episode co-production between Canada and Hungary with eONE for CBS and Global Television. Previous tele... read more

Kawaja produces with Julia Sereny under their Sienna Films banner. Their series Cardinal for Bell Media, starring Billy Campbell and Karine Vanasse, is entering its fourth season on global platforms including Hulu, BBC4, Canal+ and NBC Universal. Recently completed is Ransom, a 3 season x 13 episode co-production between Canada and Hungary with eONE for CBS and Global Television. Previous television includes Can-UK co-pro Afghanistan-set limited series Combat Hospital (Global/ABC/Sony Int’l) starring Elias Koteas (The Killing, Zodiac) and Michelle Borth (Hawaii 5-0); Lookout Point mini-series Titanic (ITV/Global/ABC) written by Julian Fellowes; and mini-series Diamonds (CBC/ABC/Antennae) starring Derek Jacobi, James Purefoy, Nicholas Pinnock and Judy Davis. Sienna built their reputation as producers of quality, independent content with documentaries like Hidden Children, Erotica and Black Bold and Beautiful: Black Women and the Politics of Their Hair, and feature films including most recently Sweetness in the Belly with director Zeresenay Mehari, which premiered at TIFF 2019, Marion Bridge, starring Molly Parker (Film Movement, TIFF/Rotterdam), How She Move, starring Rutina Wesley (Paramount/Sundance), Touch of Pink, starring Kyle McLachlan (Sony Pictures Classics/Sundance), and breakout comedy New Waterford Girl (Alliance; TIFF/Sundance). In postproduction is Helen Shaver’s debut feature Happy Place.

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Moderator Ben Keen
Chairman, MediaXchange

Keen is an independent analyst and board-level advisor in the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) space. He has 30 years of experience helping companies and investors make better-informed decisions based on data-driven understanding of the future. Current interests include serving as non-executive chairman of TV drama consultancy MediaXchange, strategic advisor to immersive entertainme... read more

Keen is an independent analyst and board-level advisor in the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) space. He has 30 years of experience helping companies and investors make better-informed decisions based on data-driven understanding of the future.

Current interests include serving as non-executive chairman of TV drama consultancy MediaXchange, strategic advisor to immersive entertainment research firm Greenlight Insights, senior advisor to start-up accelerator Match-Maker Ventures, senior associate at digital sports consultancy Seven League, advisor to 3 media-tech start-ups, and expert advisor to the high-level government-industry liaison organisation British Screen Advisory Council.

Until 2017, Keen was chief analyst and vice president for TMT at IHS Markit, leading a team of 100 expert analysts around the world. Prior to IHS, Keen was instrumental in building Screen Digest into a premiere research firm, pioneering empirical analysis and robust forecasting of global media and technology markets. In late 2010, Screen Digest was acquired by IHS. Keen subsequently helped IHS acquire and integrate another six research and analysis firms.

Keen has delivered 1,000+ presentations and lectures, including keynote addresses at many international conventions and guest lectures at leading business schools. He has contributed articles to more than 20 different books, magazines and newspapers.

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Kilian Kerwin
Head of production (South Asia & Latin America), SK Global Entertainment

Kerwin is head of production (South Asia & Latin America) for SK Global Entertainment, where he oversees local-language projects in various territories as well as particular international English-language motion picture and television ventures, including the development of the global phenomenon, Crazy Rich Asians. Kerwin is EP of two Hindi-language projects streaming on Netflix, Delhi Crime a... read more

Kerwin is head of production (South Asia & Latin America) for SK Global Entertainment, where he oversees local-language projects in various territories as well as particular international English-language motion picture and television ventures, including the development of the global phenomenon, Crazy Rich Asians. Kerwin is EP of two Hindi-language projects streaming on Netflix, Delhi Crime and Ghoul, as well as a third which in post-production, BETAAL. He is also co-producer of The Sky is Pink, which will premiere at TIFF 2019 and stars Priyanka Chopra.

Having started in production (as assistant to acclaimed director Tony Scott), Kerwin moved into the development arena, first as an executive and then as a screenwriter. Over a ten-year span he wrote feature film projects for Universal Pictures, Miramax, Paramount Pictures, Fox 2000, Dreamworks Animation, and Twentieth Century Fox. Kerwin also wrote and directed a feature film, Learning Curves, which premiered on Showtime Networks and stars Sophia Bush.

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Miles Ketley
CEO, Stolen Picture

Ketley comes to Stolen Picture having previously been the COO of the independent TV production company Bad Wolf. Before that, he co-founded the Film and TV Group at the UK’s largest media law-firm, Wiggin LLP, having spent some time in Los Angeles as an executive at Fox Searchlight Pictures. Ketley is the CEO of production company Stolen Picture as well as a partner in the media financing compan... read more

Ketley comes to Stolen Picture having previously been the COO of the independent TV production company Bad Wolf. Before that, he co-founded the Film and TV Group at the UK’s largest media law-firm, Wiggin LLP, having spent some time in Los Angeles as an executive at Fox Searchlight Pictures. Ketley is the CEO of production company Stolen Picture as well as a partner in the media financing company Stone Story Media, a trustee of the Independent Cinema Office.

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Elizabeth Kilgarriff
CEO, Firebird Pictures

After 18 years at the BBC, Liz Kilgarriff founded Firebird Pictures in April 2019 with fellow BBC Exec, Craig Holleworth. Firebird Pictures was set-up to support and work with the best creative talent to produce distinctive and entertaining stories for a global audience. During her time at the BBC, Kilgarriff was the senior commissioning editor for BBC Drama in England and Scotland. Responsible f... read more

After 18 years at the BBC, Liz Kilgarriff founded Firebird Pictures in April 2019 with fellow BBC Exec, Craig Holleworth. Firebird Pictures was set-up to support and work with the best creative talent to produce distinctive and entertaining stories for a global audience.

During her time at the BBC, Kilgarriff was the senior commissioning editor for BBC Drama in England and Scotland. Responsible for generating, developing and commissioning creative ideas, she oversaw multiple shows from conception to transmission across the breadth and range of BBC Drama.

Kilgarriff’s track record in picking stories and creative talent that attract large audiences is evident in her portfolio of work to-date. Her successes as a commissioner include BBC One hit Bodyguard; The Cry, starring Jenna Coleman;  J.K. Rowling’s Strike series; Doctor Foster 2; The ABC Murders, starring John Malkovich; The Victim; Tom Rob Smith’s MotherFatherSon; McMafia; Informer and Neil Cross’s Hard Sun. In this role, Kilgarriff was also responsible for BBC One favourites Call The Midwife and Poldark.

Prior to joining the BBC Drama commissioning team, Kilgarriff was an Executive Producer for BBC Drama Production working on titles including the award-winning Luther and BBC Three’s Thirteen, which starred Jodie Comer. She also worked on Cranford, Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Upstairs Downstairs.

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Miura Kite
SVP, global television, Participant

Participant, the global media company founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll dedicated to entertainment that inspires audiences to engage in positive social change. In her role, Kite works to expand Participant’s narrative and documentary television slate by identifying, developing, packaging and executive producing high-end properties for premium cable, basic cable, digital and emerging platforms. At P... read more

Participant, the global media company founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll dedicated to entertainment that inspires audiences to engage in positive social change. In her role, Kite works to expand Participant’s narrative and documentary television slate by identifying, developing, packaging and executive producing high-end properties for premium cable, basic cable, digital and emerging platforms. At Participant, she has been involved in the development of Ava DuVernay’s Emmy Award®-nominated limited drama series, When They See Us, for Netflix; and Noughts and Crosses for BBC1. Kite joined Playtone in 2001 before being promoted in 2003 to head of development, a role she held until her departure from the company in 2011. In her role as head of development at Playtone, Kite co-produced the HBO Emmy Award®-winning film, Game Change, and HBO’s Emmy Award®-winning miniseries, The Pacific. She served as development executive on films Where the Wild Things Are, City of Ember, Starter For 10, Mamma Mia! and Participant’s Charlie Wilson’s War, and was involved in the development of five seasons of HBO’s series Big Love and the miniseries John Adams.

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Piotr Kocel
Founder and CEO, Bombay Sour Films

Kocel is a media tech entrepreneur with over 14 years experience building, financing and managing media businesses. As Founder of Bombay Sour he is currently building the world’s first audience-funded SVoD platform. He previously oversaw CEE’s largest SVoD platform VOYO (CME) and was responsible for several strategic digital media projects as VP Corporate Development and Integration at... read more

Kocel is a media tech entrepreneur with over 14 years experience building, financing and managing media businesses. As Founder of Bombay Sour he is currently building the world’s first audience-funded SVoD platform. He previously oversaw CEE’s largest SVoD platform VOYO (CME) and was responsible for several strategic digital media projects as VP Corporate Development and Integration at RTL Group where he was also part of the core team behind its EUR1.5 Billion IPO. He began his corporate career in the satellite industry where he was involved in the funding of Google-backed O3B Networks during his tenure at SES, among others. Prior to that he founded a digital lifestyle magazine and built location-based e-commerce applications.

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Pooja Kohli Taneja
Managing Partner and producer, Golden Karavan

Kohli Taneja is a Partner in the joint venture company Golden Karavan, which was formed by prominent entertainment executives/producers from the U.S. and India, in 2017. She served as a producer on the Netflix procedural drama series, Delhi Crime. Golden Karavan is a first-of-its-kind, Indian-focused streaming television production company headed by leading TV producer Aaron Kaplan, prominent me... read more

Kohli Taneja is a Partner in the joint venture company Golden Karavan, which was formed by prominent entertainment executives/producers from the U.S. and India, in 2017. She served as a producer on the Netflix procedural drama series, Delhi Crime. Golden Karavan is a first-of-its-kind, Indian-focused streaming television production company headed by leading TV producer Aaron Kaplan, prominent media investor Jeff Sagansky, producer Florence Sloan with principals from Indian digital distribution company FilmKaravan including Pooja, Apoorva Bakshi and Sanjay Bachani.

The company’s goal is to produce provocative Indian-theme original content targeting a global audience through over-the-top services.
Kohli Taneja has 20+ years of experience in content acquisitions with a specific focus on business development, niche marketing and media production/operations across North America, the UK, and India. A ferocious guardian of good content, Kohli Taneja has served on various international juries and launched the MIAAC Film Festival. In her dual role, she also serves as managing director and CEO of India’s FilmKaravan, which aggregates and seamlessly distributes high quality content across digital platforms. Kohli Taneja earned her Master’s degree from Emerson College in Boston and a Bachelor in Commerce degree from the University of Delhi. She is based in Mumbai.

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Gena Konstantinakos
Vice president, development and video programming, Topic

Topic is the new streaming service from First Look Media, set to launch in the fall of 2019. In this role, Konstantinakos crafts and implements the end-to-end video strategy, developing and leading projects across multiple formats including scripted and non-scripted episodic, shorts and films, through development, creation and release. Konstantinakos joined Topic from VICE Media’s VICELAND, whe... read more

Topic is the new streaming service from First Look Media, set to launch in the fall of 2019. In this role, Konstantinakos crafts and implements the end-to-end video strategy, developing and leading projects across multiple formats including scripted and non-scripted episodic, shorts and films, through development, creation and release.

Konstantinakos joined Topic from VICE Media’s VICELAND, where she was executive producer, development and current series. At VICELAND, Konstantinakos developed ideas internally, collaborated with external partners, and oversaw a diverse slate of original unscripted and documentary series. Konstantinakos has produced for ABC, MTV, PBS, A&E, BET, MSBNC, Fusion, The New York Times, and independent film. She was producer of the Peabody Award®-winning, ABC News documentary series Hopkins, and series producer on the CINE Golden Eagle Award-winning, ABC News documentary series Boston Med. She was awarded an Emmy® for her work on MTV’s Made, which she directed and supervised. Additionally, she created, directed and executive produced the independent mockumentary The Internet Must Go.

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Elizabeth Koshy
Founder and CEO, INVAR Studios

Koshy is a serial entrepreneur with a vast range of experience founding successful companies in the media entertainment space. She pioneered the creative outsourcing /co-production animation industry between Hollywood and India, launched Cause Celebre, the first celebrity management and entertainment consultancy company in India. She was also involved in setting up Jadoo Works- CGI animation com... read more

Koshy is a serial entrepreneur with a vast range of experience founding successful companies in the media entertainment space. She pioneered the creative outsourcing /co-production animation industry between Hollywood and India, launched Cause Celebre, the first celebrity management and entertainment consultancy company in India. She was also involved in setting up Jadoo Works- CGI animation company/ Animation Dimensions, India’s largest flash animation company. Koshy has produced animation projects such as Much Lucha (Warner Studios), Growing up Creepie (Discovery Kids), Higgley Town Heroes (Disney), Chloe’s (Turner Network) and NFL Rush Zone. She was also the head of the Media and Entertainment vertical for iGate Technologies, which was acquired by Cap Gemini (French IT consulting company).  

Elizabeth is currently the founder and CEO of INVAR studios, an original content creation company focusing on multi-platform distribution models, whose first project was the award-winning VR narrative film ‘Rose Colored’. Currently under Elizabeth’s leadership, two series for OTT platforms have been green-lit for development  along with a slate of movie projects that are in pre-production.

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Jon Kramer
CEO, AfterShock Comics and Rive Gauche Television

Kramer has extensive experience in the production and distribution of scripted TV and theatrical films worldwide. He was responsible for the production of 40 TV movies including 17 for HBO with stars such as James Spader, Kiefer Sutherland, Naomi Watts, Jason Bateman and Jeff Daniels. Kramer (with partners of equally extensive backgrounds) formed AfterShock Comics in 2014. AfterShock was named S... read more

Kramer has extensive experience in the production and distribution of scripted TV and theatrical films worldwide. He was responsible for the production of 40 TV movies including 17 for HBO with stars such as James Spader, Kiefer Sutherland, Naomi Watts, Jason Bateman and Jeff Daniels. Kramer (with partners of equally extensive backgrounds) formed AfterShock Comics in 2014. AfterShock was named Small Publisher of the year in 2017 and has been very effective in converting comic book IP to TV and Film. Thus far AfterShock has published 63 books and has 7 options with major studios and producers with another 10 IP’s in play. In 5 years Aftershock will house over 165 IP’s. Kramer is also in charge of Rive Gauche Television overseeing the acquisition and distribution of a catalog of 1700+ hours of unscripted content. Its brands include The Dog Whisperer, Homicide Hunter, Something Is Killing Me and “Very Scary People”. Rive Gauche has been involved in the inception of “Pitbulls and Parolees” and “True Crime With Aphrodite Jones. Rive Gauche serves as the distributor for AfterShock Comic IP either for the placement of the rights or as the distributor when rights can be held.

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Marvin Kren
Director, writer and executive producer , Freud

Kren first gained recognition through the ZDF feature programme Kleines Fernsehspiel, premiering his horror movie Rammbock in 2010, which won Kren the Vienna Film Award and the Max Ophüls Award for ‘Best Feature’. Immersing himself further into the horror genre, his second movie Blutgletscher premiered at the TIFFs Midnight Madness two years later. The movie received high praise and won s... read more

Kren first gained recognition through the ZDF feature programme Kleines Fernsehspiel, premiering his horror movie Rammbock in 2010, which won Kren the Vienna Film Award and the Max Ophüls Award for ‘Best Feature’. Immersing himself further into the horror genre, his second movie Blutgletscher premiered at the TIFFs Midnight Madness two years later. The movie received high praise and won several awards and commendations (Max Ophüls Preis, Austrian Film Award).

Following this success, Kren directed three episodes of Tatort (ARD), Germany’s longest-running police procedural, as well as crime drama Mordkommission Berlin 1, which was nominated for the German television award in 2016. It didn’t take him long to take home the well-deserved prize: in January 2018 he was awarded Best Director for his multi award-winning TV series 4 Blocks (TNT). In the 2nd Season he was the executive producer. His crime-driven feature film Grenzfall (ORF/ZDF), premiered at Diagonale – Festival of Austrian Film in March 2018.

Kren recently became showrunner of eagerly-anticipated crime thriller series FREUD (Netflix/ORF) which he also directed, co-wrote and executive produced. FREUD sees a young, unknown Sigmund Freud investigate mysterious murders and political intrigues in the extravagant Vienna of the 1890s.

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Susan Kresnicka
Founder and president, KR&I

Kresnicka is a cultural anthropologist with over 18 years of experience in the commercial sector. Specializing in foundational research to establish core human drivers for consumer behavior, Kresnicka has led large-scale, multi-modal research projects for a range of industries, including entertainment, sports, news, consumer electronics, food and beverage, and retail. A student of fandom for mor... read more

Kresnicka is a cultural anthropologist with over 18 years of experience in the commercial sector. Specializing in foundational research to establish core human drivers for consumer behavior, Kresnicka has led large-scale, multi-modal research projects for a range of industries, including entertainment, sports, news, consumer electronics, food and beverage, and retail. A student of fandom for more than a decade, Kresnicka has conducted fan research for a variety of iconic entertainment IP brands, sports teams, and brands built around passionate hobbyists. Through this expansive study of fandom, Kresnicka has developed a deep appreciation for how fandom operates in people’s lives, differs from other forms of affinity, and can be strategically deployed to enhance business value. Whether she is studying fandom or another topic, Kresnicka specializes in tying consumer behavior to core human needs, allowing clients to establish more enduring and meaningful bonds with the people upon whom their commercial success relies. Kresnicka holds an M.A. in social anthropology from The University of Texas at Austin, sits on the professional advisory board for UCLA’s Master of Social Science program, and regularly speaks publicly on fandom, gender, morality, identity, and the value of anthropology in business. Her work has been covered in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Variety, and more.

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Moderator Muki Kulhan
CIO, executive XR producer and creative tech analyst, Muki-International Ltd.

Kulhan is an award-winning executive digital XR producer and keynote speaker with over two decades pioneering ground-breaking content for music, broadcasting, entertainment and tech innovation. Formerly MTV, BBC, ITV (& more!) she now runs her own production company creating executive R&D strategies and Immersive XR experiences for clients like Bose, Raindance, SXSW, Abbey Road Studios S... read more

Kulhan is an award-winning executive digital XR producer and keynote speaker with over two decades pioneering ground-breaking content for music, broadcasting, entertainment and tech innovation. Formerly MTV, BBC, ITV (& more!) she now runs her own production company creating executive R&D strategies and Immersive XR experiences for clients like Bose, Raindance, SXSW, Abbey Road Studios Spatial Audio Forum, Red Giant VFX, IBC, 5GUK Network, Women in Immersive Tech (WiIT) and more.

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Mika Kurvien
Director and screenwriter, Reindeer Mafia

Kurvinen is a director and screenwriter from Finland. He has directed TV series e.g. Welcome to Texas (10×42`) and Soundtrack of Love (2 seasons, 22×58`). His latest work is the first Finnish-Chilean co-production Invisable Heroes (6×52`) where he was a conceptual director. Kurvinen studied film directing in Helsinki Film School in Aalto University.

Sofia Kvashilava
Genral producer, Okko Ent. and CCO, Rambler Group

Kvashilava was born in Moscow and graduated from Moscow State University in 2002 (Law degree). After 4 years of legal practice, Kvashilava joined Polish Media Company ITI Group as head of rep.office, Moscow. Over the next 5 years, Kvashilava drove work at the Moscow office and together with Polish team, launched the unique movie channel ‘Woina I Pokoj’ with classic soviet and modern post-sovie... read more

Kvashilava was born in Moscow and graduated from Moscow State University in 2002 (Law degree). After 4 years of legal practice, Kvashilava joined Polish Media Company ITI Group as head of rep.office, Moscow. Over the next 5 years, Kvashilava drove work at the Moscow office and together with Polish team, launched the unique movie channel ‘Woina I Pokoj’ with classic soviet and modern post-soviet territories’ movies in polish. The channel was awarded by Hot Bird Award as the best movie channel (2008).

In 2012, Kvashilava started work with The Walt Disney Company CIS as director of sales and was responsible for VOD deals in Russia and former USSR territories. After 4 years with TWDC, Kvashilava moved to be head of content at ivi online cinema. In 2018, Kvashilava joined Rambler Group as a general producer and head of content.

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Anthony LaPaglia
Lead actor, Halifax Retribution

LaPaglia is a multi-award winning actor who has an extensive and diverse list of credits across film, television and theatre. He played the role of Joe in the coming-of-age comedy Empire Records and John in the film Autumn In New York, as well as FBI agent Jack Malone on the American television series Without a Trace, for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama... read more

LaPaglia is a multi-award winning actor who has an extensive and diverse list of credits across film, television and theatre. He played the role of Joe in the coming-of-age comedy Empire Records and John in the film Autumn In New York, as well as FBI agent Jack Malone on the American television series Without a Trace, for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama. He also appeared in eight episodes of Frasier as Daphne Moon’s alcoholic brother Simon. LaPaglia starred in the Australian films Looking for Alibrandi, Holding the Man, Lantana and Balibo. For the latter two films he won AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2001 and 2009.

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Matti Laine
Screenwriter,

Laine is a Finnish, Helsinki-based screenwriter, novelist, and an actor. He has studied literature and dramaturgy in the Tampere University and acting in the Theatre Academy, Helsinki. He is the head-writer of the Finnish-Spanish co-production Paradise and also one of the writers of the TV-series Bordertown and Bullets. He has published nine crime-novels (among others: The Elias Vitikka -series) a... read more

Laine is a Finnish, Helsinki-based screenwriter, novelist, and an actor. He has studied literature and dramaturgy in the Tampere University and acting in the Theatre Academy, Helsinki. He is the head-writer of the Finnish-Spanish co-production Paradise and also one of the writers of the TV-series Bordertown and Bullets. He has published nine crime-novels (among others: The Elias Vitikka -series) and written theatre-plays and he does some acting too, when the time is right.

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Christine Langan
CEO, Baby Cow Productions

Langan is an Academy nominated and BAFTA award winning producer of TV drama, comedy and feature films. She began her career as a copywriter in London but moved to Manchester to work as a script editor for Granada Television in the ’90s. Moving into comedy, she went on to develop and produce the multi-award winning show, Cold Feet. In 2000, she doubled as producer and director on BBC1 romant... read more

Langan is an Academy nominated and BAFTA award winning producer of TV drama, comedy and feature films. She began her career as a copywriter in London but moved to Manchester to work as a script editor for Granada Television in the ’90s. Moving into comedy, she went on to develop and produce the multi-award winning show, Cold Feet. In 2000, she doubled as producer and director on BBC1 romantic drama, Rescue Me. She returned to Granada in 2002, where she produced the acclaimed dramas The Deal and Dirty Filthy Love. During this period, she also produced her first feature film, Pierrepoint, which earned her a Carl Foreman Award nomination at the 60th British Academy Film Award. An Academy nomination came soon after for the film, The Queen, for which she won a Best Film BAFTA. In 2005, she took up a new role as executive producer at BBC Films. By 2008, she was running the division, where she developed and executive produced a wealth of British films from We Need To Talk About Kevin and Brooklyn, to Bright Star, In The Loop, Fish Tank, Woman In Gold and Philomena.
In 2016, she left BBC FILMS to join forces with Steve Coogan as CEO of Baby Cow Productions, where she now oversees a rich and diverse slate of TV comedy, drama and film.

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Stinna Lassen
Producer, When The Dust Settles

Lassen, born in 1984, graduated from The National Film School of Denmark in 2011 and co-founded Good Company Films in 2014. Lassen has produced all of Milad Alami’s award winning short films as well as his successful debut feature The Charmer. Other credits include season 1 of European TV-series The Team as well as the family fantasy film Wildwitch. Lassen is currently in production with the TV-... read more

Lassen, born in 1984, graduated from The National Film School of Denmark in 2011 and co-founded Good Company Films in 2014.
Lassen has produced all of Milad Alami’s award winning short films as well as his successful debut feature The Charmer. Other credits include season 1 of European TV-series The Team as well as the family fantasy film Wildwitch. Lassen is currently in production with the TV-series When the Dust Settles for DR.

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Michelle Latimer
Executive producer and director , Trickster

Streel Films’ Latimer is the showrunner, director and writer of the Viceland breakout series Rise, which premiered at the Sundance Festival and won Best Documentary Program at the 2018 Canadian Screen Awards. A Toronto based filmmaker, showrunner, producer, actor and activist, her films have screened at festivals internationally including Sundance, TIFF, Berlin, Rotterdam and Cannes. Her recent ... read more

Streel Films’ Latimer is the showrunner, director and writer of the Viceland breakout series Rise, which premiered at the Sundance Festival and won Best Documentary Program at the 2018 Canadian Screen Awards. A Toronto based filmmaker, showrunner, producer, actor and activist, her films have screened at festivals internationally including Sundance, TIFF, Berlin, Rotterdam and Cannes. Her recent film Nuuca, was Executive Produced by Lara Poitras for Field of Vision. Nuuca premiered at Tiff 2018, as well as Sundance Film Festival and Berlinale Festival. Selected films include Choke (Sundance Festival Jury Honourable Mention), The Underground (TIFF), Nimmikaage (Oberhausen, National Gallery of Canada), and the feature doc Alias (nominated for a Canadian Screen Award). Latimer is currently working on the dramatic feature Forgotten, adapting the bestselling novel Inconvenient Indian (TMN/BELL/ NFB), and show running the series Red Nation Rising, in development with Sienna. Latimer has directed episodes of the drama series Burden of Truth (CBC/CW/Hulu) and comedy series Little Dog (CBC), and has written for Frontier (Netflix/Discovery). Latimer was selected by Playback Magazine as one of Canada’s Top Ten Filmmakers to Watch, and the CBC recently named her among the ‘Great Canadian Filmmakers of the Future.’

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Nina Lederman
Executive vice president, global scripted development, Sony Pictures Television

Lederman, executive vice president, global scripted development, Sony Pictures Television is based in SPT’s Culver City headquarters and facilitates creative and logistical partnerships between SPT’s US and international production teams to expand SPT’s slate of TV series in the US and around the world. Lederman works closely with SPT’s portfolio of international production companies to fo... read more

Lederman, executive vice president, global scripted development, Sony Pictures Television is based in SPT’s Culver City headquarters and facilitates creative and logistical partnerships between SPT’s US and international production teams to expand SPT’s slate of TV series in the US and around the world. Lederman works closely with SPT’s portfolio of international production companies to foster relationships and sales to US-based platforms and works in association with SPT’s US development teams in identifying and developing US projects for international buyers. In addition, her Global team develops culturally authentic scripted series in numerous languages for the global market.

Lederman joins SPT from All3Media America, where she was EVP, scripted programming. In that role, she advised on scripted development slates for labels under the All3Media umbrella and developed the sales strategy on UK originals. She also served as executive producer on international co-productions, formats and original series, including Kaos (Netflix). Prior to that, she was at Lifetime Television for eight years, most recently serving as SVP, scripted programming and development and was responsible for developing UnREAL. Lederman got her start in the industry as Vice president, production, for NBC Studios.

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Ralph Lee
Director of content, BBC Studios

As director of content, Lee has overall control of BBC Studios Productions’ creative strategy in the UK. His immediate team consists of the key genre managing directors in factual, scripted, factual entertainment and events, and entertainment and music. Together they deliver over 2000 hours of content annually to the BBC including key titles EastEnders, Doctor Who and Strictly Come Dancing alon... read more

As director of content, Lee has overall control of BBC Studios Productions’ creative strategy in the UK. His immediate team consists of the key genre managing directors in factual, scripted, factual entertainment and events, and entertainment and music. Together they deliver over 2000 hours of content annually to the BBC including key titles EastEnders, Doctor Who and Strictly Come Dancing along with new programming across the BBC portfolio. Since BBC Studios Production became a commercial subsidiary it also serves non-BBC clients including Five, Channel 4, PBS, National Geographic and Discovery.

Prior to joining BBC Studios Lee had 25 years’ experience in the UK television sector. He was acting chief creative officer at Channel 4, where he also held a number of commissioning roles including head of factual and head of specialist factual. During his tenure, the business enjoyed notable impact and awards for programmes which included: The Secret Life of Four Year Olds, Grayson Perry: All Man, Gogglebox, First Dates, Benefits Street, Richard III: the King in the Car Park, 24 Hours in Custody and Educating Yorkshire.

Prior to his commissioning roles Lee was a producer/director of documentaries specialising in history, arts and biography working both at the BBC and in the independent sector. Lee reports into CEO Tim Davie and sits on BBC Studios’ executive committee.

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Julien Leroux
SVP global scripted co-productions, Cineflix Media

Leroux leads Cineflix’s scripted co-production initiatives, setting up creative partnerships with producers, talent, and networks to deliver hit drama for the global market. Based in London, he also works closely with the sales and acquisitions team at Cineflix Rights to acquire and license scripted content for distribution to all media platforms. Leroux is based in the London office and reports... read more

Leroux leads Cineflix’s scripted co-production initiatives, setting up creative partnerships with producers, talent, and networks to deliver hit drama for the global market. Based in London, he also works closely with the sales and acquisitions team at Cineflix Rights to acquire and license scripted content for distribution to all media platforms. Leroux is based in the London office and reports to Peter Emerson, President, Cineflix Media. 

Prior to joining Cineflix, Leroux was EVP, content development & sales at the UK arm of France’s Newen Group, the company behind Osmosis, Ouro, Emmy®-award winning Spiral, and Witnesses. Previously, he was deputy managing director, international sales, acquisitions & marketing of Paris-based Newen Distribution where he worked with broadcasters and platforms including Netflix, Disney, BBC, Channel4, National Geographic Channels, Discovery, ZDF, Mediaset, AMC Networks, and NBC. Leroux also served as VP, international sales & acquisitions at AB International Distribution.

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David Levine
VP, kids programming, Disney Channels Europe and Africa/UK & Ireland

In this role, Levine is responsible for all strategic and operational aspects of kids programming including the development of the linear and multi-platform programming strategy. Additionally, he is responsible for determining the direction of original production and commissions all originally produced content, acquisitions and co-productions for Disney kids platforms. He has developed and commiss... read more

In this role, Levine is responsible for all strategic and operational aspects of kids programming including the development of the linear and multi-platform programming strategy. Additionally, he is responsible for determining the direction of original production and commissions all originally produced content, acquisitions and co-productions for Disney kids platforms. He has developed and commissioned Emmy-nominated Evermoor, First Class Chefs, The Lodge and 101 Dalmatian Street. Levine oversees programming strategy for pan-regional Disney Junior and Disney XD, reaching over 110 countries and 70 million households.

Levine has operational responsibility for UK & Ireland kids programming, and regional responsibility for kids channel performance across the region. Levine also serves as an executive sponsor of the Pride UK&I business resource group for Disney’s LGBT+ employees.

A 15+ year Disney veteran, Levine has served in a variety of roles, including GM UK/Nordics Disney Channels; VP/GM, Disney XD Worldwide; VP, worldwide programming strategy, qcquisitions and co-productions. Levine has been an OUTStanding/Financial Times Top 100 LGBT+ Executive for the past three years and serves as a Trustee for anti-bullying charity ‘Ditch the Label.’

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Aron Levitz
Head of , Wattpad Studios

As Head of Wattpad Studios, Levitz connects the entertainment and publishing industries with new voices and original content on Wattpad. Leveraging data and community insights, Levitz works with the industry to co-produce Wattpad stories for film, television, print and digital formats. Previously, as head of business development, Levitz helped establish the company’s monetization strategy and la... read more

As Head of Wattpad Studios, Levitz connects the entertainment and publishing industries with new voices and original content on Wattpad. Leveraging data and community insights, Levitz works with the industry to co-produce Wattpad stories for film, television, print and digital formats. Previously, as head of business development, Levitz helped establish the company’s monetization strategy and launched Wattpad Brand Stories, a native advertising solution. He was also instrumental in launching the Wattpad Stars program that gives top influencers access to a variety of opportunities.

Throughout his career, Levitz has connected the entertainment industry with emerging technology and mobile platforms. As Senior Director of Strategic Alliances at Xtreme Labs, he developed business and mobile strategies for the world’s top media brands including MTV. Prior to Xtreme Labs, he was director of entertainment and global content acquisition at BlackBerry where he worked with artists and other talent, as well as launched innovative music, movie, TV, and gaming services. Aron received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Waterloo.

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Liz Lewin
Commissioning editor, Sky

Lewin has been working in the British Television industry for the last 25 years as a script editor, producer, executive producer and latterly a commissioning editor for Sky. As a script editor and producer she has worked with some of the most influential British writers around including Sally Wainwright, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Stephen Beresford and Kay Mellor. She has a long standing working relat... read more

Lewin has been working in the British Television industry for the last 25 years as a script editor, producer, executive producer and latterly a commissioning editor for Sky. As a script editor and producer she has worked with some of the most influential British writers around including Sally Wainwright, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Stephen Beresford and Kay Mellor. She has a long standing working relationship with writer Lisa McGee which culminated in her developing and executive producing two series of Derry Girls for Channel 4, and she is currently developing series 3 alongside her commissioning responsibilities at Sky. After a stint commissioning at Channel 4 in both the comedy and drama teams where she looked after a diverse range of shows including The End of the F***ing World, Raised By Wolves and Ackley Bridge, Lewin joined Sky’s drama team as a commissioning editor. Alongside looking after a number of pre-existing shows she is developing a new strand of programming which is ambitious, provocative and has real emotional scale. The End is the first piece to emerge from this strand, and I Hate Suzie created by Lucy Prebble and Billie Piper is in production.

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Private: Gave Lindo
Head of content programming, North America, TikTok

Lindo is an experienced executive, lawyer, and board director within the media and cultural sectors where he has developed, commissioned, and structured projects across film, TV, streaming, social, gaming, and live events. As the head of content programming for North America at TikTok, he leads the team responsible for original live production, in-app editorial, trends, and off-platform content co... read more

Lindo is an experienced executive, lawyer, and board director within the media and cultural sectors where he has developed, commissioned, and structured projects across film, TV, streaming, social, gaming, and live events.
As the head of content programming for North America at TikTok, he leads the team responsible for original live production, in-app editorial, trends, and off-platform content collaborations such as TikTok Radio.
Previously, he led CBC’s digital content offerings including CBC.ca, CBC Kids, and launched the streaming service CBC Gem, as executive director of OTT programming. In this role, he created CBC’s first YA content strategy and was responsible for commissioning a slate of series from some of Canada’s most talented new voices.
Lindo also served as executive director of the Reelworld Film Festival, worked as a business affairs executive at CBC, and began his career as a media and entertainment lawyer at a corporate law firm. Lindo has been appointed to the boards of a number of organisations and currently serves on the boards of Just for Laughs Toronto and TO Live. He is a frequent speaker on the intersection of media, content, and innovation and has been featured in outlets including The Today Show, Toronto Life, Deadline, Variety, Playback, and SHARP Magazine. He holds BA, MBA, and JD degrees from the University of Toronto and is called to the Bar of Ontario.

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Kelly Luegenbiehl
VP of international originals, Netflix

Luegenbiehl oversees the development and production of Netflix’s non-US based series, which launch simultaneously around the world in 190 countries. Luegenbiehl has been responsible for the creative and has overseen the launches of numerous shows including, Suburra, Cable Girls, Jack Whitehall’s Travels With My Father, Ingobernable, Marseille, Club de Cuervos seasons 2 and 3, 3%, and German pr... read more

Luegenbiehl oversees the development and production of Netflix’s non-US based series, which launch simultaneously around the world in 190 countries. Luegenbiehl has been responsible for the creative and has overseen the launches of numerous shows including, Suburra, Cable Girls, Jack Whitehall’s Travels With My Father, Ingobernable, Marseille, Club de Cuervos seasons 2 and 3, 3%, and German production Dark. She is a voting member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences as well as the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Luegenbiehl was also head of the comedy jury for the Rose D’Or Festival 2013.

Prior to Netflix, Luegenbiehl worked at ABC as VP, comedy development and international scripted, ABC Entertainment Group. Some of the shows she was directly responsible for include ABC’s comedy series Fresh Off The Boat, Cristela, The Goldbergs, Trophy Wife, Suburgatory, as well as The Middle. She was also on the team that developed Modern Family and Black-ish. Prior to ABC, Luegenbiehl worked for Bravo as manager of development and production, where she won a Primetime Emmy Award for her work on Kathy Griffin’s My Life on the D-List. Other series developed at Bravo include Millionaire Matchmaker and Flipping Out as well as numerous stand-up specials. While at Bravo she was also part of NBC’s prestigious Associates Program. In 2010 Luegenbiehl was selected as one of The Hollywood Reporter’s “Top 35 Executives Under 35,” and in 2011 Variety profiled her in their inaugural list of “Hollywood’s New Leaders.”

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Cheryl Lynch
EVP international production, business affairs and scripted formats, Sony Pictures Television

Cheryl Lynch is executive vice president of international television production, business affairs and scripted formats. Based in Los Angeles, Lynch oversees business affairs for 21 production companies across the globe. In that capacity, Lynch has crafted deals on original scripted and unscripted programming with local broadcasters such as the BBC, CTC, and Rai as well as with global SVOD services... read more

Cheryl Lynch is executive vice president of international television production, business affairs and scripted formats. Based in Los Angeles, Lynch oversees business affairs for 21 production companies across the globe. In that capacity, Lynch has crafted deals on original scripted and unscripted programming with local broadcasters such as the BBC, CTC, and Rai as well as with global SVOD services.

In addition to her business affairs duties, Lynch oversees scripted formats for the group. Recent examples include local language remakes of Mad About You in China and Everybody Loves Raymond in Russia (which is the world’s longest-running adaptation of a TV series). Previously, Lynch was senior vice president, business affairs for international production. Before joining SPT, Lynch was a vice president of business and legal affairs at FOX. She also held the role of director of business and legal affairs at Showtime.

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François Létourneau
Creator and writer,

Létourneau is an actor, playwright and screenwriter. His first television series which he co-wrote with Jean-François Rivard, Les Invincibles, has won many awards during its three seasons and has become a cult favorite in Quebec. Série noire, his second series, also won many awards, including the Gemini Award for Best Writing. Létourneau just finished writing and shooting a new series, C’est... read more

Létourneau is an actor, playwright and screenwriter. His first television series which he co-wrote with Jean-François Rivard, Les Invincibles, has won many awards during its three seasons and has become a cult favorite in Quebec. Série noire, his second series, also won many awards, including the Gemini Award for Best Writing. Létourneau just finished writing and shooting a new series, C’est comme ça que je t’aime, which will air next year on CBC/Radio-Canada. Létourneau stars in all of his tv shows. He won the Gemini Award for Best Actor for his performance in Série noire.

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Mark MacDonald
Head of broadcast, Little Dot Studios

MacDonald’s team specialises in identifying and cultivating audiences on YouTube and other social platforms, working with broadcasters and rightsholders to expand the reach of their shows, grow new revenue streams and engage with audiences beyond the confines of traditional linear TV. The team manage over 100 channels that collectively accrue over 1.5 billion views per month.

Lachlan MacKinnon
Executive producer, Bad Wolf

MacKinnon is responsible for the SKY adaptation of A Discovery Of Witches now in its second series, and for the HBO/BBC drama Industry as well as originating content. Before joining Bad Wolf in 2017 MacKinnon produced the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated single drama Burton And Taylor for BBC and BBC America and The White Princess for US cable network Starz.

Krishnendu Majumdar
Co-founder and executive producer, Me+You Productions

Majumdar is an EMMY winning Producer. He started in television making authored documentaries including the BAFTA nominated single documentary Who You Callin’ a Nigger? before moving into scripted drama and comedy. Majumdar trained on the BBC Production Trainee scheme, the ITN News Trainee scheme and the BBC Drama Series Directors Academy. Krish is the deputy chairman of BAFTA – he was chai... read more

Majumdar is an EMMY winning Producer. He started in television making authored documentaries including the BAFTA nominated single documentary Who You Callin’ a Nigger? before moving into scripted drama and comedy. Majumdar trained on the BBC Production Trainee scheme, the ITN News Trainee scheme and the BBC Drama Series Directors Academy. Krish is the deputy chairman of BAFTA – he was chairman of the BAFTA Television committee since 2015 and sits on the Board of BAFTA Trustees. He was formerly on the Board of Directors UK and the PACT Council. His credits include the Dominic Savage drama series I am (C4), Sick of it (Sky), The Dali and the Cooper (Sky Arts), Hoff the Record (Dave), the BAFTA nominated An Idiot Abroad (Sky).

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Arun Maljaars
Director content and channels, Insight TV

As director of content and channels, Maljaars is responsible for all Insight TV channels, the content that goes on them and the direction of original content. Maljaars joined Insight TV in Amsterdam, Netherlands when the company started in 2015. He was instrumental in the launch of the first global complete 4K-Ultra HD channel in the world which broadcasts linear in the UK, Germany, Spain, Portuga... read more

As director of content and channels, Maljaars is responsible for all Insight TV channels, the content that goes on them and the direction of original content. Maljaars joined Insight TV in Amsterdam, Netherlands when the company started in 2015. He was instrumental in the launch of the first global complete 4K-Ultra HD channel in the world which broadcasts linear in the UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland and India and offers an SVOD version of the 4K-UHD channel. Commissions he has overseen include (but are not limited to): King of the Hammers: Ultra4Sagas, Around The World In 80 Tricks, Dracula; Escape The Castle, Extraordinary Humans, Power & …, MTB Heroes. Maljaars is an experienced media professional and has held positions in renowned companies All3Media and Zodiak-Banijay.

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Suvi Mansnerus
Producer, Yle Drama

Mansnerus has had a versatile career in the TV branch, in many companies, tasks, and genres. Currently with Yle Drama, Mansnerus develops and produces international drama series, both inhouse and in cooperation with production houses. The latest ones have been, for instance, Hooked, Happy Hour of the Wolf, the new Moominvalley, and the crime series Paradise.

Guadalupe Marengo
Head of global human rights defenders programme, Amnesty International

Marengo is the head of global Human Rights Defenders Programme at Amnesty International. Marengo is from Mexico and has extensive experience in research, advocacy and campaigning to effect change in the human rights field – in particular in Latin America, where she did extensive field research for over two decades. In 2008 she headed Amnesty International’s Demand Dignity Campaign which ... read more

Marengo is the head of global Human Rights Defenders Programme at Amnesty International. Marengo is from Mexico and has extensive experience in research, advocacy and campaigning to effect change in the human rights field – in particular in Latin America, where she did extensive field research for over two decades. In 2008 she headed Amnesty International’s Demand Dignity Campaign which focused on social and economic rights, and until 2015 was deputy director of the Americas Programme at Amnesty International.

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Kez Margrie
Children’s commissioning editor, 6-16, BBC

Margrie is the commissioning editor for 6-16 non-scripted content in the BBC children’s department. She has been committed to working with young people through the arts for over 30 years. She is responsible for some of the BBC’s most successful factual brands for young people including the multi award-winning My Life documentary series and the BAFTA-winning Operation Ouch! More recently she ha... read more

Margrie is the commissioning editor for 6-16 non-scripted content in the BBC children’s department. She has been committed to working with young people through the arts for over 30 years. She is responsible for some of the BBC’s most successful factual brands for young people including the multi award-winning My Life documentary series and the BAFTA-winning Operation Ouch! More recently she has commissioned iPlayer and podcast content for 12-15s, including Mimi on A Mission: Sex Ed.

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Raimon Masllorens
Managing director and owner, Brutal Media

After 20 years as executive producer working for several companies, Raimon founded Brutal Media in 2010. He is responsible for overseeing the company’s business strategy and managing the relationships with funders and broadcasters. He leads the creative team and enjoys developing and executive producing unscripted and scripted projects. Productions include: Felipe y Letizia (Mediaset), La Barone... read more

After 20 years as executive producer working for several companies, Raimon founded Brutal Media in 2010. He is responsible for overseeing the company’s business strategy and managing the relationships with funders and broadcasters. He leads the creative team and enjoys developing and executive producing unscripted and scripted projects.
Productions include: Felipe y Letizia (Mediaset), La Baronesa (Mediaset), We shall return (TVE), El Foraster (TV3, 7 seasons), This is Opera (TVE, Beta Films), Laia (TV3), El Paisano (TVE, 2 seasons), This is Art (TV3, Movistar), This is Football (Amazon Prime), La Paisana (TVE), Las del hockey (TV3, Netflix, 2 seasons), I love you, stupid (feature film 2020).
Masllorens is the president of PROA (Spanish Federation of audiovisual producers) and the director of the executive production master at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona.

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Preethi Mavahalli
Executive producer, Mammoth screen

Mavahalli joined Mammoth Screen in 2011. During that time, she has executive produced Tripped for E4, NW for BBC2 which was nominated for two BAFTAs, The City & The City for BBC2 which won two RTS awards and Next of Kin for ITV. Upcoming productions include adaptations of The War of the Worlds and Noughts + Crosses and The Serpent, all for BBC One.

Moderator Ali May
Writer, producer and creator,

May is a writer and producer and an international drama connoisseur. He is the author of Geography of Attraction, a contributor on series for Monocle Magazine, and has a couple of drama projects in development, on his own and with global partners. His social handle is @alimaytv

Holt McCallany
Leading actor, Mindhunter

In a film career spanning over 30 years, McCallany has appeared in well over 100 films and television shows, working with some of the world’s most storied directors. Throughout his varied and versatile career, McCallany has worked for David Fincher, David O’Russell, William Friedkin, Lawrence Kasdan, Walter Hill, Clint Eastwood, Brian De Palma and Michael Mann among many others. McCallany curr... read more

In a film career spanning over 30 years, McCallany has appeared in well over 100 films and television shows, working with some of the world’s most storied directors. Throughout his varied and versatile career, McCallany has worked for David Fincher, David O’Russell, William Friedkin, Lawrence Kasdan, Walter Hill, Clint Eastwood, Brian De Palma and Michael Mann among many others. McCallany currently stars in the Netflix series Mindhunter for director David Fincher where he plays Bill Tench, a complex, real life FBI agent researching serial killers in the late 1970s. Mindhunter is one of the most critically acclaimed shows on television and is a cinematic international hit for Netflix.

McCallany has appeared in notable and pivotal supporting roles in movies like Fight Club (“His name was Robert Paulson!”), Three Kings, Black Hat, Alien III, Justice League, and Sully, to name a few. He has consistently worked alongside the film industry’s most influential actors including Tom Hanks, Sigourney Weaver, George Clooney, Robert De Niro, Tom Cruise, Ben Affleck, Sylvester Stallone and Sean Penn. In 2011, McCallany was the star of one of the most critically acclaimed and innovative television series of the decade, the raw and gritty Light’s Out on FX where he played an ex-world champion boxer with pugilistic dementia who must go to work for the mob to continue to support his family. A fluent French speaker, McCallany’s first French language film, Le Dandon, is in post-production and scheduled for release in 2019 from award winning director Jalil Lespert. He lives in New York City.

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Moderator Hayley McKenzie
CEO/Founder, Script Angel

Script Angel provides professional talent development programmes for screenwriters. McKenzie has established the company as a leading player in the discovery, training and development of writing talent across the world. Formerly a development executive at ITV Studios Drama, McKenzie has over twenty years of script development experience in feature films and television drama, including for BBC, IT... read more

Script Angel provides professional talent development programmes for screenwriters. McKenzie has established the company as a leading player in the discovery, training and development of writing talent across the world.

Formerly a development executive at ITV Studios Drama, McKenzie has over twenty years of script development experience in feature films and television drama, including for BBC, ITV and Channel Four.

Script Angel coaches writers independently and has delivered tailored writer development training in partnership with, among others, Channel 4 Television, On Screen Manitoba and Manitoba Film and Music, Creative Europe Media Programme, the Cannes, Zagreb and Raindance film festivals, Morena Films, Women in Film & Television UK, the Society of Authors and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain. Script Angel is also a partner on the C21 Drama Series Script Competition.

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Alastair McKinnon
Managing director, Matchbox Pictures

Matchbox Pictures is the multi-award winning Australian production company responsible for a diverse slate of programming, including acclaimed dramas Seven Types of Ambiguity, Safe Harbour, Glitch, Wanted, Secret City and the upcoming Stateless. Matchbox Pictures is owned by NBCUniversal International Studios. Prior to this, McKinnon was the head of content investment and planning at the Australia... read more

Matchbox Pictures is the multi-award winning Australian production company responsible for a diverse slate of programming, including acclaimed dramas Seven Types of Ambiguity, Safe Harbour, Glitch, Wanted, Secret City and the upcoming Stateless. Matchbox Pictures is owned by NBCUniversal International Studios.

Prior to this, McKinnon was the head of content investment and planning at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) where he was responsible for overseeing content production, business and planning activities across all genres and platforms for ABC’s entertainment and specialist division. Whilst at the ABC, McKinnon also served as the deputy head of production for ABC TV, executive producing popular drama Harrow, starring Ioan Gruffudd and the supernatural drama Glitch. McKinnon also oversaw production on the TV version of Indigenous thriller, Mystery Road.

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Julie McNamara
EVP of original content , CBS All Access

In her position, McNamara oversees all current and future original series for the CBS All Access subscription service. CBS All Access first expanded into providing subscribers with exclusive original programming in 2017 with the new edition of The Good Wife, titled The Good Fight, Star Trek: Discovery and No Activity. CBS All Access also launched the period drama Strange Angel in the summer of 201... read more

In her position, McNamara oversees all current and future original series for the CBS All Access subscription service. CBS All Access first expanded into providing subscribers with exclusive original programming in 2017 with the new edition of The Good Wife, titled The Good Fight, Star Trek: Discovery and No Activity. CBS All Access also launched the period drama Strange Angel in the summer of 2018, and Kevin Williamson’s Tell Me a Story, a dark, modern twist on fairy tales, in the fall. Upcoming series include the reimagining of The Twilight Zone from Jordan Peele and Simon Kinberg, Why Women Kill from Marc Cherry, true-crime series Interrogation, and a new Star Trek series based on Jean-Luc Picard, with additional programming to be announced.

McNamara joined CBS All Access after spending 10 years at CBS Television Studios, most recently as executive vice president, drama development, overseeing development for all primetime drama series for broadcast television. In that role, McNamara shepherded The Good Wife, Elementary, Scorpion, Jane the Virgin, Hawaii Five-0, Blue Bloods, Madam Secretary, Under the Dome and NCIS: Los Angeles, among others. Prior to that, she served as vice president, drama development, at ABC Network, where she developed Alias, Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy.

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Richie Mehta
Writer and director,

Mehta’s first feature film, Amal (2007), starred Naseeruddin Shah, Roshan Seth, and Seema Biswas. The film won over 30 international awards, was nominated for 6 Genie awards, including Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay, and was named one of the top ten Canadian films of the decade by Playback Magazine. He then wrote and directed I’ll Follow You Down (2013), a science-fiction... read more

Mehta’s first feature film, Amal (2007), starred Naseeruddin Shah, Roshan Seth, and Seema Biswas. The film won over 30 international awards, was nominated for 6 Genie awards, including Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay, and was named one of the top ten Canadian films of the decade by Playback Magazine. He then wrote and directed I’ll Follow You Down (2013), a science-fiction drama starring Gillian Anderson, Rufus Sewell, and Victor Garber, and Siddharth (2013), a Hindi-language film starring Rajesh Tailang and Tannishtha Chatterjee, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Siddharth received over 25 International Awards, and was shortlisted for best foreign language film at the 2015 Golden Globe Awards. Mehta then directed the Google-produced feature documentary India In A Day, tracking a day in the life of India, and produced by Ridley Scott. Mehta recently created, wrote, and directed the 7-part Netflix series Delhi Crime, revolving around the Delhi Police’s investigation of the infamous gang-rape of a young medical student on a bus in 2012. The series has garnered widespread critical acclaim, and has been commissioned for another season.

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Jakob Mejlhede Andersen
CEO, NENT Studios UK

Mejlhede Andersen was appointed CEO of NENT Studios UK on 1 October 2019. He is responsible for setting up and building NENT Studios UK into a leading European integrated content studio with a focus on storytelling excellence and high-end productions. Mejlhede Andersen was previously EVP and Viaplay Chief Content Officer at NENT Group with responsibility for content acquisition, programming and de... read more

Mejlhede Andersen was appointed CEO of NENT Studios UK on 1 October 2019. He is responsible for setting up and building NENT Studios UK into a leading European integrated content studio with a focus on storytelling excellence and high-end productions. Mejlhede Andersen was previously EVP and Viaplay Chief Content Officer at NENT Group with responsibility for content acquisition, programming and development. Before that Mejlhede Andersen served as EVP, group head of programming and content development at MTG from March 2015. He joined MTG in 2005 and became SVP of acquisitions & programming in 2009. Mejlhede Andersen previously worked as programme director for SBS TV in Denmark and as EP for TV2 Denmark. Mejlhede Andersen has a journalism degree from the Danish School of Media and Journalism. He is a member of both the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and BAFTA Los Angeles.

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David Michel
Founder and president, Cottonwood Media and co- founder, Federation Entertainment

Established in 2014, Cottonwood Media (co-founded by David Michel, Zoé Carrera Allaix & Cécile Lauritano) creates, produces and invests in premium, talent-driven animation and live action content. Based in Paris, with offices in Los Angeles, Toronto and Berlin, Cottonwood Media currently has four series (including the hit tween drama series Find Me in Paris) and one animation feature film ... read more

Established in 2014, Cottonwood Media (co-founded by David Michel, Zoé Carrera Allaix & Cécile Lauritano) creates, produces and invests in premium, talent-driven animation and live action content. Based in Paris, with offices in Los Angeles, Toronto and Berlin, Cottonwood Media currently has four series (including the hit tween drama series Find Me in Paris) and one animation feature film (Around the World in 80 Days, distributed by Studio Canal) in production. The company’s distribution is handled by Federation Kids & Family, a division of Federation Entertainment also headed by David Michel, which distributes original content as well as third party acquisitions. Prior to Cottonwood, David co-founded Marathon Media (in 2001), which rapidly became one of the top producers of animated programming with hits such as Totally Spies.

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Kelly Miller
VP of International Strategy, Endeavor Content

At Endeavor Content, Miller is leading local language efforts to supercharge foreign language productions around the globe to supply to the streaming players. Endeavor Content currently has in production Damien Chazelle’s eight-part musical drama The Eddy for Netflix, featuring dialogue in French, English and Arabic, and will begin production next year on Japan-set Tokyo Vice starring Ansel Elg... read more

At Endeavor Content, Miller is leading local language efforts to supercharge foreign language productions around the globe to supply to the streaming players. Endeavor Content currently has in production Damien Chazelle’s eight-part musical drama The Eddy for Netflix, featuring dialogue in French, English and Arabic, and will begin production next year on Japan-set Tokyo Vice starring Ansel Elgort and is based on Jake Adelstein’s non-fiction first-hand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat. Miller recently developed a partnership in Latin America and Spain with leading film and TV studio Exile (El Chapo) focusing on Spanish language efforts.
Prior to Endeavor Content, Miller lead international co-productions and originals for Vimeo and was part of the content acquisitions team at Hulu, working across premium licensing from major US network and studio partners as well as leading international programming efforts. At Hulu, she was instrumental in developing content strategy and key acquisitions including iconic network hits such as This is Us, Empire, Power, and Homeland as well as the FX output deal, in addition to Peabody award winning Deutschland 83 and National Treasure from Jack Thorne.

Prior to Hulu, Miller worked in the comedy department at 21st Century FOX Television Studio, where she was part of the team that developed broadcast TV hits New Girl, Last Man Standing and Don’t Trust the B**ch in Apartment 23.
She began her career at ICM talent agency, working in both the television literary and feature talent departments.

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Courteney Monroe
President, National Geographic Global Television Network

Monroe oversees global programming, operations and marketing for the portfolio of National Geographic channels around the world, which includes National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo People and Nat Geo MUNDO. Monroe is also responsible for all operations, including the development and production of branded content, of National Geographic Studios, the in-house television production unit. Collab... read more

Monroe oversees global programming, operations and marketing for the portfolio of National Geographic channels around the world, which includes National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo People and Nat Geo MUNDO. Monroe is also responsible for all operations, including the development and production of branded content, of National Geographic Studios, the in-house television production unit. Collaborating with A-level creative talent, Monroe works to harness the power and reach of the National Geographic brand to position National Geographic channels as the world’s premium science, adventure and exploration networks. Since 2017, Monroe has launched four of the most viewed series in network history, including One Strange Rock from the visionary Darren Aronofsky, which was viewed by 81 million people globally, and The Hot Zone, which became Nat Geo’s most watched scripted series to date. Under her leadership, the network has garnered more critical acclaim and awards recognition than ever before. For the 2019 Emmys, National Geographic received 15 nominations, including nods for critically acclaimed documentary film Free Solo and for the unscripted series Hostile Planet and Life Below Zero – the third year in a row it has been among the top 12 outlets nominated. Currently, Monroe serves on the board of Makers, a partnership program for the advancement of female leadership in the workplace, and she has been appointed to the advisory board for the Peabody Awards.

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Adam Morane-Griffiths
Executive producer, Wildcard Films

Wildcard Films is a production company Morane-Griffiths co-founded with Joe Hill and Adam Wimpenny. Morane-Griffiths has produced film, TV and theatre. He began his film career as a script-reader for Intermedia Films in 2000, and then spent several years in production and development at Working Title and DNA Films, where he worked with Eric Fellner, Lindsay Doran, Duncan Kenworthy and Emma Thompso... read more

Wildcard Films is a production company Morane-Griffiths co-founded with Joe Hill and Adam Wimpenny. Morane-Griffiths has produced film, TV and theatre. He began his film career as a script-reader for Intermedia Films in 2000, and then spent several years in production and development at Working Title and DNA Films, where he worked with Eric Fellner, Lindsay Doran, Duncan Kenworthy and Emma Thompson; and on the feature films Wimbledon, Nanny McPhee and the Oscar-winning Iris.

Morane-Griffiths completed the UK Film Council’s producer training scheme in 2007 and then produced the multi award-winning film ROAR and the feature film Blackwood (London Film Festival 2014). Morane-Griffiths wrote and produced the comedy drama Behold The Monkey for Sky and The Investigator series for ITV/Netflix (2016-18.) He produced the feature film In Darkness in 2018 with 42mp and Madonna & Basquait with Sarah Solemani for Sky in 2019. Morane-Griffiths’ theatre credits include the sell-out West End shows The Leisure Society (with Agyness Deyn in her stage debut), I Found My Horn, and Out There On Fried Meat Ridge Road, all in Trafalgar Studios. Tricycle Media recently announced it had taken a minority stake in Wildcard Films.

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Nicole Morganti
Head of unscripted Italian originals, Amazon Studios

Morganti oversees the development and production of non-scripted Amazon Originals in Italy, including shows like Celebrity Hunted – Caccia all’uomo. She joined Amazon in February 2019 from Discovery Italia where she was VP talent and productions, overseeing talent management, content development and original productions for 4 free to air channels (Real Time, Nove, Dmax, Food Network) working o... read more

Morganti oversees the development and production of non-scripted Amazon Originals in Italy, including shows like Celebrity Hunted – Caccia all’uomo. She joined Amazon in February 2019 from Discovery Italia where she was VP talent and productions, overseeing talent management, content development and original productions for 4 free to air channels (Real Time, Nove, Dmax, Food Network) working on a range of projects including Bake off Italia, First Dates, Kitchen Nightmares, Ninja Warriors and Top Chef.

Previously, Morganti has worked for 6 years for Sky Italia, supporting the launch of entertainment channels and premium content as a commissioning editor on shows including X Factor, Italia’s Next top model and Masterchef. Before Sky, Morganti was an executive producer at MTV Italia producing music live events and live music shows such as TRL, Supersonic and helping in the start up and launch of Mtv Spain and Portugal in South Europe.

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Nathalie Morley
Chief content officer, TRACE Global

After a head start in music videos, Morley helped creating FashionTV and operated as chief creative officer worldwide for 12 years. She then joined the TRACE group 8 years ago, first as a consultant and a producer and then as chief content officer. In charge of all acquisitions and original productions for all the TRACE TV medias – 21 paid TV channels, 4 FM radio stations, over 30 digital ... read more

After a head start in music videos, Morley helped creating FashionTV and operated as chief creative officer worldwide for 12 years. She then joined the TRACE group 8 years ago, first as a consultant and a producer and then as chief content officer.

In charge of all acquisitions and original productions for all the TRACE TV medias – 21 paid TV channels, 4 FM radio stations, over 30 digital and mobile services –spearheads the creation of exclusive afro-urban entertainment, music, sport, culture, fashion and art, producing and commissioning over 300 fresh HD hours of exclusive original urban entertainment content focused on series, documentaries, TV shows and concerts, reaching 59M paid subscribers and 200M viewers, listeners and mobile users in 160 countries. Already the leading youth media brand in Sub-Saharan Africa and the signature afro-urban media brand in France, the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean, TRACE has recently acquired 4 channels in the UK.

Recently, Morley has also developed personal ventures, working with international companies and a network of independent producers and creators in Africa, France and the UK as writer and producer but keeps operating at the same time as head of acquisitions and originals for TRACE.

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Claire Mundell
Managing director and creative director, Synchronicity Films Ltd

Mundell is a BAFTA and RTS award-winning screen executive and managing director/creative director of Synchronicity Films. Synchronicity has an active slate of high-end international TV projects including a scripted adaptation of Hanif Kureishi’s The Body and a series based on the global hit and Sunday Times / New York Times bestseller The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Mundell exec-produced the BAFTA a... read more

Mundell is a BAFTA and RTS award-winning screen executive and managing director/creative director of Synchronicity Films. Synchronicity has an active slate of high-end international TV projects including a scripted adaptation of Hanif Kureishi’s The Body and a series based on the global hit and Sunday Times / New York Times bestseller The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Mundell exec-produced the BAFTA and International Emmy nominated BBC One series, The Cry, a psychological thriller starring Jenna Coleman, adapted from Helen FitzGerald’s novel by Jacquelin Perske, which debuted to critical acclaim and a UK overnight audience of 7.3m.

Credits include; Karen Gillan’s directorial debut, The Party’s Just Beginning; modern-day love story Only You starring Laia Costa and Josh O’Connor, written and directed by Harry Wootliff, produced in collaboration with The Bureau; double BIFA-winning, Weekend, written and directed by Andrew Haigh; Not Another Happy Ending starring Karen Gillan; and 2009 BAFTA award winning Crying With Laughter, written and directed by Justin Molotnikov.

Prior to establishing Synchronicity Claire spent over 10 years at the BBC as both Head of CBBC Scotland and an executive producer in BBC Drama. Claire is a former BAFTA Scotland Chair and Council Member / Board Director of PACT.

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Jamie Mustard
Author, The Iconist

Mustard is an expert on standing out and making something endure. He is a leading authority on brand, art, design, and media perception in the physical world and the economics of attention. Steeped in the worlds of technology, product engagement, and the creative arts, Mustard consults with leading companies, CEO’s, creative artists, public servants, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders, getting t... read more

Mustard is an expert on standing out and making something endure. He is a leading authority on brand, art, design, and media perception in the physical world and the economics of attention. Steeped in the worlds of technology, product engagement, and the creative arts, Mustard consults with leading companies, CEO’s, creative artists, public servants, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders, getting their messages, products, brands, and ideas to stand out to their desired audiences. An avid consumer of popular culture and a graduate of the London School of Economics with a degree in economics and economic history, Mustard has almost two decades of experience in technological and industrial public relations both nationally and abroad. He has expertise in strategic messaging, demand generation, product development, creative production, story and branding, and has consulted for Intel, Cisco, Symantec, and Adidas, to name but a few. As a creative artist, Mustard has worked in music, fine art, and documentary film production. His work has screened at the Lincoln Center in New York City, and Kevin Turan of the Los Angeles Times called the film he produced, Showbiz is My Life, Beguiling. With the publication of his first book, The Iconist: The Art and Science of Standing Out, Mustard’s work is an explanation of what causes something to draw and hold attention based on the primal laws of human perception called Blocks. He has spoken, educated, and inspired others with his work prolifically, including Ted at the creative giant, Wieden + Kennedy. He is currently working on a large-format art exhibition and an experimental opera album—both using his signature—the primal laws of Blocks.

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Moderator Jamie Mustard
Author, The Iconist

Mustard is an expert on standing out and making something endure. He is a leading authority on brand, art, design, and media perception in the physical world and the economics of attention. Steeped in the worlds of technology, product engagement, and the creative arts, Mustard consults with leading companies, CEO’s, creative artists, public servants, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders, getting t... read more

Mustard is an expert on standing out and making something endure. He is a leading authority on brand, art, design, and media perception in the physical world and the economics of attention. Steeped in the worlds of technology, product engagement, and the creative arts, Mustard consults with leading companies, CEO’s, creative artists, public servants, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders, getting their messages, products, brands, and ideas to stand out to their desired audiences. An avid consumer of popular culture and a graduate of the London School of Economics with a degree in economics and economic history, Mustard has almost two decades of experience in technological and industrial public relations both nationally and abroad. He has expertise in strategic messaging, demand generation, product development, creative production, story and branding, and has consulted for Intel, Cisco, Symantec, and Adidas, to name but a few. As a creative artist, Mustard has worked in music, fine art, and documentary film production. His work has screened at the Lincoln Center in New York City, and Kevin Turan of the Los Angeles Times called the film he produced, Showbiz is My Life, Beguiling. With the publication of his first book, The Iconist: The Art and Science of Standing Out, Mustard’s work is an explanation of what causes something to draw and hold attention based on the primal laws of human perception called Blocks. He has spoken, educated, and inspired others with his work prolifically, including Ted at the creative giant, Wieden + Kennedy. He is currently working on a large-format art exhibition and an experimental opera album—both using his signature—the primal laws of Blocks.

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Karen-Lise Mynster
Actor, When the Dust Settles

Mynster graduated as an actor from The Danish National School of Performing Arts and Aalborg Theatre in 1975. Since her breakthrough role as Eliza in ’My Fair Lady’ in 1978 at the Royal Danish Theatre, she has appeared on almost every Danish theatre scene, playing the title roles in Medea and Hedda Gabler as well as queen Gertrud in Hamlet. In addition to the theatre, Mynster is also we... read more

Mynster graduated as an actor from The Danish National School of Performing Arts and Aalborg Theatre in 1975. Since her breakthrough role as Eliza in ’My Fair Lady’ in 1978 at the Royal Danish Theatre, she has appeared on almost every Danish theatre scene, playing the title roles in Medea and Hedda Gabler as well as queen Gertrud in Hamlet. In addition to the theatre, Mynster is also well known for her roles for her film and tv roles in Matador and Krummerne. Mynster has received numerous awards and merit awards for her work and for her cultural impact in Denmark for the past 40 years. Mynster plays Elisabeth, the minister of justice, in When the Dust Settles. 

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Thomas Münzner
Director content acquisition, Joyn

Münzner was one of the starting 6 to kick off Germanys new VoD platform from P7S1 and Discovery back in March 2018. He acquired the first original productions at Joyn and is responsible for Joyn’s new European series strategy. Before Joyn he worked in acquisition and licensing at Maxdome when the first German original production Jerks got launched on Maxdome in times when Netflix and Amazo... read more

Münzner was one of the starting 6 to kick off Germanys new VoD platform from P7S1 and Discovery back in March 2018. He acquired the first original productions at Joyn and is responsible for Joyn’s new European series strategy.

Before Joyn he worked in acquisition and licensing at Maxdome when the first German original production Jerks got launched on Maxdome in times when Netflix and Amazon Prime invested strongly in content for the German territory. Münzner started his career at Maker Studios Inc., the former Content Network of Disney by distributing young audience video content to a variety of platform partners.

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Gareth Neame
CEO, Carnival Films

Neame is a BAFTA, Emmy and Golden Globe award winning TV producer and executive. He has been CEO of Carnival Films since 2004 and responsible for many popular shows, most notably the global TV phenomenon Downton Abbey, winner of three Golden Globes and fifteen Primetime Emmys.  With a total of 69 nominations Downton is the most nominated non-US show in Emmy history and the UK’s most successful ... read more

Neame is a BAFTA, Emmy and Golden Globe award winning TV producer and executive. He has been CEO of Carnival Films since 2004 and responsible for many popular shows, most notably the global TV phenomenon Downton Abbey, winner of three Golden Globes and fifteen Primetime Emmys.  With a total of 69 nominations Downton is the most nominated non-US show in Emmy history and the UK’s most successful scripted export. In a career spanning 30 years Neame has been behind numerous award winning and highly acclaimed shows such as Spooks, State of Play, Jamestown, The Last Kingdom, Page Eight and The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies.  In 2014 Neame was announced by 10 Downing Street as an Ambassador of the Great Britain campaign and was appointed OBE in the Queen’s 90th birthday honours list. He has been listed in the Variety 500 index of most influential business leaders in the global entertainment industry.

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Jonathan Norman
Partner, Stella EOC

Norman has lived and worked extensively in both the US and Europe. Over his 25-year career he has advised a variety of public and private companies, financial institutions and family offices on a range of transactions in the US, Europe and Asia. Norman started his career at JP Morgan (1994-1999) in New York and Los Angeles before returning to the UK as a founding member of LongAcre Partners (2000)... read more

Norman has lived and worked extensively in both the US and Europe. Over his 25-year career he has advised a variety of public and private companies, financial institutions and family offices on a range of transactions in the US, Europe and Asia.

Norman started his career at JP Morgan (1994-1999) in New York and Los Angeles before returning to the UK as a founding member of LongAcre Partners (2000), a leading European digital media corporate finance advisory boutique. LongAcre sold to Jefferies in 2007 where Norman was a MD in the global media and internet team.

Norman left Jefferies in 2011 and joined Stella EOC, helping to scale the company from a team of 8 to c 50 today, covering Media & Tech Advisory, principal investment and wealth management.

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Alison Norrington
Founder, creative director and storyteller, Storycentral

Norrington is a best-selling novelist, playwright and journalist, and a PhD researcher with a masters in creative writing and new media. She is conference chair for StoryWorld Conference LA, EPr of virtual reality sessions for CMC and a two-time TEDx speaker. She is a BAFTA Guru and member of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, The Writers Guild of Great Britain and Women in... read more

Norrington is a best-selling novelist, playwright and journalist, and a PhD researcher with a masters in creative writing and new media. She is conference chair for StoryWorld Conference LA, EPr of virtual reality sessions for CMC and a two-time TEDx speaker. She is a BAFTA Guru and member of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, The Writers Guild of Great Britain and Women in Film & TV.

She is founder and chief creative director of storycentral, a London-based entertainment studio that incubates and develops ground-breaking transmedia properties with global partners in film, television, animation, publishing, advertising, branding, theme parks, Virtual Reality and gaming.

As CEO/CCO of storycentral, Norrington has worked on a range of intellectual properties that are founded on robust story worlds with strong core themes and have genuine and relevant touch points across a host of media channels. She specialises in storytelling that amplifies fan incubation and engagement, experience design, extending IP and franchises, community build through story and storyworld strategy, incubation and development – all centred around a strong robust core of story architecture, theme, awareness of audience and experience design.

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Jeff Norton
Executive producer and founder, Awesome Media & Entertainment

Norton is an award-winning author, writer-producer, and the founder of Awesome, a UK based IP and production company backed by Kew Media Group and Tricycle Media. Norton’s debut novel, MetaWars: Fight For The Future (Hachette), is a high-tech thriller about the fight for the internet that has spurred three sequels. His next novel is Looking Glass, a Victorian-era revenge thriller about the searc... read more

Norton is an award-winning author, writer-producer, and the founder of Awesome, a UK based IP and production company backed by Kew Media Group and Tricycle Media. Norton’s debut novel, MetaWars: Fight For The Future (Hachette), is a high-tech thriller about the fight for the internet that has spurred three sequels. His next novel is Looking Glass, a Victorian-era revenge thriller about the search for a kidnapped girl in London’s seedy underworld. Norton optioned the rights to Susan Hill’s The Small Hand: A Ghost Story and is presently serving as executive producer, in a co-production between Awesome and Two Rivers Media for Channel 5 and Kew Media. Awesome is also co-developing family drama Eternal with Fiction Factory Films and the four-quadrant fantasy Knights of Panterra with OmniFilm / The Jim Henson Company, based on Norton’s latest novel.

Previously, Norton was SVP of Chorion Ltd., which managed the literary estates of Enid Blyton, Agatha Christie, and where he acquired and developed new intellectual property, including the The Octonauts. Norton also developed and executive produced 80 episodes of pre-school animation called Trucktown (based on the NYT best-selling books) with Nelvana. Norton is a graduate of Queen’s University and Harvard Business School.

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Emma Norton
Producer, Element Pictures

Norton became an in house producer at Element Pictures in 2017 when she produced the feature film ROSIE, starring Sarah Greene, directed by Paddy Breathnach and written by Roddy Doyle in 2018. She is currently executive producing Normal People (12×30′) mins series for BBC, HULU and RTE directed by Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie MacDonald, and was one of the producers on The Souvenir Part 2... read more

Norton became an in house producer at Element Pictures in 2017 when she produced the feature film ROSIE, starring Sarah Greene, directed by Paddy Breathnach and written by Roddy Doyle in 2018. She is currently executive producing Normal People (12×30′) mins series for BBC, HULU and RTE directed by Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie MacDonald, and was one of the producers on The Souvenir Part 2 (BBC/BFI) directed by Joanna Hogg, which is in post-production.

Norton joined Element in 2008 as development executive and was promoted to head of development in 2011. Norton has enjoyed 11 brilliant years working across all of Element’s projects from What Richard Did to Room to The Favourite. In 2014, Norton worked as an executive producer on A Date For Mad Mary and has since transitioned into producing in order to follow a select number of projects through to completion.

Before joining Element, Norton worked at Film4 and prior to that was a freelance script reader for a range of UK production companies and theatres, including Kudos, Scott Free, the BFI and the Soho Theatre. Emma has a degree in English Literature from University College London.

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Laurie Nunn
Creator and showrunner, Sex Education

Nunn is a writer of film, television and theatre. She was born in London and grew up in Victoria, Australia. She studied writing and directing at the VCA school of Film and TV in Melbourne, and then completed an MA in screenwriting at the National Film and Television School in the UK. Since graduating in 2012, Nunn has developed original projects with Eleven Film/Channel 4, Kudos Film and Televis... read more

Nunn is a writer of film, television and theatre. She was born in London and grew up in Victoria, Australia. She studied writing and directing at the VCA school of Film and TV in Melbourne, and then completed an MA in screenwriting at the National Film and Television School in the UK.

Since graduating in 2012, Nunn has developed original projects with Eleven Film/Channel 4, Kudos Film and Television, Wigwam Films and Revolution Films. Nunn’s first play King Brown was workshopped at the National Theatre Studio and went on to win a Judges award at the 2017 Bruntwood Prize. The first series of her original dramedy series Sex Education is currently streaming on Netflix. The series stars Gillian Anderson and Asa Butterfield and is in pre-production for series two. Laurie is represented by Jennie Miller at Independent Talent Group

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Katie O’Connell Marsh
Founder and chairman, Platform One Media

O’Connell Marsh is founder and chairman of Platform One Media. Since launching in 2017, the studio is in production on three projects: a 10-episode sci-fi series created and co-written by Simon Kinberg and David Weil for Apple; a series for Showtime entitled Rust starring Jeff Daniels and created by Oscar-nominated writer Dan Futterman; and a pilot Rita for Showtime starring Game of Thrones act... read more

O’Connell Marsh is founder and chairman of Platform One Media. Since launching in 2017, the studio is in production on three projects: a 10-episode sci-fi series created and co-written by Simon Kinberg and David Weil for Apple; a series for Showtime entitled Rust starring Jeff Daniels and created by Oscar-nominated writer Dan Futterman; and a pilot Rita for Showtime starring Game of Thrones actress Lena Headey and created by Christian Torpe. The company has additional projects set up at Amazon, Netflix, and Freeform.

Platform One Media has secured first-look deals with Laura Dern’s Jaywalker Pictures and Simon Mirren/David Wolstencroft’s Atlantic Nomad. The company is also working with Misha Green, Jennifer Fox, Laurence Fishburne, Zak Penn, Tate Taylor, Scott Derrickson, Steven Soderbergh, Andrew Lazar, Akiva Goldsman, Josh Gad and others.

Prior to Platform One Media, O’Connell Marsh was CEO at Gaumont Television responsible for launching the studio operation where she developed/produced the Golden Globe-nominated series Narcos, as well as Hannibal, Hemlock Grove, and F is For Family. O’Connell Marsh also served as EVP, Drama Programming for NBC.

In 2015, O’Connell Marsh was recognized in Variety’s Women’s Impact Report, and in 2014, she was recognized in The Hollywood Reporter’s Top 100 Power Women in Entertainment.

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Lucas Ochoa
Chief creative officer of scripted film and television, Pulse Films

In his role, Ochoa is the creative driver of the division, producing and developing the scripted slate of films and TV shows, as well as show running. Prior to his promotion to CCO, Lucas Ochoa was the managing director of the division. Ochoa has developed and produced Pulse Films’ scripted film and TV projects such as Gangs of London created by Gareth Evans (The Raid) for Sky Atlantic & HB... read more

In his role, Ochoa is the creative driver of the division, producing and developing the scripted slate of films and TV shows, as well as show running. Prior to his promotion to CCO, Lucas Ochoa was the managing director of the division.
Ochoa has developed and produced Pulse Films’ scripted film and TV projects such as Gangs of London created by Gareth Evans (The Raid) for Sky Atlantic & HBO’s Cinemax and the forthcoming Atomic Bazaar created by Gregory Burke (’71, ENTEBBE). Ochoa’s film credits also include: Cannes Jury Prize winner American Honey directed by Andrea Arnold, the Emmy winning Trophy, BAFTA nominated 20,000 Days On Earth with Nick Cave and the seminal Shut Up And Play The Hits (Sundance 2012).

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Jill Offman
EVP, Comedy Central and Paramount Network International, and managing director, Viacom International Studios UK

Offman is executive vice president of Comedy Central and Paramount Network International and managing director of Viacom International Studios UK (VIS UK). As Viacom expands its international production footprint to the UK, Offman leads VIS UK as Managing Director, covering all English-speaking markets. In this role, Offman is at the helm of Viacom’s London-based production house and production ... read more

Offman is executive vice president of Comedy Central and Paramount Network International and managing director of Viacom International Studios UK (VIS UK). As Viacom expands its international production footprint to the UK, Offman leads VIS UK as Managing Director, covering all English-speaking markets. In this role, Offman is at the helm of Viacom’s London-based production house and production office, both of which are focused on securing English-language commissions from third party broadcasters and distributors based in the UK.

As EVP of Comedy Central International, Offman is responsible for overseeing content and brand strategy for channels in nearly 150 countries outside the US. Under Offman’s leadership, Comedy Central International commissioned and executive produced the Rose d’Or winning scripted comedy Threesome, as well as Brotherhood starring Johnny Flynn, Ben Ashenden, Gemma Chan, and Ellie Taylor.

Since 2017, Offman has overseen Paramount Network International, Viacom’s fastest growing international flagship brand, growing distribution +25%. By focusing on quality programming across all platforms, Paramount’s umbrella has expanded to include the VoD service Paramount+.

Prior to joining Viacom, Offman served as SVP of Discovery Channel in the UK. Prior to this, she worked as a journalist and filmmaker for CBC Television in Canada.

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Charles Ohayon
International distribution and executive producer, Productions casablanca

Ohayon has worked in the television, advertising and film industries since 1979. From 1994 to 1998, he was program director at Radio-Canada, where he was responsible for all programming sectors with the exception of news and current affairs. He then provided consulting services in film and television production, in addition to handling distribution and sales at Productions Casablanca. He was Chai... read more

Ohayon has worked in the television, advertising and film industries since 1979. From 1994 to 1998, he was program director at Radio-Canada, where he was responsible for all programming sectors with the exception of news and current affairs. He then provided consulting services in film and television production, in addition to handling distribution and sales at Productions Casablanca.

He was Chairman of the APFTQ (Producers Association), sat on the board of directors of the Canadian Television Fund, was the chair of the Quebec board of directors of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television from 2006 to 2012 and for the last 11 years till 2018 Chairman of the board of directors of the Independent Production Fund.

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Adesua Okosun
director and producer, Black Verse Studios

Okosun is a Nigeria American film director and producer, developing a world-class reputation for thought provoking storytelling. Okosun specialises in creating deeply moving projects that push the boundaries of everyday stories within African communities. She will make her directional debut with the Other Side, a series based on years of research gathered through her travels all over the African c... read more

Okosun is a Nigeria American film director and producer, developing a world-class reputation for thought provoking storytelling. Okosun specialises in creating deeply moving projects that push the boundaries of everyday stories within African communities.

She will make her directional debut with the Other Side, a series based on years of research gathered through her travels all over the African continent. The mesmerizing series, tastefully brings to light some of the most controversial topics avoided within traditional African media and humanises its characters in a light that any viewer will create a connection.

Okosun is the co-founder of Blackverse Studios, a film and creative production company that challenges the established and celebrates the uncommon stories. To date, Blackverse Studios has worked on projects in a growing list of countries such as; Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Kenya, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Cuba, Thailand, Germany, the US. Headquartered in Lagos Nigeria, Blackverse is establishing itself as an authority in global media and as a gateway for showcasing the best of the continent.

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Roye Okupe
Writer, director and founder, YouNeek Studios

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Okupe is an award-winning filmmaker, author, speaker and entrepreneur whose passion for comics and animation led him to found YouNeek Studios in 2012, an avenue that would allow him to pursue his dream of creating a diverse library of superheroes. Under that umbrella, Okupe wrote, produced and directed several animated productions including, but not limited to, the award-wi... read more

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Okupe is an award-winning filmmaker, author, speaker and entrepreneur whose passion for comics and animation led him to found YouNeek Studios in 2012, an avenue that would allow him to pursue his dream of creating a diverse library of superheroes. Under that umbrella, Okupe wrote, produced and directed several animated productions including, but not limited to, the award-winning and critically acclaim Malika – Warrior Queen Animated Short. These productions have allowed Okupe to attain many prestigious recognitions such as being number 5 on Ventures Africa’s list of 40 African innovators to watch (2016) as well as being part of New African Magazines’ 100 most influential Africans two years in a row (2016 & 2017).

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Moderator Mark Oliver
Chairman, Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates (O&O)

Oliver is chairman of boutique strategy advisory company Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates (O&O). He was the BBC’s first head of strategy and its youngest ever member of senior management. After leaving the BBC in 1995, he set up O&O, which advises major companies, investors, regulators, sports bodies and governments across the global media, entertainment and sports sectors. Clients past a... read more

Oliver is chairman of boutique strategy advisory company Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates (O&O). He was the BBC’s first head of strategy and its youngest ever member of senior management. After leaving the BBC in 1995, he set up O&O, which advises major companies, investors, regulators, sports bodies and governments across the global media, entertainment and sports sectors.
Clients past and present include the English Premier League, UEFA, Liberty Global, Sky, BT, Google, Spotify, Discovery, NBCUniversal, Creative Artists Agency, the Music Publishers Association, KKR, Providence, CVC, BeIN, RTL, ProsiebenSat.1, AMC Networks, Endemol Shine Group, Disney, Fox.
Oliver has taken a leading role in introducing innovative new approaches and business models to a number of sectors – sports rights exploitation, multichannel TV, web news, independent TV production, sports ownership, high end scripted content funding, addressable advertising, music streaming, SVoD etc.
Before joining the BBC, Oliver worked as a regulatory and antitrust economist at NERA and then PwC. He has a BA in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University and lives in Somerset and London in the UK.

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Moderator Enyi Omeruah
Founder, My Management Company (MMC)

Omeruah owns a talent management agency in Nigeria. My Management Company (MMC) is a boutique agency that represents music, film and tv talent. Omeruah received his BSc in Accounting from Delaware State University in 1996. He went on to work as a mutual fund accountant for 7 years. During his professional career, Enyi also gained his MBA, Widener University in Pennsylvania, USA. Omeruah has a wid... read more

Omeruah owns a talent management agency in Nigeria. My Management Company (MMC) is a boutique agency that represents music, film and tv talent. Omeruah received his BSc in Accounting from Delaware State University in 1996. He went on to work as a mutual fund accountant for 7 years. During his professional career, Enyi also gained his MBA, Widener University in Pennsylvania, USA.

Omeruah has a wide experience base in sectors that include, finance, accounting, agriculture and media. Some of his key achievements so far has been the ability to raise financing to produce film and tv projects in the budding Nigerian Entertainment industry. Omeruah is one of the founding partners of Africa First Content Fund. A privately held film and television development fund, currently in the process of raising 2 million dollars from local and international investors to develop African intellectual property for a global audience

Omeruah is an avid watcher of television, a voracious consumer of NPR podcasts and a budding marathon runner.

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Howard Owens
Co-founder and co-CEO, Propagate Content

Owens is the Co-founder and co-CEO of Propagate Content, one of the world’s fastest-growing independent content creation and distribution companies. Propagate’s series include Chopped for Food Network, Running Wild With Bear Grylls for National Geographic, Jane the Virgin and Charmed for The CW, Adam Ruins Everything for truTV, Kings of Pain for History and Haunted for Netflix. Upcoming titles... read more

Owens is the Co-founder and co-CEO of Propagate Content, one of the world’s fastest-growing independent content creation and distribution companies. Propagate’s series include Chopped for Food Network, Running Wild With Bear Grylls for National Geographic, Jane the Virgin and Charmed for The CW, Adam Ruins Everything for truTV, Kings of Pain for History and Haunted for Netflix. Upcoming titles include the scripted comedy series Best Intentions for PopTV and unscripted series Prank Encounters, hosted by Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo for Netflix. Propagate’s expanding portfolio of companies includes Electus, Big Breakfast, Notional, Incognito, and talent management firms Artists First and Authentic Talent & Literary Management.

Owens previously served as president of National Geographic Channels (NGC), where he oversaw all aspects of corporate strategy and was responsible for unscripted series including Wicked Tuna, Brain Games and Life Below Zero, and introduced scripted programming including Killing Lincoln, the Emmy®-nominated Killing Kennedy and Killing Jesus.

Prior to NGC, Owens was co-founding partner of Reveille, where his production credits included Nashville Star, The Biggest Loser, MasterChef and American Gladiators. He began his entertainment career as an agent at the William Morris Agency.

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Sofie Palage
Producer, Warner Bros ITVP Sweden

Palage is currently in production with two seasons of the romantic drama Love Me by writer/director Josephine Bornebusch. Palage develops and produces Swedish series, championing content that resonates with local audiences as well as international. She picks her projects independently and produces them with primary financing from a range of Scandinavian platforms and broadcasters, in addition to a... read more

Palage is currently in production with two seasons of the romantic drama Love Me by writer/director Josephine Bornebusch. Palage develops and produces Swedish series, championing content that resonates with local audiences as well as international. She picks her projects independently and produces them with primary financing from a range of Scandinavian platforms and broadcasters, in addition to a focus on world-wide distribution intended. Palage started as a freelancer in production management for film and television drama in 2008 and has since worked with productions ranging from crime series to art house features. She started her own company, Primodrom, in 2011, which she ran until she joined Warner in 2018. Palage has taken Film Studies at the University in Lund and has graduated from the Producer Education program at Forum Ystad. She is participating in the 2019 EAVE Producers Workshop.

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Moderator Ruth Palmer
Head of event programming, C21Media

Palmer is responsible for overseeing programming for all C21 content events including the award winning Content London and sister event Content LA. Working with senior industry leaders and creatives from across the world Palmer is responsible for ensuring C21 events deliver thought leadership and compelling content, with a top line-up of speakers and sessions to ensure that delegates stay on top ... read more

Palmer is responsible for overseeing programming for all C21 content events including the award winning Content London and sister event Content LA. Working with senior industry leaders and creatives from across the world Palmer is responsible for ensuring C21 events deliver thought leadership and compelling content, with a top line-up of speakers and sessions to ensure that delegates stay on top of trends that shape the business and.
Previously she held senior positions at Creative Skillset for 12 years, during which time she was responsible for developing and leading the high-end TV drama skills strategy and training levy, along with overseeing diversity and inclusion strategy and wider UK TV industry training strategies.

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Jonathan Pascoe
Head of digital video, MTV International

Jonathan Pascoe is responsible for all video content across MTV’s social channels, emerging platforms and MTV.co.uk. Based in London, Pascoe manages a wealth of daily video content, including MTV events, news, shows, music, celebrity, movies and travel. Pascoe is also responsible for the creative direction of the video team in their production of original short and medium-form series. Pascoe rep... read more

Jonathan Pascoe is responsible for all video content across MTV’s social channels, emerging platforms and MTV.co.uk. Based in London, Pascoe manages a wealth of daily video content, including MTV events, news, shows, music, celebrity, movies and travel. Pascoe is also responsible for the creative direction of the video team in their production of original short and medium-form series. Pascoe reports into Joanna Wells, VP of Digital Content for MTV and Comedy Central International.

Prior to his role at VIMN, Pascoe was the Head of Short Form at ITN Productions where he oversaw TV, digital and audio content including entertainment news shows FYI Daily for ITV2/4 and Access for Channel 5. Previously, Pascoe worked as a Producer at Heart London.

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Tracey Pearce
President of distribution and pay, Bell Media

As President, Distribution and Pay, Pearce oversees the subscription portfolio and revenue derived from the distribution of Bell Media’s television networks, video and audio on-demand content, cable, satellite, IPTV, mobile and digital platforms, and direct to consumer.   As part of her portfolio, Pearce is responsible for the overall performance of multi-million dollar portfolio on demand serv... read more

As President, Distribution and Pay, Pearce oversees the subscription portfolio and revenue derived from the distribution of Bell Media’s television networks, video and audio on-demand content, cable, satellite, IPTV, mobile and digital platforms, and direct to consumer.
 
As part of her portfolio, Pearce is responsible for the overall performance of multi-million dollar portfolio on demand services Crave and Starz, including HBO Canada. An architect behind the all-new Crave, she helped drive its immediate 20% subscription increase when it relaunched in 2018. In addition, Pearce oversees Bell Media’s corporate strategy and digital teams.
 
Pearce serves on the boards of Discovery Channel Canada as chair, CTV Specialty Television Inc. as director; is a member of advisory boards of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 and York University’s Schulich School of Business MBA program in Arts, Media & Entertainment Management. She is also Programming Chair and Director of Canadian Club Toronto.
 
Pearce holds a Masters in Business Administration from York University, and Bachelor of Laws from University of Toronto.

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Louise Pedersen
CEO, All3 Media International

Pedersen is the CEO of all3media international (a3mi). a3mi works with television producers to co-finance television programmes and is a leading global tv sales business, with offices in London, Singapore, New York and Miami and broadcast clients in over 200 countries. a3mi’s turnover has grown by 47% in the last two years to over £100m and Pedersen has overseen a tripling of investment into c... read more

Pedersen is the CEO of all3media international (a3mi). a3mi works with television producers to co-finance television programmes and is a leading global tv sales business, with offices in London, Singapore, New York and Miami and broadcast clients in over 200 countries.

a3mi’s turnover has grown by 47% in the last two years to over £100m and Pedersen has overseen a tripling of investment into content during this period. Pedersen started her distribution career at ITV and had an 18 month spell in drama production as managing director of Playground Entertainment in 2015/16. During her time in the distribution industry Louise has sat on PACT Council, mentored for Nesta and been part of Skillset’s industry training programmes. a3mi has twice been awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade. Pedersen has a degree in English Literature from London University.

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Simon Pegg
Co-founder, Stolen Picture

Pegg has become a household name, not only in the UK, but worldwide thanks to starring in Hollywood blockbuster series Mission Impossible. He starred and co-wrote the Cornetto Trilogy of films as well as writing and starring in Star Trek: Beyond. He co-founded the London based production company Stolen Picture with long term collaborator Nick Frost in 2017 and has recently wrapped on their flagshi... read more

Pegg has become a household name, not only in the UK, but worldwide thanks to starring in Hollywood blockbuster series Mission Impossible. He starred and co-wrote the Cornetto Trilogy of films as well as writing and starring in Star Trek: Beyond. He co-founded the London based production company Stolen Picture with long term collaborator Nick Frost in 2017 and has recently wrapped on their flagship series Truth Seekers.

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Faith Penhale
CEO, Lookout Point

Penhale began her career in drama production over 20 years ago and has worked on a broad range of shows; from a BAFTA-winning era of EastEnders and the multi award winning espionage series Spooks, to Andrew Davies’ critically acclaimed adaptation of War & Peace. Penhale worked for ten years at Kudos before running BBC Wales Drama from 2011-2016. Her track record there included the global ph... read more

Penhale began her career in drama production over 20 years ago and has worked on a broad range of shows; from a BAFTA-winning era of EastEnders and the multi award winning espionage series Spooks, to Andrew Davies’ critically acclaimed adaptation of War & Peace. Penhale worked for ten years at Kudos before running BBC Wales Drama from 2011-2016. Her track record there included the global phenomenon Sherlock and much loved Doctor Who, amongst many other authored pieces collaborating with some of the UK’s most exciting writing talent. From there she joined Lookout Point where, as CEO, she oversees a vibrant slate, including Sally Wainwright’s hugely successful Gentleman Jack for BBC and HBO, Andrew Davies’ recent, highly acclaimed adaptation of the Victor Hugo classic Les Misérables and the forthcoming, ground-breaking adaptation of Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy, directed by Mira Nair.

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Liisa Penttilä-Asikainen
Producer, Reindeer Mafia

Penttilä-Asikainen has worked as a producer since 2001 and founded Kaiho Republic with Pete Eklund in 2013. Penttilä-Asikainen has produced awarded short films, TV series, and feature films and has beeen actively co-producing, e.g. Lars Von Trier’s Dogville (2003), Peter Greenaway’s Eisenstein in Guanajuato (2015) and upcoming Zaida Bergroth’s feature film Maria’s Paradise (2019). Mo... read more

Penttilä-Asikainen has worked as a producer since 2001 and founded Kaiho Republic with Pete Eklund in 2013. Penttilä-Asikainen has produced awarded short films, TV series, and feature films and has beeen actively co-producing, e.g. Lars Von Trier’s Dogville (2003), Peter Greenaway’s Eisenstein in Guanajuato (2015) and upcoming Zaida Bergroth’s feature film Maria’s Paradise (2019). Most recent tv-series Invisible Heroes (6 x 50´) was released in Finland April 2019 and ganster drama Reindeer Mafia (8 x 42´) is currently in development.

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Fran Perea
Actor,

Perea is a Graduate of the Dramatic Arts, specialized in acting at the Escuela Superior de Arte Dramatico (ESAD) in Málaga. Perea came into the limelight thanks to the TV series Los Serrano, Al salir de clase and Hospital Central, productions that discovered a new generation of Spanish young actors. His most recent works on television include the series La sonata del silencio, B&B or Luna, e... read more

Perea is a Graduate of the Dramatic Arts, specialized in acting at the Escuela Superior de Arte Dramatico (ESAD) in Málaga. Perea came into the limelight thanks to the TV series Los Serrano, Al salir de clase and Hospital Central, productions that discovered a new generation of Spanish young actors. His most recent works on television include the series La sonata del silencio, B&B or Luna, el misterio de Calenda. In cinema, Perea has appeared in the long feature films 13 Roses, De Tu Ventana a la Mía, Los Managers and he was the leading role in Summer Rain, directed by international actor and Perea’s countryman Antonio Banderas. His theatre credits include classics such as Fedra, Don Juan, El burlador de Sevilla, Electra or Todos eran mis hijos.

Perea created his very own company called Feelgood Teatro, which has brought to the stage screenplays such as Feelgood from Alistair Beaton and La Estupidez by Rafael Spregelburd. In addition, he made his debut as a theatre director with the stage play Souvenir from the playwright Pablo Díaz Morilla. He has also worked in several short films including Life Vest Under your Seat, nominated for the Goya Awards (Spanish Film Academy Awards) in 2013, and El Bailarin, also directed by him.

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Pilar Perez
Head of acquisitions, DCD Rights

Perez is currently responsible for all acquisitions, across factual and drama. She works with producers and partners to find, develop and invest in programming that has international appeal. Recent dramas are The Hunting; My Life is murder; Jack Irish, On the Ropes, Striking Out. She is currently spearheading an exciting new slate of projects at various stages of development, finance and productio... read more

Perez is currently responsible for all acquisitions, across factual and drama. She works with producers and partners to find, develop and invest in programming that has international appeal. Recent dramas are The Hunting; My Life is murder; Jack Irish, On the Ropes, Striking Out. She is currently spearheading an exciting new slate of projects at various stages of development, finance and production.

Prior to joining DCD Rights, she worked in various production roles starting her career at Planet 24 and soon after landing at multi genre producer Zenith Entertainment, one of the biggest independent factual and drama producers in the UK at the time. In 2013 she graduated from the NFTS with a Diploma in Script Development. Throughout her career she has worked alongside emerging as well as established film makers, writers, directors and producers engaging at all levels of the creative process from idea to script into production, helping deliver compelling stories.

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Moderator Michael Pickard
Editor, Drama Quarterly, C21Media

Pickard is the editor of Drama Quarterly, C21Media’s magazine and website dedicated to the creative side of international television drama. A journalist with a background in local and national news reporting and editing, he is a former senior reporter for C21Media who covered the drama industry from events around the world. He was appointed editor of DQ in June 2015, building the title’s focus... read more

Pickard is the editor of Drama Quarterly, C21Media’s magazine and website dedicated to the creative side of international television drama. A journalist with a background in local and national news reporting and editing, he is a former senior reporter for C21Media who covered the drama industry from events around the world. He was appointed editor of DQ in June 2015, building the title’s focus on all aspects of the craft involved in making television drama, and in 2021 oversaw the launch of the DQ100, an annual showcase of upcoming series and the writers, directors, actors, trends and trailblazers to watch. He has previously moderated panels at events including Content London, Content LA, Mipcom, MipTV, Series Mania and Berlinale.

 

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Moritz Polter
Executive producer, international TV series, Bavaria Fiction

Polter is responsible for Bavaria Fiction’s international co-production slate. Named among Variety’s Top 10 Global Creatives to Watch, Polter leads the creation, development and funding for series such as Das Boot (Sky), Arctic Circle (Elisa Viihde/ZDF) and Freud (Netflix/ORF). Previously Polter spent nine years with Tandem Productions (formerly Tandem Communications), ultimately as vice pres... read more

Polter is responsible for Bavaria Fiction’s international co-production slate. Named among Variety’s Top 10 Global Creatives to Watch, Polter leads the creation, development and funding for series such as Das Boot (Sky), Arctic Circle (Elisa Viihde/ZDF) and Freud (Netflix/ORF).

Previously Polter spent nine years with Tandem Productions (formerly Tandem Communications), ultimately as vice president of production. In this capacity he supervised numerous outstanding productions, including the internationally successful TV series Crossing Lines, starring Donald Sutherland and William Fichtner, and the critically acclaimed Spotless, a CANAL+ Création Originale series. Polter graduated from King Alfred’s College in Winchester, England in Business, Media and Film Studies.

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Kim-Leigh Pontin
Creative interaction director, Sky VR Studios

Pontin specialises in directing interactive volumetric capture experiences, as well as systems design thinking for VR. Pontin’s background is in interactive TV, emerging technology interaction design, and interactive storytelling. Starting at Sky in 2013 as lead interaction designer on Sky Q, Pontin now brings ideas of embodied interaction to the world of television production. Previously she wa... read more

Pontin specialises in directing interactive volumetric capture experiences, as well as systems design thinking for VR. Pontin’s background is in interactive TV, emerging technology interaction design, and interactive storytelling. Starting at Sky in 2013 as lead interaction designer on Sky Q, Pontin now brings ideas of embodied interaction to the world of television production. Previously she was at the BBC, Amazon and Apple. She studied Design Interactions at the Royal College of Art. Kim-Leigh has won a BAFTA, Emmy & D&AD for interactive TV work, and three VR pieces that Pontin directed were recently shown at the Venice Film Festival (2017, 18 & 19).

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Jenna Powell
Senior VFX producer, Milk Visual Effects

Powell is a Senior VFX Producer at Milk Visual Effects and has been part of the team since the multi-award winning visual effects studio launched in 2013. Working across high profile TV and feature films, Powell’s credits include Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens (BBC/Amazon); YouTube’s sci-fi series Origin for which Milk created over 900 VFX shots; The Alienist (Paramount); Channel 4’s Phillip K. ... read more

Powell is a Senior VFX Producer at Milk Visual Effects and has been part of the team since the multi-award winning visual effects studio launched in 2013. Working across high profile TV and feature films, Powell’s credits include Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens (BBC/Amazon); YouTube’s sci-fi series Origin for which Milk created over 900 VFX shots; The Alienist (Paramount); Channel 4’s Phillip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams and independent feature An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn (Sundance Film Festival 2018). Powell produced the BAFTA award-winning VFX for two episodes of Doctor Who: 50th Anniversary Special “Day of the Doctor” (2014) and “Deep Breath” (2015) and the RTS nominated VFX for ITV drama Beowulf.

Additional credits include the BBC’s BAFTA-winning Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell; BBC3 sci-fi series Class; Summit Entertainment’s The Divergent Series: Insurgent and director Ben Wheatley’s High-Rise. Prior to joining Milk, Powell was VFX producer at The Mill TV & Film working on VES-nominated Skellig; Alice; The Hollow Crown; VES Award winner Elizabeth I; multiple series of Doctor Who earning three BAFTA nominations and an RTS Award; and feature film 28 Weeks Later. Powell began her career at Indestructible Production Company as VFX co-ordinator on CGI TV series Captain Scarlet.

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Philip Pratt
Head of German originals, Amazon Studios

Pratt is responsible for all German Amazon Original series which launch on Amazon Prime Video. Previously, Pratt was in charge of content licensing for Prime Video Germany, acquiring shows such as American Gods, Kevin Can Wait, Grey’s Anatomy as well as The Walking Dead. Prior to joining Amazon, Philip led the content division of Watchever GmbH and founded and managed Jakun Media UG, where he s... read more

Pratt is responsible for all German Amazon Original series which launch on Amazon Prime Video. Previously, Pratt was in charge of content licensing for Prime Video Germany, acquiring shows such as American Gods, Kevin Can Wait, Grey’s Anatomy as well as The Walking Dead.

Prior to joining Amazon, Philip led the content division of Watchever GmbH and founded and managed Jakun Media UG, where he specialized in the production and licensing of digital content.

Pratt studied film and television production at the Academy for Film and Television in Potsdam-Babelsberg, working within the film industry during as part of his studies across various companies including LICHTBLICK Filmproduktion, ZDF – Das kleine Fernsehspiel, PROGRESS Filmverleih, and the film20 pool. During this time, he produced several short and feature-length films with his own company, winning the German Film Prize and the Studio Hamburg Young Talent Prize.

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Matt Pritchard
Executive vice president, unscripted programming, television, eOne

Pritchard joins eOne from Boomerang, where he served as managing director since 2016. While there, he oversaw the successful launches of award-winning international hits What Would Your Kid Do? (ITV) and Extreme Cake Makers (Channel 4). Prior to that, he was the group director of development at Twofour, where he championed the development of some of the company’s most successful shows, including... read more

Pritchard joins eOne from Boomerang, where he served as managing director since 2016. While there, he oversaw the successful launches of award-winning international hits What Would Your Kid Do? (ITV) and Extreme Cake Makers (Channel 4). Prior to that, he was the group director of development at Twofour, where he championed the development of some of the company’s most successful shows, includingThe Jump (Channel 4), This Time Next Year (ITV), The Real Marigold Hotel (BBC One), Ibiza Weekender (ITV2), and Royal Marines Commando School (Channel 4). Before that, Pritchard was head of development at BBC Worldwide and was also a senior member of the ITV Entertainment team.

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Oscar Prol
Senior development executive, Amazon Studios

Prol looks after Unscripted in Spain, overseeing the development and production of non-scripted Amazon Originals in Spain, including shows like El Corazon de Sergio Ramos. Prior to that, Prol served as head of development at Boxfish TV for three years and before that was in charge of the development department at Warner Bros. ITVP Spain. During his time in those roles, Prol acquired, adapted and p... read more

Prol looks after Unscripted in Spain, overseeing the development and production of non-scripted Amazon Originals in Spain, including shows like El Corazon de Sergio Ramos.

Prior to that, Prol served as head of development at Boxfish TV for three years and before that was in charge of the development department at Warner Bros. ITVP Spain. During his time in those roles, Prol acquired, adapted and produced formats like Kitchen Nightmares, Undercover Boss, First Dates, The Great Spanish Bake Off and others.

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Moderator James Purnell
Director radio and education, BBC

Purnell has been leading teams across BBC radio, BBC arts, BBC music and BBC children’s and education since 2016. He first worked at the BBC in the 1990s, as head of corporate planning. He had previously been a research fellow on IPPR’s media project, and before that a strategy consultant in media and telecommunications at Hydra Associates. He left the BBC to be special adviser on the know... read more

Purnell has been leading teams across BBC radio, BBC arts, BBC music and BBC children’s and education since 2016.
He first worked at the BBC in the 1990s, as head of corporate planning. He had previously been a research fellow on IPPR’s media project, and before that a strategy consultant in media and telecommunications at Hydra Associates. He left the BBC to be special adviser on the knowledge economy, including Internet and broadcasting policy, to Tony Blair after he became Prime Minister.
Purnell was elected member of parliament for Stalybridge and Hyde, before becoming secretary of state for culture and then for work and pensions. He resigned from the government in June 2009, and stood down from parliament at the 2010 Election.
Purnell then held roles as a senior producer at Rare Day, an independent production company and an adviser to the Boston Consulting Group. Purnell returned to the BBC in 2013 as director of strategy and digital, where he was responsible for developing the BBC’s strategy in the run up to dharter review.

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Aparna Purohit
Head of India original, Amazon Prime Video

Purohit is the Head of India original at Amazon Prime Video. She has developed and launched all Indian Originals on Amazon Prime Video including Inside Edge (International Emmys Nomination, 2018), Breathe, Comicstaan (S01 & 02), Four More Shots Please!, Mirzapur and Made In Heaven.  Purohit was the first person to join the Originals’ team in India in 2016. Prior to this she was ... read more

Purohit is the Head of India original at Amazon Prime Video. She has developed and launched all Indian Originals on Amazon Prime Video including Inside Edge (International Emmys Nomination, 2018), Breathe, Comicstaan (S01 & 02), Four More Shots Please!, Mirzapur and Made In Heaven. 

Purohit was the first person to join the Originals’ team in India in 2016. Prior to this she was the creative head at Mumbai Mantra where she ran the Mumbai Mantra | Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab in collaboration with the Sundance Institute from 2010-2015. She also had the additional responsibility of being the creative head – productions at Cinestaan Film Company, a boutique film studio where she supervised production on the company’s maiden production Mirzya, created by the national award winning director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and was also developing several other projects. She has also worked with UTV Motion Pictures (which later merged with Disney), Reliance Entertainment and Sony Entertainment Television. She has also worked with National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) as a consultant on Film Bazaar 2010 and managed all the aspects of the film market. Purohit is an alumni of the APJ Kidwai Mass Communication Research Center (MCRC), Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi and has been working in the Mumbai film industry for over 16 years now.

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Marja Pyykkö
Director,

Pyykkö is an experienced director of popular TV series and feature films that have also been sold abroad, including the award-winning series Hooked and Black Widows. Furthermore, she received the Finnish TV award Golden Venla for both series. Her third feature, the comedy Man and a Baby, was released in October 2017 and was among most watched domestic films of the year. It received the Best Nordi... read more

Pyykkö is an experienced director of popular TV series and feature films that have also been sold abroad, including the award-winning series Hooked and Black Widows. Furthermore, she received the Finnish TV award Golden Venla for both series. Her third feature, the comedy Man and a Baby, was released in October 2017 and was among most watched domestic films of the year. It received the Best Nordic Feature Award in the New York Nordic Film Festival in 2017. Her first feature film, Run Sister, Run!, received several national Jussi film award nominations, and was well-received by the audience in 2010. Her second feature, Village People, was released in 2013. The forth feature Fly With me and the latest TV series The Paradise will both be released in 2020.

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Mona Qureshi
Commissioning editor, England, BBC

Qureshi joined the BBC as a Commissioning Editor in 2017 and has been responsible for work across the breadth and range of BBC Drama. Her recent work includes Les Miserables, The Little Drummer Girl and Press, and her upcoming slate includes A Christmas Carol and A Suitable Boy for BBC One and The Luminaries for BBC Two, in addition to continuing series Call the Midwife, and Our Girl. Forthcoming ... read more

Qureshi joined the BBC as a Commissioning Editor in 2017 and has been responsible for work across the breadth and range of BBC Drama. Her recent work includes Les Miserables, The Little Drummer Girl and Press, and her upcoming slate includes A Christmas Carol and A Suitable Boy for BBC One and The Luminaries for BBC Two, in addition to continuing series Call the Midwife, and Our Girl. Forthcoming projects include Sitting In Limbo, a single film for BBC One about the betrayal of the Windrush generation; This is Going To Hurt, an adaptation of Adam Kay’s bestselling memoir for BBC Two, and Red Rose, an original horror series from writers the Clarkson twins, for BBC Three.

Previously, Qureshi served as head of development and production at The Ink Factory, where she worked on Susanne’s Bier’s adaptation of John le Carre’s The Night Manager. Prior to that she worked as programme director for the JJ Charitable Trust/ BAFTA Screenwriting Bursary, and as head of development for Ruby Films & Television, where credits included Peter Morgan’s The Other Boleyn Girl, Abi Morgan’s Brick Lane and Small Island for BBC Drama. She began her career at BBC Films & Single Drama, working as a reader and script editor.

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Moderator James Rampton
TV feature writer, The i, The Independent

Rampton has written twelve books about the arts. He was a staff arts feature writer on the Independent for a decade. He has subsequently written features for the Independent, the i, the Daily Telegraph, the Times, the Radio Times, and the Scotsman magazine. He is also a regular newspaper reviewer for the BBC News Channel, as well as chairing Q and As for Bafta, the BFI and the BBC.

Christian Rank
Head of drama, DR

As head of drama at dr, Rank oversees the development and production of the public service broadcaster’s primetime drama, as well as scripted content aimed at children and youth audiences.

Tom Rasmussen
Author, screenwriter and actor, Wildcard Films

Rasmussen is a northerner living in South East London. After a pit-stop via New York illegally pulling in cash beneath any table available, they came back to London with dreams of being a writer. And, after picking up an editor of a notable online blogging platform while selling spiced cider on an East London stall, they published their first piece of online writing and officially became a writer.... read more

Rasmussen is a northerner living in South East London. After a pit-stop via New York illegally pulling in cash beneath any table available, they came back to London with dreams of being a writer. And, after picking up an editor of a notable online blogging platform while selling spiced cider on an East London stall, they published their first piece of online writing and officially became a writer.

Rasmussen is now a freelance journalist, Contributing Features Editor at i-D, Contributing Editor at LOVE Magazine, columnist at Refinery29 and co-founder and editor of Cause & Effect Magazine. Their journalistic work focuses on queerness, class and community. Rasmussen is also a singer in drag band Denim, and forms half of the queer performance duo ACM.

The Diary of a Drag Queen was published in the UK by Ebury in February 2019, and by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in North America in early 2020. Rasmussen is adapting their memoir for television with Wildcard Films. They are part of the drag girl band Denim, Rasmussen’s solo show The Bible 2 was in British Comedy’s Guide’s top 20 best reviewed shows of Edinburgh Festival 2019, and Diary of A Drag Queen was recently named one of the fifteen funniest books ever written by Penguin.

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Moderator Ade Rawcliffe
Head of diversity, ITV commissioning

Rawcliffe is responsible for delivering ITV’s on-going commitment to reflecting the diversity of modern Britain at the heart of mainstream television, both onscreen and behind the camera. Prior to that, Rawcliffe led the creative diversity team at Channel 4 and spearheaded the delivery of the broadcaster’s 360 Diversity Charter. She oversaw the creation of C4’s Commissioning Diversity Gui... read more

Rawcliffe is responsible for delivering ITV’s on-going commitment to reflecting the diversity of modern Britain at the heart of mainstream television, both onscreen and behind the camera.
Prior to that, Rawcliffe led the creative diversity team at Channel 4 and spearheaded the delivery of the broadcaster’s 360 Diversity Charter. She oversaw the creation of C4’s Commissioning Diversity Guidelines and developed projects through diverse funding vehicle the Alpha Fund, including the BAFTA award winning drama Run.
Rawcliffe was also part of the team responsible for C4’s coverage of Rio 2016 Paralympics and London 2012 Paralympics, which broke records for employing disabled presenters and production staff.
Rawcliffe also worked in the features commissioning team at C4 and was a Television Producer at the BBC, ITV and in the independent sector.
She is a member of BAFTA’s TV Committee, a Board Member of Women in Film & Television (WFTV) and Times Up UK and a Trustee of the National Trust.

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Sebastien Raybaud
Founder and CEO, Anton

Anton is a global content provider of high quality commercial product for multiple platforms, with offices in London and Los Angeles. In 2011, Raybaud structured the first co-production slate financing deal ever done in the European film industry with StudioCanal, which led to the international hit features Non-Stop, Shaun The Sheep and the Paddington franchise. The company is currently co-financi... read more

Anton is a global content provider of high quality commercial product for multiple platforms, with offices in London and Los Angeles. In 2011, Raybaud structured the first co-production slate financing deal ever done in the European film industry with StudioCanal, which led to the international hit features Non-Stop, Shaun The Sheep and the Paddington franchise. The company is currently co-financing a high-end drama fund with the BBC that has produced the acclaimed series: McMafia, Les Misérables, Gentleman Jack, North Water and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials.

Anton recently established a long-term development partnership for short form projects with the BBC and Clerkenwell Films commencing with the series, Cheaters, currently in production. The company also has multi-project co-financing agreements with leading European production and distribution companies Federation Entertainment and Newen. In 2019, Anton launched a feature film production arm with titles currently in post-production including: Greenland, starring Gerard Butler; The Night House, starring Rebecca Hall; and Naked Singularity, starring John Boyega

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Abhishek Rege
CEO, Endemol Shine

Rege was appointed CEO of Endemol Shine India in November 2017 and under his leadership the company has transformed itself from being just a non-scripted content company to a company serving content across screens, languages and genres in TV, Films, and Digital. Rege previously served as COO of Endemol Shine India’s television business, business strategy and operations of film business in India.... read more

Rege was appointed CEO of Endemol Shine India in November 2017 and under his leadership the company has transformed itself from being just a non-scripted content company to a company serving content across screens, languages and genres in TV, Films, and Digital. Rege previously served as COO of Endemol Shine India’s television business, business strategy and operations of film business in India. 

Prior to Endemol Shine, Rege was a director of business operations for Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd, New Jersey, USA. In this role Rege directed all business operations for the Americas (United States, Canada, Caribbean, and South America). Under his direction there was a boost in revenues by 50% in less than one year, expanded market reach and footprint by initiating distribution in Caribbean region and distribution in United States and Canada by negotiating deals with various platforms and operators.

Rege started his career at Star India where he scheduled and acquired content for premium and exclusive channels for the Tata Sky DTH service in addition to handling key commercial and compliance roles for the STAR group of channels.

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Kevin Reilly
Chief content officer, HBO Max and president , TBS, TNT and truTV

One of television’s most influential leaders, Reilly leads all of WarnerMedia Entertainment’s top-rated cable networks including TNT, TBS and truTV. Reilly also oversees the robust content strategy for the WarnerMedia direct-to-consumer offering HBO Max as chief content officer, for which Reilly is charged with defining the non-HBO originals, library and licensed content that will make up ... read more

One of television’s most influential leaders, Reilly leads all of WarnerMedia Entertainment’s top-rated cable networks including TNT, TBS and truTV. Reilly also oversees the robust content strategy for the WarnerMedia direct-to-consumer offering HBO Max as chief content officer, for which Reilly is charged with defining the non-HBO originals, library and licensed content that will make up the service.

The only executive to have run two broadcast and now four cable networks, Reilly is widely cited as an industry innovator and has been known for championing some of the most culturally influential programs in television history, including Empire, The Office, 30 Rock, Friday Night Lights, The Sopranos, The Shield, Nip/Tuck, ER, Law & Order and Glee. He was among the first television executives to make meaningful investments in digital and social media content and push for multi-platform ratings measurement. In recognition of his ongoing career accomplishments, in 2016 Reilly was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame, and in 2018, he received the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award from NATPE.

Since joining WarnerMedia in November 2014, Reilly has aggressively led major brand evolutions for TBS and TNT. Under his leadership, TBS has focused on creating distinctive originals and late-night shows, such as Full frontal with Samantha Bee and Search Party, while TNT has rolled out premium, award-winning dramas such as The Alienist, I Am the Night and Claws. Reilly has led efforts to expand partnerships with talent such as the new joint venture with Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco, and improve the consumer experience by significantly reducing commercial inventories in originals. He has also spearheaded new businesses such as ELEAGUE, and the recently announced new All Elite Wrestling league to grow the company’s portfolio.

Before joining TBS and TNT, Reilly served as president of entertainment for FOX (2007-2014), president of entertainment at NBC (2004-2007), president of entertainment at FX (2000-2003), and president of television at Brillstein-Grey Entertainment (1994-2000).

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Estela Renner
Director, writer and co-founder, Maria Farinha Filmes

Renner lived in the United States for seven years, where she obtained her Masters in Motion Pictures and worked in writing and directing sitcoms. On relocating back to Brazil, Renner dedicated herself to helping promote social and environmental changes through film. She wrote and directed Way Beyond Weight, a documentary on the epidemic of childhood obesity, and Target Market: Kids, which deals wi... read more

Renner lived in the United States for seven years, where she obtained her Masters in Motion Pictures and worked in writing and directing sitcoms. On relocating back to Brazil, Renner dedicated herself to helping promote social and environmental changes through film. She wrote and directed Way Beyond Weight, a documentary on the epidemic of childhood obesity, and Target Market: Kids, which deals with the effects of advertising on children. Both were viewed by over two million people and had great impact on public policy making. For TV Globo, Renner has co-created and directed 10 out of the 25 episodes of the series Young Inventors, about youth in need who pioneer inventions to improve life in their communities. The series currently airs to an audience of over 23 million people. As a writer, Renner’s credits include feature rom com She Makes Movies [Portuguese title: Ela Faz Cinema], and, for Fox International, the feature animation Lino. In 2016, Renner wrote and directed The Beginning of Life, a documentary about the importance of human relations in the first years of each person’s life. In 2019, she directed and scripted the fictional series Aruanas, a co-production between Maria Farinha Filmes and Globo, which explores activism and the global environmental crisis through the work of the titular organisation

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Moderator Shabnam Rezaei
Co-founder and president, Big Bad Boo

Rezaei started Big Bad Boo Studios to make inclusive, innovative cartoons for kids. Her latest show The Bravest Knight, about a pumpkin farmer who marries a Prince, is a first Hulu Kids Original and won Mip’s 2019 DiversifyTV Excellence Awards. Big Bad Boo shows include 16 Hudson (TVO Kids), 1001 Nights (Teletoon), Lili & Lola (ICI TV), and Mixed Nutz (Amazon Prime). 1001 Nights, nominated... read more

Rezaei started Big Bad Boo Studios to make inclusive, innovative cartoons for kids. Her latest show The Bravest Knight, about a pumpkin farmer who marries a Prince, is a first Hulu Kids Original and won Mip’s 2019 DiversifyTV Excellence Awards. Big Bad Boo shows include 16 Hudson (TVO Kids), 1001 Nights (Teletoon), Lili & Lola (ICI TV), and Mixed Nutz (Amazon Prime). 1001 Nights, nominated for 15 LEOs with 4 wins, airs in 80 countries on Cartoon Network, Disney, DiscoveryKids, ORF, RTP, Gloob among others. Based in New York and Vancouver, the company has launched Oznoz.com, an ad-free, kids-only, SVOD platform with “Cartoons in 10 languages”. Exclusive libraries include Babar, Musti and others in Chinese, French, Korean and others. With a BS in Computer Science, a BA in German Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from NYU, Rezaei spent 10 years working on Wall Street at EXIS, Deloitte and Misys. She was born in Iran, grew up in Austria and speaks English, German, Persian, French, and Spanish. Rezaei is raising her two girls trilingual. They love to watch Elmo’s World in Persian and Thomas & Friends in German on Oznoz.

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Cameron Roach
Director of Drama, Sky Drama

In 2013, Roach joined Sky Drama as commissioning editor and was appointed director of Drama in early 2019. Roach worked with Anne Mensah over the past six years to establish an internationally acclaimed slate for Sky’s original drama across Sky One and Sky Atlantic. Key recent titles include Chernobyl, Britannia, A Discovery of Witches, Bulletproof, Tin Star, Riviera and Curfew; forthcoming show... read more

In 2013, Roach joined Sky Drama as commissioning editor and was appointed director of Drama in early 2019. Roach worked with Anne Mensah over the past six years to establish an internationally acclaimed slate for Sky’s original drama across Sky One and Sky Atlantic. Key recent titles include Chernobyl, Britannia, A Discovery of Witches, Bulletproof, Tin Star, Riviera and Curfew; forthcoming shows include Catherine the Great, Temple and Gangs of London.

Roach began his career in script and series editing on long-running drama series such as Casualty, before landing his first producing job on Series 6 of the hit prison drama Bad Girls for Shed Productions. He went on to produce two series of Footballers’ Wives. In 2007 Roach moved to Kudos Productions to produce the International EMMY award-winning second series of Life on Mars, and in 2009 produced BBC2’s critically acclaimed Moses Jones. Other BBC credits include Silk and Young James Herriot. In 2011 Cameron was asked to oversee the move of Waterloo Road from Rochdale to Glasgow; as EP he worked on fifty episodes of the show. Roach has worked in development for Tiger Aspect Productions, Shed Productions and for BBC Productions.

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Paul Robinson
Executive vice president, Toonz Media Group

Robinson is an international media exec with extensive radio, television and digital experience, having successfully held senior exec positions at the BBC, The Walt Disney Company, and NBC Universal. Robinson was appointed EVP at Toonz Media Group in July 2019 responsible for branded platforms, channels, on demand and strategic partnerships across the group. Robinson founded KidsCo in 2005 as a ... read more

Robinson is an international media exec with extensive radio, television and digital experience, having successfully held senior exec positions at the BBC, The Walt Disney Company, and NBC Universal. Robinson was appointed EVP at Toonz Media Group in July 2019 responsible for branded platforms, channels, on demand and strategic partnerships across the group.

Robinson founded KidsCo in 2005 as a joint venture with NBCUniversal and, as CEO, built it into a global children’s linear and VOD network in 98 countries and in 18 languages worldwide before a 51% controlling sale.

Prior to KidsCo, Robinson was managing director/senior vice president of Walt Disney Television International where he created new global channel brands Playhouse Disney (now Disney Junior) and Toon Disney and was responsible for global Disney kid’s strategy for TV content production and broadcast based in London and then Burbank, Los Angeles.
Robinson was managing editor of BBC Radio 1, Head of Strategy, BBC and CEO of national commercial station Talk Radio.

He has a BSc Hons and MBA from Cambridge, Manchester and Bradford Universities and has won multiple awards include Baftas and Sonys and is a regular contributor to conferences, podcasts and TV and radio. He is chair of the board of East London Radio.

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Michael Robotham
Author,

Robotham’s psychological thrillers have been translated into 25 languages and sold more than six million copies around the world. Born in country NSW, he began his working career as a journalist and went on to write for newspapers and magazines in Australia, Britain and America. In 1993 he quit journalism to become a ghostwriter, collaborating with politicians, pop stars, psychologists, adventur... read more

Robotham’s psychological thrillers have been translated into 25 languages and sold more than six million copies around the world. Born in country NSW, he began his working career as a journalist and went on to write for newspapers and magazines in Australia, Britain and America. In 1993 he quit journalism to become a ghostwriter, collaborating with politicians, pop stars, psychologists, adventurers and showbusiness personalities to pen their autobiographies. Twelve of these non-fiction titles were Sunday Times bestsellers in the UK.

Michael’s first psychological thriller, The Suspect, caused a bidding war at the London Book Fair in 2002 and was sold into more twenty languages in three hours. He has since won multiple awards, including the coveted UK Crime Writer’s Association Gold Dagger in 2015, beating a shortlist that included Stephen King and Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling). He has also twice won Australia’s Ned Kelly Award for best crime novel and the Australian Book Industry Award for best fiction.

A six-part TV series based on The Secret She Keeps made by Lingo Pictures will screen in early 2020 with an international cast.

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John Robson
Co-founder and cheif operating officer , Moonbug

Moonbug is a global entertainment company that develops and distributes safe and fun content for children. Robson brings more than two decades of experience in entertainment, digital media and marketing having worked with most major content owners, distribution platforms and device manufacturers internationally. His knowledge and expertise of the digital space draws from his career at Paramount Pi... read more

Moonbug is a global entertainment company that develops and distributes safe and fun content for children. Robson brings more than two decades of experience in entertainment, digital media and marketing having worked with most major content owners, distribution platforms and device manufacturers internationally.

His knowledge and expertise of the digital space draws from his career at Paramount Pictures, HTC, Wildbrain and Brave Bison, building some of the largest global fan-based networks, as well as staying at the forefront of digital distribution and consumption. John holds a bachelor’s degree (Honours) in marketing and business from Manchester Metropolitan University

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Zoë Rocha
Producer, The Heartless

Rocha is the founder and creative director of television production company RubyRock Pictures. Established in February, the company is currently in development on a number of projects and is working with companies such as A+E Network and Sky. Prior to setting up RubyRock, Rocha spent five years as creative director at LittleRock Pictures. Whilst there she oversaw the development and production of... read more

Rocha is the founder and creative director of television production company RubyRock Pictures. Established in February, the company is currently in development on a number of projects and is working with companies such as A+E Network and Sky.

Prior to setting up RubyRock, Rocha spent five years as creative director at LittleRock Pictures. Whilst there she oversaw the development and production of shows such as Ch5 and Netflix’s hit series Borderline and the International Emmy Award nominated Sky/Showtime original series Urban Myths. Rocha’s production credits also include five years as COO of Stephen Fry’s company, Sprout Pictures, acting as executive producer on all of Sprout’s projects. Notable examples are the Playhouse Presents series, starring Emma Thompson and Idris Elba. Her greatest success at Sprout came developing Moone Boy, which won an International Emmy.

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Alexander Rodnyansky
Producer,

Rodnyansky is the prolific producer of over 30 television series and 40 feature films, including key works by some of the most acclaimed filmmakers in modern history. AAmong his numerous international successes have been four nominations for Oscars, including the global sensations Leviathan and Loveless, directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, which also won the Best Foreign Film in the Golden Globes was ... read more

Rodnyansky is the prolific producer of over 30 television series and 40 feature films, including key works by some of the most acclaimed filmmakers in modern history. AAmong his numerous international successes have been four nominations for Oscars, including the global sensations Leviathan and Loveless, directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, which also won the Best Foreign Film in the Golden Globes was nominated for a BAFTA. His films have been shown and won awards in major festivals internationally, from Venice to Cannes to Berlin. In 2019, Rodnyansky launched a Moscow-LA based development company AR Content designed to deliver premium quality content for film and television on an international scale.

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Jane Root
Founder and CEO, Nutopia

Root is a leading creative executive with a reputation for innovation, determination and delivery. Root’s work was celebrated by Women in Film & TV when she was awarded the prestigious 2017 Business Award acknowledging her outstanding achievements in the industry. Nutopia, is dedicated to creating ground-breaking, specialist factual content on a global scale. Best known for pioneering a n... read more

Root is a leading creative executive with a reputation for innovation, determination and delivery. Root’s work was celebrated by Women in Film & TV when she was awarded the prestigious 2017 Business Award acknowledging her outstanding achievements in the industry.

Nutopia, is dedicated to creating ground-breaking, specialist factual content on a global scale. Best known for pioneering a new genre of television – the ‘megadoc’ – by combining epic cinematography and action-driven drama with high-end documentary and A-list talent. Recent credits include highly anticipated series ‘The World According to Jeff Goldblum’ (Disney+), award-winning earth science series ‘One Strange Rock’ (Nat Geo), critically acclaimed drama doc ‘The Last Czars’ (Netflix), and Grierson-nominated feature doc ‘The Hunt for Jihadi John’ (HBO/Channel 4).

Prior to founding Nutopia, Root spent 4 years as President of Discovery Networks, where she was responsible for developing a fresh voice for the 20 year old network. Before moving to America, Root spent 5 years at BBC2 “as one of the BBC’s most successful channel controllers”. Her time at the BBC was characterized by boldly original, popular, pioneering programming. Prior to this, she co-founded Wall-to-Wall where, as MD, she guided the company through its first 10 years to success on both sides of the Atlantic.

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Andy Ryan
co-head of drama, Nine Network Australia

As co-Head of Drama for Nine since 2011, Ryan oversees the commissioning and production of the network’s drama, comedy and children’s output. Working across Nine’s linear and digital services, Ryan commissions around 70 hours of original scripted content each year. Recent commissions include Australia’s top-rating drama for 2019, SeaChange, and the fourth season of Australia’s most popul... read more

As co-Head of Drama for Nine since 2011, Ryan oversees the commissioning and production of the network’s drama, comedy and children’s output. Working across Nine’s linear and digital services, Ryan commissions around 70 hours of original scripted content each year.

Recent commissions include Australia’s top-rating drama for 2019, SeaChange, and the fourth season of Australia’s most popular series, Doctor Doctor. Other recent commissions include multiple seasons of Love Child and House Husbands; comedy series Here Come the Habibs; and the mini-series House of Bond and Underbelly Files: Chopper. Currently in production are the event mini-series Halifax: Retribution and Informer 3838. For SVOD platform STAN, Ryan was also Executive Producer of Wolf Creek and No Activity.

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Ida Maria Rydén
Writer, When The Dust Settles

Rydén, born in 1970, graduated as scriptwriter from The National Film School of Denmark in 1999, and began her career writing for both television, film and the theatre. Her theatre credits include amongst other Make Up for The Royal Theatre, which won the Reumert prize in 2002. Rydén has written several feature films and TV-series including The Hotel, Far from Las Vegas and Nikolaj & Julie ... read more

Rydén, born in 1970, graduated as scriptwriter from The National Film School of Denmark in 1999, and began her career writing for both television, film and the theatre. Her theatre credits include amongst other Make Up for The Royal Theatre, which won the Reumert prize in 2002.
Rydén has written several feature films and TV-series including The Hotel, Far from Las Vegas and Nikolaj & Julie before show running three seasons of the popular crime tv-series Dicte for Danish TV2. Rydén is currently writing the TV-series “When the Dust Settles” for DR.

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Marko Röhr
Producer and CEO, MRP Matila Röhr Productions

Röhr is a producer of 34 feature films, multiple tv-series and director and writer of several documentaries. Röhr has wide experience on international co-productions, drama series and documentaries. In 1990 he started his own production company MRP Matila Röhr Productions Ltd. (MRP). MRP has been specializing in ambitious drama, both in cinema and television, in co-production with international... read more

Röhr is a producer of 34 feature films, multiple tv-series and director and writer of several documentaries. Röhr has wide experience on international co-productions, drama series and documentaries. In 1990 he started his own production company MRP Matila Röhr Productions Ltd. (MRP). MRP has been specializing in ambitious drama, both in cinema and television, in co-production with international partners and underwater and nature films shot mainly in the arctic waters.

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Reemah Sakaan
Group launch director, BritBox UK and Senior vice president, creative and editorial, BritBox US

Sakaan is currently leading ITVs set-up of BritBox in the UK and its interests in the US joint venture of ITV and BBC subscription video service, BritBox. She spent the last 18 months based in New York driving the brand’s impressive subscriber growth (surpassing 600k subs in its first 2 yrs) alongside its Canadian launch in Feb 2018. Prior to this as ITV’s director of marketing and media her ... read more

Sakaan is currently leading ITVs set-up of BritBox in the UK and its interests in the US joint venture of ITV and BBC subscription video service, BritBox. She spent the last 18 months based in New York driving the brand’s impressive subscriber growth (surpassing 600k subs in its first 2 yrs) alongside its Canadian launch in Feb 2018.

Prior to this as ITV’s director of marketing and media her remit covered all UK and international TV channels, digital on demand brands and pay services. She spearheaded the 2013 ITV rebrand, relaunching ITV’s UK Network brands, in 2014 she delivered the networks new channel launches ITV Encore and ITV Be, and the 2015 relaunch of ITV’s VOD service ITV Hub. She previously worked at the BBC for eight years, holding posts including head of marketing for BBC One and BBC Drama and BBC Film. Prior to this Reemah was head of marketing for BBC Three, BBC Comedy and BBC Entertainment and held roles in BBC Digital Marketing, working on product and platform brands such as BBC iPlayer, BBC HD and the BBC’s role in Freeview and Freesat launches. Reemah started her career in FMCG marketing with roles at Diageo & Reckitt Benckiser.

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Miguel Salvat
Commissioning editor of original programming, Spain, HBO Europe.

Based in Madrid, Salvat is responsible for all HBO Europe’s original programming commissioned in Spain. Salvat started his television career at WBZ-TV Boston, returning to Spain to join Canal+, where he was a producer and part of the team that successfully launched pay television in Spain in 1990. After a period as general manager of the paramount comedy channel he returned to Canal+ as direct... read more

Based in Madrid, Salvat is responsible for all HBO Europe’s original programming commissioned in Spain. Salvat started his television career at WBZ-TV Boston, returning to Spain to join Canal+, where he was a producer and part of the team that successfully launched pay television in Spain in 1990. After a period as general manager of the paramount comedy channel he returned to Canal+ as director of content. In 2010 he was appointed director of premium channels for Movistar.

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Alex Sapot
Director of original series, Netflix

Sapot is responsible for commissioning and creatively overseeing the development and production of a number of global series such as Sex Education, The End of The F***ing World, Kaos, The Irregulars, Shadow and Bone, Anne With an E, Alias Grace, Collateral, Requiem, Wanderlust, Black Earth Rising, Giri Haji and The Spy. Prior to her time at Netflix, Sapot held executive positions in drama develop... read more

Sapot is responsible for commissioning and creatively overseeing the development and production of a number of global series such as Sex Education, The End of The F***ing World, Kaos, The Irregulars, Shadow and Bone, Anne With an E, Alias Grace, Collateral, Requiem, Wanderlust, Black Earth Rising, Giri Haji and The Spy.

Prior to her time at Netflix, Sapot held executive positions in drama development at the ABC Entertainment Group and the London-based production company, Carnival Films & TV. While serving as an executive director at ABC, Sapot developed and oversaw a number of drama programs including How To Get Away With Murder, Castle and GCB. Following her time at ABC, Sapot relocated to London and assumed the role of vice president of development at Carnival where she worked on UK drama series such as Jamestown and Lucky Man 2. In 2016, Sapot joined Netflix as a director of original series and commissioned English language programming with partner networks and globally owned original series.

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Emily Savage
Head of immersive and creative partnerships, Digital Catapult

Savage is responsible for working across the creative sector to help drive and derisk its innovation with advanced digital technologies – with a specific focus on immersive (virtual reality and augmented reality) innovation. Digital Catapult have been supporting the adoption and growth of the use of immersive and interactive technologies across the creative industries. Working with museums, ... read more

Savage is responsible for working across the creative sector to help drive and derisk its innovation with advanced digital technologies – with a specific focus on immersive (virtual reality and augmented reality) innovation. Digital Catapult have been supporting the adoption and growth of the use of immersive and interactive technologies across the creative industries. Working with museums, galleries, media and advertising organisations as they experiment and innovate with advanced digital technology to add new consumer experiences and to create additional revenue streams.

Additionally Digital Catapult run the UK’s largest immersive content accelerator with Arts Council England – supporting the creation of original immersive content from the UK’s growing ecosystem of talented digital creators and storytellers.

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Moderator Miranda Sawyer
Journalist and broadcaster,

Sawyer is an English journalist and broadcaster. Besides her features and radio criticism for the Observer, her writing has appeared in GQ, Vogue and the Guardian. She is a regular arts critic in print, on television and on radio. Her recent book, Out of Time, was published by Fourth Estate/HarperCollins. She is currently writing her third book, entitled Long Term about long term relationships,... read more

Sawyer is an English journalist and broadcaster. Besides her features and radio criticism for the Observer, her writing has appeared in GQ, Vogue and the Guardian. She is a regular arts critic in print, on television and on radio. Her recent book, Out of Time, was published by Fourth Estate/HarperCollins. She is currently writing her third book, entitled Long Term about long term relationships, to be published in 2018. She broadcasts on Radio 4 and for The Culture Show (BBC TV). She is on the board of Tate Members, the South London Gallery and Sound Women. 

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Moderator Dominic Schreiber
Global drama executive, Reel One Entertainment

Based in Reel One’s London office, Schreiber leads the company’s international drama series activities and currently oversees a diverse slate of projects in development with broadcasters on both sides of the Atlantic. Schreiber was previously executive producer, scripted, for Motion Content Group, where he served as EP on the Sky 1 drama The Last Dragonslayer, a co-production with Blueprint Pi... read more

Based in Reel One’s London office, Schreiber leads the company’s international drama series activities and currently oversees a diverse slate of projects in development with broadcasters on both sides of the Atlantic.

Schreiber was previously executive producer, scripted, for Motion Content Group, where he served as EP on the Sky 1 drama The Last Dragonslayer, a co-production with Blueprint Pictures. He was also EP on New Black Films’ feature film, Shooting for Socrates, starring Richard Dormer, John Hannah and Conleth Hill.

Prior to that, Schreiber was international development manager at Channel 4, where he was responsible for developing the channel’s drama co-production strategy and helped to structure its first international co-production with Kudos Film and Television, for the hit drama series Humans.

During his time at Channel 4, Schreiber built up a development slate of ambitious drama projects, including a major new adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities, from leading British screenwriter Alan Bleasdale; Rainmark Film’s period crime thriller The Frankenstein Chronicles; and Australian supernatural series The Kettering Incident.

He was also instrumental in the acquisition of the Bafta-nominated series Les Revenants.

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Tim Searle
Head of animation, Beano Studios

Tim Searle has worked in animation for over 25 years, joined Beano Studios from CBBC where he served as Executive Producer of Animation, and Executive Producer of Danger Mouse. Previous roles include Series Director of Mr Bean at Tiger Aspect where he also developed a number of projects as Creative Director for Kids & Animation. Searle has produced animation and graphics for a wide range of c... read more

Tim Searle has worked in animation for over 25 years, joined Beano Studios from CBBC where he served as Executive Producer of Animation, and Executive Producer of Danger Mouse. Previous roles include Series Director of Mr Bean at Tiger Aspect where he also developed a number of projects as Creative Director for Kids & Animation. Searle has produced animation and graphics for a wide range of comedy shows including Have I Got News For You and worked alongside Steve Coogan and Henry Normal at Baby Cow Animation where I Am Not An Animal was one of the highlights. From 2001 to 2004, Searle directed 5 series of 2DTV, ITV’s hit quick-turnaround, topical animated sketch show. Currently he is Executive Producer on series 2 of Dennis and Gnasher Unleashed! (CBBC).

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Deepak Segal
Head of content, Applause Entertainment

Segal is the head of content at Applause Entertainment. An alumnus of FTII, Pune, Segal has over three decades of expansive experience in the film and television industry. His repertoire of work includes key positions to drive content strategy across media giants Like Fox Television Studio India Pvt. Ltd., Sahara Motion Pictures, Star India and Star Plus. At Applause Entertainment, Segal drives th... read more

Segal is the head of content at Applause Entertainment. An alumnus of FTII, Pune, Segal has over three decades of expansive experience in the film and television industry. His repertoire of work includes key positions to drive content strategy across media giants Like Fox Television Studio India Pvt. Ltd., Sahara Motion Pictures, Star India and Star Plus.

At Applause Entertainment, Segal drives the studio’s vision of building a content hub that tells great stories, across mediums, catering to millions that wish to be entertained.

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Neely Shamam
EVP of programming and development, Ficto

In this role Shamam oversees the content development slate and programming strategy, and building relationships within the independent creative community. Ficto is a new premium content streaming platform optimized for mobile entertainment, focused on working with independent talent alongside Hollywood and enhancing storytelling for the mobile audience. Before joining Ficto, Shamam held leadership... read more

In this role Shamam oversees the content development slate and programming strategy, and building relationships within the independent creative community. Ficto is a new premium content streaming platform optimized for mobile entertainment, focused on working with independent talent alongside Hollywood and enhancing storytelling for the mobile audience.

Before joining Ficto, Shamam held leadership roles at both Disney’s Maker Studios, and Zone-TV, where she oversaw the development and production of dozens of series, the evolution of content distribution in digital, and the voice of multiple channels. In addition to her development and programming experience, Shamam brings to Ficto a deep knowledge and understanding of best practices and data analytics for digital-first content and streaming platforms.

As a creative collaborator and strategic thinker with an entrepreneurial and artistic spirit, Shamam is ready to explore the wild west of premium mobile entertainment.

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Lily Sheroziya
Marketing director, TV-3 and PREMIER Studios

Sherozia is responsible for the marketing strategy of TV-3, the perception of the brand by viewers, advertisers, the professional community and the media, as well as the promotion of film projects produced by Premier Studios (Gogol, The Blackout, Chernobyl. Exclusion Zone, etc.) Sherozia graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University and Stockholm School of Econom-ics (SSE), EMBA. From 2002 she ... read more

Sherozia is responsible for the marketing strategy of TV-3, the perception of the brand by viewers, advertisers, the professional community and the media, as well as the promotion of film projects produced by Premier Studios (Gogol, The Blackout, Chernobyl. Exclusion Zone, etc.) Sherozia graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University and Stockholm School of Econom-ics (SSE), EMBA. From 2002 she was engaged in promotional projects of the Russian television channel REN TV. In 2008 she was responsible for marketing in a joint media project of the interna-tional media holding RTL Group and Content Union SA.

Sherozia joined TV-3 channel in 2011. During her career, she rose from the head of the promotion-al department to marketing director. In 2015, she received an “A” rating in the list of young media managers in Russia compiled by Odgers Berndtson with the participation of PwC and the sup-port of Mikhailov & Partners. In 2017, she was awarded the Russian Media Manager Prize. In 2019, she took 3rd place in the “Top 1000” of Russian media managers according to the Kom-mersant newspaper.

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Nicola Shindler
Executive producer and CEO, Red Production Company

Award-winning producer Shindler set up RED Production Company in 1998 to work with the best writers on original television drama. The Manchester-based indie has since produced some of the UK’s most popular and award-winning series, working with esteemed writers including Russell T Davies, Harlan Coben, Matt Greenhalgh, Danny Brocklehurst, Sally Wainwright, Dan Sefton and Amelia Bullmore. Shindl... read more

Award-winning producer Shindler set up RED Production Company in 1998 to work with the best writers on original television drama. The Manchester-based indie has since produced some of the UK’s most popular and award-winning series, working with esteemed writers including Russell T Davies, Harlan Coben, Matt Greenhalgh, Danny Brocklehurst, Sally Wainwright, Dan Sefton and Amelia Bullmore.

Shindler’s credits include the seminal series Queer As Folk, BAFTA award-winning Happy Valley and Last Tango In Halifax, Ordinary Lies, Clocking Off, Come Home, Trust Me, and the ambitious trilogy Cucumber, Banana and Tofu. Recent shows include Harlan Coben’s Safe, Butterfly and the critically acclaimed Years and Years. Forthcoming dramas include Traces for Alibi and The Stranger for Netflix, adapted from Harlan Coben’s best-selling novel, an untitled Russell T Davies project for Channel 4 and Ridley Road for BBC One, based on the Jo Bloom novel and adapted by Sarah Solemani.

Alongside her work at RED, Shindler is the CEO of StudioCanal UK, spearheading a new in-house film production arm to develop British films. In 2019, Shindler received the Special Award at the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards, which recognised her outstanding contribution to television. RED Production Company is part of STUDIOCANAL’s international production network.

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Gabriel Silver
Commissioning editor, Sky

Silver started his career in factual entertainment, working as a film researcher on music documentaries and managing the pre-game entertainment at Arsenal football club. Moving into drama, he script edited for Granada, then Kudos’ Life on Mars, Spooks and The Fixer. He started producing with Granada/Mammoth Screen on the Miss Marple films, developed the climactic series of Waking the Dead for BB... read more

Silver started his career in factual entertainment, working as a film researcher on music documentaries and managing the pre-game entertainment at Arsenal football club. Moving into drama, he script edited for Granada, then Kudos’ Life on Mars, Spooks and The Fixer. He started producing with Granada/Mammoth Screen on the Miss Marple films, developed the climactic series of Waking the Dead for BBC1, before going to Left Bank Pictures where he developed the Sky / Cinemax series Strike Back, executive produced ITV’s DCI Banks and worked across their development slate. Since then he has developed several projects for Scott Free, produced the first series of Jess Brittain’s Clique for Balloon Entertainment / BBC Studios, and joined Sky Broadcasting as Commissioning Editor where he’s worked across originals Chernobyl, Temple, Cobra, Britannia and Gangs of London.

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Roger Simpson
Original creator and writer,

One of Australia’s leading producers and scriptwriters, Simpson has created seventeen series for television including the highly acclaimed telemovie series Halifax F.P. which won awards in every category during its record breaking run of 21 movies. He has worked with some of Australia’s leading actors including Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Gibney, Guy Pearse, Hugo Weaving and Eric Bana. Simpson is al... read more

One of Australia’s leading producers and scriptwriters, Simpson has created seventeen series for television including the highly acclaimed telemovie series Halifax F.P. which won awards in every category during its record breaking run of 21 movies. He has worked with some of Australia’s leading actors including Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Gibney, Guy Pearse, Hugo Weaving and Eric Bana. Simpson is also the winner of eleven awards for writing including eight Australian Writers Guild AWGIE Awards as well as numerous awards as a producer (including two Logies, four AFI’s and an Astra).

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Moderator Emma Smithwick
Managing director, Rockfleet Productions

Smithwick is a television producer with over 13 years experience in the industry and over 150 hours of scripted TV under her belt. Smithwick began her TV career at the BBC where she held roles as script editor, producer, staff writer and finally, as a commissioning editor. Post BBC, Smithwick moved to Lime Pictures to showrun youth drama, Hollyoaks where she had a strong mandate to grow younger au... read more

Smithwick is a television producer with over 13 years experience in the industry and over 150 hours of scripted TV under her belt. Smithwick began her TV career at the BBC where she held roles as script editor, producer, staff writer and finally, as a commissioning editor. Post BBC, Smithwick moved to Lime Pictures to showrun youth drama, Hollyoaks where she had a strong mandate to grow younger audiences for Channel 4 and reinvent the online output. Smithwick now runs Rockfleet Productions, a scripted production company she founded with friend and VFW (very funny woman) Phoebe Bourke. The two spend an unhealthy amount of time together developing shows that they want to watch (mainly comedy drama) with a stable of staggeringly talented creatives.

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Soumya Sriraman
President, BritBox

Sriraman is president for BritBox, a joint venture between BBC Studios, the subsidiary arm of BBC, and ITV, the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster. In this role, Sriraman is responsible for the overall strategy and operation of BritBox, with a focus on bringing the best British content to the service through acquisitions, licensing, co-productions, and key partnerships, with an emphasis on reac... read more

Sriraman is president for BritBox, a joint venture between BBC Studios, the subsidiary arm of BBC, and ITV, the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster. In this role, Sriraman is responsible for the overall strategy and operation of BritBox, with a focus on bringing the best British content to the service through acquisitions, licensing, co-productions, and key partnerships, with an emphasis on reach, engagement, and retention. Earlier, Sriraman served as executive vice president of franchise and digital enterprises at BBC Worldwide North America (now BBC Studios Americas), where she expanded brand platforms, maximized distribution outlets, developed new product and grew the home entertainment and licensing businesses to record breaking heights; adding a new distribution line-up of theatrical events for the key BBC brands including Doctor Who and BBC Earth.

Prior to joining BBC Worldwide North America, Sriraman was president and chief executive officer for Palisades Tartan US and UK where, she spearheaded the releasing of independent and arthouse films, relaunched the Tartan brand, and increased sales against a declining market. Sriraman was named among Home Media Magazine’s 40 Under 40 executives and held positions at Warner Home Video and Universal Home Entertainment. Sriraman was also the senior vice president of theatrical marketing at Universal Music and Video’s filmed entertainment arm, Vivendi Entertainment. She is a member of the British American Business Association and is delighted to serve on the Advisory Board of the Bentonville Film Festival.

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Nicole Starr
Vice president of social impact, Participant

Participant is the leading media company dedicated to entertainment that inspires audiences to engage in positive social change. In her role, Starr oversees the development and execution of impact campaigns that bring together art and activism to accelerate progress around the world’s most pressing issues. Her passion for leveraging the power of storytelling to inspire action drives her work at ... read more

Participant is the leading media company dedicated to entertainment that inspires audiences to engage in positive social change. In her role, Starr oversees the development and execution of impact campaigns that bring together art and activism to accelerate progress around the world’s most pressing issues. Her passion for leveraging the power of storytelling to inspire action drives her work at Participant, which includes the creation of social impact and culture change campaigns for numerous films, such as the critically acclaimed RBG, On the Basis of Sex, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power and Academy Award®-winning Roma. Most recently, the impact campaign around Roma helped shift the narrative around domestic workers and inspired the cultural conditions for policy change in the U.S. and Mexico.

Starr came to Participant with over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry, including a six-year stint at 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment building corporate partnerships around film and TV properties such as Avatar, Life of Pi, X-men franchise and Glee. In addition, Starr is a founding member of Storyline Partners, an organization working in writers’ rooms to create authentic portrayals of underrepresented or misrepresented communities in pop culture.

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Philipp Steffens
Head of fiction, RTL Television

Steffens has been head of fiction at RTL Television since March 2014 and is responsible for productions including Starfighter, Der Lehrer, Duell der Brüder and the series Deutschland 83, which won a Grimme Award in 2016. Immediately following his graduation from the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg in 2006, Steffens started his own production company (greenskyFILMS) with several fellow students, w... read more

Steffens has been head of fiction at RTL Television since March 2014 and is responsible for productions including Starfighter, Der Lehrer, Duell der Brüder and the series Deutschland 83, which won a Grimme Award in 2016. Immediately following his graduation from the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg in 2006, Steffens started his own production company (greenskyFILMS) with several fellow students, with which he also produced the international co-production 8 with renowned directors such as Gus Van Sant, Jane Campion, Wim Wenders and many others. The film won the Cinema for Peace Award in 2009 and was shown at festivals around the world. This was followed by the successful television series Der letzte Bulle (The last cop), which won both the Bavarian Television Award in 2011 and the German Television Award in 2012, and was successfully adapted in France, Russia and Japan. Steffens then started another company (Twenty Four 9 Films) and produced international cinema co-productions and series including the TNT production Weinberg, for which he received a Grimme Award in 2016.

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Carrie Stein
EVP, global scripted series, Kew Media

Stein has worked in the entertainment industry for over 25 years in all phases of the business, including feature film, television development, and production. Stein’s specialty over the last 15 years has been developing and packaging scripted series for the global market, including co-productions, pre- sales and original production in local markets. Stein is one of only a handful of executives ... read more

Stein has worked in the entertainment industry for over 25 years in all phases of the business, including feature film, television development, and production. Stein’s specialty over the last 15 years has been developing and packaging scripted series for the global market, including co-productions, pre- sales and original production in local markets. Stein is one of only a handful of executives who is able to navigate the US, UK, Canadian and European markets both creatively and commercially. Stein joined Kew Media as EVP of global scripted series where she’s responsible for building a high end scripted slate as well as working with producers under the Kew banner, identifying distribution targets and establishing strategic partnerships.

For the previous five years, Stein was EVP of global productions for eOne where she was responsible for expanding the company both corporately and commercially in the global space, forging strategic alliances with global producers as well as packaging and overseeing production for international co-productions. Prior to eOne, Stein ran a global management and packaging division for 3 arts management where she continued to work closely with producers to develop scripted content for global channels. In 2006 Stein was hired as the CEO of alchemy television, a UK based production and distribution company that exploded onto the television landscape producing a premium slate of global television properties. Prior to alchemy, Stein ran the longform packaging department at ICM.

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Lou Stein
Artistic director, Chickenshed Theatre

During the past four years Stein has been developing new media partnerships and relationships including working as an inclusion consultant with UK television producer Chapter One and Reel One International during the development phase of the drama series Team Chocolate. His theatre production about a young person’s response to climate change, Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow, won the 2019 Be... read more

During the past four years Stein has been developing new media partnerships and relationships including working as an inclusion consultant with UK television producer Chapter One and Reel One International during the development phase of the drama series Team Chocolate. His theatre production about a young person’s response to climate change, Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow, won the 2019 Best Production for Children 13+ Offie (Off-West End) Award.

Stein is the founder the Gate Theatre, London and his work established the Gate as an important theatre for international work. As artistic director of the Watford Palace Theatre he was responsible for an acclaimed series of plays including many transfers into the West End. Stein has directed, written, and produced a number of critically praised dramas for BBC Radio 3 and 4 and has worked with such actors as Helen Mirren, Benedict Cumberbatch, Patrick Stewart, Rosamund Pike and Helena Bonham-Carter.

Stein’s son is a thirteen year old actor at Chickenshed and has Down Syndrome. It is Ethan who led Lou to Chickenshed, and whose journey has had a huge impact on Stein’s
understanding and expertise in developing the skills of often over-looked talents who bring a difference to any production.

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Moderator Carrie Stein
EVP, global scripted series, Kew Media

Stein has worked in the entertainment industry for over 25 years in all phases of the business, including feature film, television development, and production. Stein’s specialty over the last 15 years has been developing and packaging scripted series for the global market, including co-productions, pre- sales and original production in local markets. Stein is one of only a handful of executives ... read more

Stein has worked in the entertainment industry for over 25 years in all phases of the business, including feature film, television development, and production. Stein’s specialty over the last 15 years has been developing and packaging scripted series for the global market, including co-productions, pre- sales and original production in local markets. Stein is one of only a handful of executives who is able to navigate the US, UK, Canadian and European markets both creatively and commercially. Stein joined Kew Media as EVP of global scripted series where she’s responsible for building a high end scripted slate as well as working with producers under the Kew banner, identifying distribution targets and establishing strategic partnerships.

For the previous five years, Stein was EVP of global productions for eOne where she was responsible for expanding the company both corporately and commercially in the global space, forging strategic alliances with global producers as well as packaging and overseeing production for international co-productions. Prior to eOne, Stein ran a global management and packaging division for 3 arts management where she continued to work closely with producers to develop scripted content for global channels. In 2006 Stein was hired as the CEO of alchemy television, a UK based production and distribution company that exploded onto the television landscape producing a premium slate of global television properties. Prior to alchemy, Stein ran the longform packaging department at ICM.

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Richard Stokes
Executive producer,

Stokes’ first producer roles were on the continuing dramas EastEnders and Holby City. He produced the first two series of the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood for BBC Three, which launched to record viewing figures. He then went on to produce the legal drama Silk and won BAFTA and RTS awards for best series with Broadchurch. In 2016, he produced Undercover for the BBC and currently serves as an exe... read more

Stokes’ first producer roles were on the continuing dramas EastEnders and Holby City. He produced the first two series of the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood for BBC Three, which launched to record viewing figures. He then went on to produce the legal drama Silk and won BAFTA and RTS awards for best series with Broadchurch. In 2016, he produced Undercover for the BBC and currently serves as an executive producer on Silent Witness, now in its 23rd season, and The Watch for BBC America.

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Moderator Melanie Stokes
Founder and managing director, Kindle Entertainment

Multiple BAFTA-winning Kindle Entertainment, now in its thirteenth year. Kindle’s scripted portfolio spans family, young adult, primetime and kids – all share an imaginative response to our world: Kiss Me First (Channel 4 & Netflix) two young women fight a shadowy cult in a virtual world; The A List (BBC iPlayer and Netflix) – a returning supernatural mystery set on a remote island; Dus... read more

Multiple BAFTA-winning Kindle Entertainment, now in its thirteenth year. Kindle’s scripted portfolio spans family, young adult, primetime and kids – all share an imaginative response to our world: Kiss Me First (Channel 4 & Netflix) two young women fight a shadowy cult in a virtual world; The A List (BBC iPlayer and Netflix) – a returning supernatural mystery set on a remote island; Dustbin Baby (BBC1), International Emmy, BAFTA winning feature; Some Dogs Bite (BBC3), a road-movie with a unique interactive ending; mini-series, Treasure Island (Sky1) a dark reboot of this much loved classic; returning action adventure series, Leonardo (CBBC), and mini-series, The Life & Adventures of Nick Nickleby (BBC 1 & Gold), the first modern retelling of a Dickens tale. Award-winning, Dixi (CBBC), an interactive mystery for tweens, went to five series, won a BAFTA for Best Original Content (2014), C21 Best Digital Drama (2015), and Digital TV Most Innovative Content Award (2016). Melanie is passionate about working with emerging talent in the UK (and beyond) and especially with those from the more under-represented quarters.

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Samantha Strauss
Creator, The End

Strauss wrote, created and executive produced upcoming series The End for Foxtel and Sky Atlantic, produced by See-Saw Films and starring Frances O’Connor, Harriet Walter and Morgan Davies. Strauss created and script produced 65 episodes of Dance Academy which screens in over 160 countries. She wrote 25 episodes and won two Australian Writer’s Guild Awards. The series was nominated for two Int... read more

Strauss wrote, created and executive produced upcoming series The End for Foxtel and Sky Atlantic, produced by See-Saw Films and starring Frances O’Connor, Harriet Walter and Morgan Davies. Strauss created and script produced 65 episodes of Dance Academy which screens in over 160 countries. She wrote 25 episodes and won two Australian Writer’s Guild Awards. The series was nominated for two International Emmys, won the Outstanding Children’s Series Logie awards in 2012 and 2013 and has won or been nominated for multiple AACTA awards, Asian Television awards, Sichuan Festival Golden Panda awards, Banff Television Festival and New York Festivals awards. She wrote a spin-off feature film, Dance Academy: The Movie, which The Australian newspaper reviewed as “better than LA LA LAND”. In 2017 Strauss script produced the second series of The Wrong Girl for Channel 10 and wrote three episodes.

Strauss’ current projects include the feature film, The President’s Astrologer, for Fox Searchlight and Film 4, directed by John Madden and produced by Damian Jones. She is also writing a pilot for Tom McCarthy’s company, developing the series Wellness with See-Saw Films, and working with Made Up Stories and Blossom Films on a television adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s bestselling novel Nine Perfect Strangers for Hulu.

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David M. Taghioff
CEO, Library Pictures International

Taghioff leads Library Pictures International (Library), a global local-language content financier. Library was launched in May 2019 to support industry-leading filmmakers across the globe by investing in local production slates. Taghioff operates from the company’s Los Angeles headquarters. Taghioff was previously co-head of global client strategy at leading entertainment and sports agency Crea... read more

Taghioff leads Library Pictures International (Library), a global local-language content financier. Library was launched in May 2019 to support industry-leading filmmakers across the globe by investing in local production slates. Taghioff operates from the company’s Los Angeles headquarters. Taghioff was previously co-head of global client strategy at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA), where he worked across the agency identifying new business opportunities for the agency’s clients, with an emphasis on the international marketplace. He advised corporate clients on their international initiatives, and he also worked with film and television clients on cross-border opportunities, brokering multiple film slate deals as well as packaging episodic content and film deals for Netflix and Amazon in India. Taghioff came to CAA in 2011 from Octagon, Inc., where he was chief operating officer of its entertainment division. Prior to this role, Taghioff served as the co-head of William Morris Agency’s London office. Taghioff graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Southern California. He received his Juris Doctorate from Santa Clara University and is a member of the California State Bar.

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Moderator Gabriel Tate
Journalist,

Tate wrote about television and the arts for Time Out for 10 years, where he was TV editor until 2014 and interviewed public figures including David Attenborough, Jade Goody and a pool shark called Etienne. Now freelance, he writes about the same for broadsheets, tabloids, magazines and periodicals, appears sporadically on radio and television and has moderated events for Sky, Channel 4 and the BB... read more

Tate wrote about television and the arts for Time Out for 10 years, where he was TV editor until 2014 and interviewed public figures including David Attenborough, Jade Goody and a pool shark called Etienne. Now freelance, he writes about the same for broadsheets, tabloids, magazines and periodicals, appears sporadically on radio and television and has moderated events for Sky, Channel 4 and the BBC.

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Ben Taylor
Director,

Since gaining a degree in Film from Staffordshire University, Ben Taylor has directed celebrated comedies from the multi-award-winning and BAFTA nominated Cardinal Burns to the hugely popular and BAFTA winning Catastrophe. Taylor set up Catastrophe with writers and leads, Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney, and received a BAFTA nomination for Best Director. After directing three series of the Channel 4... read more

Since gaining a degree in Film from Staffordshire University, Ben Taylor has directed celebrated comedies from the multi-award-winning and BAFTA nominated Cardinal Burns to the hugely popular and BAFTA winning Catastrophe. Taylor set up Catastrophe with writers and leads, Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney, and received a BAFTA nomination for Best Director. After directing three series of the Channel 4 comedy, Taylor went on to work with Sharon again on HBO series Divorce, starring Sarah Jessica Parker. Taylor has since directed the critically acclaimed Sex Education for Eleven and Netflix, starring Gillian Anderson and Asa Butterfield; and Year of the Rabbit for Objective Fiction, starring Matt Berry. Taylor is currently directing and executive-producing the second series of Sex Education

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Ran Tellem
Head of international content development, The Mediapro Studio

With an extended career as one of the most prestigious creators of television’s content worldwide, Tellem won an Emmy Award as executive producer of Homeland, the US adaptation of his series Prisoners of War. Other formats developed by him are Boom! and the talent show Rising Star, both distributed and broadcast on televisions around the world. Before joining The Mediapro Studio, Tellem was vice... read more

With an extended career as one of the most prestigious creators of television’s content worldwide, Tellem won an Emmy Award as executive producer of Homeland, the US adaptation of his series Prisoners of War. Other formats developed by him are Boom! and the talent show Rising Star, both distributed and broadcast on televisions around the world. Before joining The Mediapro Studio, Tellem was vice president of programming and content of the Israeli leading global content producer and distributor Keshet International (Israel).

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Warwick Thornton
Director,

Thornton is an internationally recognised director, screenwriter and cinematographer. His most recent feature film Sweet Country won the special jury prize at the 2017 Venice Film Festival, the Platform Prize at the Toronto Film Festival and over 30 other awards including the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Film. Born and raised in Alice Springs, central Australia, Thornton began his career dir... read more

Thornton is an internationally recognised director, screenwriter and cinematographer. His most recent feature film Sweet Country won the special jury prize at the 2017 Venice Film Festival, the Platform Prize at the Toronto Film Festival and over 30 other awards including the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Film. Born and raised in Alice Springs, central Australia, Thornton began his career directing and shooting short films, including Green Bush and Nana, both of which won prizes at the Berlinale. His debut feature Samson and Delilah won the Camera d’Or for best first feature at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. His second feature The Darkside premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. Thornton directed the opening segment of Guillermo Arriaga’s Words with Gods and Tim Winton’s The Turning. Thornton has also directed documentaries including the feature We Don’t Need A Map, which opened the 2017 Sydney Film Festival. Although Thornton has solidified a name for himself as a director and screenwriter, he is also widely regarded for his work as a cinematographer. His DOP credits include The Sapphires and Sweet Country. The drama series Mystery Road is Thornton’s first foray into television drama where he is both set up director and DOP.

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Kris Thykier
Founder, Archery Pictures

Since Archery Pictures’ launch, Thykier has developed and produced the television series Riviera for Sky Atlantic, now shooting its third season, and the limited series The State for Channel 4 / Nat Geo. Thykier also recently produced the feature film Tolkien starring Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins for Fox Searchlight. Thykier is currently executive producing the Netflix fantasy series Fate: Th... read more

Since Archery Pictures’ launch, Thykier has developed and produced the television series Riviera for Sky Atlantic, now shooting its third season, and the limited series The State for Channel 4 / Nat Geo. Thykier also recently produced the feature film Tolkien starring Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins for Fox Searchlight. Thykier is currently executive producing the Netflix fantasy series Fate: The Winx Saga and is in pre-production on John Madden’s latest film Operation Mincemeat written by Michelle Ashford and starring Colin Firth.

Before launching Archery Pictures, Thykier headed PeaPie Films: one of the UK’s leading independent film producers. Films produced by Thykier under the PeaPie banner include the political thriller MISS SLOANE starring Jessica Chastain; the epic love story Ali & Nino, written by Christopher Hampton; John Wells’ BURNT, staring Bradley Cooper; and Woman in Gold, directed by Simon Curtis and starring Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds. Thykier also developed and produced Trash with Working Title, directed by Stephen Daldry and based on a screenplay by Richard Curtis. Other features produced by Thykier include One Chance, I Give it a Year, W.E., Ill Manors, The Debt, Summer of ‘92, Harry Brown, Kickass and Stardust.

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Moderator Selma Turajlic
Co-founder, Little Dot Studios

Prior to co-founding Little Dot Studios in April 2013, Turajlic was head of interactive media and licensing, at ALL3MEDIA International where she was responsible for the development and exploitation of the entire ALL3MEDIA portfolio of TV programmes across digital media and consumer products. Before joining ALL3MEDIA International in 2009, Turajlic was director, interactive media at Celador Intern... read more

Prior to co-founding Little Dot Studios in April 2013, Turajlic was head of interactive media and licensing, at ALL3MEDIA International where she was responsible for the development and exploitation of the entire ALL3MEDIA portfolio of TV programmes across digital media and consumer products. Before joining ALL3MEDIA International in 2009, Turajlic was director, interactive media at Celador International (now part of Sony Pictures Television) where she managed international digital licensing for formats such as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and Dragons’ Den. Previous roles include business development consultant at Shazam Entertainment working on technology licensing and devising distribution strategies both in the UK and USA and lastminute.com where she worked on establishing entertainment e-commerce offering.

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Oliver Vogel
Chief Creative Officer, Bavaria Fiction

As chief creative officer at Bavaria Fiction, Vogel oversees the company’s content-related activities and supervises the work of its award-winning producers. A graduate of the prestigious Baden-Württemberg Film Academy, Vogel has been a valued member of the Bavaria Film Group team for almost 22 years. As an executive producer, his credits include numerous successful TV series such as In All... read more

As chief creative officer at Bavaria Fiction, Vogel oversees the company’s content-related activities and supervises the work of its award-winning producers.

A graduate of the prestigious Baden-Württemberg Film Academy, Vogel has been a valued member of the Bavaria Film Group team for almost 22 years. As an executive producer, his credits include numerous successful TV series such as In Aller Freundschaft, Tierärztin Dr. Mertens, Soko Stuttgart, Dr. Klein, Rentnercops, Dengler and the multi award-winning international TV series Das Boot.

In 2010, Vogel was also appointed managing director of Colonia Media, a Bavaria subsidiary, and in 2014, after the merger with Bavaria Fiction, took the position of authorized representative and executive vice president programming. He was appointed CCO of Bavaria Fiction in 2017.

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Kateryna Vyshnevska
Head of development, co-productions and producer, FILM.UA Group

Vyshnevska is responsible for international development efforts of Ukraine’s leading TV and film studio – FILM.UA Group. With a specific focus on scripted drama, Vyshnevska evaluates, develops and executive produces scripted drama projects (ranging from original content to local adaptations of successful scripted formats) and oversees international development and co-production partner... read more

Vyshnevska is responsible for international development efforts of Ukraine’s leading TV and film studio – FILM.UA Group. With a specific focus on scripted drama, Vyshnevska evaluates, develops and executive produces scripted drama projects (ranging from original content to local adaptations of successful scripted formats) and oversees international development and co-production partnerships. Most recently Vyshnevska has co-produced Ukraine’s first noir drama – Hide and Seek – that was featured by MIPDrama Buyers Summit 2019, picked up by numerous international festivals and is now distributed internationally by ZDF Enterprises. Vyshnevska has been instrumental to the global success of The Sniffer (the first Ukrainian drama picked up by Netflix and Amazon Prime and adapted internationally) and in bringing to Ukraine and Russia successful international drama formats like Step Dave (All3Media International) and The Red Band Society (Filmax). Vyshnevska is currently working on several international projects with international partners in Italy, Iceland, Israel, etc. She has served as a juror for multiple international drama awards incl. International Emmy and Rockie Awards. Vyshnevska has also served on the board of NATPE Budapest Advisory Committee.

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Jeff Wachtel
President, NBCUniversal International Studios

As president of NBCUniversal International Studios, Wachtel oversees all aspects of television development, production and strategic content partnerships for the company and its award-winning portfolio, which comprises: Carnival Films, creator of worldwide phenomenon Downton Abbey, Netflix series The Last Kingdom and upcoming drama Belgravia for ITV and EPIX; Monkey Kingdom, producer of BAFTA-winn... read more

As president of NBCUniversal International Studios, Wachtel oversees all aspects of television development, production and strategic content partnerships for the company and its award-winning portfolio, which comprises: Carnival Films, creator of worldwide phenomenon Downton Abbey, Netflix series The Last Kingdom and upcoming drama Belgravia for ITV and EPIX; Monkey Kingdom, producer of BAFTA-winning Made in Chelsea, reality ITVBe hit The Real Housewives of Cheshire and ITV2 hip hop comedy show Don’t Hate The Playaz; and Australian-based Matchbox Pictures, producer of critically-acclaimed series Glitch, The Slap, Safe Harbour and upcoming drama Stateless. NBCUniversal International Studios also operates joint production ventures with Working Title Television (Tales of the City, The Luminaries) and Heyday Television (The Long Song, The Capture), and owns an equity stake in LARK Productions (Fortunate Son) in Canada. Wachtel also oversees International Studios’ LA and UK based Scripted unit, which comprises the Emmy-nominated television remake Hanna for Amazon Prime Video.

Wachtel joined International Studios from NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. As chief content officer, he spearheaded NBCUniversal’s Cable portfolio and under his leadership, the studios enjoyed notable success with award-winning series such as Mr. Robot, The Sinner and Suits. Prior to this, Wachtel was co-president of USA for over a decade.

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Sally Wainwright
Writer, producer and director,

Wainwright is a multi-award-winning English television writer, producer and director. She is best known for creating Scott & Bailey, Last Tango in Halifax and Happy Valley. In 2016 Wainwright wrote and directed a BBC1 drama called To Walk Invisible: The Bronte Sisters. Most recently, she has written, executive produced and directed Gentleman Jack for BBC1 and HBO.

Mike Walden
Writer,

Walden graduated with an MFA in screenwriting from Columbia School of the Arts in 2007. At Columbia University, Walden won The William Goldman Screenwriting Fellowship, The Hollywood Foreign Press Award, The Columbia Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay and The Zaki Gordon Award for Excellence in Screenwriting. Walden’s debut feature, uwantme2killhim was released in 2013, winning Best Actor ... read more

Walden graduated with an MFA in screenwriting from Columbia School of the Arts in 2007. At Columbia University, Walden won The William Goldman Screenwriting Fellowship, The Hollywood Foreign Press Award, The Columbia Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay and The Zaki Gordon Award for Excellence in Screenwriting. Walden’s debut feature, uwantme2killhim was released in 2013, winning Best Actor Awards for Jamie Blackley and Toby Regbo at The Edinburgh Film Festival. uwantme2killhim was released in the U.S.A. in 2014, distributed by Tribeca. Walden co-wrote Doors Open, an adaptation of the Ian Rankin novel, starring Stephen Fry. It aired in 2012 on Boxing Day. Other TV credits include The Frankenstein Chronicles and Marcella. Walden is currently writing all six episodes of his original show, Concordia, for Intaglio Films.

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Moderator Ed Waller
Editorial director, C21Media

Waller is a media journalist working out of London, England. He is editorial director for C21 Media, which publishes the leading international TV trade website C21Media.net and print magazines Channel 21 International and C21 Kids. He also regularly contributes to UK national newspapers including The Guardian, The Independent and The Sunday Times. Waller previously worked at trade magazines Televi... read more

Waller is a media journalist working out of London, England. He is editorial director for C21 Media, which publishes the leading international TV trade website C21Media.net and print magazines Channel 21 International and C21 Kids. He also regularly contributes to UK national newspapers including The Guardian, The Independent and The Sunday Times.

Waller previously worked at trade magazines Televisual Magazine and Asia-Pacific Satellite.

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Patrick Walters
Head of development, See-Saw Films

As head of development (TV) for See-Saw Films Walters runs development across See-Saw’s UK television slate, progressing pitches and scripts into broadcasters and then on to the screen. Walters is currently working on forthcoming productions The End (Sky Atlantic/Foxtel), and The North Water (BBC2), alongside a range of other dramas across a variety of international broadcast partners. Previousl... read more

As head of development (TV) for See-Saw Films Walters runs development across See-Saw’s UK television slate, progressing pitches and scripts into broadcasters and then on to the screen. Walters is currently working on forthcoming productions The End (Sky Atlantic/Foxtel), and The North Water (BBC2), alongside a range of other dramas across a variety of international broadcast partners. Previously he has worked on productions including Top Of The Lake: China Girl, Love, Nina, and The New Legends Of Monkey.

Before joining the company in 2014 Walters worked across both film and television development, on feature films Suffragette (dir. Sarah Gavron) and Tulip Fever (dir. Justin Chadwick). Prior to this Walters worked at Scott Free Films, Channel 4 Drama, and Warner Bros Intl., where he started his career as a marketing and business analyst intern.

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Philip Webb
COO, OUTtv

Webb is originally from the UK where he worked at ITV Productions on a number of factual reality hits. Since moving to Canada he has produced over 150 hours of documentary, lifestyle and reality programming. At OUTtv, Webb is responsible for the operations of the company, with a specific focus on the technical and delivery side of the business. He also continues to oversee the development and prod... read more

Webb is originally from the UK where he worked at ITV Productions on a number of factual reality hits. Since moving to Canada he has produced over 150 hours of documentary, lifestyle and reality programming. At OUTtv, Webb is responsible for the operations of the company, with a specific focus on the technical and delivery side of the business. He also continues to oversee the development and production of OUTtv’s original programming.

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Eric Welbers
CEO, ndF

Welbers was born on February 5, 1968, in Cologne, Germany. After earning a business and economics degree at Cologne University, he went on to receive an MBA degree from the IESE business school of Barcelona in 1996. That same year, he took on the position of international sales executive for Beta Film. At Beta Film, he was head of business development until 2001, managing sales and co-productions... read more

Welbers was born on February 5, 1968, in Cologne, Germany. After earning a business and economics degree at Cologne University, he went on to receive an MBA degree from the IESE business school of Barcelona in 1996. That same year, he took on the position of international sales executive for Beta Film.

At Beta Film, he was head of business development until 2001, managing sales and co-productions to and with Latin America, Italy and Spain. He then left the Kirch Group together with Jan Mojto to found Eos Entertainment. Ever since the merger of Eos Entertainment with Beta Film, Welbers was part of the Beta group’s executive board with multiple functions in the operational levels of the company. Among other things, Welbers was head of Beta’s television activities overseeing international distribution, production and co-production.

He left Beta Film in May 2015 to become CEO of ndF. ndF: is one of the leading German production companies, being responsible for television hits like Mountain Medic, For Heaven’s Sake or Crimewatch.

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Ed Wells
SVP and head of international media and education, Sesame Workshop

Wells has a long and distinguished track record of building brands and operations throughout the world. Wells served as EVP and head of international for WWE, Inc., where he was responsible for the global strategic development of WWE’s brand and businesses, including the launch of the direct-to-consumer subscription service, WWE Network. Prior to that, he worked across the Viacom International M... read more

Wells has a long and distinguished track record of building brands and operations throughout the world. Wells served as EVP and head of international for WWE, Inc., where he was responsible for the global strategic development of WWE’s brand and businesses, including the launch of the direct-to-consumer subscription service, WWE Network. Prior to that, he worked across the Viacom International Media Networks brands based in New York, Singapore and Japan, where he served as vice president and general manager of Nickelodeon. He has a deep experience in international media, consumer products and live events.

Wells comes with great passion for kids, education, Sesame Workshop and the work we do. Wells is also actively involved in philanthropic institutions outside of the workplace and is a board member of the Ali Forney Center, an organization supporting homeless LGBTQ teens. Wells received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan and later earned Master of Arts degrees in International Studies from both American University and Ritsumeikan University.

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Piers Wenger
Controller of drama, BBC

Wenger was appointed controller of BBC drama in late 2016. Prior to this he was head of drama at Channel 4, and head of drama at BBC Wales. During his time as head of drama at BBC Wales, Wenger was an executive producer on Doctor Who, where he cast Matt Smith into the lead role. Wenger is responsible for overseeing more than 450 hours of drama across the year. Wenger’s recent BBC drama commiss... read more

Wenger was appointed controller of BBC drama in late 2016. Prior to this he was head of drama at Channel 4, and head of drama at BBC Wales. During his time as head of drama at BBC Wales, Wenger was an executive producer on Doctor Who, where he cast Matt Smith into the lead role. Wenger is responsible for overseeing more than 450 hours of drama across the year.

Wenger’s recent BBC drama commissions include Gentleman Jack by writer Sally Wainwright, The Long Song from writer Sarah Williams, A Very English Scandal by Russell T Davies, Black Earth Rising from the BAFTA-winning Hugo Blick, Mrs Wilson written by Anna Symon and developed with Ruth Wilson, The Cry written by Jacqueline Perske and starring Jenna Coleman and BBC One’s follow-up Le Carré title The Little Drummer Girl. Further upcoming commissions include The Trial of Christine Keeler written by Amanda Coe, Dark Mon£y from Levi David Addai, The North Water written and directed by Andrew Haig, Gold Digger from Marnie Dickens, A Christmas Carol by Steven Knight, A Suitable Boy adapted by Andrew Davies and Elizabeth is Missing adapted by Andrea Gibb starring two-time Academy Award winner Glenda Jackson.

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Alexi Wheeler
Manager, kids and family international originals, EMEA, Netflix

Wheeler leads a team responsible for producing, commissioning and acquiring kids and family content for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Prior to joining Netflix, Wheeler was vice president for Animation Production and Development at Viacom International. In his almost two decades in children’s entertainment, Wheeler has produced content aimed at pre-schoolers, and 6-12-year olds both in live... read more

Wheeler leads a team responsible for producing, commissioning and acquiring kids and family content for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Prior to joining Netflix, Wheeler was vice president for Animation Production and Development at Viacom International. In his almost two decades in children’s entertainment, Wheeler has produced content aimed at pre-schoolers, and 6-12-year olds both in live-action and animation. His credits include a number of international hits and family favourites such as Peppa Pig, Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom, Fireman Sam and Nella the Princess Night.

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Moderator Lucinda Whiteley
Creative director, Novel Entertainment

Whiteley’s career in the entertainment industry spans television, film, theatre, video, and publishing. As creative director of Novel Entertainment, the company she co-founded in 2001, she writes and produces across a range of media. Novel specialises in the creation and development of successful children’s character brands; core programming includes Horrid Henry, Cinemaniacs and Fimbles and ... read more

Whiteley’s career in the entertainment industry spans television, film, theatre, video, and publishing. As creative director of Novel Entertainment, the company she co-founded in 2001, she writes and produces across a range of media. Novel specialises in the creation and development of successful children’s character brands; core programming includes Horrid Henry, Cinemaniacs and Fimbles and the company has produced over 850 programmes for television, radio and the digital space, with expertise extending into interactive online content, computer games and brand licensing and merchandising.

Whiteley’s early career took her to The Children’s Channel, ITV, Universal Pictures and Channel Four. She has been a vice chair of the World Summit on Children’s Television, a board member of BAFTA and a founding member of Children’s BAFTA and is currently a board member of the Oxford Technology and Media Network and a member of the Rose D’Or Awards jury.

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James Whitlam
VFX Executive Producer, Framestore

Whitlam’s 28-year career has seen him work across film, TV and commercials, and his credits include Disney’s Oscar-nominated Christopher Robin, Paddington 2, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows Part 1, and the Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Whitlam began his VFX his care... read more

Whitlam’s 28-year career has seen him work across film, TV and commercials, and his credits include Disney’s Oscar-nominated Christopher Robin, Paddington 2, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows Part 1, and the Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Whitlam began his VFX his career as a compositor and 3D generalist before moving into production at Rising Sun Pictures which he helped transform into a top-tier boutique visual effects company, and Iloura as senior VFX producer on Peter Berg’s Deepwater Horizon. He joined Oscar, Emmy and BAFTA-winning creative studio Framestore in 2016.

Having recently wrapped the first season of Bad Wolf’s epic adaptation of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, he is now working on the show’s second series.

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Stephanie Whitley
Manager, planning and brand strategy, Dubit

As planning and brand strategy manager at Dubit, Whitley oversees the initial stages of the digital entertainment and education apps and games that Dubit create. Whitley often works between the research and digital teams to help conceptualise the best digital experiences for clients and ensures that recent research findings and observations input into all of Dubit’s digital builds. Since lau... read more

As planning and brand strategy manager at Dubit, Whitley oversees the initial stages of the digital entertainment and education apps and games that Dubit create. Whitley often works between the research and digital teams to help conceptualise the best digital experiences for clients and ensures that recent research findings and observations input into all of Dubit’s digital builds.

Since launching in 1999, Dubit has experience working with many leading children’s companies, including LEGO, Mattel, PBS Kids, Dreamworks and Discovery – as well as many start-ups, too.

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Moderator Clive Whittingham
News editor, C21Media

Whittingham is news editor at C21 Media and also edits C21’s Factual Weekly newsletter. Prior to joining the company as senior reporter in 2011, he reported on news and court cases for several regional newspapers in the UK. He also covers sport for The Daily Telegraph.

Rob Wilkins
Executive producer, Narrativia

Having hit it off over a shared love of retro computers back in the 1990’s Wilkins and Terry began working together immediately. Wilkins was Terry’s best friend, companion and business manager, enabling the author to keep writing despite the adversities of his Alzheimer’s disease. Wilkins is the founder, co-owner and co-director of Narrativia, which owns and controls the exclusive multimed... read more

Having hit it off over a shared love of retro computers back in the 1990’s Wilkins and Terry began working together immediately. Wilkins was Terry’s best friend, companion and business manager, enabling the author to keep writing despite the adversities of his Alzheimer’s disease.


Wilkins is the founder, co-owner and co-director of Narrativia, which owns and controls the exclusive multimedia and merchandising rights to all of Sir Terry’s works, including his Discworld characters and creations. He is also Managing Director of Dunmanifestin, which controls all of Terry’s publishing rights.

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Trish Williams
Executive director, scripted content, CBC

Williams oversees the public broadcaster’s drama, comedy and film teams across all broadcast and streaming original long-form programming, including CBC’s upcoming Trickster and Fortunate Son and current hits Schitt’s Creek, Kim’s Convenience, Baroness Von Sketch Show, Workin’ Moms,TallBoyz, Anne with an ‘E’, Murdoch Mysteries, and Heartland. Williams most recently served as vice... read more

Williams oversees the public broadcaster’s drama, comedy and film teams across all broadcast and streaming original long-form programming, including CBC’s upcoming Trickster and Fortunate Son and current hits Schitt’s Creek, Kim’s Convenience, Baroness Von Sketch Show, Workin’ Moms,TallBoyz, Anne with an ‘E’, Murdoch Mysteries, and Heartland.

Williams most recently served as vice president, Temple Street, where she oversaw the creative execution of series for production as well as the sourcing and development of IP and new original series for primetime cable, pay, conventional and OTT platforms. She also served as co-executive producer of ongoing drama series Killjoys.

Prior to joining Temple Street, Williams was director, drama, at Bell Media. There she lead a team of executives handling all development and production of original drama series and movies across CTV, Space, Bravo, TMN/HBO Canada, and MUCH. During this time many new series were launched including the international phenomenon Orphan Black, the ratings hits Saving Hope and Motive and the critical darlingsSensitive Skin and The LA Complex. She learned the ropes as a production executive on the international hit series Flashpointand Degrassi. Williams has an MA from the joint programme in communication and culture from York and Ryerson universities.

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Courtney Williams
Head of partnership, Parrot Analytics

Williams leads the company’s regional and partnership directors in Los Angeles, New York, London and Singapore, and overall global business development and strategy. Prior to his current role, Williams was European regional director for Parrot Analytics. Before joining the company, he provided strategic consulting services to AMC Networks International, Turner Europe, MGM Networks, Chellomedia, ... read more

Williams leads the company’s regional and partnership directors in Los Angeles, New York, London and Singapore, and overall global business development and strategy. Prior to his current role, Williams was European regional director for Parrot Analytics. Before joining the company, he provided strategic consulting services to AMC Networks International, Turner Europe, MGM Networks, Chellomedia, CSI Media and Digiturk DTH Platform. Prior to this he was MD for AMC Networks Asia Pacific and acting GM for MGM Channel Italy. Williams also spent five years at MGM Studios in the MGM Networks group: initially as VP of international sales and marketing based in New York, and eventually as VP for EMEA based in London. Williams earned his MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business and is currently based in London.

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Rob Williams
Writer and producer,

Williams was creative director at Penguin Books before joining the BBC Writers Academy in 2008 and writing on all of their continuing drama series. He has since worked on DCI Banks, created Chasing Shadows on ITV and spent two seasons on Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle, working in London and L.A. After writing and storylining on the first season of Killing Eve, Williams this year created, ... read more

Williams was creative director at Penguin Books before joining the BBC Writers Academy in 2008 and writing on all of their continuing drama series. He has since worked on DCI Banks, created Chasing Shadows on ITV and spent two seasons on Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle, working in London and L.A. After writing and storylining on the first season of Killing Eve, Williams this year created, wrote and executive produced The Victim for BBC1. He is currently showrunning an eight-part SVOD series and developing a range of shows for various broadcasters.

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Moderator Melissa Williamson
President, Pier 21 Films

Williamson teamed up with veteran TV and film producer Laszlo Barna to establish Pier 21 Films In 2011. Williamson began her career in Los Angeles with leading independent Blueprint Entertainment before joining Entertainment One drama team in 2008. Williamson’s producing experience includes scripted and factual programming. Most recently, she has been executive producer on the CTV award-winning... read more

Williamson teamed up with veteran TV and film producer Laszlo Barna to establish Pier 21 Films In 2011. Williamson began her career in Los Angeles with leading independent Blueprint Entertainment before joining Entertainment One drama team in 2008. Williamson’s producing experience includes scripted and factual programming. Most recently, she has been executive producer on the CTV award-winning series, The Beaverton, which is in its third season.

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Claire Wilson
Writer,

Wilson is a London born and bred screenwriter with a diploma from Vancouver Film School. In the TV arena, Wilson adapted Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime (BBC1), Le Carre’s The Little Drummer Girl with Mike Leslie — Park Chan Wook directed, Florence Pugh, Michael Shannon and Alexander Skarsgard star — (BBC1 & AMC). She has written multiple episodes and is a co-ep on Gareth Evan... read more

Wilson is a London born and bred screenwriter with a diploma from Vancouver Film School. In the TV arena, Wilson adapted Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime (BBC1), Le Carre’s The Little Drummer Girl with Mike Leslie — Park Chan Wook directed, Florence Pugh, Michael Shannon and Alexander Skarsgard star — (BBC1 & AMC). She has written multiple episodes and is a co-ep on Gareth Evan’s Gangs of London for Pulse Films / Sister Pictures / Sky Atlantic / HBO. Wilson is currently writing multiple episodes and co-ep on The Power alongside Naomi Alderman for Sister Pictures and Amazon — which Reed Morano set to direct.

Wilson is in development as creator and show runner of European thriller The Hunt for Nicola Shindler / Wiip; and is creating and show running psychological mystery thriller The Galapagos Affair for Filmnation TV.

On the film side, Wilson co-wrote the original screenplay for Sarah Gavron’s Rocks Fable / BFI / Film4 which premiered at Toronto Film Festival 2019 to critical acclaim. She is in development on original Mexican set thriller, Sonoran Dram for BBC Films & House Productions.

Wilson is co-founder of Welcome Presents, a community project bringing together refugees and the public to watch films. The initiative tackles loneliness and isolation and is supported by Amnesty International.

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Ellen Windemuth
Founder and CEO, The WaterBear Network

Windemuth, founder & CEO of Off the Fence which was recently acquired by ZDFE, teamed with Axonista to launch The WaterBear Network, the world’s first video on demand platform dedicated to the planet. She is a seasoned EP, chair of The Jackson Hole Film Festival Board and produces feature documentaries for impact.

Anna Winger
Writer,

Winger is a British-American screenwriter, novelist and essayist, creator of the television series Deutschland83/86/89 (C4/Amazon) and founder of Studio Airlift, a series incubator in Berlin. Her new series, Unorthodox (Netflix), will release in early 2020. Winger was raised in Kenya, Massachusetts and Mexico, and studied at Columbia University in New York. She has received Emmy, Peabody and Adolf... read more

Winger is a British-American screenwriter, novelist and essayist, creator of the television series Deutschland83/86/89 (C4/Amazon) and founder of Studio Airlift, a series incubator in Berlin. Her new series, Unorthodox (Netflix), will release in early 2020. Winger was raised in Kenya, Massachusetts and Mexico, and studied at Columbia University in New York. She has received Emmy, Peabody and Adolf Grimme awards for her work.

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Adam Woodgate
Research director, Dubit

Woodgate has worked in broadcast media and publishing for almost 30 years, having worked for London Weekend Television, BBC Worldwide, Guardian Media Group, Immediate Media Co. and Emap plc (now Bauer). He has had roles in editorial, production, content creation, marketing and insight. Solid experience in large-scale quantitative projects as well as in-home immersions and co-creations. He has cons... read more

Woodgate has worked in broadcast media and publishing for almost 30 years, having worked for London Weekend Television, BBC Worldwide, Guardian Media Group, Immediate Media Co. and Emap plc (now Bauer). He has had roles in editorial, production, content creation, marketing and insight. Solid experience in large-scale quantitative projects as well as in-home immersions and co-creations. He has consulted on numerous projects for Fox International Channels, Sky Media, Channel 4, Viacom, Sony Pictures Television, RAI, BBC Worldwide.

He currently heads up Dubit Trends – the largest global children’s media trends tracker, now covering 14 countries. He works closely with broadcaster, publishers, media buyers and content creators advising on strategy based on media consumption and emerging trends.

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Michael Wright
President, EPIX

Wright is President of EPIX, responsible for overseeing all facets of the network including original programming, distribution and leading creative and marketing efforts. In his first year, Wright worked with the teams to increase the network’s overall distribution by nearly 150% and tripled the amount of original programming available to EPIX subscribers. Under his leadership, EPIX announced ne... read more

Wright is President of EPIX, responsible for overseeing all facets of the network including original programming, distribution and leading creative and marketing efforts. In his first year, Wright worked with the teams to increase the network’s overall distribution by nearly 150% and tripled the amount of original programming available to EPIX subscribers. Under his leadership, EPIX announced new original series The Godfather of Harlem, starring and produced by Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker; Pennyworth, the origin story of Batman’s butler Alfred from DC and WBTV; Steve Conrad’s Perpetual Grace, LTD, starring Sir Ben Kingsley, Belgravia, from Julian Fellowes and Gareth Neame; Slow Burn, based on the hit podcast; PUNK, from Iggy Pop and John Varvatos; and NFL: The Grind, from NFL Films and hosted by Rich Eisen, along with spy-thriller Deep State and Seasons 2 and 3 of Get Shorty.

Prior to joining EPIX, Wright was the CEO of Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners, where he oversaw the release of such films as A Dog’s Purpose, Ready Player One, The Post, and The House with a Clock in its Walls. Before Amblin, Wright was President of TBS, TNT, and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). During Michael’s tenure at Turner, he led TNT and TBS to the top of the cable charts for 10 straight years, programming some of the biggest hits on cable television including the The Closer, Into the West, and Men of a Certain Age for TNT, and Conan, My Boys, and Angie Tribeca for TBS. For TCM, Wright oversaw the production of the Emmy nominated documentary Moguls and Movie Stars: The History of Hollywood, the acclaimed TCM: A Night at the Movies franchise, and the Emmy winning AFI: Lifetime Achievement Award specials.

Wright is part of the Television Academy Foundation, the Executive Board of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and is on the Board of Governors for The Paley Center.

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Michele Zatta
Commissioning editor, international coproductions, Rai Fiction, Italy

Former travel-guide, copywriter and lawyer, Zatta started his career in television as an editor of tv-movies and series. The turn in life happened in 1994, when Zatta developed together with the Australian writer Wayne Doyle the first italian soap (Un posto al sole), which started in October 1996 and is still on air. Zatta worked 12 years as co-headwriter, producer and also dealt with a prime-time... read more

Former travel-guide, copywriter and lawyer, Zatta started his career in television as an editor of tv-movies and series.
The turn in life happened in 1994, when Zatta developed together with the Australian writer Wayne Doyle the first italian soap (Un posto al sole), which started in October 1996 and is still on air. Zatta worked 12 years as co-headwriter, producer and also dealt with a prime-time cop-series (La squadra) that lasted 8 seasons (221 episodes of 100’ each), another soap (Cuori rubati) and a couple of tv-movies.
In 2008 Zatta became head writer of the soap Agrodolce. Soon after Rai offered Zatta an employment as an executive in the fiction department. In this position Zatta deals with the editorial and productive process of various projects (tv-movies, mini-series, long running series), keeping a strong focus on the narrative development.
Most recently working on La porta rossa (The red door), a paranormal thriller in which the protagonist has to find out who killed him, Di padre in figlia (From father to daughter), an intense family saga that takes place in Italy and Brazil, the second season ofNon uccidere (Close murders), the first Italian Nordic-noir Il cacciatore (The hunter), that won the price for the best actor at the recent Canneseries.
Now Zatta is in charge of international coproduction’s, working on The name of the Rose and Survivors, a series that is co-developed by Zdf and FranceTv.

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Natalka Znak
President, Znack & Co

Znak is a multi-award-winning television producer who has created some of TV’s biggest hits, including Hell’s Kitchen, Love Island and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. She is the President of Znak & Co, the international production company she founded that specializes in entertainment, factual entertainment and factual formats, with offices in Los Angeles and London. Most recently, ... read more

Znak is a multi-award-winning television producer who has created some of TV’s biggest hits, including Hell’s Kitchen, Love Island and I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here. She is the President of Znak & Co, the international production company she founded that specializes in entertainment, factual entertainment and factual formats, with offices in Los Angeles and London. Most recently, the company produced Meghan Markle: An American Princess (FOX) Revolution (SKY UK, FOX),Thronecast, Gameshow of Thrones and Thronecast War Room for SKY, West:Word The Ultimate Westworld Fan Show for SKY Atlantic, the landmark music documentary Trailblazers for SKY among more.

Currently, Znak is an executive producer on season 10 of the Fox juggernaut hit MasterChef as well as MasterChef Junior. Previously, she served as CCO and then CEO of Zodiak USA where she produced shows such as Secret Millionaire (ABC), Celebrity Wife Swap (ABC), and truTV hits Hardcore Pawn, Lizard Lick Towing and Killer Karaoke. Prior to joining Zodiak, Znak served as Controller of Factual Entertainment for ITV Studios where she was responsible for creating I’m Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!, Hell’s Kitchen, and Love Island.

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Moshe Zonder
Writer, Moshe Zonder Productions

Moshe Zonder began his work as an Investigative Journalist. Among his work as screenwriter: In 1993 he wrote the script for feature film Zohar, based on the life story of famous Israeli singer Zohar Argov. The film was the most successful Israeli film in the nineties. In 1999 Zonder wrote the script for the feature film, Volkan Junction. In 2008, he has written the screenplay for feature film ... read more

Moshe Zonder began his work as an Investigative Journalist. Among his work as screenwriter: In 1993 he wrote the script for feature film Zohar, based on the life story of famous Israeli singer Zohar Argov. The film was the most successful Israeli film in the nineties. In 1999 Zonder wrote the script for the feature film, Volkan Junction.

In 2008, he has written the screenplay for feature film “Burning Mooki”, Directed by Lena and Slava Chaplin, based on his experience as a child of a Holocaust survivor. In 2012 he created, along with screenwriter Ami Amir, a 10 Episode police TV serial named “The Special”. In 2015 wrote the full length Docu- Drama “Sabena” directed by Rani Saar, about the Sabena airplane that was hijacked by Black September organization members in 1972. Zonder wrote the first season of Fauda (Chaos) (12), the nail-biting Israeli television series about a deep-cover unit of the Israeli Defense Forces, that are after the head of Hamas military unit in Judea and Samaria. Fauda depicts the two-sided story of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The series aired in 2015 on YES Satellite Television, acquired by Netflix who air it as one of their original series.

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