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PREVIOUS SPEAKERS

Paul Abbott
Writer, Abbott Vision

Paul Abbott is a BAFTA award-winning television writer, series creator and producer. Abbott has become one of the most critically and commercially successful television writers working in Britain today. He is responsible for the creation of some of the most highly acclaimed television dramas of the last thirty years, including Reckless, Touching Evil, Best of Both Worlds, Clocking Off, State of P... read more

Paul Abbott is a BAFTA award-winning television writer, series creator and producer. Abbott has become one of the most critically and commercially successful television writers working in Britain today. He is responsible for the creation of some of the most highly acclaimed television dramas of the last thirty years, including Reckless, Touching Evil, Best of Both Worlds, Clocking Off, State of Play and Shameless. Most recently, he created, wrote and produced the filthily funny No Offence for Channel 4.

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Mo Abudu
CEO, EbonyLife Media

Mo Abudu, founder and CEO of EbonyLife Media oversees all aspects of EbonyLife Media, including EbonyLife Studios, EbonyLife TV, EbonyLife ON, EbonyLife Productions Limited (UK) and EbonyLife Films. Mo Abudu launched EbonyLife TV in 2013 and produced aspirational series like The Governor, about Nigeria’s first female state governor; Fifty, the sequel to the 2015 hit film about four driven, profe... read more

Mo Abudu, founder and CEO of EbonyLife Media oversees all aspects of EbonyLife Media, including EbonyLife Studios, EbonyLife TV, EbonyLife ON, EbonyLife Productions Limited (UK) and EbonyLife Films.

Mo Abudu launched EbonyLife TV in 2013 and produced aspirational series like The Governor, about Nigeria’s first female state governor; Fifty, the sequel to the 2015 hit film about four driven, professional friends reaching middle-age; Desperate Housewives Africa, based on Disney’s original series; and Sons of the Caliphate, a drama about the rivalry between rich and powerful families in northern Nigeria.

Mo took the plunge into filmmaking, with the creation of EbonyLife Films. Her first film as executive producer was Fifty, Nigeria’s highest-grossing drama and the top film of 2015. Teaming up with The ELFIKE Collective in 2016, she produced The Wedding Party and its sequel, The Wedding Party 2: Destination Dubai (2017), which became the highest-grossing franchise of all time in the Nigerian film industry (Nollywood).  

In March 2018, Sony Pictures Television (SPT) announced a three-year deal with EbonyLife TV that would include co-production of ‘The Dahomey Warriors’, a series about the legendary Amazons who took on French colonialists in a 19th century west African kingdom.

Mo was listed in Hollywood Reporter’s 25 Most Powerful Women in Global Television in 2013 and 2017. The Business Insider listed Mo amongst the top 100 business visionaries creating value for the world.

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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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Marty Adelstein
CEO, Tomorrow Studios

Marty Adelstein’s career in Hollywood spans over 25 years as agent, manager and feature film and TV producer. As CEO of Tomorrow Studios (a partnership between himself and ITV Studios), Adelstein is currently producing Snowpiercer, starring Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs for TNT in the U.S. and Netflix internationally; a straight-to series-order for Hanna with Amazon Studios; and TNT’s Goo... read more

Marty Adelstein’s career in Hollywood spans over 25 years as agent, manager and feature film and TV producer. As CEO of Tomorrow Studios (a partnership between himself and ITV Studios), Adelstein is currently producing Snowpiercer, starring Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs for TNT in the U.S. and Netflix internationally; a straight-to series-order for Hanna with Amazon Studios; and TNT’s Good Behaviour, starring Michelle Dockery.

Adelstein’s active development slate at Tomorrow Studios includes the live action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop and One Piece as well as television adaptations of books including The Oracle Year, written by best-selling comic book franchise writer Charles Soule (Daredevil, She-Hulk) Jackie, Janet & Lee with critically-acclaimed author J. Randy Taraborrelli along with Keri Selig, five-time Emmy nominated producer (After Camelot, The Stepford Wives); and The Chemist, based on the successful book by New York Times best-selling author Stephenie Meyer (Twilight). The company also has an overall deal with creator and showrunner Chad Hodge and his company Storyland, Inc.

Adelstein’s previous television series credits include Aquarius, starring David Duchovny for NBC and Last Man Standing, starring Tim Allen for ABC. Other television credits include the MTV series Teen Wolf, the FOX reboot of Prison Break, and he was previously responsible for Ally Mcbeal, The Practice, 3RD Rock From The Sun, 30 Rock and Prison Break. His feature film credits include producing a remake of the classic horror Black Christmas, Made of Honor, The Experiment and the critically acclaimed 2011 film Hanna, directed by Joe Wright and starring Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana.

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Sarah Adina-Smith
Director, Hanna

Sarah Adina-Smith is a writer, director, and producer for film and television. The LA Times calls her “…an exciting, singular filmmaker, who seems able to use genre elements for storytelling that can often take on a more spiritual, mystical tone.” She just directed the pilot and second episode of Hanna for Amazon, starring Mireille Enos & Joel Kinnaman. She also serves as a Co-Execut... read more

Sarah Adina-Smith is a writer, director, and producer for film and television. The LA Times calls her “…an exciting, singular filmmaker, who seems able to use genre elements for storytelling that can often take on a more spiritual, mystical tone.” She just directed the pilot and second episode of Hanna for Amazon, starring Mireille Enos & Joel Kinnaman. She also serves as a Co-Executive Producer for the series. She’s directed two episodes of Room 104 for HBO, including the premiere episode as well an episode of Legion for FX. Most recently, she sold a project to Fox Searchlight’s new television division.

Sarah’s last film Buster’s Mal Heart stars Rami Malek and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. The LA Weekly raves that Buster is “Science fiction that’s complex, thoughtful, and funny, like 12 Monkeys or Primer run through a Fargo filter.” Her first feature, The Midnight Swim, won six top prizes on the festival circuit, including the breakthrough audience award from Afi Fest.

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Rory Aitkin
Co-founder, 42

Rory Aitken is a producer, and a founding partner of London and LA based Management and Production Company, 42. 42’s TV shows in production include Wild Bill, a six parter for ITV starring Rob Lowe as a straight-talking US cop who lands in Boston Lincolnshire as the new police chief with his daughter; Traitors, a 6-part drama series starring Michael Stuhlbarg, Keeley Hawes, and Emma Appleto... read more

Rory Aitken is a producer, and a founding partner of London and LA based Management and Production Company, 42. 42’s TV shows in production include Wild Bill, a six parter for ITV starring Rob Lowe as a straight-talking US cop who lands in Boston Lincolnshire as the new police chief with his daughter; Traitors, a 6-part drama series starring Michael Stuhlbarg, Keeley Hawes, and Emma Appleton, commissioned by Channel 4, written by Bathsheba Doran; and Watership Down, a 4 x 1 hour animated drama for BBC and Netflix, adapted from the global best-selling book by Richard Adams, written by Tom Bidwell and starring James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, John Boyega, Sir Ben Kingsley, Gemma Arterton, Rosamund Pike, Tom Wilkinson, and Olivia Colman. 42 has a first look distribution deal with ITV Studios Global Entertainment.

Films currently in production include Ironbank, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Greville Wynne, the British businessman who helped the CIA penetrate the Soviet nuclear program during the Cold War; and Military Wives, starring Kristin Scott-Thomas and Sharon Horgan, inspired by the true story of the RMB Chivenor Military Wives, who formed the first Military Wives Choir in 2010 as a way to cope with their husbands’ deployment to Afghanistan. 42 recently agreed a multi-year first-look deal for films with Netflix.

Previous film credits include In Darkness, starring Natalie Dormer; Andre Øvredal’s The Autopsy of Jane Doe starring Emile Hirsch and Brian Cox; Welcome to the Punch starring James McAvoy and Mark Strong; and Shifty starring Riz Ahmed, Danny Mays and Jason Flemyng.

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Foz Allan
Creative director, Bryncoed Productions

Foz has a strong history of delivering record-breaking high end drama and children’s series for the major networks; his productions have won a total of 18 BAFTAs and 2 RTS awards. He has recently Executive Produced the new Sky Kids Tween Drama The Athena. He was Series Producer for Riveria – Sky Atlantic’s most downloaded original commission. He led the production process for ITV’s Jek... read more

Foz has a strong history of delivering record-breaking high end drama and children’s series for the major networks; his productions have won a total of 18 BAFTAs and 2 RTS awards. He has recently Executive Produced the new Sky Kids Tween Drama The Athena. He was Series Producer for Riveria – Sky Atlantic’s most downloaded original commission. He led the production process for ITV’s Jekyll & Hyde and is currently Consulting Producer on the Chinese adaptation of the series by Huace, due to air in 2019. Foz co-created Robin Hood – BBC Worldwide’s best-selling drama from 2008 to 2010 – with Dominic Minghella for BBC1, as well as creating the BAFTA-winning Belonging which ran for 10 series 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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Marjan Alčevski
Writer, Success

Marjan Alčevski is the writer of HBO Europe’s upcoming series Uspjeh (Success), one of two projects chosen as the winners of HBO Adria’s First Draft scriptwriting competition. The six-episode series is directed by Oscar-winner Danis Tanović and will premiere across HBO Europe territories at the end of 2018. Alčevski has an MA in script editing (ADU, University of Zagreb) and has developed f... read more

Marjan Alčevski is the writer of HBO Europe’s upcoming series Uspjeh (Success), one of two projects chosen as the winners of HBO Adria’s First Draft scriptwriting competition. The six-episode series is directed by Oscar-winner Danis Tanović and will premiere across HBO Europe territories at the end of 2018. Alčevski has an MA in script editing (ADU, University of Zagreb) and has developed film and TV projects for PlanetB and Nukleus film in Zagreb. He co-wrote the screenplay for the animated-documentary Chris the Swiss which had its world premiere at Semaine de la Critique at the Cannes Film Festival 2018, and developed the half-hour comedy Nuts through the Midpoint TV Launch programme. Alčevski made the shortlist of the BBC International Playwriting Competition in 2012, and was awarded best pitch at PitchADU event, Zagreb, 2015. He won the Dean’s Award at ADU, Zagreb for the TV mini-series Service in 2016.

 

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Alon Aranya
Writer, producer, Paper Plane Productions

Writer- Producer Alon Aranya has set up close to 40 scripted shows at studios and networks in the US, most of them based on foreign scripted formats and original developments. Alon recently made a two-year first look deal with CBS Studios International through his newly established company Paper Plane Productions. On the international side the company is working on Atrocity created and written... read more

Writer- Producer Alon Aranya has set up close to 40 scripted shows at studios and networks in the US, most of them based on foreign scripted formats and original developments. Alon recently made a two-year first look deal with CBS Studios International through his newly established company Paper Plane Productions. On the international side the company is working on Atrocity created and written by Alon Aranya & Pieter Bart Korthuis – Official selection Series Mania Co-pro 2018, commissioned by the Dutch NPO, and District Y, an Israeli drama coproduced with the Israeli Public Broadcaster and CBS Studios International together with the writer and Producer of Fauda. Current US projects include: Your Honor (based on the Israeli format KVODO) ordered to series at Showtime with Kingsize Prods (The Good Wife) and Peter Moffat (Criminal Justice) writing, as well as Kilroy County based on the Dutch format Holland’s Hope with Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor and Miguel Arteta set up at Showtime, and Van Life (aka Laguna) in development at Apple with Laura Dern attached. Past projects include: Red Widow (based on the Dutch format Penoza) ABC / ABC Studios, Betrayal (based on The Dutch format Overspel) ABC / ABC Studios and Hostages (adapted and written by Alon Aranya from Bnei Aruba Israel) Warner Bros TV, Bruckheimer TV and CBS. Alon got his BFA at Tel Aviv University in Film and Television and later became a faculty member at NYU Tisch School of the Arts where he got his MFA in Dramatic Writing.

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Avi Armoza
Founder and CEO, Armoza Formats

The pioneer of the Israeli formats industry internationally, and the Founder and CEO of Armoza Formats, Avi Armoza is one of Israel’s leading film and television producers. Avi has been working in television and film business for more than 20 years. He began his tenure when he founded JCS Productions, which has grown to be Israel largest independent production house. Prior to Armoza, Avi wa... read more

The pioneer of the Israeli formats industry internationally, and the Founder and CEO of Armoza Formats, Avi Armoza is one of Israel’s leading film and television producers.

Avi has been working in television and film business for more than 20 years. He began his tenure when he founded JCS Productions, which has grown to be Israel largest independent production house. Prior to Armoza, Avi was the VP of Content and Business Development at Israel’s leading Media Company, the Jerusalem Capital Studios.

In 2005, he founded Armoza Formats, and under his leadership it has become a key player in the international formats market, successfully establishing it as a leading independent format development and distribution company that aims to innovate in distribution methods and format creation. In addition to driving the company forward, Avi has served as Executive Producer on several of Armoza’s hit shows, including prime-time entertainment show I Can Do That!, which has become a well-known brand aired in over 85 territories, including in the US on NBC and the recently-launched prime time singing competition The Four, which has now had two hit seasons on FOX.

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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.

Axel Arno
Commissioning editor, SVT Documentaries

Axel Arno has been commissioning editor at Sveriges Television (SVT) since 1998. He was previousy a newspaper reporter, working in news, feature and current affairs. Since his move to national television, Axel has been reporter, editor and editoral excecutive. After a short break for music studies in London, Axel was appointed as the managing editor of SVT:s flagship current affairs magazine Strip... read more

Axel Arno has been commissioning editor at Sveriges Television (SVT) since 1998. He was previousy a newspaper reporter, working in news, feature and current affairs. Since his move to national television, Axel has been reporter, editor and editoral excecutive. After a short break for music studies in London, Axel was appointed as the managing editor of SVT:s flagship current affairs magazine Striptease. Later he created and managed the investigative documentary strand Dokument inifrån.

Axel has been a commission editor at SVT since 1998. At SVT’s documentary department he deals with international current affairs, special series and creative documentaries. He has commissioned numerous award winning international co-productions.

In 2006, Axel was elected chairman of the EBU Documentary Group. He is a regular at the big documentary festivals and forums where he is frequently seen as moderator.

Axel is 55, married, has three kids, two cats, six bikes and lives just outside Stockholm.

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Rachel Ashdown
Commissioning editor, BBC

Rachel has worked in BBC Entertainment Commissioning for four years. In 2017 she commissioned a pilot of All Together Now and continues work closely with the team who deliver the show. Her other current projects include the BAFTA Nominated Michael McIntyre’s Big Show for BBC1 a one-off celebrating Ken Dodd for BBC2 and an entertainment documentary for BBC1 looking back on 30 years of Take That. ... read more

Rachel has worked in BBC Entertainment Commissioning for four years. In 2017 she commissioned a pilot of All Together Now and continues work closely with the team who deliver the show.

Her other current projects include the BAFTA Nominated Michael McIntyre’s Big Show for BBC1 a one-off celebrating Ken Dodd for BBC2 and an entertainment documentary for BBC1 looking back on 30 years of Take That. Previous commissions include Let It Shine for BBC1, Junior Doctors for BBC3 and Love In the Countryside for BBC2 which will return in 2019

Prior to joining the BBC Rachel was a freelance Executive Producer. Rachel is one of a number of commissioners who work to Controller of Entertainment Kate Philips.

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Solange Attwood
EVP, Blue Ant International

Attwood is EVP of Blue Ant Media’s global distribution group, Blue Ant International, headquartered in Toronto, with hubs in New York, London and Miami. Drawing on her expertise as a leader in the world of international content financing, Attwood oversees the strategic direction and operation of the business, while also spearheading and managing co-productions, pre-sales and worldwide sales acti... read more

Attwood is EVP of Blue Ant Media’s global distribution group, Blue Ant International, headquartered in Toronto, with hubs in New York, London and Miami. Drawing on her expertise as a leader in the world of international content financing, Attwood oversees the strategic direction and operation of the business, while also spearheading and managing co-productions, pre-sales and worldwide sales activities. Since launching the division in 2014, Attwood has built Blue Ant International from the ground up into a leading global distributor of high-quality content that engages audiences worldwide, across multiple platforms. The company continues to adapt to global market trends by expanding its support to producers with a wide range of financing models that include commissioning, co-productions, pre-sales and gap financing.

Attwood is on the board of directors of The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and serves on the board of the Canadian Association of Content Exporters. She was formerly VP at Si Entertainment where she headed up development and launch of the company’s global distribution arm. Prior to that, she held numerous producing and directing roles and subsequently joined the International sales and acquisitions team at Tricon Films & Television.

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Tony Ayres
Showrunner, Tony Ayres Productions

Tony Ayres is a multi-award winning executive producer, showrunner, writer and director in television and feature films.  He has been nominated for 4 International Emmys (winning in 2015 for Nowhere Boys s2), 3 BAFTAs, and in Australia has won 5 Logies and 6 AACTA Awards amongst numerous others.  He was showrunner on The Slap, which was remade in the US by NBC and on season one of Nowhere Boys. ... read more

Tony Ayres is a multi-award winning executive producer, showrunner, writer and director in television and feature films.  He has been nominated for 4 International Emmys (winning in 2015 for Nowhere Boys s2), 3 BAFTAs, and in Australia has won 5 Logies and 6 AACTA Awards amongst numerous others.  He was showrunner on The Slap, which was remade in the US by NBC and on season one of Nowhere Boys. He has also executive produced TV shows such as Glitch, Wanted, Seven Types of Ambiguity, Barracuda, The Family Law, Nowhere Boys (seasons 2 to 4), Underground- The Julian Assange Story. He’s also executive produced feature films- Ali’s Wedding, Lou, Nowhere Boys- the Book of Shadows.   Tony’s directing credits include feature films Cut Snake (2015), The Home Song Stories (2007) winner of 24 international and Australian awards, and Walking on Water (2002), which won two awards at the 2002 Berlinale. One of the founding members of NBCU-owned Matchbox Pictures, in 2018 Tony formed TAP (Tony Ayres Productions) which is also backed by NBCU.

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Alison Bakunowich
Senior VP and general manager for Milkshake! and Nickelodeon UK and Ireland, Viacom International Media Networks

Alison Bakunowich is responsible for the entire kids business at Viacom International Media Networks. She is the SVP General Manager for Nickelodeon UK and Ireland, is in charge of Channel 5 Milkshake! and has brand oversight for Nickelodeon Nordics, CEE, Russia and Israel. Alison’s remit covers all channels (PSB, Pay TV, SVOD, AVOD), digital, social, consumer products, partnerships and sponsors... read more

Alison Bakunowich is responsible for the entire kids business at Viacom International Media Networks. She is the SVP General Manager for Nickelodeon UK and Ireland, is in charge of Channel 5 Milkshake! and has brand oversight for Nickelodeon Nordics, CEE, Russia and Israel.

Alison’s remit covers all channels (PSB, Pay TV, SVOD, AVOD), digital, social, consumer products, partnerships and sponsorship. She is also responsible for all events and real-life experiences for the Nickelodeon and Milkshake! brands including Slimefest, the Milkshake! Live Tour and recently announced Nickelodeon Big Base Camp.

Alison joined Nickelodeon UK & Ireland in 2011 as Vice President, Creative, Marketing and Communications.

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Ana Balentovic
Development executive, HBO Adria

Ana Balentovic is Development Executive at HBO Adria, with a remit of identifying and developing local talent and projects from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro.  Previously she led writers’ rooms across South East Europe as Head of Development for talent incubator ContentLAB & Factory, and was a producer on prime-time series at Croatian commerci... read more

Ana Balentovic is Development Executive at HBO Adria, with a remit of identifying and developing local talent and projects from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro.  Previously she led writers’ rooms across South East Europe as Head of Development for talent incubator ContentLAB & Factory, and was a producer on prime-time series at Croatian commercial broadcaster RTL Hrvatska.

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Erik Barmack
Vice president, international originals, Netflix

Erik Barmack is Vice President, international originals at Netflix, the world’s leading internet entertainment service. Barmack is responsible for developing programming strategies and producing original series and other content outside of the United States. Under his leadership, recent international original launches include Club de Cuervos and Ingobernable (Mexico), Marseille (France), Dark (G... read more

Erik Barmack is Vice President, international originals at Netflix, the world’s leading internet entertainment service. Barmack is responsible for developing programming strategies and producing original series and other content outside of the United States. Under his leadership, recent international original launches include Club de Cuervos and Ingobernable (Mexico), Marseille (France), Dark (Germany), Sacred Games (India), Edha (Argentina), Las Chicas del Cable (Spain), 3• and O Mecanismo (Brazil), and Jack Whitehall’s Travels with My Father (United Kingdom). Upcoming series include The Eddy, Academy Award ® winner Damien Chazelle’s eight-episode musical drama that will be shot in France and feature dialogue in French, English and Arabic; as well as Italian original Suburra, Kingdom (Korea), and The Witcher saga (Poland) among other projects that represent Netflix’s commitment to investing in content and countries across the globe. Over his six years at Netflix, he has served in a variety of senior executive roles, where in addition to developing the original and first-run strategies for international content, he helped set the initial strategies for kids, independent film, anime and other genre programming.

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Rola Bauer
Managing director, StudioCanal TV

Rola Bauer’s responsibilities as managing director, StudioCanal TV include leading the television activities for the studio’s production and partnership companies’ scripted formats and co-productions in the U.S. market, as well as exploring synergies with Universal Music Group which is also part of Vivendi. A Golden Globe and two-time Emmy nominated producer, Bauer is responsible for strateg... read more

Rola Bauer’s responsibilities as managing director, StudioCanal TV include leading the television activities for the studio’s production and partnership companies’ scripted formats and co-productions in the U.S. market, as well as exploring synergies with Universal Music Group which is also part of Vivendi.

A Golden Globe and two-time Emmy nominated producer, Bauer is responsible for strategic alliances with writing/show-running talent in the U.S. for the studio’s television division; overseeing the company’s extensive line-up of European co-productions and all third party acquisitions. StudioCanal offers a full studio service including international co-production strategy, business affairs, finance and worldwide sales to support its growing roster of production companies across the global market. Currently, Bauer and Tandem Productions/Studiocanal are collaborating with Bron Studios, ZDF, Viaplay and The Bridge co-creator Måns Mårlind to co-produce and internationally distribute the gritty, eight-part thriller Shadowplay.

In addition, StudioCanal will internationally distribute the Cattleya epic ZeroZeroZero, from the team behind hit crime-drama Gomorra and Suburra. Also, Bauer is overseeing a number of additional projects, including Urban Myth Films’ War Of The Worlds, a co-production with C+ Group, Fox Network Group and AGC Studios; RED Production Company’s Years and Years, a co-production with Canal+ and BBC; SAM’s Below The Surface 2, a co-production with ZDF and Discovery; and Yellowbird’s Sanctuary, a co-production with NC+, C+ Group; along with two Netflix Originals: Urban Myth’s The One and RED’s The Stranger.

Most recently, Bauer led the development of witty new detective series Take Two, a U.S./European co-production from Tandem Productions, ABC Studios, France 2 and Vox Germany. Take Two is a 13 x 1 hour procedural, created by the duo behind the hit series Castle, Terri Edda Miller and Andrew W. Marlowe. In 2016 Bauer was presented with the prestigious Medaille d’Honneur for her outstanding contributions to the international television business and the development of the global TV community. In 2017, for the third consecutive year and fourth time since 2013, Bauer was named by The Hollywood Reporter as one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Global Television – executives from around the world who are rewriting the rules of how we watch TV. This year, Bauer has also been recognized in Variety’s first International Women’s Impact Report, honoring 50 women doing extraordinary things on the global stage, which marked International Women’s Day for the global content industry.

StudioCanal’s parent company, Canal+ Group, is fully-owned by Vivendi, a global media and content production and distribution group.

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Kate Beal
CEO, Woodcut Media

Kate Beal is Chief Executive Officer of Woodcut Media, a member of the Anthology group of businesses and one of the fastest growing Indies in the UK, producing a broad range of unscripted programming. A leading true crime producer in the UK (How I Caught the Killer, Jo Frost on Killer Kids, World’s Most Evil Killers, Britain’s Most Evil Killers, The Krays: The Prison Years), Woodcut’s growin... read more

Kate Beal is Chief Executive Officer of Woodcut Media, a member of the Anthology group of businesses and one of the fastest growing Indies in the UK, producing a broad range of unscripted programming.

A leading true crime producer in the UK (How I Caught the Killer, Jo Frost on Killer Kids, World’s Most Evil Killers, Britain’s Most Evil Killers, The Krays: The Prison Years), Woodcut’s growing catalogue also includes specialist factual series ( Royals on the Frontline, Wings of War, Combat Machines, Football: A Brief History by Alfie Allen), premium documentaries (Fiennes: Return to the Nile, The Ivy, Cut From A Different Cloth and Mandela, My Dad and Me featuring Idris Elba) factual entertainment shows (How Hacks Work, Around the World in 80 Tricks, World’s Scariest Hauntings).

With Kate at the helm, Woodcut has also recently concluded a deal with National Geographic to co-produce (alongside The Development Partnership), Fiennes: Return to the Nile, a documentary series featuring Sir Ranulph Fiennes and his cousin, actor Joseph Fiennes. This follows on from an on-going relationship with talent agency TDP, as the two companies continue to jointly develop and produce a broad range of unscripted talent-led content with global appeal. Kate Beal entered the TV industry at just 15 years old, and her impressive list of achievements and expertise spans 23 years.

Her foray into the business began when she joined UK broadcaster ITV as a runner in 1995, and worked her way up the ladder, learning all aspects of the production business. Her talent and ambition took her from researcher, to producer/director, culminating in the shooting of her first ever show as series producer Firefighters for ITV, when she was just 25 years old. Over the years, she worked on a variety of productions, with credits for popular programmes such as The Real London’s Burning’ (for Channel Five), and ITV’s ‘That’s Esther’ and ‘Faith and the City’ (which is still used within schools today as a top-rated educational tool).

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Antony Beaudoin
Managing director, Union Bank of California

Beaudoin started his career in corporate finance at Hughes Network Systems in San Diego. After graduation from law school, he launched his 20-plus year career in the film and television industry. As a business affairs executive, he worked in film production and distribution on the Universal Studios lot. In 2000, he joined the entertainment finance group at French bank Natixis. Beaudoin was recruit... read more

Beaudoin started his career in corporate finance at Hughes Network Systems in San Diego. After graduation from law school, he launched his 20-plus year career in the film and television industry. As a business affairs executive, he worked in film production and distribution on the Universal Studios lot. In 2000, he joined the entertainment finance group at French bank Natixis. Beaudoin was recruited to open the Los Angeles office of Bank of Ireland where he served as SVP & Manager and oversaw the U.S. film finance team. Following the financial crisis, he worked as the CFO for film and TV production and finance company Tower Hill Entertainment. In 2011, he returned to banking where he currently serves as Managing Director with the entertainment finance group at MUFG Union Bank. While at Union Bank, Beaudoin arranged production financing for Lionsgate for the entire Hunger Games franchise and for Quinten Tarantino’s Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight.

Beaudoin teaches Commercial Banking at Loyola Marymount University’s College of Business Administration as an adjunct professor. He received his LL.M. from New York University School of Law, J.D. from Whittier Law School and B.B.A. in finance from the University of San Diego. He remains an active member of the California State Bar and holds his FINRA Series 79 and 63 securities licenses.

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Dan Berlinka
Co-creator, The A List

Dan is a BAFTA-winning writer, director and producer. Past credits include Thunderbirds Are Go (ITV), The Sparticle Mystery series 3 (Sparticle Productions/CBBC), Shaun the Sheep (Aardman/CBBC), and Hollyoaks (Lime/C4), as well as being the head writer, producer and director of all four series of the BAFTA and C21 drama award-winning interactive drama Dixi (Kindle Entertainment/CBBC). Most recentl... read more

Dan is a BAFTA-winning writer, director and producer. Past credits include Thunderbirds Are Go (ITV), The Sparticle Mystery series 3 (Sparticle Productions/CBBC), Shaun the Sheep (Aardman/CBBC), and Hollyoaks (Lime/C4), as well as being the head writer, producer and director of all four series of the BAFTA and C21 drama award-winning interactive drama Dixi (Kindle Entertainment/CBBC).

Most recently Dan has been co-head-writing, The A List, the new teen mystery series he co-created with Nina Metivier for Kindle Entertainment / BBC, and he is also the director of the two-part season finale.

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Nick Betts
Director scripted production, BBC Studios

Nick works with creative leads, production management and business teams to deliver BBC Studios’ world-class drama and comedy content. Nick oversees global brands such as Doctor Who, Our Girl and Silent Witness, dramas like Les Misérables and Press, War and Peace and Rillington Place, comedies like Good Omens, Mrs Brown’s Boys and This Country and radio comedies including News Quiz and Just A... read more

Nick works with creative leads, production management and business teams to deliver BBC Studios’ world-class drama and comedy content. Nick oversees global brands such as Doctor Who, Our Girl and Silent Witness, dramas like Les Misérables and Press, War and Peace and Rillington Place, comedies like Good Omens, Mrs Brown’s Boys and This Country and radio comedies including News Quiz and Just A Minute. He also looks after continuing dramas such as EastEnders, Casualty and Holby City.

Nick has a wealth of commercial experience in the TV sector. He was previously the BBC’s Controller of Business for Drama, Films and Acquisitions, and Managing Director, responsible for all business activities from production management through to business affairs and commercial strategy, working with independent production companies and BBC production.

Prior to this, he was Managing Director of NBC Universal Global Channels, UK and Northern Europe and Commercial Director and Head of Channel Management at UKTV. Nick started his BBC career in News and Current Affairs before heading up UK and Ireland Television for BBC Worldwide.

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Hilary Bevan Jones
Founder, producer, Endor Productions

Hilary has produced numerous ground-breaking and award winning dramas (Cracker; Red Dwarf; State of Play) and won a primetime Emmy for the acclaimed HBO film The Girl in the Café. In 2006, she was made Chairman of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the first woman in its then 60-year history to hold this position. She is also Chair of Watersprite, the Cambridge International Student... read more

Hilary has produced numerous ground-breaking and award winning dramas (Cracker; Red Dwarf; State of Play) and won a primetime Emmy for the acclaimed HBO film The Girl in the Café. In 2006, she was made Chairman of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the first woman in its then 60-year history to hold this position. She is also Chair of Watersprite, the Cambridge International Student Film Festival.

Through her company Endor Productions she has produced many successful dramas including: Restless, written by William Boyd and starring Hayley Atwell, Rufus Sewell and Charlotte Rampling; The Escape Artist, a legal thriller written by David Wolstencroft and starring David Tennant; and Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot starring Dustin Hoffman, Dame Judi Dench and James Corden, which had an audience of 6.5 million viewers on BBC One on New Year’s Day.

Deep State – the first scripted drama series commission from Fox Networks Group Europe & Africa – was released in April 2018 starring Mark Strong and Joe Dempsie. A second season is in pre-production.

Gwen, a gothic drama film directed by William McGregor with a cast lead by Maxine Peake and Eleanor Worthington-Cox, is currently in post-production. This is backed by the BFI, Film Cymru and Great Point Media.

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Nathalie Biancolli
SVP director of international fiction, France Télévisions

Tom Bidwell
Writer, Watership Down

Tom adapted Richard Adams’ Watership Down as a 4 x 1hr for BBC/ Netflix, and created/ wrote the BAFTA nominated series My Mad Fat Diary for E4. Other credits include the Academy Award nominated short film Wish 143, and Jacqueline Wilson’s novel Katy as a three-part special for the BBC.

Lars Blomgren
Executive producer and head of scripted EMEA, Endemol Shine Group

Lars Blomgren was appointed head of scripted, EMEA Endemol Shine Group in July 2018. In this new role, Lars works closely with Endemol Shine Group’s unparalleled network of award winning scripted producers and companies across non-English language markets in Europe, Middle East and Asia, between them responsible for 41 productions in 2017. He is charged with enhancing this premium offering throu... read more

Lars Blomgren was appointed head of scripted, EMEA Endemol Shine Group in July 2018. In this new role, Lars works closely with Endemol Shine Group’s unparalleled network of award winning scripted producers and companies across non-English language markets in Europe, Middle East and Asia, between them responsible for 41 productions in 2017. He is charged with enhancing this premium offering through increased collaboration, shared investment and opportunities across the group for talent. Blomgren is also co-founder and former Managing director of Filmlance International AB, the award-winning Swedish production company where he has produced or been executive producer of some 65 titles and most recently overseen the fourth and final series of global hit Bron/Broen (The Bridge).

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Avril Blondelot
Head of content insight, Eurodata TV Worldwide

Avril Blondelot is head of content insight at Eurodata TV Worldwide. Avril heads up a team in charge of new content monitoring (NOTA), TV audience-based studies, digital and in-depth genre-focused analyses. She joined Eurodata TV Worldwide in 2010 to develop its business in the UK and Benelux. Passionate about cultural matters, she graduated from Paris Dauphine (Management of Cultural Organisation... read more

Avril Blondelot is head of content insight at Eurodata TV Worldwide. Avril heads up a team in charge of new content monitoring (NOTA), TV audience-based studies, digital and in-depth genre-focused analyses. She joined Eurodata TV Worldwide in 2010 to develop its business in the UK and Benelux. Passionate about cultural matters, she graduated from Paris Dauphine (Management of Cultural Organisations) and SKEMA Business School/ Plekhanov Russian University of Economics/ HTW Dresden (trinational program).

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Peter Bowker
Writer, World on Fire

Peter Bowker was born in Stockport and was a Special Needs Teacher for twelve years while writing and failing to sell short stories, novels, plays and poetry. He finally got his break writing for Casualty in 1991 and has, since then, written for many long-running series including, Where the Heart is and Clocking Off. His original work has included Undercover Heart, Flesh an Blood, for which he won... read more

Peter Bowker was born in Stockport and was a Special Needs Teacher for twelve years while writing and failing to sell short stories, novels, plays and poetry. He finally got his break writing for Casualty in 1991 and has, since then, written for many long-running series including, Where the Heart is and Clocking Off. His original work has included Undercover Heart, Flesh an Blood, for which he won Best Writer at the RTS Awards, Blackpool which was awarded BANFF Film Festival Best Mini-Series and Global Television Grand Prize and Occupation which was awarded Best Drama Serial at the BAFTA Awards, Best Short-Form Drama at the WGGB Awards and Peter was awarded Best Writer at the RTS Awards. He has since written Eric and Ernie for which he won Best Single Drama and Best Writer at the RTS Awards and Best Short-Form Drama at the WGGB Awards and Marvellous which was awarded the BAFTA for Best Single Drama, the RTS Award for Best Writer and Best Short Form TV Drama at the WGGB Awards and became the most popular BBC2 single drama of the last twenty years. Most recently he has written an adaptation of John Lanchester’s novel Capital and two series of the acclaimed THE A WORD. His current project, produced by Mammoth for BBC One is seven part WW2 Series World on Fire.

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Jess Brittain
Writer,

Jess Brittain’s original television series Clique was developed with Balloon Entertainment for BBC Scotland, and broadcast by BBC Three in Spring 2017. The second series of Clique was broadcast in the Winter of 2018 with Jess acting as writer, creator and executive producer. Jess is currently developing an original drama with Jamie Brittain for Merman. She is also developing an original drama w... read more

Jess Brittain’s original television series Clique was developed with Balloon Entertainment for BBC Scotland, and broadcast by BBC Three in Spring 2017. The second series of Clique was broadcast in the Winter of 2018 with Jess acting as writer, creator and executive producer. Jess is currently developing an original drama with Jamie Brittain for Merman. She is also developing an original drama with The Forge. Jess joined the Skins writers’ room in 2012 and wrote two episodes of the sixth series as well the opening two-parter of the seventh and final series in 2013.

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Anne Brogan
Joint managing director, Kindle Entertainment

Anne’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 ... read more

Anne’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 single family drama from Jacqueline Wilson’s The Illustrated Mum, starring Michelle Collins, which won two BAFTAs as well as an International Emmy.

In 2007, Anne founded Kindle Entertainment together with Melanie Stokes. In just over eleven 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.

2018 promises to be an exciting year with drama series The A List, a psychological thriller and one of the BBC’s first teen commissions due to air in the Autumn, and the feature film Four Kids and It based on Jacqueline Wilson’s best selling book, with Michael Caine, Russell Brand, Paula Patton and Matthew Goode, currently filming in Ireland.

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Georgia Brown
Director european originals, Amazon Studios

Georgia Brown is the Director of European Originals for Amazon Studios where she oversees the development and production of scripted and non-scripted Prime Originals in Europe, including shows like Beat, Deutsch-Les Landes, Six Dreams and Good Omens. Brown joined Amazon in 2017 from FremantleMedia where she was Executive Vice President of Content and Co-Productions, overseeing acquisitions for Fre... read more

Georgia Brown is the Director of European Originals for Amazon Studios where she oversees the development and production of scripted and non-scripted Prime Originals in Europe, including shows like Beat, Deutsch-Les Landes, Six Dreams and Good Omens. Brown joined Amazon in 2017 from FremantleMedia where she was Executive Vice President 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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Rob Bullock
Executive producer, Left Bank Pictures

Rob joined Left Bank in 2016 to produce the sci fi pilot Oasis for Amazon Studios, directed by Kevin Macdonald.  He went on to executive produce Origin, Mika Watkins’ blazing series debut for You Tube Premium.  A multilingual sci fi space horror, the first two episodes were directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. Origin is YouTube’s first major UK TV drama commission. Prior to joining Left Ban... read more

Rob joined Left Bank in 2016 to produce the sci fi pilot Oasis for Amazon Studios, directed by Kevin Macdonald.  He went on to executive produce Origin, Mika Watkins’ blazing series debut for You Tube Premium.  A multilingual sci fi space horror, the first two episodes were directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. Origin is YouTube’s first major UK TV drama commission.

Prior to joining Left Bank, Rob produced the multiple Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning The Night Manager for BBC/AMC directed by Susannah Bier. The adaptation of John le Carré’s novel by David Farr, starring Hugh Laurie, Tom Hiddleston and Olivia Coleman, was a global hit.

Rob started his career as a graduate trainee at Granada TV, becoming a producer in the comedy department. He completed an MBA at London Business School, and went on to produce a string of successful dramas including the much loved Monarch of the Glen series for BBC, Wild at Heart, and The Suspicions of Mr Whicher.

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Sebastian Burkhardt
Managing director, global content, Keshet International

Reflecting an increasingly integrated environment between traditional and digital content, Sebastian Burkhardt was named to lead Keshet International’s combined digital and acquisitions arm in 2016. Since arriving at Keshet International in April 2015 as Head of Business Development and Acquisitions, Sebastian has been identifying and executing distinctive new business opportunities for the com... read more

Reflecting an increasingly integrated environment between traditional and digital content, Sebastian Burkhardt was named to lead Keshet International’s combined digital and acquisitions arm in 2016. Since arriving at Keshet International in April 2015 as Head of Business Development and Acquisitions, Sebastian has been identifying and executing distinctive new business opportunities for the company to maximize the sales potential of its content across all platforms.

Under Sebastian’s guidance, Keshet has entered into a variety of deals encompassing deficit financing, co-productions and pre-sales across scripted and unscripted programming in both linear TV and digital. These include an attention-grabbing digital co-production and distribution arrangement with music label Interscope Geffen A&M, as well as leading a host of global distribution deals in his acquisitions role with partners Viacom, New Form Digital, Woodcut Media and others. He has also led the charge of acquisitions of third-party formats rights for KI’s production subsidiaries in both the US and UK.

Prior to joining Keshet, Sebastian was SVP International Distribution at Banijay International, having joined the company in early 2009. There, too, he played a key role in its expansion in leading a team of sales executives and successfully brokering format and finished program deals across Europe, North America, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia.

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Amy Buscombe
Commissioning editor, drama (independents), BBC Children’s

Amy Buscombe is the commissioning editor, drama (independents) at BBC Children’s, working to the head of content Cheryl Taylor across narrative comedy and drama for 6-16s.  Recent titles include So Awkward, Jamie Johnson, Joe All Alone, interactive comedy Secret Life of Boys, improvised iPlayer-only drama Logan High and new teen psychological thriller The A List.

Robert Butler
Writer, executive producer and co-creator, Creeped Out

Robert is an experienced writer and executive producer for television drama, comedy and young-adult/ children’s series. Robert is currently in production on the second season of his original horror-anthology drama series Creeped Out (with co-creator Bede Blake) for CBBC and DHX, which Robert is also Executive Producing. This comes off the back of the hit 13-part first season which launched in 20... read more

Robert is an experienced writer and executive producer for television drama, comedy and young-adult/ children’s series. Robert is currently in production on the second season of his original horror-anthology drama series Creeped Out (with co-creator Bede Blake) for CBBC and DHX, which Robert is also Executive Producing. This comes off the back of the hit 13-part first season which launched in 2017 and Netflix have recently picked up the worldwide streaming rights. Robert is also currently developing an original drama series based on the book series The Red Harlequin by author Roberto Ricci, which Robert is attached to show-run.

Robert wrote the BBC3 docu-drama Is This Rape? Sex on Trial which was nominated for Best Original Programme at the Broadcast Awards 2017. Rob also writes regular episodes for BBC1’s Eastenders. Previously, Robert was a core-member of the writing team for Channel 4’s Hollyoaks from 2010-2014, clocking up a whopping 75 episodes over a five-year-period, as well as a 60-minute episode for the E4 spin-off series Hollyoaks Later.

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Yule Caise
Writer, director and producer,

Yule Caise is an award-winning writer, Director and producer of Film, Television and New Media. Caise is co-Founder of BTB (Behind the Billboards), a US-based international co-production company, creating premium content for global audiences. His contributions to the NBC television series Heroes won an Emmy Award for Interactive Media Programming for The Heroes Digital Experience. Recently, Caise ... read more

Yule Caise is an award-winning writer, Director and producer of Film, Television and New Media. Caise is co-Founder of BTB (Behind the Billboards), a US-based international co-production company, creating premium content for global audiences. His contributions to the NBC television series Heroes won an Emmy Award for Interactive Media Programming for The Heroes Digital Experience. Recently, Caise served as a Writer-Producer on BET’s Tales, a scripted Hip Hop anthology series. Previous writing credits include Showtime’s Free Of Eden starring Sidney Poitier, as well as the film Way Past Cool. He is currently developing a limited series, The James Baldwin Project, with Red Arrow Studios International. Caise is a graduate of Harvard University and earned his MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA.

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Ismael Calleja
Head of production and business affairs, Movistar+

Ismael Calleja is head of production & business affairs at Movistar+, Pay TV unit of Telefónica in Spain. He joined Telefónica in 2004 to be essentially involved in the Pay TV unit at the telco giant. Previously he worked at Canal+ Spain for 3 years as new services & business development manager. Through these last 13 years at Movistar he played different roles such as Pay TV services Ma... read more

Ismael Calleja is head of production & business affairs at Movistar+, Pay TV unit of Telefónica in Spain. He joined Telefónica in 2004 to be essentially involved in the Pay TV unit at the telco giant. Previously he worked at Canal+ Spain for 3 years as new services & business development manager. Through these last 13 years at Movistar he played different roles such as Pay TV services Manager, Pay TV offer & content strategy senior manager or content acquisition senior manager. Calleja is currently responsible for production supervision, business & international affairs of Movistar+ Originals, an area dedicated to produce exclusive TV series and films for Movistar customer base.

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Ricardo Carbonero
Head of content acquisition, Amazon Prime Video Spain

Ricardo Cabornero Llorente is head of prime video content acquisition in Spain. In this position, Ricardo leads our local acquisition efforts and collaborates with top Spanish broadcasters (RTVE, Atresmedia and Mediaset Spain), producers and studios to deliver the best of local and international TV shows (scripted and unscripted) and movies to Prime Video customers in Spain. Prior to this role, Ri... read more

Ricardo Cabornero Llorente is head of prime video content acquisition in Spain. In this position, Ricardo leads our local acquisition efforts and collaborates with top Spanish broadcasters (RTVE, Atresmedia and Mediaset Spain), producers and studios to deliver the best of local and international TV shows (scripted and unscripted) and movies to Prime Video customers in Spain. Prior to this role, Ricardo was responsible for content acquisition for the Amazon Appstore in Spain and Italy, and held several EU marketing and business development positions related to content at Orange. Ricardo holds an Executive MBA at London Business school and a Master of Science in Engineering at University of Valladolid.

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James Carroll
Broadcast and brand licensing agent, Northbank Talent Management

James Carroll is Northbank Talent Management’s ‘books to broadcast’ agent. He represents clients working for major broadcasters in scripted and non-scripted film and television, original audio, live events and brand endorsements. In the last year he has placed scripted projects with producers including Big Talk, Mammoth Screen, Lionsgate, Ecosse Films, Endemol Shine, Freemantle Media, the Ro... read more

James Carroll is Northbank Talent Management’s ‘books to broadcast’ agent. He represents clients working for major broadcasters in scripted and non-scripted film and television, original audio, live events and brand endorsements. In the last year he has placed scripted projects with producers including Big Talk, Mammoth Screen, Lionsgate, Ecosse Films, Endemol Shine, Freemantle Media, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Audible. Northbank’s clients include Sunday Times Bestselling author Katerina Diamond, Anna Fargher whose modern classic The Umbrella Mouse is published by Macmillan Children’s in 2019, debut sensation Will Dean who was shortlisted for the Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize 2018 and Liverpool-based thriller writer Mary Torjussen whose latest book The Pact is published by Penguin next year. James joined agenting from the Clinton Foundation in New York and Chicago. His first job in television was as a runner with Lime Pictures.

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Kathy Ciric
Producer,

Kathy is a New York based freelance television producer whose credits include projects for Showtime (Happyish), USA Network (Royal Pains) and most recently, Z: The Beginning of Everything for Amazon Studios. She just completed Matthew Weiner’s globe spanning anthology series The Romanoffs also for Amazon Studios. The Romanoffs was a unique challenge as a limited series as each of the 8 episo... read more

Kathy is a New York based freelance television producer whose credits include projects for Showtime (Happyish), USA Network (Royal Pains) and most recently, Z: The Beginning of Everything for Amazon Studios. She just completed Matthew Weiner’s globe spanning anthology series The Romanoffs also for Amazon Studios. The Romanoffs was a unique challenge as a limited series as each of the 8 episodes was filmed in a different country using local production crews. The episodes feature completely different casts and range through diverse story genres. Kathy is delighted to be back at Content London with many of her global collaborators.

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Dave Clarke
EVP content, DRG and Atrium TV

Dave Clarke is a media executive with 20 years experience covering broadcast, commissioning, distribution and production. He is currently is evp content for drg and atrium tv. He was most recently head of scripted acquisitions and co-productions at itv studios global entertainment, where he was responsible for managing the distribution business’s in-house and 3rd party pipeline of scripted conte... read more

Dave Clarke is a media executive with 20 years experience covering broadcast, commissioning, distribution and production. He is currently is evp content for drg and atrium tv. He was most recently head of scripted acquisitions and co-productions at itv studios global entertainment, where he was responsible for managing the distribution business’s in-house and 3rd party pipeline of scripted content.

This followed stints at shine group as head of global format acquisitions, cineflix media as vp of strategic planning and as the controller of uk cable/satellite channels bravo and challenge, where he was responsible for all commissioning, acquisitions and scheduling.

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Jesse Cleverly
Creative director, Wildseed Studios

Jesse Cleverly is the creative director of BAFTA winning Wildseed Studios, a scripted IP incubator which produces digital pilots of scripted ideas from emerging creators and sells them to premium platform partners. Of the 20 pilots Wildseed has published, 60% have led to deals, and Wildseed is currently working with a range of partners including BBC3, Channel4, Netflix, Sky, Fullscreen, Disney, F... read more

Jesse Cleverly is the creative director of BAFTA winning Wildseed Studios, a scripted IP incubator which produces digital pilots of scripted ideas from emerging creators and sells them to premium platform partners. Of the 20 pilots Wildseed has published, 60% have led to deals, and Wildseed is currently working with a range of partners including BBC3, Channel4, Netflix, Sky, Fullscreen, Disney, Frederator Networks, Shaw Communications, Wildbunch, and Teletoon. Prior to founding Wildseed Jesse ran a creative services company and showran for companies including Aardman, Method and Working Partners, as well as selling a film adaptation of the novel The People’s Act of Love to Johnny Depp’s Production company Infinitum Nihil. Prior to this Jesse spent 10 years in a range of senior editorial positions at the BBC including BBC Films (where he developed the film Eastern Promises dir. David Cronenberg), head of development at BBC Fictionlab (the BBC’s digital storytelling unit) and as head of coproductions and acquisitions at BBC Childrens.

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Tom Coan
Executive producer, NBCU

Tom Coan is SVP of Scripted Programming at NBCUniversal International Studios. He is also executive producer on the Amazon Studios series Hanna, and BBC series The Long Song and The Capture. In 2015, Coan relocated to London from Los Angeles to strengthen the company’s international scripted output, and work across the development, sale and production of original scripted programming for English... read more

Tom Coan is SVP of Scripted Programming at NBCUniversal International Studios. He is also executive producer on the Amazon Studios series Hanna, and BBC series The Long Song and The Capture.

In 2015, Coan relocated to London from Los Angeles to strengthen the company’s international scripted output, and work across the development, sale and production of original scripted programming for English language commissioners around the globe. In addition to overseeing an in-house studio slate of development and programming, Coan collaborates with the NBCUniversal International Studio’s portfolio of companies, including Carnival Films, makers of the acclaimed drama The Last Kingdom, and the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning Downton Abbey; Heyday Television, the television banner from Oscar-awarding winning producer David Heyman with upcoming series The InBetween, The Capture and The Long Song; Working Title Television, the producers of Hanna; the Australian-based Matchbox Pictures, makers of critically-acclaimed drama series Nowhere Boys and The Slap; and the Vancouver-based Lark, which produced Motive for CTV.

Prior to joining NBCUniversal in 2012, Tom was Director, Creative Affairs at Fox21, where he worked on biker-drama Sons of Anarchy for FX, the critically acclaimed Terriers from The Shield-creator Shawn Ryan for FX, and the break-out Showtime series Homeland.

Coan began his career as a manager for Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Television.

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Melissa Cobb
Vice president, Kids and Family, Netflix

Melissa Cobb is vice president, Kids and Family at Netflix, the world’s leading internet entertainment service. Cobb leads the content team responsible for bringing kids and family titles, both live-action and animated, to Netflix members in 190 countries around the world.  Prior to Netflix, Cobb was chief creative officer for Oriental DreamWorks, where she oversaw development and production, ... read more

Melissa Cobb is vice president, Kids and Family at Netflix, the world’s leading internet entertainment service. Cobb leads the content team responsible for bringing kids and family titles, both live-action and animated, to Netflix members in 190 countries around the world.  Prior to Netflix, Cobb was chief creative officer for Oriental DreamWorks, where she oversaw development and production, business strategy, production strategy and more for a slate of high-quality animated feature films targeted to a global audience. She also served as a producer at DreamWorks Animation, responsible for animated feature films, including the Academy Award-nominated Kung Fu Panda trilogy. Before joining DreamWorks, Cobb was at 20th Century Fox Feature Animation (Titan A.E. and Ever After)and Walt Disney Pictures, where she was responsible for discovering and developing live-action titles. Cobb earned an M.B.A. from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA and a Bachelor of Science from Stanford University.

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Dan Cohen
President, worldwide television licensing, Paramount Pictures Corporation

As president, worldwide television licensing for Paramount Pictures, Dan Cohen is responsible for the global licensing and distribution of all Paramount films, television series and other content across multiple platforms including mobile, pay television, broadcast, cable and SVOD as well as emerging digital arenas. He leads the television licensing teams in setting strategy and guiding negotiatio... read more

As president, worldwide television licensing for Paramount Pictures, Dan Cohen is responsible for the global licensing and distribution of all Paramount films, television series and other content across multiple platforms including mobile, pay television, broadcast, cable and SVOD as well as emerging digital arenas. He leads the television licensing teams in setting strategy and guiding negotiations across the global marketplace and finding strategic distribution opportunities.

Prior to joining Paramount, Cohen spent 20 years at Disney/ ABC where he served as executive vice president of pay television and digital sales for home entertainment and television distribution for The Walt Disney Studios. ln this role he distributed catalog and properties including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, ABC and Disney Channel to businesses around the globe. Cohen was also responsible for securing two of the most significant pay television deals in history- Netflix in 2012 and Starz in 1999 – negotiating exclusive, multi-year deals and licensing agreements.

Before Disney/ ABC Cohen served as vice president of program acquisitions and scheduling for Tele-TV Media, vice president of film acquisitions and co-productions for Showtime Networks, and held roles at Viewer’s Choice, Palmer Cablevision and Post-Newsweek Cable.

Cohen holds a B.A. in Economics from Portland’s Lewis & Clark, a Master’s in Radio and Television from San Francisco State University and is on the Board of Trustees at Emerson College. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Lisa Black.

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Kevin Comer
Co-founder, Psychonaut

Producer Kevin Comer is a member of the PGA and DGA. He most recently produced the feature film Breakable You, starring Holly Hunter, Tony Shalhoub, Cristin Milioti and Afred Molina, which premiered at Palm Spring Film Festival and was sold to SONY Worldwide. Kevin produced the hit TV show, Doll & Em, starring Emily Mortimer and Dolly Wells, which ran for 2 seasons on HBO an was commissioned b... read more

Producer Kevin Comer is a member of the PGA and DGA. He most recently produced the feature film Breakable You, starring Holly Hunter, Tony Shalhoub, Cristin Milioti and Afred Molina, which premiered at Palm Spring Film Festival and was sold to SONY Worldwide.

Kevin produced the hit TV show, Doll & Em, starring Emily Mortimer and Dolly Wells, which ran for 2 seasons on HBO an was commissioned by SKY. He produced the film, Expecting starring Michelle Monagham and Radha Mitchell, which premiered at SXSW in Austin an was theatrically eleased by Tribeca Films. He co-produced The Time Being starring Frank Langella, which screened at the Toronto Film Festival and was released by Tribeca Films. Kevin is also a Film Independent alumni and a producing fellow with his film, Before You Say Goodbye. Kevin is in development on the TV Show Piece x Peace, which was optioned byt the Showtime Network, and is currently in pre-production on the feature film Mercy starring Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham, Hiam Abbass, Emun Elliot, Yasmin Paige and Sarah Snook.

Additionally, Kevin has produced a number of short films that have traveled to international film festivals. His company, Psychonaut, continues to produce high profile commercials for top global advertising agencies. For his commercial work, Kevin was most recently awarded 7 Cannes Lions and 2 Clios for the branded film he produced for Gilette.

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Sumi Connock
Creative director of formats, BBC Studios

In her role at BBC Studios, Connock has responsibility for an extensive formats catalogue of more than 300 titles, including popular entertainment brands such as Dancing with the Stars, The Great Bake Off and Top Gear, alongside scripted formats Luther, Doctor Foster and The Office. Prior to joining BBC Studios, Connock worked as Head of entertainment at ITV Studios in Manchester, where she was re... read more

In her role at BBC Studios, Connock has responsibility for an extensive formats catalogue of more than 300 titles, including popular entertainment brands such as Dancing with the Stars, The Great Bake Off and Top Gear, alongside scripted formats Luther, Doctor Foster and The Office. Prior to joining BBC Studios, Connock worked as Head of entertainment at ITV Studios in Manchester, where she was responsible for multiple formats including Countdown, University Challenge and You’ve Been Framed!, as well as creating and developing new formats including the hidden-camera magic show and Broadcast Digital Award winning Tricked (ITV2), returning daytime cookery format, Yes Chef and children’s quiz, Top Class (CBBC).

Connock has an extensive background in Entertainment, having previously spent three years as commissioning editor for Entertainment at BBC Daytime, where she oversaw output including Eggheads, Are You an Egghead?, Strictly It Takes Two and Through the Keyhole; and also as an Executive Producer in BBC Entertainment with credits including Just the Two of Us, The Big Finish with Graham Norton and Dear Father Christmas. Further credits include: Streetmate, The Big Breakfast, MTV Europe Music Awards, Dirty Sanchez, An Audience with the Spice Girls, Animals Do The Funniest Things and Blind Date.

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Simon Cornwell
Co-CEO, The Ink Factory

Simon co-founded The Ink Factory with his brother Stephen. Simon was an executive producer of John le Carré adaptation The Night Manager, as well as The Ink Factory’s forthcoming production of The Little Drummer Girl, directed by Park Chan-wook and starring Florence Pugh, Alexander Skarsgård and Michael Shannon. Simon also produced Drew Pearce’s debut film Hotel Artemis, starring Jodie Foste... read more

Simon co-founded The Ink Factory with his brother Stephen. Simon was an executive producer of John le Carré adaptation The Night Manager, as well as The Ink Factory’s forthcoming production of The Little Drummer Girl, directed by Park Chan-wook and starring Florence Pugh, Alexander Skarsgård and Michael Shannon. Simon also produced Drew Pearce’s debut film Hotel Artemis, starring Jodie Foster, Sterling K Brown, Dave Bautista and Jeff Goldblum.

His previous credits include Anton Corbijn’s 2014 adaption of A Most Wanted Man, as well as Our Kind of Traitor, directed by Susanna White and starring Ewan McGregor, Damian Lewis, Stellan Skarsgård and Naomie Harris; and Netflix Original, Message from the King, directed by Fabrice du Welz and starring Chadwick Boseman, Luke Evans, Teresa Palmer and Alfred Molina.

Simon came to The Ink Factory from top European venture capital firm Amadeus Capital Partners, where he was a senior partner. Prior to that he was founder and CEO of a pioneering company in the field of interactive television. His early career included stints at Granada in the UK, at the Boston Consulting Group in the US, and running refugee relief programmes for the UN in Thailand.

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Matt Creasey
Executive VP, distribution, Endemol Shine International

Matt Creasey is executive VP of distribution, based in Los Angeles.  He oversees sales, co-productions and acquisitions in the US, as well as leading the distribution teams in Latin America, Canada, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. With over 22 years’ experience spanning a wide range of territories and genres Matt has been at the forefront of Endemol Shine’s scripted co-production business in... read more

Matt Creasey is executive VP of distribution, based in Los Angeles.  He oversees sales, co-productions and acquisitions in the US, as well as leading the distribution teams in Latin America, Canada, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

With over 22 years’ experience spanning a wide range of territories and genres Matt has been at the forefront of Endemol Shine’s scripted co-production business in LA since moving there in 2010 working across titles such as Peaky Blinders, Flowers, Frankenstein Chronicles, Grantchester, Tin Star among many titles.

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Adam Cunningham
Chief digital officer, Allied Global Marketing

Adam Cunningham began his career as a Hollywood talent manager, working with A-list talent at the cusp of digital technologies transforming traditional business models in the in the entertainment industry. Noting this development, Adam began to consult for various entertainment entities conceiving and implementing a number of IP based solutions to these new challenges. From this, Adam founded 87AM... read more

Adam Cunningham began his career as a Hollywood talent manager, working with A-list talent at the cusp of digital technologies transforming traditional business models in the in the entertainment industry. Noting this development, Adam began to consult for various entertainment entities conceiving and implementing a number of IP based solutions to these new challenges. From this, Adam founded 87AM in 2010, a full-service digital agency focused on the entertainment, arts and culture industries. This strategic digital approach proved extremely effective, leading 87AM to be acquired by Allied Integrated Marketing in 2016. Adam and his team have since become leaders in emerging entertainment platforms, including all streaming services and work across all major media companies from around the globe in some capacity. Allied Integrated Marketing is the largest agency for the entertainment industry. Adam, now based out of London, currently serves as chief digital officer for Allied across North America, Europe and China.

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Jaimie D’Cruz
Creative director, Acme Films

Until 2010 Jaimie was based at Keo Films where he produced and directed a range of documentary films and factual and fact. ent. series, as well as making a feature length documentary, Exit Through The Gift Shop, with the graffiti artist Banksy. Exit was released around the world theatrically in 2010, and saw Jaimie nominated for an Academy Award and a BAFTA as well as winning many other awards inc... read more

Until 2010 Jaimie was based at Keo Films where he produced and directed a range of documentary films and factual and fact. ent. series, as well as making a feature length documentary, Exit Through The Gift Shop, with the graffiti artist Banksy. Exit was released around the world theatrically in 2010, and saw Jaimie nominated for an Academy Award and a BAFTA as well as winning many other awards including a Grierson and an Independent Spirit Award.

Jaimie launched his independent production company, Acme Films, in 2011. Over the past six years Acme has produced a varied slate of programming for the BBC, Channel 4 and Sky Arts, including live music shows, an original drama series, and a range of single docs, doc dramas and short form factual series. Acme’s most recent production, CLA’AM, is a psychological horror film about gentrification seen through the lens of coffee.

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David Davoli
Senior vice president, Bron Studios

David Davoli is a senior vice president at Bron Studios, operating out of the company’s New York office. Davoli co-heads business affairs and heads the international television group. Since joining Bron, David has closed countless deals with respect to Bron’s active feature film and television slate and he has sourced and structured several international TV co-productions. Before joining Bron,... read more

David Davoli is a senior vice president at Bron Studios, operating out of the company’s New York office. Davoli co-heads business affairs and heads the international television group. Since joining Bron, David has closed countless deals with respect to Bron’s active feature film and television slate and he has sourced and structured several international TV co-productions. Before joining Bron, David 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. David is also a classically trained draftsman of the human figure and recently had his first show in NYC.

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Lorenzo De Maio
Partner, Endeavor Content

Lorenzo De Maio is a partner at Endeavor Content, a division of global entertainment leader Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG). In his role, De Maio oversees the Television Sales and Advisory group, focusing on packaging, financing and selling global television shows. De Maio works with content creators, third-party financiers, and US and international networks to create optimal ownership and distribut... read more

Lorenzo De Maio is a partner at Endeavor Content, a division of global entertainment leader Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG). In his role, De Maio oversees the Television Sales and Advisory group, focusing on packaging, financing and selling global television shows.

De Maio works with content creators, 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 and The Young Pope, the critically acclaimed Top of the Lake: China Girl, global hit The Grand Tour, the new series The First from Beau Willimon, and upcoming projects 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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Julien Degroote
EVP, content development and international, TF1 Group

Degroote currently serves as EVP, content development for French leading network TF1 Group. He is responsible for commissioning, developing or creating and overseeing the new shows for the three TF1 Group national channels: TF1, TMC and TFX and the digital platform MyTF1. His credits include: The Masked Singer, Ninja Warrior, Star Academy, The Wheel, Tattoo Fixers, 1,000+ daily shows including doc... read more

Degroote currently serves as EVP, content development for French leading network TF1 Group.

He is responsible for commissioning, developing or creating and overseeing the new shows for the three TF1 Group national channels: TF1, TMC and TFX and the digital platform MyTF1. His credits include: The Masked Singer, Ninja Warrior, Star Academy, The Wheel, Tattoo Fixers, 1,000+ daily shows including docu-soap Large Families.

Degroote is also in charge of spotting the best ideas and trends around the world as head of scouting (scripted and alternative).

Prior to joining TF1 in 2014, Degroote has been a TV producer for 12 years. As head of programs in the French independent TV production company Coyote, he managed 200 hours of TV shows produced each year and multi-million budget for TF1 in different genres: Family Feud, Four in a Bed, People’s Quiz, 30 plus live entertainment prime time shows.

Previously, Degroote served as creative senior executive of Endemol France working on Big Brother, Star Academy and overseeing the adaptation of The Celebrities’ Farm.

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Atar Dekel
VP Global Content, Keshet International

Working out of the Global Content division, Atar Dekel oversees a diverse scripted slate with partners in all corners of the world, from Brazil, Germany, Italy, France, Canada, Belgium and Argentina. Her latest projects include Blackfella Films Black B*tch starring Rachel Griffiths and Deborah Mailman for Australia’s ABC and Ecosse Films’ The Trial of Christine Keeler starring Sophie Cookson... read more

Working out of the Global Content division, Atar Dekel oversees a diverse scripted slate with partners in all corners of the world, from Brazil, Germany, Italy, France, Canada, Belgium and Argentina.

Her latest projects include Blackfella Films Black B*tch starring Rachel Griffiths and Deborah Mailman for Australia’s ABC and Ecosse Films’ The Trial of Christine Keeler starring Sophie Cookson (Christine Keeler) for BBC One – both of which have been supported by the recently launched KI Content Fund. Prior to that, Atar was handling business development for all US scripted projects.

Before joining Keshet International, Atar served as the Israeli Cultural Attaché in Los Angeles, covering all cultural exchanges between Israel and the Southwestern region of the US, specifically overseeing business opportunities within the Hollywood community. Previously, she headed the International Department at Kneller Artists Agency, Israel’s largest literary agency, representing some of the country’s most internationally renowned screenwriters, directors and authors.

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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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Julian Dexter
Head of commercial affairs, Sky original content

Julian has over 20 years’ experience in the television industry at Sky, first as a lawyer working on content deals before making the transition to concentrate on deal-making and commercial aspects of Sky’s original content portfolio. As Sky’s investment in original content has grown, Julian’s focus in recent times has been on deals for the development, production and financing of Sky’s o... read more

Julian has over 20 years’ experience in the television industry at Sky, first as a lawyer working on content deals before making the transition to concentrate on deal-making and commercial aspects of Sky’s original content portfolio. As Sky’s investment in original content has grown, Julian’s focus in recent times has been on deals for the development, production and financing of Sky’s original drama output, working with producers, distributors, broadcasters and other financiers on a variety of different funding models. Recent projects include Patrick Melrose, a co-production with Showtime starring Benedict Cumberbatch; and series through Sky’s co-production arrangements with HBO, including Catherine The Great starring Helen Mirren, and Chernobyl, a drama about the Russian nuclear power station disaster.

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Sened Dhab
Head of digital drama, FranceTV

Sened Dhab is Deputy Digital Director in Charge Of Content at France Télévisions, France’s leading TV public service. He is in charge of finding, fostering and overseeing all drama content destined for France Télévisions’ digital channels : Slash and France.tv Sened Dhab has had a long carreer spanning all facets of the entertainment business. Formerly a writer and script-doctor for both t... read more

Sened Dhab is Deputy Digital Director in Charge Of Content at France Télévisions, France’s leading TV public service. He is in charge of finding, fostering and overseeing all drama content destined for France Télévisions’ digital channels : Slash and France.tv

Sened Dhab has had a long carreer spanning all facets of the entertainment business. Formerly a writer and script-doctor for both the TV and Movies industry. He also worked for numerous years as a marketing and creative strategy executive, creating daring and impactful campaigns for numerous movie distributors in France (Pathé, UGC, 20th Century Fox, Disney, Studiocanal, Gaumont, Paramount). Before he arrived at France Televisions, he took the helm of Social Media and Content at groundbreaking french entertainment agency Dare.Win, where he successfully launched the agency’s activity on the German Market, and  helped create and launch a large slate of award-winning and media-attention grabbing campaigns for among others, Netflix.

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Mary E. Donahue
Senior vice president, development and programming, History

Mary  E. Donahue is senior vice president, development and programming, History.  She is responsible for managing all production of History’s non-fiction series, specials, and megadocs, including the new hit competition formats Knife or Death and Truck Night in America; History’s record breaking Evel Live special; and megadoc series, including Men Who Built America: Frontiersmen and th... read more

Mary  E. Donahue is senior vice president, development and programming, History.  She is responsible for managing all production of History’s non-fiction series, specials, and megadocs, including the new hit competition formats Knife or Death and Truck Night in America; History’s record breaking Evel Live special; and megadoc series, including Men Who Built America: Frontiersmen and the recently announced project, Grant.

Donahue also  oversees the network’s returning series including The Curse of Oak Island,  Forged in Fire, and American Pickers, as well as Pawn Stars and Swamp People, two definitive hits which Donahue developed and launched during a previous stint at History as VP of Development and Programming .

Donahue also served as SVP Non-Fiction Programming at Lifetime, where she helped to develop new projects like True Tori, Bring It and Rap Game and oversaw returning series including Dance Moms.

Prior to joining A&E Networks, Donahue worked from 2004 to 2008 at Discovery Channel, serving as Executive Producer, Senior Executive Producer and Vice President. While there, she developed and launched a broad slate of shows, including Man vs. Wild, Storm Chasers, Cash Cab, Alaska Experiment and Future Weapons, as well as the Emmy nominated Expedition series with the BBC Natural History Unit. Donahue also oversaw Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs, growing ratings on both high-profile series. Donahue also worked at The Oprah Winfrey Show, where she was a producer/field director for six years and for ABC News, NBC News, USA Today and CNN.  In addition, Donahue also worked as a show runner on TLC’s A Wedding Story, guiding that long-running series to its first live event and first Emmy nomination and win.

She is a cum laude graduate of Williams College and holds MA degrees in American Studies with a specialty in film studies from both Boston University and The University of Sussex in Brighton, England, where she was a Rotary scholar. Donahue has been nominated for ten Emmys and won four times.  Programs she developed have earned 20 Emmy nominations in various categories.

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Sarah Doole
Director of global drama, Fremantle

As the director of global drama, Sarah seeks to invest and bring the very best drama to the international marketplace. A member of the Fremantle Operating Board, reporting directly to Jennifer Mullin, she is responsible for the acquisition of all scripted content from in-house producers and third party drama partners, through development investment, distribution deals and co-production partnership... read more

As the director of global drama, Sarah seeks to invest and bring the very best drama to the international marketplace.

A member of the Fremantle Operating Board, reporting directly to Jennifer Mullin, she is responsible for the acquisition of all scripted content from in-house producers and third party drama partners, through development investment, distribution deals and co-production partnerships.

Sarah also works with in-house and indie producers, writers, directors and owners of IP, to create and develop drama and comedy that will rate in its domestic market as well as providing an on-going revenue stream through commercial exploitation internationally, whether tape sales, digital activity or scripted remakes.

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Natalie Dormer
Actress,

Natalie Dormer was most recently seen in Amazon’s critically acclaimed Picnic At Hanging Rock, a multi-genre drama series based on Joan Lindsay’s classic novel. She was also seen this year in the leading role of ‘Sofia’ in the psychological thriller In Darkness which she co-wrote with the film’s director Anthony Bryne. Dormer will next be seen in Icon Productions’ adaptation of the Sim... read more

Natalie Dormer was most recently seen in Amazon’s critically acclaimed Picnic At Hanging Rock, a multi-genre drama series based on Joan Lindsay’s classic novel. She was also seen this year in the leading role of ‘Sofia’ in the psychological thriller In Darkness which she co-wrote with the film’s director Anthony Bryne.

Dormer will next be seen in Icon Productions’ adaptation of the Simon Winchester best-seller The Professor and The Madman starring opposite Mel Gibson and Sean Penn.

Dormer starred in HBO’s multi-Emmy and Golden Globe winning series Game of Thrones as fan-favorite and would-be queen ‘Margaery Tyrell. Her previous credits include BBC’s highly successful The Scandalous Lady W, award nominated role as ‘Anne Boleyn’ in Showtime’s hit period drama The Tudors and the first female ‘Moriarty’ in CBS’ Sherlock Holmes reimagining Elementary. Previous film credits include The Forest, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 & 2, The Riot Club, Rush, The Couselor, W.E and Captain America: The First Avenger.

Dormer was recently seen on the West End stage, receiving outstanding reviews for her portrayal of ‘Vanda’ in Venus in Fur directed by Patrick Marber.

It was recently announced that she will play the title role and Exec Produce a limited drama series on the iconic Vivien Leigh, with FreemantleMedia and Mainstreet Pictures.

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Julia Dufvenius
Executive producer, co-creator and actor, Honour

Julia made her breakthrough in the TV –series Glappet and she joined the Royal Dramatic Theater in 2000 where she made her debut in Ingmar Bergman’s Maria Stuart. The role of Karin in Bergman’s TV production Saraband was written for her. In 2016, Julia was among the creators and writers of comedy series Mammor for Sweden’s TV3, alongside her Honour colleague Anja Lundqvist. Julia h... read more

Julia made her breakthrough in the TV –series Glappet and she joined the Royal Dramatic Theater in 2000 where she made her debut in Ingmar Bergman’s Maria Stuart. The role of Karin in Bergman’s TV production Saraband was written for her. In 2016, Julia was among the creators and writers of comedy series Mammor for Sweden’s TV3, alongside her Honour colleague Anja Lundqvist. Julia has worked on a number of important plays at the theater and we have also seen her in numerous TV series such as Modus, Oskyldigt dömd, Gynekologen in Askim etc.

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Kelly Edwards
SVP talent development, HBO

As the SVP of Talent Development for HBO Kelly Edwards oversees all above and below the line program initiatives for series, films, Cinemax and miniseries. Edwards brought an innovative new approach to HBO when developing their writing and directing fellowships that has become an industry best practice. By marrying the two programs, material created by the writers is shot by the directors with a f... read more

As the SVP of Talent Development for HBO Kelly Edwards oversees all above and below the line program initiatives for series, films, Cinemax and miniseries.

Edwards brought an innovative new approach to HBO when developing their writing and directing fellowships that has become an industry best practice. By marrying the two programs, material created by the writers is shot by the directors with a fully inclusive crew for air on the HBO digital platforms. The presentations have garnered festival awards, and will have a home on HBOGo, HBONow, and On Demand.

Prior to HBO, Edwards was a key corporate diversity executive at Comcast/NBCUniversal for over five years where she oversaw over 20 divisions, launched employee resource groups, and introduced diverse creative talent to NBC, USA, Syfy, Bravo, and Telemundo.

Edwards’ career has spanned both television and film having produced the movie of the week A Christmas Detour for Hallmark, the one hour series Sex, Love, and Secrets for UPN, serving as a network executive for UPN and Fox, and as a creative executive in features. As an executive she helped to develop series such as Girlfriends, The Parkers, Malcolm in the Middle, Clueless and The Wild Thornberrys.

In 2000, Edwards co-founded Colour Entertainment, a networking group for diverse creative executives in TV, Film, Digital, as well as assistants, all designed to connect current and future industry executives with one another.

Edwards graduated from Vassar College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater and serves on the Annenberg Inclusion Board, the Project Greenlight advisory board, a member of of NAMIC and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences having served for two years on the Television Academy Diversity Committee. She is also a former member of the Board of Trustees for NALIP, and served on the Los Angeles leadership council for the United Negro College Fund.

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Sarah Edwards
Creative director and head of future formats team, Sony Pictures Television

Sarah has a wealth of unscripted knowledge, keeping a head of the trends to spot and acquire the next big format hit for Sony Pictures Television (SPT) as part of her role, heading up the newly formed Future Formats Team. Sarah also works extremely closely with all of SPT’s indies to develop new unscripted formats (SPT formats include Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, The Dating Game, Dragons Den/... read more

Sarah has a wealth of unscripted knowledge, keeping a head of the trends to spot and acquire the next big format hit for Sony Pictures Television (SPT) as part of her role, heading up the newly formed Future Formats Team. Sarah also works extremely closely with all of SPT’s indies to develop new unscripted formats (SPT formats include Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, The Dating Game, Dragons Den/Shark Tank, Joker’s Wild, The Gong Show). Prior to joining SPT, Sarah was the Head of Development at Talkback Thames, the BBC and ITV Studios-owned 12 Yard. Sarah helped develop a number of key International hits including The Weakest Link, Hole In The Wall and Take Me Out. Most recently, the Future Formats Team acquired the Worldwide rights to Canada’s hit singing show The Launch.

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Bryan Elsley
Managing director & writer, Balloon Entertainment

Bryan 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 2... read more

Bryan 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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Peter Emerson
President, Cineflix Media

As President, Cineflix Media, Peter is focused on the Company’s growth initiatives. In addition to building on the existing revenue streams and Brands, Emerson is leading the dramatic growth of the company’s scripted television slate at Cineflix Studios.  Cineflix Studios co-produces and distributes the WGNA/Hulu/Super Channel/CBC dramatic series Pure set in the world of Mennonite drug runne... read more

As President, Cineflix Media, Peter is focused on the Company’s growth initiatives. In addition to building on the existing revenue streams and Brands, Emerson is leading the dramatic growth of the company’s scripted television slate at Cineflix Studios.  Cineflix Studios co-produces and distributes the WGNA/Hulu/Super Channel/CBC dramatic series Pure set in the world of Mennonite drug runners, which just completed its second season. Cineflix Studios also co-produces and distributes the highly anticipated CBC/NBCU Network series CORONER, which is presently shooting Season 1 in Toronto. 

Previously, Peter was President of eOne Television International where he oversaw all aspects of the company’s international television activities, including the international roll-out of the Walking Dead, and many other high profile shows through an output deal with AMC Studios. Prior to eOne, Peter built Oasis International and was a partner in Blueprint Productions, which were both acquired by eOne in 2008 to form eOne Television.

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Dr Simone Emmelius
Senior vice president, ZDF Feature Films

As svp ZDF Feature Films, Simone Emmelius is responsible for co-production and acquisition of international fiction programs 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 (nonl... read more

As svp ZDF Feature Films, Simone Emmelius is responsible for co-production and acquisition of international fiction programs 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, basically focussed on drama, crime, and comedy series, feature films and on entertainment programs (e.g. “neoMagazin Royale” / Jan Böhmermann). From 1987 to 2009, Simone 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 programs.

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David Engels
Belgian ancient historian,

David Engels, born 1979 in Verviers, is a Belgian Ancient Historian. From 1997 to 2002, he studied History, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Aachen (RWTH) and completed his PhD in 2005 with a dissertation in Roman history, thanks to a scholarship of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. After working as assistant professor in Ancient History at the University of Aachen from 2005... read more

David Engels, born 1979 in Verviers, is a Belgian Ancient Historian. From 1997 to 2002, he studied History, Philosophy and Economics at the University of Aachen (RWTH) and completed his PhD in 2005 with a dissertation in Roman history, thanks to a scholarship of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. After working as assistant professor in Ancient History at the University of Aachen from 2005 to 2008, he was professor and chair for Roman History at the Free University of Brussels from 2008 to 2018 and redactor in chief of the journal “Latomus”. Since 2018, he works as research professor at the Instytut Zachodni in Poznan. Engels is mainly interested in the philosophy of history and is mostly known for his 2013 monograph “Le déclin” (Paris, Toucan), where he outlined parallels between the Late Roman Republic of the 1st century BC and the current crisis of the Western societies, a book translated into numerous languages and stirring a considerable debate. For more information, cf. his homepage under: www.davidengels.be.

 

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Dan Erlij
Partner, United Talent Agency

Dan Erlij is the Co-Head of the Television Literary Department at United Talent Agency. Erlij joined UTA in 1996 in UTA’s Agent Training Program. He was promoted to agent in the television literary department in 1998, was upped to Partner in April of 2008, and named Co-Head of the department in January of 2018.  Prior to joining UTA, Erlij practiced law for several years as a litigator at the ... read more

Dan Erlij is the Co-Head of the Television Literary Department at United Talent Agency. Erlij joined UTA in 1996 in UTA’s Agent Training Program. He was promoted to agent in the television literary department in 1998, was upped to Partner in April of 2008, and named Co-Head of the department in January of 2018.  Prior to joining UTA, Erlij practiced law for several years as a litigator at the Herzfeld & Rubin law firm in New York City.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors for NATPE, The Hollywood Radio & Television Society, and Inner City Arts.

Erlij represents various television creators, showrunners, and producers such as Barbara Hall (Madame Secretary), Charlie Covell (End of the F****** World, Kaos), Danny Futterman (Looming Tower), David Schulner (New Amsterdam), Jennie Snyder-Urman (Jane the Virgin, Charmed), Jesse Armstrong (Succession), Jonathan Lisco (Animal Kingdom), Leonardo Fasoli (Gomorrah), Lior Raz & Avi Issacharoff (Fauda, Hit & Run), Liz Tigelaar (Casual, Little Fires Everywhere), Melissa Rosenberg (Jessica Jones), Micah Bloomberg (Homecoming), Neil Cross (Luther), Rashida Jones & Will McCormack & Le Train Train (Claws), Richard Price (The Night Of), Steven Moffat & Hartswood Films (Sherlock, Dracula, The Time Traveler’s Wife), SunnyMarch & Benedict Cumberbatch (Patrick Melrose), Temple Hill (Looking for Alaska), Tony Basgallop, David Farr (The Night Manager, Hanna) and Escape Artists (The Servant).

 

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David Farr
Writer, Hanna

David Farr is a playwright, screenwriter and stage director. In recent years he has moved into film and television, working on the long running BBC show Spooks and completing his first feature film, Hanna for Focus Features in 2009, which he is currently adapting into a television series for Amazon. David’s directorial debut, The Ones Below, with Cuba Pictures premiered at Toronto Internati... read more

David Farr is a playwright, screenwriter and stage director. In recent years he has moved into film and television, working on the long running BBC show Spooks and completing his first feature film, Hanna for Focus Features in 2009, which he is currently adapting into a television series for Amazon.

David’s directorial debut, The Ones Below, with Cuba Pictures premiered at Toronto International Film Festival in 2015 and was released in UK cinemas in March 2016.

His award-winning adaptation of John le Carré’s novel The Night Manager, starring Hugh Laurie and Tom Hiddleston captured millions of viewers on BBC One in 2016. His episode of the Philip K. Dick series Electric Dreams, entitled Impossible Planet, aired the following year on Channel 4, and his BBC One and Netflix epic miniseries Troy: Fall of a City aired in February 2018.

David’s theatre career began in 1995 at the Gate Theatre, where his work as Artistic Director earned him a reputation as one of the most exciting new talents in British theatre. He then went on to become Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic in 2002 and won a TMA Award for Best Director for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

In 2005, David moved to London’s Lyric Theatre. His tenure there established the Lyric as a driving force in high quality visual theatre. He wrote and directed a hugely successful adaptation of Kafka’s Metamorphosis, as well as directing the acclaimed devised piece Water with Filter Theatre.

In 2009, David became Associate Director at the Royal Shakespeare Company, where his productions The Winter’s Tale, King Lear and The Homecoming all opened to critical acclaim.

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Danny Fenton
CEO and executive chairman, Zig Zag Productions

Danny Fenton is CEO and Executive Chairman of Zig Zag Productions. He 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 Danny began his career at the BBC... read more

Danny Fenton is CEO and Executive Chairman of Zig Zag Productions.

He 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 Danny began his career at the BBC and spent a brief time working with a number of UK production companies.

Danny 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.

Danny 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.

Danny 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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David Flynn
Co-founder, Youngest Media

David Flynn is a co-founder of Youngest Media, a global entertainment studio creating, producing and distributing formats across TV, digital video and apps and games. Youngest productions have included innovative dating reality series Game of Clones for E4, which has been picked up as a series by NRJ12 in France, RTL2 in Germany and 3C in China,  BBC daytime gameshow Hardball, Keshet gamesho... read more

David Flynn is a co-founder of Youngest Media, a global entertainment studio creating, producing and distributing formats across TV, digital video and apps and games. Youngest productions have included innovative dating reality series Game of Clones for E4, which has been picked up as a series by NRJ12 in France, RTL2 in Germany and 3C in China,  BBC daytime gameshow Hardball, Keshet gameshow The Search and Date or Dump, Unilad’s first dating show.

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James Fox
Joint managing director , Remarkable Television

James Fox was appointed Joint Managing Director of Remarkable in 2015, overseeing the company’s entertainment output. His remit includes expanding Remarkable’s line-up of primetime series, creating and producing new UK formats with international potential. James is the co-creator and Executive Producer of All Together Now, which has become Endemol Shine Group’s latest travelling hit. Follow... read more

James Fox was appointed Joint Managing Director of Remarkable in 2015, overseeing the company’s entertainment output. His remit includes expanding Remarkable’s line-up of primetime series, creating and producing new UK formats with international potential.

James is the co-creator and Executive Producer of All Together Now, which has become Endemol Shine Group’s latest travelling hit. Following its launch on BBC One in January, the format has sold to eight markets and counting including Brazil, Germany, Australia and more.

His other credits include BBC One smash hits game show Pointless and Pointless Celebrities, the recently rebooted £100K Drop for Channel 4 as well as other entertainment series The Million Pound Drop, Richard Osman’s House of Games, The Bank Job, Two Tribes and The Big Spell.

James started his career at BBC Entertainment working in development and production across a wide-range of Saturday night entertainment including Strictly Come Dancing. After a stint at Fever Media, he moved to Los Angeles to join BBC Worldwide Productions as Creative Director, securing a number of commissions for broadcast and cable network. On returning to the UK in 2010, James worked as an Executive and Series Producer for Initial, TwoFour and RDF before joining Remarkable as Head of Entertainment in 2012.

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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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Alex Fraser
SVP of acquisition, Red Arrow Studios International

Alex Fraser is SVP of acquisitions at Red Arrow Studios International, based in London. Alex is responsible for driving international acquisitions and distribution deals across all genres, and developing new programming opportunities globally. Alex also manages Red Arrow’s London and Munich acquisitions teams, reporting to Henrik Pabst, President of Red Arrow Studios International. Previous role... read more

Alex Fraser is SVP of acquisitions at Red Arrow Studios International, based in London.

Alex is responsible for driving international acquisitions and distribution deals across all genres, and developing new programming opportunities globally. Alex also manages Red Arrow’s London and Munich acquisitions teams, reporting to Henrik Pabst, President of Red Arrow Studios International.

Previous roles include running his own consultancy, working with companies in the UK, US and Australia; and Head of Acquisitions – Scripted, Entertainment & North America at Sky Vision, where he led the company’s investment into Sky’s first Original Drama Productions Fortitude and The Last Panthers.

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Prentiss Fraser
EVP and MD content distribution, Fox Networks Group

Prentiss Fraser heads the global distribution business representing the award-winning, high-quality scripted and unscripted programmes and formats from the Fox Network Group and National Geographic channels.  Reporting to 20th Century Fox Television Distribution and based in London, she manages a growing team across 18 offices worldwide. Prior to joining Fox in 2014, Fraser served as Senior Vice... read more

Prentiss Fraser heads the global distribution business representing the award-winning, high-quality scripted and unscripted programmes and formats from the Fox Network Group and National Geographic channels.  Reporting to 20th Century Fox Television Distribution and based in London, she manages a growing team across 18 offices worldwide.

Prior to joining Fox in 2014, Fraser served as Senior Vice Present at Entertainment One Television International where she successfully led television sales and acquisitions activities across the division’s six international offices, developing strategies to maximize exploitation of eOne Television International’s original and third-party portfolio.

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Stephen Frears
Director, State of the Union

Unanimously regarded as one of Britain’s finest directors, Stephen Frears has always embraced a wide variety of styles, themes and genres. He worked almost exclusively for the small screen in the first 15 years of his career, with programs such as One Fine Day by Alan Bennett and Three Men In A Boat by Tom Stoppard. Stephen’s more recent TV work includes Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Figh... read more

Unanimously regarded as one of Britain’s finest directors, Stephen Frears has always embraced a wide variety of styles, themes and genres. He worked almost exclusively for the small screen in the first 15 years of his career, with programs such as One Fine Day by Alan Bennett and Three Men In A Boat by Tom Stoppard. Stephen’s more recent TV work includes Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight for HBO and Channel 4’s The Deal starring Michael Sheen and David Morrissey. In the mid-1980s he turned to the cinema, shooting The Hit (1984), starring Terence Stamp, John Hurt and Tim Roth. The following year he made My Beautiful Laundrette for Channel 4, which crossed over to big-screen audiences and altered the course of his career. After directing its companion piece Sammy and Rosie Get Laid and the Joe Orton biopic Prick Up Your Ears, he began working in Hollywood, with Dangerous Liaisons and The Grifters (for which he was Oscar®-nominated) among his most notable titles.

Returning closer to home, he directed The Snapper and The Van, two Irish films based on Roddy Doyle stories and, after a second spell of making American films (The Hi-Lo Country and High Fidelity), based himself largely in Britain. Frears showed his versatility with two vastly different movies – Dirty Pretty Things, a realistic account of immigrant life in London, and Mrs. Henderson Presents, a nostalgic backstage comedy-drama. For his 2006 film The Queen he was again nominated for an Oscar. His subsequent films included Cheri and Tamara Drewe.  He followed these with Philomena, starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, which won one BAFTA and was nominated for three others, along with three Golden Globe and four Oscar nominations, The Program, which starred Ben Foster as seven time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, and Florence Foster Jenkins, starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant, which received various accolades including a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture and an Oscar nomination for Streep. Frears followed this with Victoria & Abdul, which starred Judi Dench, who received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance. Frears most recently directed the acclaimed three-part BBC television series A Very English Scandal, which starred Hugh Grant as British MP Jeremy Thorpe, and Ben Whishaw as his lover Norman Scott.

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Sydney Gallonde
CEO and executive producer, Make It Happen Studio

Sydney Gallonde began his career by working on branded content programmes with agencies such as TBWA, Carat, Omnicom Fuse, and Havas. A key player in the audiovisual market since 2006, he has worked in various fields and within diverse partnerships, including Elephant & Cie, Canal +, Andetcetera, 39 Productions, and JLA for broadcasters like TF1, M6, Canal +, and France 3. In 2014, he took on ... read more

Sydney Gallonde began his career by working on branded content programmes with agencies such as TBWA, Carat, Omnicom Fuse, and Havas. A key player in the audiovisual market since 2006, he has worked in various fields and within diverse partnerships, including Elephant & Cie, Canal +, Andetcetera, 39 Productions, and JLA for broadcasters like TF1, M6, Canal +, and France 3. In 2014, he took on the huge challenge of adapting Harlan Coben’s international best-seller “No Second Chance” for TF1, generating the best audience ratings for the channel in over 10 years. It also won the coveted ‘Best Serie’ Award at the 2015 TV Festival in La Rochelle and the Magnolia Award for ‘Best Foreign TV Miniseries’ at the Shanghai Television Festival. In 2017, the show – sold by TF1 Studio -, was nominated for the TVFI Awards. No Second Chance was one of the most exported French drama series and also it was sold to Netflix worldwide. The series’ international success has paved the way to Sydney Gallonde working on other productions and international co-productions. Make It Happen Studio confirmed its strategy with 4 European co-productions already greenlighted since the company was formed.

Make It Happen Studio is a Paris based independent production company launched by Sydney Gallonde in 2017. With the backing of heavy weight financial partner Alliance Entreprendre, a Private Equity subsidiary of Natixis group, Make It Happen Studio works with global broadcasters, partners and talents to produce an eclectic raft of premium drama for the French, European and international marketplaces. The company collaborate today with many best-seller talents like Paula Daly, Guillaume Musso, Alex Scarrow, Riad Sattouf, Tim Willocks and Harlan Coben.

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Dominic Gardiner
CEO, Jetpack Distribution

Dominic is the chief executive officer (CEO) of kids and family content distribution company Jetpack Distribution Ltd. He founded the company in 2014 with studio production partner Samka Productions and it has gone on to become a leading distributor of global kids shows including Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed, The Cul de Sac, Wolf, Pip Ahoy! Talking Tom and Friends, Yoko and Kitty is Not a Cat. T... read more

Dominic is the chief executive officer (CEO) of kids and family content distribution company Jetpack Distribution Ltd. He founded the company in 2014 with studio production partner Samka Productions and it has gone on to become a leading distributor of global kids shows including Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed, The Cul de Sac, Wolf, Pip Ahoy! Talking Tom and Friends, Yoko and Kitty is Not a Cat.

The company prides itself on working in partnership with kids’ content producers. As well as finding the best homes for their shows, it consults on a range of areas from financing to marketing, helping producers build the profile of their work. Jetpack offers a bespoke and flexible service tailored for the individual needs of each producer.

Prior to that Dominic held various senior level roles in London and Tokyo at global TV and entertainment companies including: The Walt Disney Company (director of acquisitions) and Turner where he was the channel manager of Cartoon Network. Dominic’s areas of expertise within the media industry include: acquisitions, programming, scheduling, creative, production, operations, marketing, digital and business development. Dominic lives in London.

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Nimrod Geva
Head of development, Quizzical Pictures

Nimrod Geva is head of development at Quizzical Pictures, a Peabody and Rose D’Or winning production company in Johannesburg, South Africa. Nimrod has developed, created and executive produced numerous shows across a wide range of genres, including comedy, drama and reality. He is a producer of Showmax, the South African SVOD service’s first original drama, The Girl from St. Agnes. He was an ... read more

Nimrod Geva is head of development at Quizzical Pictures, a Peabody and Rose D’Or winning production company in Johannesburg, South Africa. Nimrod has developed, created and executive produced numerous shows across a wide range of genres, including comedy, drama and reality. He is a producer of Showmax, the South African SVOD service’s first original drama, The Girl from St. Agnes.

He was an executive producer of iNumber Number, the first South African film ever to secure a Hollywood remake deal. The film was also spun off into a TV series. Before joining Quizzical Pictures, Nimrod was a Commissioning Editor at the South African Broadcasting Corporation. He holds an MFA in Film from Columbia University.

 

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Tilusha Ghelani
Commissioning editor, Sky Television

Tilusha Ghelani commissions and executive produces scripted comedy titles for Sky Television. Operating across Sky1, Sky Atlantic and Sky Arts, plus On Demand (home of Sky’s award-winning Comedy Shorts), Tilusha works on established brands such as Stella and Trollied. Newer titles include Living the Dream, Reluctant Landlord and Sky Arts Urban Myths strand. She is also briefed to unearth the mos... read more

Tilusha Ghelani commissions and executive produces scripted comedy titles for Sky Television. Operating across Sky1, Sky Atlantic and Sky Arts, plus On Demand (home of Sky’s award-winning Comedy Shorts), Tilusha works on established brands such as Stella and Trollied. Newer titles include Living the Dream, Reluctant Landlord and Sky Arts Urban Myths strand. She is also briefed to unearth the most exciting new shows and very best talent that Sky customers love.

Previously with Comedy Commissioning at the BBC, Tilusha commissioned and oversaw scripted comedy created by both independent and in-house production companies. Prior to this role she spent 12 years as a comedy producer working across sitcoms, stand-up, sketch and talk shows for BBC Radio Comedy and Television.

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Angus Gibson
Co-producer, co-creator, Shaka

In 1985, frustrated by the politics of South African television, together with like-minded filmmakers, Angus founded Free Filmmakers, to make films that reflected what was happening in South Africa at the time. He produced & directed many documentary projects for European television, including the highly acclaimed Soweto, A History for Channel 4. In 1992, Angus directed 7UP – the South Afric... read more

In 1985, frustrated by the politics of South African television, together with like-minded filmmakers, Angus founded Free Filmmakers, to make films that reflected what was happening in South Africa at the time. He produced & directed many documentary projects for European television, including the highly acclaimed Soweto, A History for Channel 4. In 1992, Angus directed 7UP – the South African chapter of Granada Television’s flagship documentary series, which has now continued to 14UP, 21 UP and 28UP and has been nominated for a BAFTA.

In 1994 he was invited by Jonathan Demme to co-direct the authorised biography, Mandela, which was nominated for an Oscar and won the Amnesty International Media Spotlight Award and the Pare Lorentz Award.

Angus is a creative force. He co-created and co-directed the multi-award winning television drama series Yizo Yizo. He designed the 70 audio-visual elements for the highly acclaimed apartheid Museum. He co directed the powerful epic documentary La Toma set in Columbia. He is a founding partner of Bomb TV and involved in every one of Bomb’s projects, fsuch as Zone 14, Shuga, Ayeye, Isibaya, bringing his creative eye and sharp storytelling skill to sculpt each show. His latest feature film, Back of the Moon is a love story set in Sophiatown 1958 and executive produced by Desiree Markgraaff and William Kentridge. He is in post-production with the film due for release in 2019.

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Jon Gisby
Managing director, WildBrain

Jon Gisby, managing director, WildBrain, has spent twenty years leading, building and advising major companies that create and distribute premium digital content. He was one of the many architects of the BBC’s strategy for online and on-demand services. As managing director of Freeserve, he built and monetized one of the UK’s largest online audiences via a portfolio of hundreds of partnerships... read more

Jon Gisby, managing director, WildBrain, has spent twenty years leading, building and advising major companies that create and distribute premium digital content. He was one of the many architects of the BBC’s strategy for online and on-demand services. As managing director of Freeserve, he built and monetized one of the UK’s largest online audiences via a portfolio of hundreds of partnerships in media, technology and ecommerce. He became managing director of Yahoo! UK and later ran their media and communications products across Europe. As a director at Channel 4, he transformed the broadcaster’s digital services and culture by building 4oD into the UK’s leading VOD business. He has subsequently helped launch several OTT video ventures including Rightster in the UK and Magine TV in Sweden and Germany. He was head of europe at Vevo, the joint venture between Sony Music and Universal Music Group which delivers 25 billion video views a month via OTT services and major partnerships. He also chairs the British Screen Advisory Council (BSAC), the UK’s leading forum for senior commercial and policy executives in TV, Film, Games and Digital Media, whose members include the major broadcasters, studios, platforms and producers. He started his career in strategy consulting having graduated from Oxford, Johns Hopkins and Harvard Business School.

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John Giwa-Amu
Producer, Red and Black Films

John Giwa-Amu runs production, distribution, financing company Red and Black Films. The company’s first feature, Little White Lies, won two BAFTA Cymru Awards and was BIFA nominated. Follow up feature, The Machine, was selected from over 6,000 films to premier in Tribeca and won three BAFTAs Cymru. The film was commissioned to be made into a TV Pilot by NBC Universal/SyFy which John Executi... read more

John Giwa-Amu runs production, distribution, financing company Red and Black Films. The company’s first feature, Little White Lies, won two BAFTA Cymru Awards and was BIFA nominated. Follow up feature, The Machine, was selected from over 6,000 films to premier in Tribeca and won three BAFTAs Cymru. The film was commissioned to be made into a TV Pilot by NBC Universal/SyFy which John Executive Produced in 2017. Brit List winning screenplay The Call Up premiered at BIFF 2016 and was released in cinemas by Altitude. Co Production, The Silent Storm, starring Damien Lewis & Andrea Riseborough was also released in cinemas in 2016 by Sony. Don’t Knock Twice has been sold internationally by Kew Media, was released in the UK by Red and Black Distribution and Kew Media during spring 2017 – the film generated $4m at the international box office. The Party, written/directed by Sally Potter stars Cillian Murphy, Timothy Spall & Kristen Scott Thomas – it won the Guild Prize at Berlin 2017, a BIFA for Patricia Clarkson and grossed $3.5m theatrically. John has won the BBC Talent Award, honoured as a Breakthrough Brit, a Future Leader by Screen International & graduated from the globally acclaimed film initiative, Inside Pictures.

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Jeremy Gold
Co-president, Blumhouse Television

Jeremy Gold is co-president of Blumhouse Television. Gold (along with co-President Marci Wiseman) is growing the footprint of Blumhouse’s independent television studio, managing its portfolio of scripted and unscripted TV series, supervising creative development and production and overseeing distribution strategies across all platforms. Gold and Wiseman are leading the expansion of the Blumhouse... read more

Jeremy Gold is co-president of Blumhouse Television. Gold (along with co-President Marci Wiseman) is growing the footprint of Blumhouse’s independent television studio, managing its portfolio of scripted and unscripted TV series, supervising creative development and production and overseeing distribution strategies across all platforms. Gold and Wiseman are leading the expansion of the Blumhouse brand beyond horror content to explore not only genre material, but also dark, provocative subject matter with projects like Loudest Voice in the Room, the Roger Ailes story for Showtime with Oscar-winning writer/director Tom McCarthy, based on the book by acclaimed journalist, Gabe Sherman.

Since joining Blumhouse in 2016, Gold and Wiseman successfully concluded a capital raise of $40 million and currently have close to $100m in annual production revenue. During that time, the company has launched series including “Sharp Objects” for HBO (based on Gillian Flynn’s novel from Marti Noxon and Jean-Marc Valle and starring Amy Adams); “Sacred Lies” for Facebook Watch (from Raelle Tucker and Scott Winant); “The Purge” for USA/Syfy based on the successful Purge film franchise; and is currently in production on “Into The Dark,” a first-of-its-kind 12 episode monthly horror anthology series for Hulu; “No One Saw a Thing” (w/t), a true crime documentary series for SundanceTV; another documentary series for f/x with acclaimed “Jinx” producer, Marc Smerling and featuring Errol Morris, and an unnamed real-time crime investigative series for Oxygen. Blumhouse Television has also earned critical acclaim and numerous honors for its dark, edgy fare including Emmy awards for its productions of HBO’s “The Normal Heart” and “The Jinx,” as well as the prestigious Peabody award for “The Jinx” and the documentary “How to Dance in Ohio.”
Gold and Wiseman have also built a significant feature-length documentary division, with five projects currently in development and completed documentaries in the marketplace, including “This Is Home,” the 2018 Sundance Audience Award winner (World Documentaries), aired on EPIX in June of 2018 and “Bathtubs Over Broadway,” which was awarded the Albert Maysles New Documentary Director Award at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and won the Documentary Feature Audience Award at 23rd annual Nantucket Film Festival.

Gold has had a long and successful career-launching popular television programming for broadcast and cable networks. He joined Blumhouse in 2016 from Endemol Shine Studios where he was Executive Vice President. During his tenure there, he introduced Endemol USA into the scripted television space first as a production company, and later as a studio, launching Endemol Studios in 2012. Gold oversaw the development, financing, and production of a broad slate which included the long-running award-winning AMC drama series Hell on Wheels, format adaptations Low Winter Sun (AMC) and Red Widow (ABC), Kingdom (ATT/DirecTV), and I’m Dying Up Here (Showtime).
Prior to Endemol, Gold held senior leadership positions at both Twentieth Century Fox Television and FOX Broadcasting Company, where he developed numerous comedy series including the Emmy Award winning Arrested Development and The Bernie Mac Show, as well as American Dad, and the hit reality show The Simple Life.

A graduate of Northwestern University, Gold began his career as an actor and theatrical producer. He founded and served as Artistic Director of New York City’s award-winning Zena Group Theatre.
Gold was featured in The Hollywood Reporter’s Next Generation List of 2002.

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Jeff Goldman
Head of business development , Premiere Digital

Jeff Goldman serves as The Head of Business Development for Premiere Digital (in which Clarion Capital recently invested into), one of the largest servicing vendors and aggregation partners in the world.  Jeff oversees business development and sales, working with rights-holders of film and television content of all sizes  (Disney, Universal, Lionsgate, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Paramo... read more

Jeff Goldman serves as The Head of Business Development for Premiere Digital (in which Clarion Capital recently invested into), one of the largest servicing vendors and aggregation partners in the world.  Jeff oversees business development and sales, working with rights-holders of film and television content of all sizes  (Disney, Universal, Lionsgate, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures) and 1000s of independent providers (mini-majors, distribution companies, broadcasters, sales agents, individual filmmakers, etc.), assisting them in global servicing and/or aggregation to exploit their content rights online as well as service their content to all End Points worldwide. Outside of general servicing of content, Jeff works with high level content and content owners/distributors (especially those with “Kids Content” since it performs so well) to strategically exploit their content through Premiere’s 30+ Aggregation deals, both non-exclusively and exclusively, depending on the strategy and platform – giving them the ability to earn revenue in territories outside of traditional linear distribution to earn revenue and/or up until such time that those rights are required by a larger distributor or linear broadcaster.

Prior to Premiere, Jeff served as the Managing Director of Eyeworks Distribution where he curated and managed international and domestic team members while overseeing all Intellectual Property, Rights, Distribution, Deals, Marketing and Branding for all 16 of Eyeworks International Territories, until the entity was acquired by Warner Brothers at which point Goldman moved over to Eyeworks US entity (3 Ball) as the Chief Business Officer and Board Member where he oversaw all business development; including: branding, merchandising, international acquisitions and distribution, new business opportunities and new media collaborations.

Before working with Eyeworks/3 Ball, Goldman practiced law and worked at The William Morris Agency.

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Malin-Sarah Gozin
Creator, Tabula Rasa

Malin-Sarah Gozin is an established television showrunner, creator, and writer in Belgium. She’s currently working as a creative producer at Caviar in their Film & Television department. Malin-Sarah created the series Clan, a thrilling dark comedy about four sisters who plot to murder their brother-in-law. The show was one of Belgium’s greatest television successes and Malin-Sarah was awar... read more

Malin-Sarah Gozin is an established television showrunner, creator, and writer in Belgium. She’s currently working as a creative producer at Caviar in their Film & Television department.

Malin-Sarah created the series Clan, a thrilling dark comedy about four sisters who plot to murder their brother-in-law. The show was one of Belgium’s greatest television successes and Malin-Sarah was awarded the Author’s Prize from the Flemish Author’s Association for her work. Clan was selected for Best Series at Fipa Biarritz 2013 and won Best Drama, Most Popular TV Show and Best Actor at the Belgian equivalent of the Emmy’s/Bafta – The Night Of The Flemish TV Stars. Clan was broadcasted in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and in the UK as “The Outlaws” on Channel 4’s More4, and in Australia, garnering excellent reviews.

Following Clan, Malin-Sarah created Connie & Clyde – a 30-minute comedy that deals with the leading lady of a matchmaking agency who is ironically struggling with her own apocalyptic marriage. A second season of the show is now airing in Belgium.

Her latest signature drama is Tabula Rasa, an uncanny psychological thriller centering on a young woman with amnesia who is the sole key to solving a mysterious missing person’s case. Malin-Sarah created the story with acclaimed actress Veerle Baetens (The Broken Circle Breakdown) who also plays the main lead in the series.

The series was one of the biggest highlights on Belgian television last autumn: topping the rating charts and an audience favorite on social media. It has already completed an impressive international tour, being selected at Série Series in Fontainbleu (France), Series Mania (Paris & Melbourne), MIPCOM (Cannes) and the leading genre festival Fantastic Fest in Austin (Texas, USA). The show is now available worldwide: earlier this year Tabula Rasa was broadcast in Germany (ZDFNeo). UK releases in May on Channel 4 & All4’s Walter Presents, all other territories are covered by Netflix which launched Tabula Rasa worldwide in March.

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Lucas Green
Head of content, Banijay Group

Lucas Green joined Banijay Group in January 2018. As Head of Content across the Group’s footprint of 16 production territories, he is responsible for creativity and championing new and existing formats. Hits in the group’s catalogue include enduring global formats such as Survivor, Temptation Island, Secret Life of 4 Year Olds and Wife Swap, as well as long-running hits Crystal Maze, Tipping P... read more

Lucas Green joined Banijay Group in January 2018. As Head of Content across the Group’s footprint of 16 production territories, he is responsible for creativity and championing new and existing formats. Hits in the group’s catalogue include enduring global formats such as Survivor, Temptation Island, Secret Life of 4 Year Olds and Wife Swap, as well as long-running hits Crystal Maze, Tipping Point and Eat Well for Less in the UK.

Prior to joining Banijay Group, Lucas was Head of Development at Thames, the Fremantle UK label behind The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent. With 20 years’ experience behind him, Lucas rose through the ranks of Princess Productions and So Television and in 2011 launched his own successful start-up, Superhero Television, which sold and produced formats for all the major UK networks.

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Hannah Griffiths 2
Head of literary acquisitions, All3Media

Hannah Griffiths joined All3Media in 2016, in the newly created role of head of literary acquisitions. She works across all the businesses in the group, scouting for new literary talent, nurturing relationships with publishers and agencies, and advising on rights acquisitions. Her brief is to bring the best books and writers to the attention of producers across the group. Hannah has twenty years o... read more

Hannah Griffiths joined All3Media in 2016, in the newly created role of head of literary acquisitions. She works across all the businesses in the group, scouting for new literary talent, nurturing relationships with publishers and agencies, and advising on rights acquisitions. Her brief is to bring the best books and writers to the attention of producers across the group.

Hannah has twenty years of experience working in book publishing, most recently as Fiction Publisher at Faber & Faber. There, she looked after a list of stellar literary talent and estates including Eimear McBride, Barbara Kingsolver, Max Porter, Rachel Cusk, Kazuo Ishiguro, PD James, William Golding and Stewart Lee as well as overseeing the launch of the crime and thriller list. Prior to this she was a literary agent at Curtis Brown.

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Emmanuelle Guilbart
Joint-CEO and founder, About Premium Content

Emmanuelle Guilbart is joint-CEO of About Premium Content, a co-production and distribution company based in Paris and London focussing on European originated drama and animation, which she co-founded in 2014 with Laurent Boissel. Prior to launching APC, Emmanuelle joined French public broadcaster France Télévisions in 2010 as Vice President in charge of Programming for the group and Manager of... read more

Emmanuelle Guilbart is joint-CEO of About Premium Content, a co-production and distribution company based in Paris and London focussing on European originated drama and animation, which she co-founded in 2014 with Laurent Boissel. Prior to launching APC, Emmanuelle joined French public broadcaster France Télévisions in 2010 as Vice President in charge of Programming for the group and Manager of the channel France 4. In 2005, Emmanuelle joined Lagardère Active as General Manager of the kids’ channels, successfully launching GULLI. In 2007 she became CEO of the TV division, in charge of a portfolio of nine pay and free channels.

Emmanuelle started her television career in 1990 when she joined the CANAL+ Group, holding different positions over 15 years. Within the group’s International Division, she successfully launched CANAL+ Poland and became the channel’s Director of Programs. She was also Deputy General Manager of CANAL+ International Acquisitions, in charge of all program acquisitions for the 15 CANAL+ channels across Europe. In 2002, she was appointed Director of Programs of leading multichannel platform CANALSAT.

 

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Cécile Gérardin
Head of drama, Canal+ International

Gérardin started her TV career at WGBH-Boston. She spent four years in Los Angeles for the acquisitions of French network TF1. After 7 years at TF1 and TF1 Consulting, she managed programs and acquisitions at French channels TV Breizh, TPS Jeunesse, and for the launch of kid broascaster Gulli. In 2005, she joined producers on developing drama and innovative tv series, and turned to creative writi... read more

Gérardin started her TV career at WGBH-Boston. She spent four years in Los Angeles for the acquisitions of French network TF1. After 7 years at TF1 and TF1 Consulting, she managed programs and acquisitions at French channels TV Breizh, TPS Jeunesse, and for the launch of kid broascaster Gulli. In 2005, she joined producers on developing drama and innovative tv series, and turned to creative writing with her first detective TV series (created with 2 co-writers) broadcast in France in 2015.

She joined CANAL+ International in 2015 as head of drama to develop and coproduce original premium tv series, with a focus on the African Continent. She holds a MBA from Boston College Carroll School of Management, and an MBA from French Graduate Business School Sup de Co Reims (NEOMA Group)

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Karen Hall
Writer, producer, New Voyage Productions

Karen Hall graduated with a Bachelor’s in English from the College of William & Mary with a concentration in playwriting. After impressing Alan Alda with her talent, she got her first job: a freelance assignment on “M*A*S*H.” This led to her being brought on staff (as the first and only female writer) for “M*A*S*H,” which the Writers Guild of America has ranked it as the fifth best-w... read more

Karen Hall graduated with a Bachelor’s in English from the College of William & Mary with a concentration in playwriting. After impressing Alan Alda with her talent, she got her first job: a freelance assignment on “M*A*S*H.” This led to her being brought on staff (as the first and only female writer) for “M*A*S*H,” which the Writers Guild of America has ranked it as the fifth best-written TV series ever and which TV Guide has ranked it as the eighth greatest television show of all time.

She also wrote the final episode (“Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen”) which to this day remains the most watched television show in American history, both in ratings and share. Among her many credits as a screenwriter, producer and showrunner are M*A*S*H, Hill Street Blues, Moonlighting, Northern Exposure, Quantum Leap, I’ll Fly Away, Roseanne, Grace Under Fire, Judging Amy, The Glades, The Brotherhood, and The Good Wife along with such movies as Toughlove, The Betty Ford Story and The Women of Brewster Place.

She has received 6 Emmy nominations, 7 Writer’s Guild of America Awards nominations and has won the Writer’s Guild of America Award for her work on Hill Street Blues, as well as the Women in Film Luminas Award, the Humanitas Award, and the Scott Newman Award. She has also written a novel titled Dark Debts currently out by Simon & Schuster. She was also a professor of screenwriting at Appalachian State University and she is also currently developing several pilots.

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Brian Hamilton
Principal and executive producer, Omnifilm Entertainment

Brian Hamilton has executive produced more than 60 television projects in both scripted and non-scripted genres, representing over 350 hours of broadcast programming since he joined Omnifilm Entertainment in 1994. Brian is responsible for Omnifilm’s kids, family and primetime scripted programming slate. In the kids & family genre, Brian is currently an Executive Producer on Season 1 of Gabby... read more

Brian Hamilton has executive produced more than 60 television projects in both scripted and non-scripted genres, representing over 350 hours of broadcast programming since he joined Omnifilm Entertainment in 1994. Brian is responsible for Omnifilm’s kids, family and primetime scripted programming slate. In the kids & family genre, Brian is currently an Executive Producer on Season 1 of Gabby Duran & the Unsittables as well as Season 1 of Fast Layne, both for Disney Channel, as well as Season 2 of Mech-X4 for Disney XD. Recent primetime scripted series which Brian executive produced include: The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco for Britbox, ITV, CITY-TV and Netflix, Primeval: New World for Space, ProSeiben and UKTV; CBC’s Arctic Air; Defying Gravity, for CTV, BBC, ProSeiben, and ABC, Robson Arms for CTV and Make Some Noise for CBC, which won the Gemini for Best Youth Non-Fiction series, as well as the Shaw Rocket Prize and the Japan Prize for Youth Programming. Brian is the founding Chair of the Pacific Screenwriting Program, and a past Chair of the BC Branch of the Canadian Media Production Association. He serves on the Executive Committee of CMPA’s National Board. Brian holds a First Class Honours Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo, and received his television training from the Banff Centre for the Arts.

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Peter Harness
Writer,

Peter was the writer and executive producer of Wallander and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell for BBC1. He has written episodes for various other series, including Doctor WhoCase Histories and McMafia, as well several single dramas and feature films. His new version of The War of the Worlds airs in2019 on BBC1. He divides his time between Yorkshire and Sweden.

Andy Harries
CEO, Left Bank Pictures

Andy Harries is Chief Executive and co-founder of Left Bank Pictures, a multi award-winning, UK-based film and television production company. Established in 2007, and a majority stake acquired by Sony in 2012, Left Bank Pictures has produced a huge range of award-winning TV and film including Wallander, Mad Dogs and Strike Back and most recently the multi award winning NETFLIX show, The Crown... read more

Andy Harries is Chief Executive and co-founder of Left Bank Pictures, a multi award-winning, UK-based film and television production company. Established in 2007, and a majority stake acquired by Sony in 2012, Left Bank Pictures has produced a huge range of award-winning TV and film including Wallander, Mad Dogs and Strike Back and most recently the multi award winning NETFLIX show, The Crown, written by Peter Morgan and directed by Stephen Daldry.

Prior to establishing Left Bank Pictures, Harries was Controller of Drama, Comedy and Film for Granada Productions. During this period, he produced countless British classics including Prime Suspect, Cold Feet and The Royle Family, winning Golden Globes, Emmys and BAFTAs and receiving an Academy Award nomination as a producer of The Queen, which saw a run of six Academy Award nominations. In 2007, Andy was awarded the Special Achievement award by BAFTA and, in May 2011, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Television Society for outstanding contribution to the broadcasting industry.

Harries is also a theatre producer whose credits include the Tony and Olivier award-winning play The Audience, which starred both Helen Mirren and Kristin Scott Thomas.

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Will Harrison
Managing director, Ingenious Media

Will Harrison is managing director of Ingenious Media, which is one of the largest independent investors in the UK’s creative sector, having invested in excess of £8 billion over the last 20 years across film, TV, games and live entertainment.  He also has a seat on the Ingenious Group board. Will joined Ingenious from Warner Bros, where he was chief commercial officer for the Harry Potter Fra... read more

Will Harrison is managing director of Ingenious Media, which is one of the largest independent investors in the UK’s creative sector, having invested in excess of £8 billion over the last 20 years across film, TV, games and live entertainment.  He also has a seat on the Ingenious Group board.

Will joined Ingenious from Warner Bros, where he was chief commercial officer for the Harry Potter Franchise Group, leading the development and commercial growth of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts brands globally.

Prior to this he was chief operating officer for HBO Europe, with responsibility for business development, affiliate sales, marketing, content acquisitions and network operations.

Other industry roles have included vp of equity ventures & business development at The Walt Disney Company, vp of business development & branded distribution for A+E Networks International, and director of UK business development for Turner Broadcasting.

Will has also served on the boards of a number of companies including Super RTL, FilmFlex, GMTV and HBO Central Europe.

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Adi Hasak
Showrunner,

Adi Hasak served as creator, executive producer and showrunner on USA Network’s critically acclaimed crime thriller Eyewitness, which he set up as a straight-to-series order. The series, which premiered in the U.S. in 2016, was adapted by Hasak from the Norwegian drama Øyevitne. Hasak also served as creator and executive producer on the hit NBC drama Shades of Blue, which he wrote on spec a... read more

Adi Hasak served as creator, executive producer and showrunner on USA Network’s critically acclaimed crime thriller Eyewitness, which he set up as a straight-to-series order. The series, which premiered in the U.S. in 2016, was adapted by Hasak from the Norwegian drama Øyevitne.

Hasak also served as creator and executive producer on the hit NBC drama Shades of Blue, which he wrote on spec and got green lit straight-to- series, starring Jennifer Lopez and Ray Liotta, directed by Barry Levinson. The hit series’ third season premiered in June 2018. Hasak will serve as creator, executive producer and showrunner on the upcoming adaption of the German format Tempel which is straight-to- series with Dynamic Television.

Furthermore, Hasak and his Adi TV Studios banner are fast tracking several additional projects to be packaged straight-to-series. Hasak was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and raised in Israel and the U.S. Following seven years in the military, Hasak worked as a journalist before coming to Hollywood and writing for television and film. In addition, Hasak was a frequent collaborator with Luc Besson. They jointly wrote and produced 3 Days to Kill, starring Kevin Costner, and From Paris With Love, starring John Travolta. Hasak also wrote Killer Elite, which was the original pilot for Generation Kill.

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Fabian Haslob
Agent, Players Agency

Fabian is a lawyer turned agent from Players Agency based in Berlin representing writers, directors and cinematographers.  Players closely cooperates with several London based agencies. Among its clients are the directors of mini series such as Babylon Berlin (Henk Handloegten, Achim von Borries), Dogs of Berlin (Christian Alvart), Bad Banks (Christian Schwochow), 4 Blocks (Marvin Kren), Das Boot... read more

Fabian is a lawyer turned agent from Players Agency based in Berlin representing writers, directors and cinematographers.  Players closely cooperates with several London based agencies. Among its clients are the directors of mini series such as Babylon Berlin (Henk Handloegten, Achim von Borries), Dogs of Berlin (Christian Alvart), Bad Banks (Christian Schwochow), 4 Blocks (Marvin Kren), Das Boot (Andreas Prochaska), West of Liberty (Barbara Eder), Generation War, SS-GB (Philipp Kadelbach), Same Sky (Oliver Hirschbiegel) and creators / showrunners such as Deutschland 83/86 (Anna Winger) and Hackerville(Ralph Martin).

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Alexi Hawley
Creator, Showrunner, The Rookie

Alexi Hawley is the creator and executive producer for the ABC series, The Rookie. He previously created the drama State of Affairs for NBC. Originally focused on music, Hawley began writing as a creative outlet that didn’t involve carrying drums up and down the stairs at four in the morning. Hawley was the last writer standing on the infamous Exorcist prequel (Exorcist: The Beginning). From... read more

Alexi Hawley is the creator and executive producer for the ABC series, The Rookie. He previously created the drama State of Affairs for NBC. Originally focused on music, Hawley began writing as a creative outlet that didn’t involve carrying drums up and down the stairs at four in the morning. Hawley was the last writer standing on the infamous Exorcist prequel (Exorcist: The Beginning). From there, he segued into television, working on a number of shows, including The Unusuals, The Following, and Castle — the latter two where he served as executive producer and co-showrunner. Hawley was born and raised in New York City, and now resides in Los Angeles, California.

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Sofia Helin
Executive producer, Honour

Sofia Helin was awarded the Swedish TV award Kristallen and the Danish TV award Robert for her critically acclaimed role as Saga Norén in the worldwide hit series Bron (The original version of the Bridge). In the UK, the Times thought Sofia was “outstanding” and the Guardian concluded that she was “in a class of her own.” As well as leading the cast, Sofia was a producer on the fina... read more

Sofia Helin was awarded the Swedish TV award Kristallen and the Danish TV award Robert for her critically acclaimed role as Saga Norén in the worldwide hit series Bron (The original version of the Bridge). In the UK, the Times thought Sofia was “outstanding” and the Guardian concluded that she was “in a class of her own.” As well as leading the cast, Sofia was a producer on the final season of Bron which aired in 2018. Alongside actors Alexandra Rapaport, Julia Dufvenius and Anja Lundqvist, Sofia Helin has co-created and is executive producer for upcoming Viaplay series Honour.

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Bruno Heller
Showrunner, Pennyworth

Bruno Heller developed and serves as executive producer for the drama Pennyworth. Based on the DC characters, Pennyworth follows Bruce Wayne’s legendary butler, Alfred Pennyworth, a former British SAS soldier in his 20s, who forms a security company and goes to work with young billionaire Thomas Wayne, who is not yet Bruce’s father, in 1960s London. Prior to Pennyworth, Heller developed and ex... read more

Bruno Heller developed and serves as executive producer for the drama Pennyworth. Based on the DC characters, Pennyworth follows Bruce Wayne’s legendary butler, Alfred Pennyworth, a former British SAS soldier in his 20s, who forms a security company and goes to work with young billionaire Thomas Wayne, who is not yet Bruce’s father, in 1960s London.

Prior to Pennyworth, Heller developed and executive produced the drama Gotham, also based on characters from DC, which concludes its five-season run in 2019. Before that, he created and executive produced The Mentalist, and wrote many of the series’ landmark episodes. The drama ran for seven seasons and was a hit around the globe. Prior to The Mentalist, Heller was acclaimed for the epic drama series Rome. Heller co-created Rome, served as executive producer and head writer, and penned a total of 11 episodes for the series, including the pilot.

Before venturing into a writing career, Heller graduated from the University of Sussex in Brighton, England, and spent years working various film jobs, eventually becoming a successful boom operator. He left England for New York, where he would meet his wife, Miranda Phillips Cowley. He made his screenwriting debut on the 1994 Portuguese film Pax, starring Amanda Plummer. Heller then moved to Los Angeles in 1997, where he began work on two television projects, Touching Evil and The Huntress.

Heller was born in London and currently resides in Los Angeles. His father was Lukas Heller, a successful German screenwriter and winner of an Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture for Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte.

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Jean Luc Herbulot
Director, Showrunner, Sakho and Mangane

Herbulot started drawing and writing stories at an early age. His activities included writing, drawing, composing music, working on video games and graphic design. In 2004 while studying editing in part of his multimedia studies in Paris, he directed a first short-movie called Vierge(s). He graduated as a multimedia project manager and started to work for TF1 as a graphic designer and AD. Meanwhi... read more

Herbulot started drawing and writing stories at an early age. His activities included writing, drawing, composing music, working on video games and graphic design. In 2004 while studying editing in part of his multimedia studies in Paris, he directed a first short-movie called Vierge(s). He graduated as a multimedia project manager and started to work for TF1 as a graphic designer and AD. Meanwhile, he created his own production company, which made music videos exclusively for independent artists, in order to maintain high creative standards for low budget productions. This dedication for creative contents will lead him to win one the first award for a Hip hop music video in the prestigious IMVF in Paris for his music video Blokkk Identitaire, a song by Medine and Youssoupha.

In 2009 he co-produced and directed Concurrence Loyale (Loyal Competition). The cast included famous French actors such as Thierry Fremont, Sagamore Stévenin. The film was bought by Canal Plus, Orange and distributed in Italy, Spain, Russia, North Africa. Jean Luc moved to Los Angeles, working with producers like Jeremy Kleiner (Plan B), Walter Parkes (Parkes and McDonald) or Steven Wegner (Alcon).

In 2013, Jean Luc came back to France to write and direct his first feature : Dealer, independent feature which premiered in FANTASIA festival in Canada and opened the ETRANGE FESTIVAL in Paris. Following the success of Dealer, Herbulot signed for various feature film projects between France and the U.S. In 2016, he directed the opening of the last season of FALCO, working for the first time on TV for TF1. Later in the year, he then flew in Morroco to help creating the first action serie of morrocan TV : GHOUL. Being the first french director working for Morrocan TV. In 2018, he has directed Sakho & Mangane a TV serie for Canal + International, produced in Dakar by Keewu Production.

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Patricia Hidalgo
Chief content officer, Turner EMEA and international kids strategy, Turner

Patricia Hidalgo is Chief Content Officer EMEA and International Kids Strategy for Turner. In this role, she acts as Turner’s editorial head for its strong portfolio of kids’ content and channel brands across EMEA including Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Boing and Cartoonito – as well as representing Turner International with the kids’ production teams in the U.S. Hidalgo oversees all owned, ... read more

Patricia Hidalgo is Chief Content Officer EMEA and International Kids Strategy for Turner. In this role, she acts as Turner’s editorial head for its strong portfolio of kids’ content and channel brands across EMEA including Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Boing and Cartoonito – as well as representing Turner International with the kids’ production teams in the U.S.

Hidalgo oversees all owned, co-funded and acquired content as well as the programming and digital strategies, branding and franchise management for Turner kids platforms and IPs. She is also responsible for the production of Cartoon Network’s global hit series, The Amazing World of Gumball.

Hidalgo joined Turner in London following a 15-year career at The Walt Disney Company, most recently as Vice President, Content & Programming Strategy, EMEA, with responsibility for directing content, programming and acquisitions strategies for Disney across EMEA.

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Susan Hogg
Head of drama, Studio Lambert

Susan Hogg joined Studio Lambert in 2015 to create a dynamic scripted department. Her first drama for Studio Lambert was the much-praised Three Girls, written by Nicole Taylor. Three Girls won multiple awards, including 5 BAFTAs. Sue is currently in production with The Feed, a 10-part returning series written by Channing Powell (The Walking Dead). The first season is set in London in the near fut... read more

Susan Hogg joined Studio Lambert in 2015 to create a dynamic scripted department. Her first drama for Studio Lambert was the much-praised Three Girls, written by Nicole Taylor. Three Girls won multiple awards, including 5 BAFTAs.

Sue is currently in production with The Feed, a 10-part returning series written by Channing Powell (The Walking Dead). The first season is set in London in the near future and centres on the British family of Lawrence Hatfield (David Thewlis), the man who invented an omnipresent technology called The Feed.  Implanted into nearly everyone’s brain, The Feed enables people to share information, emotions and memories instantly. But when things start to go wrong, and users become murderous, the family is driven apart as they struggle to control the monster they have unleashed. The Feed is a co-production for Amazon and Virgin.

Next up, is Nicole Taylor’s The Nest for BBC One, a six-part fictional drama that explores the consequences of a pact between a wealthy couple and a teenage girl that changes all of their lives forever. The Nest is an emotional thriller about love and money, and the price of being able to buy whatever you want.

Previously a senior executive at BBC Drama Production and head of drama at Granada Television and United Television, Sue has produced hundreds of hours of popular and award-winning drama. Her shows include the BAFTA-nominated The C Word, written by Nicole Taylor, the BAFTA-nominated Go-Between, written by Adrian Hodges, RTS-winner Five Daughters, written by Stephen Butchard and BAFTA-winner The Fades, written by Jack Thorne. Other titles include Larkrise to Candleford, Survivors, Waking the Dead, Touching Evil, Where the Heart Is, Grafters and BAFTA-winning No Child of Mine, written by Guy Hibbert.

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Brad Holcman
Senior director, non-fiction and alternative programming, A+E Networks

Brad Holcman joined A+E Networks in 2012 as senior director, non-fiction and alternative programming. In this role, Holcman oversees the development and production of many of U.S. channel A&E’s unscripted critically acclaimed projects “60 Days In,” “Intervention (Emmy Nominee – 2014, 2015, 2016), “Undercover High” and the recently announced series “Employable Me” and “T... read more

Brad Holcman joined A+E Networks in 2012 as senior director, non-fiction and alternative programming. In this role, Holcman oversees the development and production of many of U.S. channel A&E’s unscripted critically acclaimed projects “60 Days In,” “Intervention (Emmy Nominee – 2014, 2015, 2016), “Undercover High” and the recently announced series “Employable Me” and “The Accused”. He has also overseen some of A&E’s past hits including “Duck Dynasty,” “Behind Bars: Rookie Year,” “Gangland Undercover,” and “Panic 9-1-1” to name a few. His passion is to build relationships with the world’s producers and broadcasters to develop and produce for A&E. Holcman came to A&E from fox21 where he served as Director of Creative Affairs, and was responsible for overseeing the development of all reality and alternative programming including “Countdown,” “Beauty and the Geek,” “Saved,” “Untitled Jamie Kennedy Project” and “Game Show in My Head,” as well as numerous pilots for broadcast and cable networks.  He also assisted with fox21’s slate of scripted projects, including “Homeland”, “Sons of Anarchy” and “Brickleberry.” Prior to fox21, Holcman worked in Drama Development at 20th Century Fox Television.  Brad received his Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management and Communication from the University of Michigan.

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Silje Hopland Eik
Founder, Cinenord

Silje Hopland Eik is the founder of the Scandinavian production company Cinenord, with offices in Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen. Since the establishment of Cinenord in 2004, Silje Hopland Eik has been the main producer of 21 feature films and 3 TV series, and is currently in production with prime crime show Wisting and high end drama Atlantic Crossing. Silje Hopland Eik also serves on the board o... read more

Silje Hopland Eik is the founder of the Scandinavian production company Cinenord, with offices in Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen. Since the establishment of Cinenord in 2004, Silje Hopland Eik has been the main producer of 21 feature films and 3 TV series, and is currently in production with prime crime show Wisting and high end drama Atlantic Crossing. Silje Hopland Eik also serves on the board of the Norwegian Producers´ Association, and regularly lectures at Norwegian and international film schools.

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Nick Hornby
Screenwriter, State of the Union

Nick Hornby is an Oscar®-nominated screenwriter and award-winning author. He recently adapted Nina Stibbe’s memoir Love, Nina into a BBC1 television series, and received an Academy Award® nomination for his screenplay adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s novel Brooklyn, which was directed by John Crowley. The film starred Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Julie Walters and Jim Broadbent, and re... read more

Nick Hornby is an Oscar®-nominated screenwriter and award-winning author. He recently adapted Nina Stibbe’s memoir Love, Nina into a BBC1 television series, and received an Academy Award® nomination for his screenplay adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s novel Brooklyn, which was directed by John Crowley. The film starred Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Julie Walters and Jim Broadbent, and received three Oscar nominations in total. Nick’s previous film and television projects include his Oscar-nominated adaptation of Lynn Barber’s memoir An Education, which was directed by Lone Scherfig and starred Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike and Emma Thompson, his adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s New York Times bestselling memoir into the film Wild, which starred Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern, and his adaptation of his own memoir for the screenplay of Fever Pitch starring Colin Firth.

Nick’s best-selling books have served as a rich stream of inspiration for filmmakers: the British film of Fever Pitch was re-made by the Farrelly brothers, starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon; High Fidelity was directed by Stephen Frears, starring John Cusack and Jack Black; About A Boy was directed by the Weitz brothers, starring Hugh Grant, Rachel Weisz and Toni Collette; A Long Way Down was directed by Pascal Chaumeil, starring Pierce Brosnan, Aaron Paul and Toni Collette, and his young adult novel Slam was adapted into an Italian language feature directed by Andrea Molaioli. Most recently, Jesse Peretz has directed an adaptation of his novel Juliet, Naked, starring Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke, and Chris O’Dowd.

Nick’s other novels include How to be Good (2001), and Funny Girl (2014), and his non-fiction work includes Fever Pitch, 31 Songs, and The Complete Polysyllabic Spree, a collection of Nick’s book columns for US magazine The Believer, to which he continues to contribute a bi-monthly column. Among other recognition for his literature, Nick received the EM Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. In November 2010, he co-founded the children’s writing charity The Ministry of Stories, located in East London and now expanding to other UK cities.

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Louise Hussey 
Executive producer, Industrial Light and Magic

Louise Hussey has many years experience working in entertainment for such companies as Molinare, Sci-Fi Channel, Aldis Animation, and Rushes (Deluxe Group). In 2013, Hussey joined Double Negative as a visual effects producer, growing the TV team over five years from 3 to 190 in London and 25 in Los Angeles, plus a small team in Mumbai. In 2018, while she was DNegTV’s executive visual effec... read more

Louise Hussey has many years experience working in entertainment for such companies as Molinare, Sci-Fi Channel, Aldis Animation, and Rushes (Deluxe Group). In 2013, Hussey joined Double Negative as a visual effects producer, growing the TV team over five years from 3 to 190 in London and 25 in Los Angeles, plus a small team in Mumbai. In 2018, while she was DNegTV’s executive visual effects producer on Black Mirror “Metalhead, the team was awarded a BAFTA for special, visual and graphic effects for their work , and her team on the Netflix series ‘Altered Carbon’ received an Emmy nomination for ‘Outstanding Special Visual Effects’ .

In her current role as executive visual effects producer for Industrial Light & Magic’s recently-launched ILM TV division, Hussey leads strategy, production, and creative along with Stefan Drury, Hayden Jones, and Jonathan Privett. Hussey is a founding board member and visual effects chair of Animated Women UK and sits on BAFTA’s Learning and New Talent Committee.

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Michael Iskas
President, Story Lab

Michael Iskas is the president of The Story Lab, a global entertainment company that launched in 2015, which funds, develops and distributes innovative TV formats, drama and feature films. Working with forward thinking production and media companies, The Story Lab has accrued a varied slate of TV formats including Ninja Warrior (TBS), Game of Clones (youngest Media), Evil Monkeys (Renegade) and Al... read more

Michael Iskas is the president of The Story Lab, a global entertainment company that launched in 2015, which funds, develops and distributes innovative TV formats, drama and feature films.

Working with forward thinking production and media companies, The Story Lab has accrued a varied slate of TV formats including Ninja Warrior (TBS), Game of Clones (youngest Media), Evil Monkeys (Renegade) and All Star Driving School (Rumpus Media) among others.  Recently, The Story Lab has been investing in a variety of UK scripted projects set to launch in 2019, while also distributing Hollywood feature films in European territories, including John Wick, Sicario and Mechanic.

The Story Lab, which is part of Dentsu Aegis Network, operates in 25 territories, including the UK, France, Spain, Germany, US, Canada, Russia, Netherlands, China, India and Australia, and distributes content globally.

Michael is on the board of digital-first talent management company Gleam Futures. In his previous role, he was the Chief Innovation Officer at Dentsu Aegis Network.

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Moderator Walter Iuzzolino
Co-founder and curator, Walter Presents

Walter is a former commissioning editor at Channel 4 where he developed a string of factual hit formats before leaving to become Creative Director at Betty. There he spearheaded a quick growth trajectory of turnover and output which led to the company sale to Discovery Networks International in 2011. In 2014 Walter left Betty to pursue his dream of launching a foreign language drama channel. Walte... read more

Walter is a former commissioning editor at Channel 4 where he developed a string of factual hit formats before leaving to become Creative Director at Betty. There he spearheaded a quick growth trajectory of turnover and output which led to the company sale to Discovery Networks International in 2011. In 2014 Walter 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 Walter.  In March 2017 Walter Presents launched as an SVOD platform in the US with the New York Times hailing it as a ‘chic TV boutique with a foreign accent’. In November 2017 Walter Presents launched in Australia through pay-TV service Foxtel. Walter Presents will launch in Italy September 2018, it’s first rollout in mainland Europe, on Discovery’s Nove and Giallo linear networks, as well as offering a catalogue of Walter Presents  shows on its stand-alone Dplay streaming service.

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Ricus Jansegers
TV programming director, Medialaan

Moderator Irene Jiménez
Spanish correspondent, C21 Media, Audiovisual451

Irene Jiménez is a Spanish journalist, specialising in the TV industry. She is the Spanish correspondent for C21 and cofounder of online media Audiovisual451.com.

Kristin Jones
EVP of international programming, AMC and Sundance TV

As Executive Vice President of International Programming and Programming Innovation for AMC and SundanceTV, Kristin Jones oversees the creation, development and production of innovative scripted programming from all territories outside the U.S. She is focused on identifying potential international scripted projects, including co-productions, format adaptations, series, limited-series acquisitions ... read more

As Executive Vice President of International Programming and Programming Innovation for AMC and SundanceTV, Kristin Jones oversees the creation, development and production of innovative scripted programming from all territories outside the U.S. She is focused on identifying potential international scripted projects, including co-productions, format adaptations, series, limited-series acquisitions as well as developing projects for third parties through AMC studios.

She brought notable titles to AMC, such as the Emmy and multiple Golden Globe award winning miniseries The Night Manager. Jones’ upcoming project, The Little Drummer Girl premieres on AMC this November. The series was directed by Park Chan Wook, and stars Florence Pugh, Alexander Skarsgard, and Michael Shannon. She also oversees the much-anticipated State of The Union for SundanceTV, directed by Stephen Frears, written by Nick Hornby, and starring Rosamund Pike and Chris O’Dowd. For AMC, Jones also bought and oversaw critically praised Humans starring Gemma Chan, and McMafia starring James Norton, which is preparing for its second. For SundanceTV, Jones presides over Liar, which after its fall 2017 premiere was the most successful show on ITV in three years, as well as the Abi Morgan- helmed critically acclaimed series The Split.

Prior to joining AMC, Jones served as chief creative officer for Vuguru. Before that, she served as senior vice president of international development, production and acquisitions for Miramax Films in New York, and prior to that, she was vice president of production and European acquisitions for Buena Vista International, based in London. She began her career as a film literary agent at ICM.

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Marc Juris
President, WE tv

Marc Juris is a uniquely talented creative executive with a proven track record of creating and developing brands and compelling original content for television and digital platforms across numerous networks. As president and general manager of WE tv, Juris oversees all aspects of the network’s creative and business functions, including original program development and production, scheduling and... read more

Marc Juris is a uniquely talented creative executive with a proven track record of creating and developing brands and compelling original content for television and digital platforms across numerous networks. As president and general manager of WE tv, Juris oversees all aspects of the network’s creative and business functions, including original program development and production, scheduling and acquisitions, all marketing, advertising and promotional efforts and long and short-term planning and strategy.

Juris joined WE tv in 2013, and since then has increased the network’s viewership, its slate of original unscripted programming and led a network rebrand that reflects a broader focus on the communal power of “WE” in a digitally connected and social media driven world. WE tv’s unscripted shows are some of the most buzzed about in pop culture, from the Thursday night phenomenon “Braxton Family Values,” its popular franchise series “Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars,” and its newest hit series “Growing Up Hip Hop.”  In a highly competitive environment, the network just had its best year, growing its primetime audience for the third year in a row. Today, WE tv continues to deliver high-quality unscripted programming with heavy social engagement, featuring diverse characters and voices that resonate with viewers. WE tv is the #1 cable network for African-American adults and women on Thursday nights and is continuing to establish Friday nights as a destination for compelling and addicting reality TV.

Prior to joining WE tv, Juris engineered the radical reinvention of CourtTV to truTV, creating a top-ten cable network in less than four years. Under his leadership, truTV experienced unprecedented momentum. Propelled by over 300 hours of original programming every year, with 30 unique series like “Hardcore Pawn,” “Impractical Jokers,” “Storage Hunters,” “Operation Repo,” “Full Throttle Saloon,” and “South Beach Tow,” truTV finished 2012 with its best-ever primetime deliveries of key demos.

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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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Ruth Kenley-Letts
Executive producer, Mrs Wilson

Ruth trained as an actress working in the theatre before moving across into production. After winning an Academy Award and a BAFTA for the short film Franz Kafka’s It’s A Wonderful Life alongside writer/director Peter Capaldi, she went on to produce Peter’s first feature, Strictly Sinatra for which she was nominated for a Carl Foreman BAFTA for Most Promising Newcomer in Feature Films. ... read more

Ruth trained as an actress working in the theatre before moving across into production.

After winning an Academy Award and a BAFTA for the short film Franz Kafka’s It’s A Wonderful Life alongside writer/director Peter Capaldi, she went on to produce Peter’s first feature, Strictly Sinatra for which she was nominated for a Carl Foreman BAFTA for Most Promising Newcomer in Feature Films.  Another BAFTA nomination followed for The Tale of the Rat that Wrote, written and directed by Billy O’Brien, with whom she went on to work with on his first feature, the horror film Isolation, produced alongside Bertrand Faivre of The Bureau.

Ruth’s TV credits include Silent Witness (BBC), C4’s contemporary retelling of Penny Woolcock’s Exodus, Tony Jordan’s The Nativity, for both Kudos & Red Planet Productions, Series 1 and 2 of Abi Morgan’s multi award winning series The Hour for Kudos, and for Sky Atlantic the award-winning The Tunnel.  Producing The Casual Vacancy for Brontë she remained as Head of Drama and is the Executive Producer of the hit television series Strike for the BBC/Cinemax, based on the bestselling novels of J.K. Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith.

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Arvand Khosravi
Senior associate, Endeavor Content

Khosravi is a senior associate at Endeavor Content, a division of global entertainment leader Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG). In his role, he works with producers and distributors on all aspects of packaging, financing, sales and distribution for scripted television series. Khosravi was recently involved in the sale of Nick Hornby’s new 10×10 dramedy series starring Rosamund Pike and Chris O... read more

Khosravi is a senior associate at Endeavor Content, a division of global entertainment leader Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG). In his role, he works with producers and distributors on all aspects of packaging, financing, sales and distribution for scripted television series.

Khosravi was recently involved in the sale of Nick Hornby’s new 10×10 dramedy series starring Rosamund Pike and Chris O’Dowd, State of the Union, to SundanceTV, as well as A Discovery of Witches to AMC’s OTT digital platforms. In addition, he consulted on the sale of Bad Wolf & BBC’s ambitious new series adaptation of His Dark Materials to HBO on behalf of BBC Studios.

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Elizabeth Kilgarriff
Senior commissioning editor, BBC Drama

Liz Kilgarriff is a senior commissioning editor for BBC Drama in England and Scotland. Liz joined as a commissioning editor in August 2015 and has been responsible for work across the breadth and range of BBC Drama including BBC One’s Sunday night thriller Bodyguard, the adaptation of BBC One’s Strike series based on the novels by J.K. Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith, BBC One fan favourit... read more

Liz Kilgarriff is a senior commissioning editor for BBC Drama in England and Scotland. Liz joined as a commissioning editor in August 2015 and has been responsible for work across the breadth and range of BBC Drama including BBC One’s Sunday night thriller Bodyguard, the adaptation of BBC One’s Strike series based on the novels by J.K. Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith, BBC One fan favourites Call The Midwife and Poldark, Mike Bartlett’s Doctor Foster (series 2) and the epic BBC One drama McMafia.

Liz’s upcoming dramas include psychological series The Cry, starring Jenna Coleman; six-part thriller Informer from upcoming writers Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani; a fifth series of award-winning Luther; Tom Rob Smith’s original drama series MotherFatherSon for BBC Two starring Richard Gere, Helen McCrory, Billy Howle and Sarah Lancashire; and Sarah Phelps’ brilliant adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders, starring John Malkovich.  Also coming up from her Scottish slate is contemporary legal thriller, The Victim, written by Rob Williams and starring Kelly Macdonald.

Liz was previously Executive Producer for BBC in-house Drama working on titles including Luther, BBC3’s Thirteen, Cranford, Tess of the D’Urbervilles and Upstairs Downstairs. She was promoted to Senior Commissioning Editor for England and Scotland in May 2017.

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Alison Kirkham
Controller of factual commissioning, BBC

Alison Kirkham became Controller of Factual Commissioning in 2015. Since then, the Factual department has garnered immense critical acclaim and many awards, including BAFTAs for Blue Planet II, Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum and Dad and Murdered for Being Different; RTS Programme Awards for Hospital; Exodus, Elizabeth I’s Secret Agents and World War One Remembered: Passchendale – For the Fal... read more

Alison Kirkham became Controller of Factual Commissioning in 2015. Since then, the Factual department has garnered immense critical acclaim and many awards, including BAFTAs for Blue Planet II, Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum and Dad and Murdered for Being Different; RTS Programme Awards for Hospital; Exodus, Elizabeth I’s Secret Agents and World War One Remembered: Passchendale – For the Fallen; and Grierson Awards for Muslims Like Us and Forces of Nature with Brian Cox.

Alison’s commissions include the the BAFTA award winning documentary, Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum and Dad, and she was the Commissioning Executive Producer on the BBC’s coverage of the recent Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and secured their exclusive engagement interview.

Prior to her current role, Alison was Head of Commissioning, Formats and Features for BBC One and BBC Two for five years. In that role her commissions included Back in Time for Dinner, Eat Well for Less; Countryfile; DIY SOS; Antiques Roadshow.
Alison joined the BBC in 2005 as an executive producer of daytime programming and spent six months as acting Controller of BBC Daytime in 2006.

Before 2005 Alison worked in ITV Current Affairs on Tonight With Trevor McDonald. While there she worked as a producer/director on ITV’s 9/11 and Iraq war coverage. As well as working in current affairs at ITV she worked as a producer on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here and This Morning. Her first job in broadcasting was on Radio 4’s Today.

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Dan Korn
VP programming and head of history and crime+investigation, A+E Networks UK

Dan Korn joined A+E UK in November 2016, from STV Productions, where was creative director, overseeing projects ranging from BBC and Channel 4 documentaries, to the Channel 5 entertainment series, Tour de Celeb. Prior to that, he spent 10 years as senior vice president and head of programming for Discovery Channel UK and EMEA, which he joined, in 2005, from leading independent production company, ... read more

Dan Korn joined A+E UK in November 2016, from STV Productions, where was creative director, overseeing projects ranging from BBC and Channel 4 documentaries, to the Channel 5 entertainment series, Tour de Celeb.

Prior to that, he spent 10 years as senior vice president and head of programming for Discovery Channel UK and EMEA, which he joined, in 2005, from leading independent production company, 3BM Television Ltd. At 3BM, Korn was Managing Director and Executive Producer, winning a BAFTA for the film, Nuremberg: Goering’s Last Stand for Channel 4, a Broadcast Award for the series Age of Terror for Discovery, as well as producing the Emmy Award-nominated Holocaust on Trial and RTS-nominated Boy With a Tumour for a Face.

As vice president, programming, and head of history and crime+investigation, he heads up a team responsible for all the Pay TV brands for the A+E UKJV, sourcing, acquiring and commissioning over 3000 hours of content a year. Recent commissions include James Nesbitt: Disasters That Changed Britain, World War 2 Treasure Hunters, and Murdertown with Katherine Kelly.

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Hakan Kousetta
COO television, See-Saw Films

Hakan joined See-Saw in 2014 to co-run the TV division of See-Saw with its creative head Jamie Laurenson. Throughout his career Hakan has overseen the finance and production of hundreds of films and television programmes and brings a real depth of knowledge and experience to his role as Chief Operating Officer.  In addition to managing the day-to-day activities of the television division, Hakan ... read more

Hakan joined See-Saw in 2014 to co-run the TV division of See-Saw with its creative head Jamie Laurenson. Throughout his career Hakan has overseen the finance and production of hundreds of films and television programmes and brings a real depth of knowledge and experience to his role as Chief Operating Officer.  In addition to managing the day-to-day activities of the television division, Hakan is responsible for designing and implementing company strategy, overseeing the funding and production of all television programmes and controls all of the sales and marketing activity for the division’s output.

Hakan oversaw the production of Top of the Lake: China Girl, the highly acclaimed second instalment of Jane Campion’s Emmy and Golden Globe® nominated series Top of the Lake starring Elisabeth Moss, reprising her acclaimed role, Nicole Kidman and Gwendoline Christie.

Hakan executive produced the live action television series The New Legends of Monkey for Netflix, ABC Australia and TVNZ that launched to great reviews in Australia and on Netflix earlier this year. He is currently executive producing the company’s short form comedy series ‘State of the Union’ directed by Stephen Frears, written by Nick Hornby and starring Rosamund Pike and Chris O’Dowd which is currently in post-production; ‘The End’ starring Dame Harriet Walter and Frances O’Connor currently in pre-production; and is in development on ‘The North Water’ to be written and directed by Andrew Haigh (45 Years), adapted from the novel by Ian McGuire.

Previously at See-Saw Hakan oversaw the production of mini-series ‘Love, Nina’ for BBC1 written by Nick Hornby and based on the bestselling novel by Nina Stibbe. Hakan is a council member of UK trade association PACT as well as the BFI launched commission to investigate the health of the UK independent film industry.

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Moritz von Kruedener
Managing director, Beta Film

As Beta Film’s managing director, Moritz von Kruedener oversees the company’s national and international distribution and production activities. Establishing Beta as a renowned co-financing and co-producing partner for high-end drama in Europe and abroad, Kruedener also helms its strategic alignment through acquisitions and joint venture structures. The group represents a portfolio of over 15.... read more

As Beta Film’s managing director, Moritz von Kruedener oversees the company’s national and international distribution and production activities. Establishing Beta as a renowned co-financing and co-producing partner for high-end drama in Europe and abroad, Kruedener also helms its strategic alignment through acquisitions and joint venture structures. The group represents a portfolio of over 15.000 hours of program including numerous award-winning productions for TV and cinema. Recent projects are acclaimed TV series such as, Alex Pina’s The Pier, Tom Tykwer’s Babylon Berlin and Gomorrah by Stefano Sollima. Currently in preparation or production are The Net together with Red Bull Media, German Moon by Nadav Schirman, the Sky original Pagan Peak and M – A City Hunts a Murderer based on the Fritz Lang classic. Beta Cinema represents several Academy Award winning feature films and, most recently, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Never Look Away. Founded in 1959, Beta Film is part of Jan Mojto’s company group since 2004.

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Jonas Kryger Hansen
Commissioning editor, DR Ultra

Jonas Kryger Hansen is the commissioning editor at Danish tween channel DR Ultra. Responsible for the development and production of all fictional TV-series we produce for the Danish market, on all platforms. Strictly focused on On-Demand success. His goal is to capture the attention of picky Danish tweens with popular, clickable fictional formats, to serve grains of perspective on everyday life to... read more

Jonas Kryger Hansen is the commissioning editor at Danish tween channel DR Ultra. Responsible for the development and production of all fictional TV-series we produce for the Danish market, on all platforms. Strictly focused on On-Demand success. His goal is to capture the attention of picky Danish tweens with popular, clickable fictional formats, to serve grains of perspective on everyday life to them, with the goal to make it more interesting for Danish tweens to tackle and talk about dilemmas that fill their minds.

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Jamie Laurenson
Head of television, See-Saw Films

Jamie Laurenson joined See-Saw Films in 2012 to head up its newly formed Television department. Prior to See-Saw Films, Jamie was an executive producer for BBC Films and Commissioning Editor for Drama BBC4 where he worked on such films as Quartet, Salmon Fishing In the Yemen, My Week With Marilyn, Project Nim, Brighton Rock, An Education and television dramas Enid, Room At The Top, Holy Flying ... read more

Jamie Laurenson joined See-Saw Films in 2012 to head up its newly formed Television department. Prior to See-Saw Films, Jamie was an executive producer for BBC Films and Commissioning Editor for Drama BBC4 where he worked on such films as Quartet, Salmon Fishing In the Yemen, My Week With Marilyn, Project Nim, Brighton Rock, An Education and television dramas Enid, Room At The Top, Holy Flying Circus, Lennon. Jamie executive produced Top of the Lake: China Girl, the highly acclaimed second instalment of Jane Campion’s Emmy and Golden Globe® nominated series Top of the Lake starring Elisabeth Moss, reprising her acclaimed role, Nicole Kidman and Gwendoline Christie.

Laurenson executive produced the live action television series The New Legends of Monkey for Netflix, ABC Australia and TVNZ that launched to great reviews in Australia and on Netflix earlier this year. He is currently executive producing the company’s short form comedy series State of the Union directed by Stephen Frears, written by Nick Hornby and starring Rosamund Pike and Chris O’Dowd which is currently in post-production; The End starring Dame Harriet Walter and Frances O’Connor currently in pre-production; and is in development on The North Water to be written and directed by Andrew Haigh (45 Years), adapted from the novel by Ian McGuire.

Previously at See-Saw Jamie executive produced the mini-series Love, Nina for BBC1 written by Nick Hornby and based on the bestselling novel by Nina Stibbe.

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Jonathan Levi
Executive producer, Renegade Pictures

Jonathan Levi was the executive producer on celebrity game show Evil Monkeys. A highly experienced EP, he has spent the last four years with Warner Brother’s Renegade Pictures where his credits include the 2019 ITV factual drama series Hatton Garden, Ross Kemp and the Armed Police for ITV, the critically acclaimed Transformation Street for ITV and CBBC show School of Rock. Previous roles inc... read more

Jonathan Levi was the executive producer on celebrity game show Evil Monkeys. A highly experienced EP, he has spent the last four years with Warner Brother’s Renegade Pictures where his credits include the 2019 ITV factual drama series Hatton Garden, Ross Kemp and the Armed Police for ITV, the critically acclaimed Transformation Street for ITV and CBBC show School of Rock.

Previous roles include Head of Arts and Popular Culture at ITV Studios and executive producer of The South Bank Show. Some career highlights include Broadmoor for ITV, Tulisa: The Price of Fame for BBC3, Ewan McGreggor: Cold Chain Mission for BBC2, Ronnie Corbett’s Comedy Britain for ITV and the BAFTA nominated 28 Up South Africa for Al Jazeera and ITV. Jonathan has a passion for access documentaries, celebrity fronted series and youth skewed factual formats and created several ITV2 returning strands including ‘Fearne And’, ‘The Parent Trip’ and ‘Utterly Outrageous’.

Jonathan began his career at BBC Radio 4 as researcher for Jeremy Paxman and Melvyn Bragg. Jonathan is also the author of Hatton Garden: The Inside Story and a forthcoming book about Broadmoor hospital, both published by Blink.

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David Levine
VP, programming, production and strategic development, Disney Channels EMEA

David Levine is vice president, programming, production and strategic development, Disney Channels EMEA, and general manager, Disney Channels UK & Ireland, Nordics. As vice president, he is responsible for all strategic and operational aspects of programming across Disney Channels EMEA, including the development of the linear and multi-platform programming strategy. David is responsible for th... read more

David Levine is vice president, programming, production and strategic development, Disney Channels EMEA, and general manager, Disney Channels UK & Ireland, Nordics. As vice president, he is responsible for all strategic and operational aspects of programming across Disney Channels EMEA, including the development of the linear and multi-platform programming strategy. David is responsible for the direction of original production and overseeing the development and production slates of originally produced content, acquisitions and co-productions. His team is responsible for developing and commissioning innovative and tailored content that listens to what kids want. Recent successes include Disney Channel’s ratings hit The Lodge, and upcoming 101 Dalmatian Street, a new animated series inspired by the classic novel and animated film.

As general manager of Disney Channels UK & Ireland, Nordics, David leads a team that utilises these key platforms to drive familiarity and awareness for the Disney brand and content, through key partnerships with Sky Broadcasting, Virgin Media and more. David also serves as the Executive Sponsor of Pride UK&I, the company’s resource group from LGBT+ and ally employees, and has been listed #29 on the Financial Times Outstanding list of LGBT+ Executives.

David joined Disney in March 2004, serving multiple roles in US Programming, Worldwide Programming and Channel GM. Prior to Disney, David worked for Ragdoll USA as Vice President Business Affairs and Development.

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Aron Levitz
Head of, Wattpad Studios

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

As head of Wattpad Studios, Aron Levitz connects the entertainment and publishing industries with new voices and original content on Wattpad. Leveraging data and community insights, Aron works with the industry to coproduce Wattpad stories for film, television, print and digital formats.

Previously, as head of business development, Aron helped establish the companys 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, Aron has connected the entertainment industry with emerging technology and mobile platforms. As Senior Director of Strategic Alliances at Xtreme Labs, Aron developed business and mobile strategies for the worlds 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 bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Waterloo.

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Fredrik Ljungberg
Program director Viaplay & Viasat nordic, Viaplay

Fredrik has spent over 20 years in TV programming and acquisition, first at Kanal 5, then MTG/TV3 and since 2014 at Viaplay. In recent years Fredrik’s executive producer credits have included hit series such as Swedish Dicks, The Restaurant and Conspiracy of Silence.

Tara Long
EVP, alternative programming, television, Entertainment One

Since establishing eOne’s U.S. Alternative Programming division in 2012, Tara Long has built from the ground up a highly successful division that has had almost a dozen projects go straight to series and a packed slate of long-running shows that continue to receive new season orders. Many of Long’s projects involve partnering with celebrity talent on an extremely intimate level: whether it’s... read more

Since establishing eOne’s U.S. Alternative Programming division in 2012, Tara Long has built from the ground up a highly successful division that has had almost a dozen projects go straight to series and a packed slate of long-running shows that continue to receive new season orders.

Many of Long’s projects involve partnering with celebrity talent on an extremely intimate level: whether it’s for docu-series centered on the private lives of stars who agree expose their most personal moments to a public audience, or for original ideas and passion projects that need to be developed in close concert with celebrity creators and/or hosts.

In her role, Long oversees all aspects of the division, with a focus on further developing, growing and diversifying its burgeoning pipeline, relationships and scope. Long is responsible for managing all TV development and productions in the alternative space on behalf of eOne and selling shows to a diverse list of US network partners including A&E, E!, Lifetime, BET, FUSE, MTV, truTV, FYI, WEtv, OWN etc. Long leads the newly acquired Whizz Kid Entertainment in London, UK, following eOne’s recent acquisition of a majority stake in the company.

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Anja Lundqvist
Executive producer, co-creator and actor, Honour

Anja Lundqvist has most recently been seen in Viaplay’s Alex, the latest Scandi crime drama to appear on British screens, on Channel 4 earlier in 2018. Before then, she played in the TV series Gåsmamman, the Sune movies, Våra vänners liv, De halvt dolda, Oskyldigt dömd, Offside, Stormen and Tusenbröder. In 2016, Anja was among the creators and writers of comedy series Mammor for Swede... read more

Anja Lundqvist has most recently been seen in Viaplay’s Alex, the latest Scandi crime drama to appear on British screens, on Channel 4 earlier in 2018. Before then, she played in the TV series Gåsmamman, the Sune movies, Våra vänners liv, De halvt dolda, Oskyldigt dömd, Offside, Stormen and Tusenbröder. In 2016, Anja was among the creators and writers of comedy series Mammor for Sweden’s TV3, alongside her Honour colleague Julia Dufvenius. She currently works both at the Swedish Royal Dramatic Theater and Kulturhuset Stadsteatern in Stockholm where she has played a number of important roles in recent years.

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Kyle MacLachlan
Actor, Atlantic Crossing

Kyle MacLachlan is an actor who has brought indelible charm and a quirky sophistication to some of film and television’s most memorable roles. MacLachlan is best known for his performance as FBI Agent ‘Dale Cooper’ in David Lynch’s groundbreaking series TWIN PEAKS, for which he received two Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe Award in 1990. 27-years later, in 2017 MacLachlan reprised his ... read more

Kyle MacLachlan is an actor who has brought indelible charm and a quirky sophistication to some of film and television’s most memorable roles. MacLachlan is best known for his performance as FBI Agent ‘Dale Cooper’ in David Lynch’s groundbreaking series TWIN PEAKS, for which he received two Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe Award in 1990. 27-years later, in 2017 MacLachlan reprised his role in David Lynch’s critically acclaimed TWIN PEAKS REVIVAL, which earned him a 2018 Golden Globe nomination.

He most recently starred in the Universal and Amblin feature, “The House with a Clock in its Walls” opposite Cate Blanchett and Jack Black. He was also recently starred as the gregarious and enthusiastic Mayor of Portland, alongside Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, in the eighth and final season of the cult-hit-comedy “Portlandia.” The series finale aired on March 22nd on IFC. He recently wrapped production on Josh Trank’s film “FONZO” and Steven Sodorbergh’s film “High Flying Bird.”

In 2015, MacLachlan voiced the role of “Dad” in Disney Pixar’s award winning film, “Inside Out.” The film was released on June 19, 2015 and made record-setting box office numbers for an original film. The animated film received an Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA and Satellite Award, amongst others. MacLachlan had regular appearances on ABC’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D,” CBS’s “The Good Wife,” and NBC’s “Believe” which was produced by JJ Abrams. HE also had reoccurring guest roles as “The Captain” on “How I Met Your Mother.” The role was loosely based on some of MacLachlans’s early sitcom heroes, such as Thurston Howell III and Jethro Bodine.

MacLachlan reprised his role as “Dr. Orson Hodge” on the eighth and final season of ABC’s highly rated Emmy-nominated television series, “Desperate Housewives.” MacLachlan joined the cast in 2006 and appeared regularly on the show until 2011. In 2012, MacLachlan appeared in IFC’s Film’s “Peace, Love and Misunderstanding,” directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Olden and Catherine Keener. In 2010, MacLachlan appeared in “Mao’s Last Dancer,” a film he shot in Australia in 2009 that was based on the true story of ballet dancer Li Cunxin. MacLachlan played Charles Foster, the immigration attorney responsible for keeping Li from being forcibly removed from the US by the Chinese government while helping him gain his citizenship. The film was directed by Bruce Beresford and released by Samuel Goldwyn Films and ATO Pictures.

MacLachlan also starred in two seasons of HBO’s highly successful comedy series “Sex and The City” as Charlotte’s husband, “Dr. Trey MacDougal.” He has also appeared in a recurring guest-starring role in “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.”

MacLachlan’s other television credits include “In Justice” for ABC (2006); TNT’s “The Librarian: Quest for the Spear” (2004); HBO’s award-winning film “Against the Wall,” the story of the 1971 Attica prison riots (1994); and Showtime’s original film “Roswell,” based on the infamous story of an alleged UFO sighting in 1947 Roswell, New Mexico (1994). Maclachlan made his feature film debut in 1984 in the futuristic drama “Dune,” directed by David Lynch. This was followed by his second collaboration with Lynch in 1986 in the uniquely disturbing film, “Blue Velvet,” opporite Isabella Rossellini and Dennis Hopper.

Other film credits include “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2” (2008); “Touch of Pink” (2004); Miramax’s “Hamlet” (2000); “Timecode” (2000); “One Nigh Stand” (1997); “The Trigger Effect” (1996); Paul Verhoeven’s cult classic “Showgirls” (1995); “The Flinstones,” produced by Steven Spielberg (1994); “The Trial” (1993); “The Trial” (1993); “Rich in Love” (1992); and Oliver Stone’s 1990 film “The Doors,” where he portrayed legendary keyboardist Ray Manzarek. MacLachlan made his directorial debut in 1993 with an episode of the darkly comic HBO hit series “Tales from the Crypt.”

In the fall of 2003, MacLachlan made his Broadway debut as “Aston” in Harold Pinter’s “The Caretaker,” starring opposite Patrick Stewart and Aidan Gillen. The play, which tells the story of two brothers and an elderly derelict in close quarters, was directed by David Jones for the Roundabout Theatre Company and was nominated for “Best Rival of a Play” by the Outer Critics Circle that 2003/2004 season. In 2002, MacLachlan made his London stage debut in the West End production of “On an Average Day,” opposite Woody Harrelson. The two-character piece by John Kolvenbach revolves around two troubled brothers who reunite with explosive consequences. Directed by John Crowley, the play returned MacLachlan to his theater roots after a 14-year absence.

MacLachlan is the ambassador of Callway Golf Foundation and is a supporter of many charities including God’s Live We Deliver, American Foundation for AIDS Research, Elton John AIDS Foundation, The Humane Society and UNICEF. MacLachlan has a passion for winemaking and created his own wine, “Pursued by a Bear,” a Cabernet blend crafted from grapes sourced in and around Washington, MacLachlan’s home state. He added a second wine to his arensal called “Baby Bear,” a Syrah named in honor of his son Callum, who was born in 2008, the year of the first harvest. In 2015, he released his Rose called “Blushing Bear.”

MacLachlan currently divides his time between Los Angeles and New York with his wife Desiree and their son Callum.

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Vidar Magnussen
Creator, Magnus

Studied acting at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts, London Played at several theatres in Norway.  Won Comedy award for Mascarade in 2010, DNS. Won Hedda award for his role in Shockheaded Peter 2014, DNT. Won Comedy award for Shockheaded Peter in 2014, DNT Regular castmember in Side by side, comedy at NRK since 2013. Director of the Norwegian version of Book of Mormon. Won Hedda award for b... read more

Studied acting at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts, London Played at several theatres in Norway.  Won Comedy award for Mascarade in 2010, DNS. Won Hedda award for his role in Shockheaded Peter 2014, DNT. Won Comedy award for Shockheaded Peter in 2014, DNT
Regular castmember in Side by side, comedy at NRK since 2013. Director of the Norwegian version of Book of Mormon. Won Hedda award for best play Book of Mormon, DNT. Creator and plays lead in upcoming Science fiction Comedy drama Magnus.

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Teboho Mahlatsi
Co-producer, co-creator, Shaka

Teboho Mahlatsi’s masterful short film Portrait of a Young Man Drowning, won him the coveted Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1999 and kick started his journey as one of South Africa’s most exciting filmmakers. Teboho co-created and directed Yizo Yizo, undeniably the most celebrate and controversial TV series made in post apartheid South Africa which went on the win awards world wide... read more

Teboho Mahlatsi’s masterful short film Portrait of a Young Man Drowning, won him the coveted Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1999 and kick started his journey as one of South Africa’s most exciting filmmakers.

Teboho co-created and directed Yizo Yizo, undeniably the most celebrate and controversial TV series made in post apartheid South Africa which went on the win awards world wide. In 2006 he won the Tribute Black Achiever in entertainment award and has been invited to speak at festivals, galleries and universities worldwide. He was president of the jury for the Corto Cortissimo at the Venice film festival in 2006 and his short film Sekalli Le Meokgo opened this prestigious event.

Teboho’s feature film project, Scar, was selected for both the Sundance Writers and Directors Labs as well as the Cannes “young directors forum”.

 

In 2018 Teboho was awarded the Usiba award by the minister of Arts and Culture for his significant contribution in TV, Film and storytelling. Teboho is a founding partner of Bomb TV and is at the centre of all Bomb creative projects, including the wildly successful ISIBAYA, which is the cornerstone of a prestigious pay TV channel, Zone 14, Isithembiso, Ayeye, Jacob’s Cross and many more. Teboho is also a high regarded commercials director.

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Nacho Manubens
Head of contents, Atresmedia Studios

Nacho Manubens started his career as Script Analyst in Mediaset in 2000. After moving to Los Angeles, California to study Screenwriting and Production at UCLA Extension, he worked as Director of Development, Production and Acquisitions at Arenas Entertainment. He later founded the production company U Rock Films where he was CEO for 5 years. In 2011 he joined Atresmedia where he served as SVP Orig... read more

Nacho Manubens started his career as Script Analyst in Mediaset in 2000. After moving to Los Angeles, California to study Screenwriting and Production at UCLA Extension, he worked as Director of Development, Production and Acquisitions at Arenas Entertainment. He later founded the production company U Rock Films where he was CEO for 5 years. In 2011 he joined Atresmedia where he served as SVP Original Drama until January 2018. He is now Chief Content Officer at Atresmedia Studios.

 

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Michelle Martin
Head of television, Framestore

Michelle Martin is head of television at Framestore. Joining the company in 2015, she has overseen VFX for ground-breaking projects such as MARS and the Darren Aronofsky-produced One Strange Rock (both for National Geographic), while current projects include the upcoming BBC/HBO adaptation of Philip Pullman’s beloved His Dark Materials. Prior to this, Michelle held positions with companies such ... read more

Michelle Martin is head of television at Framestore. Joining the company in 2015, she has overseen VFX for ground-breaking projects such as MARS and the Darren Aronofsky-produced One Strange Rock (both for National Geographic), while current projects include the upcoming BBC/HBO adaptation of Philip Pullman’s beloved His Dark Materials.

Prior to this, Michelle held positions with companies such as MPC (where she worked on Tim Burton’s acclaimed Big Fish), Lola and Stargate, as well as founding her own VFX production support service, Ruby VFX. Michelle is committed to helping broadcasters and streamers meet the growing demand for Hollywood-calibre VFX on the small screen. To this end she is working with her expert, highly-talented team to meet the global industry’s needs and expectations, delivering unique, high-quality VFX from pre-production to delivery of the final shot.

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Steve Matthews
VP and executive producer, drama development , HBO Europe

Steve Matthews is VP and executive producer, drama development at HBO Europe where he works with emerging and established writers on dramas across Scandinavia, Spain and Central Europe.  His credits include Umbre (Shadows), Pustina (Wasteland), Aranyélet (Golden Life), and the upcoming Uspjeh (Success), Beforeigners and Gösta.  Steve was previously Consulting Producer on all three series of Ne... read more

Steve Matthews is VP and executive producer, drama development at HBO Europe where he works with emerging and established writers on dramas across Scandinavia, Spain and Central Europe.  His credits include Umbre (Shadows), Pustina (Wasteland), Aranyélet (Golden Life), and the upcoming Uspjeh (Success), Beforeigners and Gösta.  Steve was previously Consulting Producer on all three series of Neil Jordan’s series The Borgias for Showtime Networks, and produced four series of RTE’s award-winning Dublin gangster series Love/Hate. He was formerly Head of Development at Ray Winstone’s Size 9 Productions.  He worked as a script editor at the BBC on Silent Witness and was co-creator and producer of Channel 5’s late night horror series Urban Gothic.

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Dan May
Co-founder, Painting Practice

Painting Practice is a design studio working across film, television and advertising. Since forming 10 years ago, it has grown into a hub of unlimited creativity and original thinking. Dan founded painting practice with the goal of combining art department with visual effects. Credits include Black Mirror, Mowgli, Watership Down, Gravity and is currently working on His Dark Materials.

Winona Meringolo
senior vice president of development, Investigation Discovery

Winona Meringolo is the senior vice president of development for Investigation Discovery where she develops original content for America’s leading true crime and mystery network. Currently the #1 network in the U.S. in total day for women and people, ages 25-54, ID is the preeminent true crime destination and is consistently a top 10 network in primetime. With suspense programming that fully imm... read more

Winona Meringolo is the senior vice president of development for Investigation Discovery where she develops original content for America’s leading true crime and mystery network. Currently the #1 network in the U.S. in total day for women and people, ages 25-54, ID is the preeminent true crime destination and is consistently a top 10 network in primetime. With suspense programming that fully immerses and engages audiences, ID’s content resonates worldwide and is currently available in 178 countries and territories.

Alongside the EVP of development, Jane Latman, Meringolo navigates the creative vision for ID and oversees the curation of more than 650 premiere hours of mystery and suspense programming each year. Meringolo provides leadership and creative direction for the network and is responsible for the conceptualization and development of several hit ID series, including but not limited to: Evil Lives Here, People Magazine Investigates, American Monster, Village of the Damned, See No Evil, Home Alone, Dark Waters, The Devil Speaks and Someone You Thought You Knew.

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Nina Metivier
Co-creator, The A List

Nina is a BAFTA-winning writer, script editor and producer. Alongside co-creating and head writing BBC teen drama The A List, her most recent credits include working as script editor on Chris Chibnall’s new series of Doctor Who and producing and writing on four series of Dixi, CBBC’s first ever online drama and winner of the BAFTA for Best Original: Interactive, as well as the C21 Internationa... read more

Nina is a BAFTA-winning writer, script editor and producer. Alongside co-creating and head writing BBC teen drama The A List, her most recent credits include working as script editor on Chris Chibnall’s new series of Doctor Who and producing and writing on four series of Dixi, CBBC’s first ever online drama and winner of the BAFTA for Best Original: Interactive, as well as the C21 International Award for Best Digital Drama.

Nina previously worked as Development Executive at Kindle Entertainment after script editing a range of shows, including The Life & Adventures of Nick Nickleby for BBC1 (the first modern retelling of a Dickens novel for television); two series of CBBC’s Leonardo (nominated for the Rose d’Or & Prix Jeunesse awards) and a series of CBeebies Big and Small (winner of the Kidscreen Best Writing award).

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Peter Micelli
Chief strategy officer, film & television, eOne

As Chief strategy officer for eOne’s film and television business, Peter Micelli leads the company’s content strategy, leveraging his deep industry relationships to drive innovative talent-driven partnerships around the world. Prior to joining eOne, Micelli served as co-head of the television department and an agent at the leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA).�... read more

As Chief strategy officer for eOne’s film and television business, Peter Micelli leads the company’s content strategy, leveraging his deep industry relationships to drive innovative talent-driven partnerships around the world.

Prior to joining eOne, Micelli served as co-head of the television department and an agent at the leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). There he represented many of the world’s leading writers, producers, and directors including: Damon Lindelof, Jon Favreau, Jenji Kohan, Seth MacFarlane, Alex Kurtzman, Simon Kinberg, Jordan Peele, Sacha Baron Cohen, David Ayer, Misha Green, Todd Philips, James Patterson, Mitch Hurwitz, Sam Esmail and Dan Harmon. As well, Micelli helped build and represent production companies and independent studios such as Platform One Media, Gaumont International Television, The Mark Gordon Company, Will Packer Productions, Cedar Park Entertainment, and Sonar Entertainment, among others.

Recognized as one of the most innovative agents in Hollywood, he has had a huge influence on the design and creation of independent television finance.  His innovation has created new paths to production that helped streaming platforms develop their original programming slates.  He was instrumental in the packaging and sale of Netflix’s initial original series including House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Hemlock Grove, Narcos and Sense8 and has continued to sell them projects, including Glow, Frontier and Arrested Development. He has also sold projects to, and helped develop the original programming slates for many other influential content platforms, including Apple (Planet of the Apps, Dickinson, Outlaws), Facebook Watch (Queen America starring Naomi Watts, and an Untitled Christian Ronaldo project), Amazon (Bosch, The Connection), and YouTube Red (Cobra Kai, Weird City).

Before joining eOne, Micelli represented Molly Bloom’s novel Molly’s Game and also worked with eOne to package ABC series Designated Survivor and The Rookie. Micelli also helped Spearhead efforts to bring The Chronicles of Narnia to Netflix. Micelli began his career at CAA in 1995 as a mailroom trainee.

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Ted Miller
Partner, CAA

Miller is partner and head of International Television at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Miller works in the Los Angeles office and represents many of the world’s leading television producers, writers, directors, and showrunners, including Jason Bateman(Ozark, Arrested Development), Balloon (Bryan Elsley-Clique, Kiss Me First, Skins), BBC Studios LA, Tom B... read more

Miller is partner and head of International Television at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Miller works in the Los Angeles office and represents many of the world’s leading television producers, writers, directors, and showrunners, including Jason Bateman(Ozark, Arrested Development), Balloon (Bryan Elsley-Clique, Kiss Me First, Skins), BBC Studios LA, Tom Bidwell (The Irregulars, My Mad Fat Diary), Jess Brittain (Clique), Charlie Brooker/Annabel Jones (Black Mirror), Matt Charman(Black Work, Bridge of Spies), Chris Chibnall (Broadchurch, Doctor Who), Simon Donald (Fortitude), Matthew Graham (Spanish Princess), Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion), Hypnotic(Doug Liman, David Bartis, Gene Klein-Impulse, Nightflyers, Suits), Alex Kurtzman (Hawaii 5-0, Star Trek Discovery), Damon Lindelof (The Leftovers, Lost, The Watchmen), Justin Lin (Fast & The Furious, Magnum, Swat, Warrior), Moonage Pictures(Matthew Read, Will Gould, FrithTiplady-Curfew), New Pictures(Charlie Pattinson, Elaine Pyke, Willow Grylls-Catherine the Great, The Missing), David Nicholls (Patrick Melrose, One Day), Dan Sefton (Good Karma Hospital, Trust Me), James Strong (Broadchurch, Vanity Fair), Tandem/Studio Canal(Take Two), Tiger Aspect (Good Karma Hospital, Peaky Blinders), Urban Myth (Johnny Capps, Julian Murphy, Howard Overman-Misfits, Crazy Head, War of the Worlds).

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Brian Minchin
Executive producer, Hartswood West

Brian Minchin is an executive producer at Hartswood West where he is working on Steven Moffat’s adaptation of The Time Traveler’s Wife (HBO) and a slate of new shows. Previously he worked at BBC Wales as executive producer on DOCTOR WHO (BBC), Russell T Davies’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Class, Dirk Gently, Being Human, and award winning Children’s show The Sarah Jane Adventures.... read more

Brian Minchin is an executive producer at Hartswood West where he is working on Steven Moffat’s adaptation of The Time Traveler’s Wife (HBO) and a slate of new shows. Previously he worked at BBC Wales as executive producer on DOCTOR WHO (BBC), Russell T Davies’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Class, Dirk Gently, Being Human, and award winning Children’s show The Sarah Jane Adventures.

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Simon Mirren
Executive producer & screenwriter,

Simon Mirren, a former plasterer, is now a successful Hollywood screenwriter and showrunner. Before his relocation to LA, Simon was a screenwriter on British hits such as Waking the Dead. He was a key contributor on series 1 and 2 of Spooks and was responsible for sourcing much of the research that gave the opening seasons such authenticity. Simon worked on Without a Trace and Third Watch before s... read more

Simon Mirren, a former plasterer, is now a successful Hollywood screenwriter and showrunner.

Before his relocation to LA, Simon was a screenwriter on British hits such as Waking the Dead. He was a key contributor on series 1 and 2 of Spooks and was responsible for sourcing much of the research that gave the opening seasons such authenticity. Simon worked on Without a Trace and Third Watch before spending six years on the hit series Criminal Minds culminating as showrunner.
Simon has executive produced the new glossy and sexy 10-part Canal Plus series Versailles with David Wolstencroft which started in France in November 2015 and on BBC Two in May 2016. Season three of Versailles began filming in April 2017, a second season of The Escape Artists by David is in development as is a straight to series order about the life of Timothy McVeigh, an AI series with Hulu, a genetic procedural drama series set in Montreal, a gangster series set in 60′s London, Mexico-set Bad Hombre and drama series The Art of War set in Berlin.

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Alex Moody
Commissioning editor, comedy, BBC

Alex joined the BBC Comedy Commissioning team in 2016 and has commissioned shows including The Young Offenders, There She Goes, Cunk on Britain, The Other One, Pls Like and Vic & Bob’s Big Night Out; her slate also includes Motherland, People Just Do Nothing, Frankie Boyle’s New World Order, Cuckoo, Detectorists. Prior to becoming a commissioner, Alex was a freelance producer worki... read more

Alex joined the BBC Comedy Commissioning team in 2016 and has commissioned shows including The Young Offenders, There She Goes, Cunk on Britain, The Other One, Pls Like and Vic & Bob’s Big Night Out; her slate also includes Motherland, People Just Do Nothing, Frankie Boyle’s New World Order, Cuckoo, Detectorists. Prior to becoming a commissioner, Alex was a freelance producer working in both scripted comedy and comedy-entertainment. She produced the Bafta-nominated short film Elephant at Happy Tramp for BBC iPlayer. Before that she worked in production and development at BBC Comedy, CPL, Tiger Aspect, Princess, Open Mike and Pett Productions.

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Jane Moore
CEO, Vertigo Films

Jane Moore is CEO of Vertigo Films, an integrated film and television production and distribution company. Prior to Vertigo, Jane has held senior positions within the film industry at PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Universal Pictures and Ingenious.

Hadas Mozes Lichtenstein
Founder and head of international, ADD Content

Hadas spearheads all international partnerships and deals for ADD Content, a global content creation, distribution and talent management agency, headquartered in Israel. ADD’s slate spans television programming and feature films, and currently includes over 50 internationally successful unscripted and scripted projects. Deals include the sale of critically acclaimed Israeli drama Fauda to Netfli... read more

Hadas spearheads all international partnerships and deals for ADD Content, a global content creation, distribution and talent management agency, headquartered in Israel. ADD’s slate spans television programming and feature films, and currently includes over 50 internationally successful unscripted and scripted projects. Deals include the sale of critically acclaimed Israeli drama Fauda to Netflix, where the series is now in its second season, and acquiring distribution rights to Tom Salama and Daphna Levin’s Miguel, which premiered at the inaugural Canneseries Festival this April winning the Special Performance Prize. Euphoria, an A24-produced pilot for HBO starring Zendaya and penned by Sam Levinson (Wizard of Lies), is currently in production at the network through a deal brokered by ADD Content.

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Sarah Muller
Vice president of children’s and youth programming, Sony Pictures Television

Sarah Muller is vice president of Children’s and Youth Programming (Western Europe International Networks) at Sony Pictures Television with responsibility for the Pop and Sony Music Channels. Prior to that, she was Head of Children’s at Channel 5 where she was responsible for the Milkshake! brand refresh, content portfolio overhaul and studio reorganisation. Sarah was Creative Director, Script... read more

Sarah Muller is vice president of Children’s and Youth Programming (Western Europe International Networks) at Sony Pictures Television with responsibility for the Pop and Sony Music Channels. Prior to that, she was Head of Children’s at Channel 5 where she was responsible for the Milkshake! brand refresh, content portfolio overhaul and studio reorganisation. Sarah was Creative Director, Scripted, Animation and Co-Productions for CBBC In-House before that, a role that grew from her work as Head of CBBC Acquisitions, Animation and Drama Development. Passionate about all Kids’ content, but especially Drama and Animation, commissioned projects include Danger Mouse, Strange Hill High, Creeped Out, Harriet’s Army, Wolfblood, The Dumping Ground, The Worst Witch, Katie and Just William.

Prior to joining BBC Children’s, she was Managing Director of Elephant Productions. As a producer, credits include 6 series of the multi-award winning, ratings success Grizzly Tales For Gruesome Kids (CITV), Animal School (CBBC), Pop Skool (BBC1), 3 Brothers Diamond (C4), and New Willo The Wisp (Disney) as well as developing the BAFTA-winning drama series The War Diaries of Alastair Fury (BBC1).

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Claire Mundell
Founder and creative director, Synchronicity Films

Claire Mundell is a BAFTA and RTS award-winning film and television producer and the founder and creative director of Synchronicity Films. She has recently executive produced The Cry, an intense psychological thriller for BBC One starring Jenna Coleman (Dr Who, Victoria). Notable projects on Synchronicity’s slate include The Man Booker 2016 short listed novel, His Bloody Project, The Body, by H... read more

Claire Mundell is a BAFTA and RTS award-winning film and television producer and the founder and creative director of Synchronicity Films. She has recently executive produced The Cry, an intense psychological thriller for BBC One starring Jenna Coleman (Dr Who, Victoria). Notable projects on Synchronicity’s slate include The Man Booker 2016 short listed novel, His Bloody Project, The Body, by Hanif Kureishi and the 2018 international bestseller The Tattooist of Auschwitz, by Heather Morris. Claire’s recent feature film credits as producer include Harry Wootliff’s ONLY YOU (2017); Karen Gillan’s debut feature and Scottish BAFTA-nominated The Party’s Just Beginning (2017) and Not Another Happy Ending (2012), written by David Solomons and directed by John McKay. A former executive producer for BBC Drama, Claire has extensive experience in primetime scripted television. Claire was also head of children’s BBC in Scotland, originating, producing and exec producing various long-running, returning network shows over a ten-year period. Claire is a former Chair of BAFTA Scotland, a full voting member of BAFTA and BAFTA LA, a member of the UK and US chapters of Women in Film & TV and a graduate of the prestigious film business professional development programme, Inside Pictures.

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Lucy Murphy
Head of kids content, UK & ROI, Sky

Noam Murro
Director, Watership Down

Over the last two decades, Noam Murro has directed award-winning spots for brands including Guinness, Land Rover, Got Milk?, Saturn, Volkswagen, Nike, Adidas, Comcast, HBO, DirecTV, Jameson and Heineken, among others, picking up many Gold Lions from Cannes, AICP Awards and One Show Pencils along the way. He has been nominated for DGA Director of the Year seven times, and took home the honor in 200... read more

Over the last two decades, Noam Murro has directed award-winning spots for brands including Guinness, Land Rover, Got Milk?, Saturn, Volkswagen, Nike, Adidas, Comcast, HBO, DirecTV, Jameson and Heineken, among others, picking up many Gold Lions from Cannes, AICP Awards and One Show Pencils along the way. He has been nominated for DGA Director of the Year seven times, and took home the honor in 2005 and in 2011. In 2008, Noam made his feature debut with Miramax’s critically acclaimed Smart People. His second feature, Warner Bros.’ 300: Rise of an Empire, debuted at #1 in March 2014. In 2015, he was invited to participate in the 25th anniversary of the Saatchi New Director Showcase at Cannes, and was shortlisted for Director of the Year by Shots Magazine. Most recently, he helmed Lyft’s “It Matters How You Get There” campaign starring Jordan Peele, Tilda Swinton, and Jeff Bridges; the moving “General Howe’s Dog” for Pedigree; and “A Race Car Set Free” for Seat. He is currently in production on a miniseries adaptation of Watership Down through the BBC and Netflix, starring James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, John Boyega, and Sir Ben Kingsley.

Noam co-founded Biscuit Filmworks with Managing Director Shawn Lacy in 2000; the company is highly regarded for its smart, sophisticated work.

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Marike Muselaers
Co-CEO, Lumiere

Marike Muselaers started her career at Fortissimo Films and RTL Netherlands before joining the Lumière team. After more than 10 years in sales, acquisitions and co-productions, Marike has recently been appointed co-CEO of the Lumière Group, in her words “a full ecosystem in which production, financing, distribution, a digital platform, 3 cinemas and an animation studio are all working closely ... read more

Marike Muselaers started her career at Fortissimo Films and RTL Netherlands before joining the Lumière team. After more than 10 years in sales, acquisitions and co-productions, Marike has recently been appointed co-CEO of the Lumière Group, in her words “a full ecosystem in which production, financing, distribution, a digital platform, 3 cinemas and an animation studio are all working closely together to bring the best stories to the Benelux audience and the rest of the world”.

Recently co-produced are seasons of The Team, Occupied, Sthlm Requiem, State of Happiness, Bullets. Currently in development is Belgian repatriation drama/comedy Soil.

Next to co-leading the Lumière Group and finding new compelling stories and characters, Marike is always looking for the sweet spot between creative and commercial. She is determined to create new innovative business models and partnerships in this fast-paced, challenging, but never boring industry.

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Måns Mårlind
Creator, writer, director, Shadowplay

Well-known in the both the feature film and TV series circuit for both writing and directing, Måns’ credits include the award-winning series Midnight Sun, which has sold to more than 120 territories worldwide, and critically acclaimed series Bron (The Bridge), which has been shown in 161 countries and remade twice in the UK and USA. Together with Björn Stein, he has also codirected shorts and ... read more

Well-known in the both the feature film and TV series circuit for both writing and directing, Måns’ credits include the award-winning series Midnight Sun, which has sold to more than 120 territories worldwide, and critically acclaimed series Bron (The Bridge), which has been shown in 161 countries and remade twice in the UK and USA. Together with Björn Stein, he has also codirected shorts and feature length films, including Swedish feature Storm, the Hollywood feature Shelter, starring Julianne Moore and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, and the successful Hollywood blockbuster Underworld: Awakening, with box office receipts of over $160 million. The duo is also behind the critically acclaimed Känn Ingen Sorg (Shed No Tears) for which they received two Guldbagge awards in 2013. Their Swedish feature Swoon, which Måns wrote, codirected and coproduced will open in Sweden in early 2019. The gritty, dramatic thriller series Shadowplay, created and written by Måns, who will also co-direct with Björn Stein, is Måns’ lastest creation and will be produced by Tandem Productions and Bron Studios.

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Darren Nartey
Programme acquisitions executive, ITV

Darren is responsible for leading negotiations on a range of Acquired Series, Films and Kids deals across the ITV portfolio (ITV1, ITV2, ITVBe, ITV3, ITV4, CITV and littleBe). For CITV & littleBe, Darren has acquired a range of live action and animated comedies such as Sooty, Pip Ahoy, Massive Monster Mayhem, Mr Bean and Mr Magoo.

Darren’s previous role was at Channel 5, as an Acqui... read more

Darren is responsible for leading negotiations on a range of Acquired Series, Films and Kids deals across the ITV portfolio (ITV1, ITV2, ITVBe, ITV3, ITV4, CITV and littleBe).

For CITV & littleBe, Darren has acquired a range of live action and animated comedies such as Sooty, Pip Ahoy, Massive Monster Mayhem, Mr Bean and Mr Magoo.

Darren’s previous role was at Channel 5, as an Acquisitions Executive for Channel 5, Five USA and Five Star.

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John Nolan
Managing director of entertainment ventures, Publicis Media

John Nolan is managing director of entertainment ventures at Publicis Media. Based in London, he has a global remit to collaborate with Broadcasters, Producers and Distributors to provide innovative funding solutions for Content Production and Distribution. He was previously at All3Media for over 20 years, as a Producer at North One and Managing Director of Apollo20.

Steve November
Creative director, UK television, Lionsgate

Steve began his career as a runner, production assistant and assistant director across a variety of music promos and commercials before making the move into drama on the first series of Sky 1’s Dream Team in 1997. After two series of Dream Team and spells on Hollyoaks and Brookside, he graduated to script and story editor of Dream Team Series 3. Leaving Dream Team in 2000, Steve joined Yorkshire... read more

Steve began his career as a runner, production assistant and assistant director across a variety of music promos and commercials before making the move into drama on the first series of Sky 1’s Dream Team in 1997. After two series of Dream Team and spells on Hollyoaks and Brookside, he graduated to script and story editor of Dream Team Series 3.

Leaving Dream Team in 2000, Steve joined Yorkshire Television as story editor of Emmerdale. He became series producer in 2001, leading the BAFTA winning soap for four years and producing over 1100 episodes. After Emmerdale, Steve stayed with Yorkshire TV to produce ratings-winning hospital drama The Royal before joining Granada TV in 2005 as series producer of Coronation Street. He lead the show from 2005-2008, producing over 550 episodes. In 2008 Steve moved from production to network, becoming head of continuing drama for ITV Channels with responsibility for a slate of up to twenty shows in production and development of new shows.

In 2013 he became director of drama, ITV Channels, where he oversaw the full slate of drama production and development and commissioned hit shows including Victoria, The Durrells, Cold Feet, Marcella, Grantchester, Unforgotten, Good Karma Hospital, Cilla, Little Boy Blue, Prey and The Lost Honour of Christopher Jeffries. 

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Andrew O’Connell
Vice president of development and production, Discovery

Katie O’Connell Marsh
CEO, Platform One Media

For the past 20 years, Katie O’Connell Marsh has held senior management positions covering all aspects of entertainment television programming. Katie is currently CEO of Platform One Media – a television production and distribution studio backed by TPG and Liberty Global. Prior to Platform One Media, Katie was CEO at Gaumont Television, where she was responsible for launching the studio ope... read more

For the past 20 years, Katie O’Connell Marsh has held senior management positions covering all aspects of entertainment television programming. Katie is currently CEO of Platform One Media – a television production and distribution studio backed by TPG and Liberty Global. Prior to Platform One Media, Katie was CEO at Gaumont Television, where she was responsible for launching the studio operation from the ground up in 2010. While there, she developed/produced leading series, including the Golden Globe nominated series Narcos, as well as Hannibal, Hemlock Grove, and F is For Family.

In 2015, Katie was recognised in Variety’s women’s impact report, and in 2014, she was recognised in The Hollywood Reporter’s Top 100 power women in entertainment.

Prior to 2010, Katie spent four years at NBC Entertainment where opened the NBC NYC development office and was tapped as senior vice president, New York Development.  Among the projects Katie developed were the Emmy Award-winning comedy series 30 Rock and Lipstick Jungle.  In 2008, Katie was promoted to executive vice president, drama programming. Katie’s team oversaw series including Heroes, Law & Order: SVU, ER, and Friday Night Lights.

Katie came to NBC from Imagine Television where she was executive vice president of development and current programming where developed numerous comedy and drama projects, including the Emmy Award-winning Arrested Development, which was named Outstanding Comedy Series in 2005.

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Kate O’Connor
Executive chair, Animation UK

Having worked with the key animation studios to establish Animation UK as part of the newly formed UK Screen Alliance representing VFX, post production and film studios, Kate was appointed as executive chair of Animation UK in 2017 and leads on all policy and strategy for the sector. Animation UK is the voice of the sector in the UK, representing production companies, studios, service providers an... read more

Having worked with the key animation studios to establish Animation UK as part of the newly formed UK Screen Alliance representing VFX, post production and film studios, Kate was appointed as executive chair of Animation UK in 2017 and leads on all policy and strategy for the sector. Animation UK is the voice of the sector in the UK, representing production companies, studios, service providers and distributors. In 2013 Animation UK secured the Animation Tax Relief and continues to represent on all issues impacting on business as well as advocacy. Key current developments include the new Young Audiences Content Fund, a new Animated shorts fund programme and support for exports and profile raising at key markets.

Kate also runs a consultancy practice in the creative industries offering support for strategy & business development and research & policy development and has over twenty year’s experience of working across the creative industries at a senior level. Kate also chairs the BFI Research Funding Council is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of BAFTA and co-director of creative media labs an R&D programme to support immersive storytelling.

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Hanne Palmquist
Commissioning editor and VP, original programming, HBO Nordic

Hanne Palmquist is commissioning editor and VP, original programming, at HBO Nordic, overseeing a slate that currently includes Lukas Moodysson’s Gösta, and Beforeigners from Lilyhammer creators Anne Bjørnstad and Eilif Skodvin. A Danish national with a Masters in Culture & Aesthetics from Århus University in Denmark, and further studies at Colombia University in New York and the London S... read more

Hanne Palmquist is commissioning editor and VP, original programming, at HBO Nordic, overseeing a slate that currently includes Lukas Moodysson’s Gösta, and Beforeigners from Lilyhammer creators Anne Bjørnstad and Eilif Skodvin.

A Danish national with a Masters in Culture & Aesthetics from Århus University in Denmark, and further studies at Colombia University in New York and the London School of Economics, Hanne has extensive industry experience across Scandinavia. Prior to joining HBO Europe she was Commissioning Editor for Feature Films at the Danish Film Institute, where she was responsible for script development and production of new feature film projects.  Previously she was Commissioning Editor, TV Drama & Feature Films at SVT in Stockholm, Sweden, and CEO of the Oslo-based Nordisk Film & TV Fond in Norway from 2007 to 2013.

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Daniel Pearl
Commissioning editor, Channel 5

Daniel Pearl has been a commissioning editor at Channel 5 since February 2018 and is responsible for a wide variety of topical factual programmes including The Wright Stuff, The Dog Rescuers, Bad Tenants: Rogue Landlords and 5 News. Forthcoming commissions for the channel include: Shop Smart Save Money, The Train that Saved Britain’s Railways and Supermarket Secrets Revealed. Prior to joining ... read more

Daniel Pearl has been a commissioning editor at Channel 5 since February 2018 and is responsible for a wide variety of topical factual programmes including The Wright Stuff, The Dog Rescuers, Bad Tenants: Rogue Landlords and 5 News.

Forthcoming commissions for the channel include: Shop Smart Save Money, The Train that Saved Britain’s Railways and Supermarket Secrets Revealed.

Prior to joining Channel 5, Pearl produced, commissioned and edited some of the country’s highest profile television at Channel 4 and the BBC. Whilst at Channel 4, he was Editor of its current affairs strand Dispatches and oversaw the Channel 4 News. Prior to this, Pearl spent 15 years at the BBC and was Editor of the first ever Prime Ministerial Election Debate in 2010 as well as Deputy Editor of BBC’s Panorama, Newsnight and both the BBC Six O’Clock and Ten O’Clock News.

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Faith Penhale
CEO and creative director, Lookout Point

Faith 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, to the multi award winning espionage series Spooks, to more recently Andrew Davies’ critically acclaimed adaptation of War & Peace and the forthcoming adaptation of the Victor Hugo classic Les Miserables. Faith worked for ten years at Kudos before run... read more

Faith 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, to the multi award winning espionage series Spooks, to more recently Andrew Davies’ critically acclaimed adaptation of War & Peace and the forthcoming adaptation of the Victor Hugo classic Les Miserables. Faith 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 she is CEO and creative director and oversees a vibrant slate including Mike Bartlett’s Press and Sally Wainwright’s Gentleman Jack.

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Lisa Perrin
CEO, Creative Networks, Endemol Shine Group

Lisa Perrin is CEO of Creative Networks, Endemol Shine Group, a role she was appointed to in March 2015. In this capacity she leads the International Creative Division, focusing on the co-ordination and acceleration of IP around the group, supporting a network of 120 companies across all the world’s major markets. Creative Networks provides both creative and commercial cross platform format supp... read more

Lisa Perrin is CEO of Creative Networks, Endemol Shine Group, a role she was appointed to in March 2015. In this capacity she leads the International Creative Division, focusing on the co-ordination and acceleration of IP around the group, supporting a network of 120 companies across all the world’s major markets. Creative Networks provides both creative and commercial cross platform format support across non-scripted and scripted genres to companies within and partners of Endemol Shine Group.

Prior to the merger of Endemol and Shine Group, Lisa was appointed creative director of Shine TV in 2009 before joining the internal format division Shine Network where she was named MD in 2014. Prior to Shine, Lisa was Head of Entertainment Commissioning at UKTV notably overseeing the return of Red Dwarf; and was Director of Popular Factual at Tiger Aspect.

Earlier in her career, Lisa was an Executive Producer at the BBC’s in-house entertainment department and at Endemol. Lisa lives in North London with her husband and 13 year old son.

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Yolisa Phahle
CEO, General Entertainment, MultiChoice

Born in the United Kingdom, Yolisa cut her teeth as a musician, first as a classical pianist and violinist at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama and later as a founder member of Island Record’s Reggae Philharmonic orchestra. She has worked with Duran Duran, Soul II Soul, M People, Maxi Priest and other best-selling musicians. In 1998 she joined the BBC World Service, before moving t... read more

Born in the United Kingdom, Yolisa cut her teeth as a musician, first as a classical pianist and violinist at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama and later as a founder member of Island Record’s Reggae Philharmonic orchestra. She has worked with Duran Duran, Soul II Soul, M People, Maxi Priest and other best-selling musicians.

In 1998 she joined the BBC World Service, before moving to Radio 1 and later BBC 6 Music. Her TV career includes presenting, producing and sound and vision mixing for the BBC. Her South African roots and love for African music saw her join M-Net South Africa as head of Channel O. In 2013 she was appointed as M-Net SA CEO before taking over the reins for the business across sub-Saharan Africa in 2015. M-Net has local language channels in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

In 2017 Yolisa was appointed CEO of General Entertainment for the MultiChoice Group. In this role she drives the group’s content strategy that will deliver the best international content to the organisation’s 13 million subscriber homes, whilst increasing the focus on local story telling and industry development. She holds an MBA from GIBS Business School.

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Sarah Phelps
Writer and EP, The ABC Murders

Sarah is a British radio writer, television writer, screenwriter, playwriter and television producer. She is best known for her work on EastEnders, a number of BBC serial adaptations including Agatha Christie’s The Witness For the Prosecution and And Then There Were None – and currently The ABC Murders, Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations and Oliver Twist, J. ... read more

Sarah is a British radio writer, television writer, screenwriter, playwriter and television producer. She is best known for her work on EastEnders, a number of BBC serial adaptations including Agatha Christie’s The Witness For the Prosecution and And Then There Were None – and currently The ABC Murders, Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations and Oliver Twist, J. K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy and work with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Phelps also wrote for the World Service Soap opera Westway before joining the BBC in 2002.

 

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Moritz Polter
Executive producer international television series, Bavaria Fiction

As executive producer international television series, Moritz Polter is responsible for Bavaria Fiction’s international co-production slate. Recently named among Variety’s Top 10 Global Creatives to Watch, Moritz leads the creation, development and funding for series such as Das Boot (Sky/Sonar Entertainment), Deutsch-Les-Landes (Deutsche Telekom/Amazon Prime Video France), Freud (Netflix/O... read more

As executive producer international television series, Moritz Polter is responsible for Bavaria Fiction’s international co-production slate. Recently named among Variety’s Top 10 Global Creatives to Watch, Moritz leads the creation, development and funding for series such as Das Boot (Sky/Sonar Entertainment), Deutsch-Les-Landes (Deutsche Telekom/Amazon Prime Video France), Freud (Netflix/ORF),  and Arctic Circle (Elisa Viihde/YLE).

Previously Moritz 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.

Moritz Polter graduated from King Alfred’s College in Winchester, England in Business, Media and Film Studies.

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Cristina Pons
Screenwriter , Little Coincidences

Cristina Pons, screenwriter and actress. Member of the board of ALMA, spanish writters guild.  Headwriter for Pequeñas Coincidencias.  She also was head writter for the daily spanish show “Centro Medico” (TVE – Seasons 4 through 7) and screenwriter for programs such as “Gym Tony”, “Con el Culo al Aire”, and the feature “Girl Seeks Girl” (Shoreline).  In 2017 she won Conec... read more

Cristina Pons, screenwriter and actress. Member of the board of ALMA, spanish writters guild.  Headwriter for Pequeñas Coincidencias.  She also was head writter for the daily spanish show “Centro Medico” (TVE – Seasons 4 through 7) and screenwriter for programs such as “Gym Tony”, “Con el Culo al Aire”, and the feature “Girl Seeks Girl” (Shoreline).  In 2017 she won Conecta Fiction pitch competition with the Project “Desmadres”. She has also developed her career as a novel editor (Apaches, Volver a Canfranc, Palmeras en la Nieve).  In 2009 she received a grant for her first feature film from the Ministry of Culture. As an actress, she has worked both on theater and televisión.

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James Prichard
CEO, Agatha Christie Ltd

James Prichard is Agatha Christie’s great grandson and became the chairman of Agatha Christie Limited in 2015, having been a director of the company since 2009. He took on the role of CEO in 2016. Agatha Christie Limited (ACL) has been managing the literary and media rights to Christie’s works around the world since 1955, working with the best talents in film, television, publishing, stag... read more

James Prichard is Agatha Christie’s great grandson and became the chairman of Agatha Christie Limited in 2015, having been a director of the company since 2009. He took on the role of CEO in 2016. Agatha Christie Limited (ACL) has been managing the literary and media rights to Christie’s works around the world since 1955, working with the best talents in film, television, publishing, stage and on digital platforms to ensure that Christie’s work continues to reach new audiences in innovative ways and to the highest standard.

Driving an exciting, fresh direction for the brand, James oversees all divisions of the company, which includes a growing film slate. James was an Executive Producer on the major motion picture adaptation of Christie’s acclaimed mystery, Murder on the Orient Express, produced by 20th Century Fox and directed by five-time Academy Award nominee Kenneth Branagh, who also starred as Poirot. Following the box office success of Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile is confirmed as the next film in the franchise. In addition to film, ACL recently announced a major television commission for seven new adaptations for the BBC. The first of these was the 2018 production of Ordeal by Innocence for BBC One and Amazon Studios. ACL produce alongside Mammoth Screen. James will hold an executive producer role on all seven productions.

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Sonia Purnell 2
Author,

Sonia Purnell is an author, journalist and broadcaster known for her investigative skills and lively writing style. Her first book Just Boris: A Tale of Blond Ambition was longlisted for the Orwell Prize for its insightful and ground breaking portrait of Boris Johnson. Her second book, First Lady: The Life & Warts of Clementine Churchill, tells the astonishing but previously untold story of... read more

Sonia Purnell is an author, journalist and broadcaster known for her investigative skills and lively writing style. Her first book Just Boris: A Tale of Blond Ambition was longlisted for the Orwell Prize for its insightful and ground breaking portrait of Boris Johnson. Her second book, First Lady: The Life & Warts of Clementine Churchill, tells the astonishing but previously untold story of Clementine Churchill. Sonia has extensive event experience and is a very confident speaker (she’s often on national news commenting on topical stories). Her new book A Woman of No Importance (March 2019) is the incredible untold story of Virginia Hall, an American woman with a wooden leg who infiltrated Occupied France for the SOE and became the Gestapo’s most wanted Allied Spy, which been optioned for film by JJ Abrams/Paramount and already have Daisy Ridley attached to star as Virginia Hall.

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Simon Raikes
Commissioning executive producer, National Geographic

Simon joined National Geographic in May 2018 as commissioning executive producer. He oversees and commissions a broad range of singles and series for the US and international channels including hit returners Drain the Oceans, Car SOS, and Nazi Megastructures. Before joining Nat Geo, Simon was Creative Director, Factual at Tony Jordan’s Red Planet Pictures, where he developed and delivered the hi... read more

Simon joined National Geographic in May 2018 as commissioning executive producer. He oversees and commissions a broad range of singles and series for the US and international channels including hit returners Drain the Oceans, Car SOS, and Nazi Megastructures.

Before joining Nat Geo, Simon was Creative Director, Factual at Tony Jordan’s Red Planet Pictures, where he developed and delivered the hit series Secrets of the SAS: In Their Own Words and Inside Windsor Castle; before that, he spent 3 years as a factual Commissioning Editor at Channel 5 where he commissioned some of the channel’s most defining shows, including Can’t Pay – We’ll Take it Away, The Yorkshire Vet, Gangland, Britain’s Bloodiest Dynasty, 10,000BC, Body Donors and the Inside….and Year in the Wild strands.

Before Channel 5, Simon was co-founder and Creative Director of Wildfire TV, where he developed and delivered more than 100 hours of factual programming for international and UK broadcasters. Credits include: The Big Royal Dig Live, Who Downed Douglas Bader, Digging the Great Escape, Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan, Combat Cars, and Walking Through History with Tony Robinson.

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Christian Rank
Head of drama, DR – Danish Broadcasting Cooperation

Christian Rank has worked with television drama since his graduation from The National Film School of Denmark’s producer program in 2005. From 2010 – 2014 he held a producer position with DR, where he produced season 1 of the acclaimed series The Legacy and season 1-2 of the comedy drama Happy Life. Prior to joining DR as Head of Drama he spent four years as executive producer with commercia... read more

Christian Rank has worked with television drama since his graduation from The National Film School of Denmark’s producer program in 2005.

From 2010 – 2014 he held a producer position with DR, where he produced season 1 of the acclaimed series The Legacy and season 1-2 of the comedy drama Happy Life.

Prior to joining DR as Head of Drama he spent four years as executive producer with commercial broadcaster TV 2, where he worked on shows such as Rita, Norskov, A Fortunate Man and the upcoming miniseries Warrior.

On February 1st 2018 he joined DR as head of drama.

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Alexandra Rapaport
Executive producer, Honour

In recent years Alexandra has played the lead role in hugely successful Swedish TV series such as The Sandhamn Murders and Gåsmamman, her role in the latter winning her the Best Actress prize at Sweden’s most prestigious television awards ceremony, Kristallen, in September 2017. As executive producer she was fully involved in the creative process on each season of Gåsmamman, from shaping... read more

In recent years Alexandra has played the lead role in hugely successful Swedish TV series such as The Sandhamn Murders and Gåsmamman, her role in the latter winning her the Best Actress prize at Sweden’s most prestigious television awards ceremony, Kristallen, in September 2017. As executive producer she was fully involved in the creative process on each season of Gåsmamman, from shaping the scripts, to casting, to editing. Alongside Sofia Helin and co-stars Julia Dufvenius and Anja Lundqvist, Alexandra Rapaport has co-created and is executive producer for upcoming Viaplay series Honour.

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Christina Rezk
Head of comedy, NRK

Christina became head of comedy at NRK in 2011. She works hands on as an executive producer, content developer and as a talent scout. The comedy department produces annually 15 shows inhouse and co-produce on about 10 shows with production companies. Two of those shows, Magnus and Norsemen, are represented on this year’s C21 summit. NRK’s comedy department deliver the top three ranked come... read more

Christina became head of comedy at NRK in 2011. She works hands on as an executive producer, content developer and as a talent scout. The comedy department produces annually 15 shows inhouse and co-produce on about 10 shows with production companies. Two of those shows, Magnus and Norsemen, are represented on this year’s C21 summit. NRK’s comedy department deliver the top three ranked comedy shows in Norway right now and is known for exploring new talent and alternative ways of publishing and producing. Christina got her BA from the University of Oslo and graduated with an MA in television journalism from the Ohio State University and have worked in the television business since 1992. She is also a member of the International Academy of Television.

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James Richardson
Co-founder, Vertigo Films

James Richardson co-founded Vertigo Films with Allan Niblo in 2002. He and Allan have produced or Exec produced over thirty feature films including Monsters, The Sweeney, Bronson and StreetDance. Vertigo has become one of the most successful and long running independent production companies in the UK having also set up its own UK distribution arm (now called Vertigo Releasing), an international... read more

James Richardson co-founded Vertigo Films with Allan Niblo in 2002. He and Allan have produced or Exec produced over thirty feature films including Monsters, The Sweeney, Bronson and StreetDance. Vertigo has become one of the most successful and long running independent production companies in the UK having also set up its own UK distribution arm (now called Vertigo Releasing), an international sales company with Channel 4 and Ingenious Media (Protagonist Pictures) and a post production and VFX company (Post Republic and Automatik). With Vertigo’s move into TV, James initiated and is the co-creator on Britannia, bringing Jez Butterworth (Spectre, Edge of Tomorrow) in to do his first TV show. He is also the lead Exec on the TV adaptation of Gareth Edwards’ debut feature Monsters, which Ronan Bennet (Top Boy, Public Enemies) is showrunning.

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Alexandre Rideau
Producer, Sakho and Mangane

After working at the Online Journalism Review (OJR) of the University of Southern California (USC) as Director of Development and Marketing, Alexandre joined Senegal in 2003 where he founded the non governmental organisation RAES, specialized in public awareness campaigns and communication for development. He has initiatives in 12 African countries, using TV, radio, web and mobile projects and cra... read more

After working at the Online Journalism Review (OJR) of the University of Southern California (USC) as Director of Development and Marketing, Alexandre joined Senegal in 2003 where he founded the non governmental organisation RAES, specialized in public awareness campaigns and communication for development. He has initiatives in 12 African countries, using TV, radio, web and mobile projects and crating entertaining contents to strengthen information and advocacy programs in health, education and citizenship. In 2014, Alexandre becomes the director of Keewu Production where he develops TV series and transmedia environments, including C’est la vie!(62x26mn), Sakho & Mangane (8x52mn), Area Daddy (10x7mn), Bruits de Tambours (12x52mn) and Stigma (10x26mn). His series are broadcasted on panafrican tv networks such as Canal + and TV5 Monde Afrique, or on local tv stations. The identification of African talents and their trining is at the heart of Alexandre’s productions, which tell the stories of the continent while providing the public with a useful insight into contemporary issues.

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Justus Riesenkampff
Sales & acquisitions nordics & benelux, Beta Film

Justus Riesenkampff joined Beta Film in 2009 and is overseeing Beta Film’s expansion in the Nordic countries, where Beta Film is currently coproducing drama series such Agent Hamilton (TV4 Sweden)  through its newly founded joint venture with Patrick Nebout (Dramacorp) as well as Atlantic Crossing (NRK Norway) with Silje Hopland’s Cinenord. Beta Film’s recent slate coming from the Nordics i... read more

Justus Riesenkampff joined Beta Film in 2009 and is overseeing Beta Film’s expansion in the Nordic countries, where Beta Film is currently coproducing drama series such Agent Hamilton (TV4 Sweden)  through its newly founded joint venture with Patrick Nebout (Dramacorp) as well as Atlantic Crossing (NRK Norway) with Silje Hopland’s Cinenord. Beta Film’s recent slate coming from the Nordics include Emmy award winning drama series Mammon (NRK Norway) as well as the teen-hit SKAM (NRK Norway) which is currently being remade in various European territories. Before joining Beta Film Justus Riesenkampff worked as a lawyer in Berlin.

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Rosina Robson
Director of nations and children’s, Pact - Producers Alliance for Cinema and TV

Rosina leads on Pact’s relationship with the UK’s nations and regions and the policy areas of children’s, animation and digital media; as well as EU policy issues including the Digital Dingle Market & copyright. She has played a leading role within a range of successful campaigns, including the introduction of a tax relief for children’s live action TV. Before joining Pact, Rosina was ... read more

Rosina leads on Pact’s relationship with the UK’s nations and regions and the policy areas of children’s, animation and digital media; as well as EU policy issues including the Digital Dingle Market & copyright. She has played a leading role within a range of successful campaigns, including the introduction of a tax relief for children’s live action TV.

Before joining Pact, Rosina was a senior policy adviser and project manager for the Federation of Small Business (FSB). She led on international trade policy and also managed the organisation’s research programme. Rosina started her career in the EU Directorate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

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Antony Root
EVP original programming and production, HBO Europe

Antony is responsible for all local original programming in its nineteen regional markets. A graduate of Cambridge University, Antony started his career in the theatre before joining BBC Drama. He worked for the UK’s ITV, Working Title Films and was head of drama at major UK producer Thames Television. In 1996 Antony joined Granada Television as head of drama and, moving to Los Angeles, was app... read more

Antony is responsible for all local original programming in its nineteen regional markets.

A graduate of Cambridge University, Antony started his career in the theatre before joining BBC Drama. He worked for the UK’s ITV, Working Title Films and was head of drama at major UK producer Thames Television.

In 1996 Antony joined Granada Television as head of drama and, moving to Los Angeles, was appointed president of Granada Entertainment USA in 2000.

In 2005 Antony returned to the UK as senior VP, European production, for Sony Pictures Television.

He joined HBO Europe in October 2011.

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Hilary Rosen
Deputy director of commissioning, UKTV

Hilary Rosen is deputy director of commissioning and head of factual & factual entertainment at UKTV. She has commissioned and executive produced high profile and award-winning shows for the network, including Taskmaster, John Bishop: In Conversation With…, Unspun with Matt Forde, Monty Python Live and Inside the Ambulance. Prior to joining UKTV Hilary was creative director at Silver Riv... read more

Hilary Rosen is deputy director of commissioning and head of factual & factual entertainment at UKTV. She has commissioned and executive produced high profile and award-winning shows for the network, including Taskmaster, John Bishop: In Conversation With…, Unspun with Matt Forde, Monty Python Live and Inside the Ambulance.

Prior to joining UKTV Hilary was creative director at Silver River devising formats including The Town That Never Retired, BBC 1 and overseeing Inside Gatwick, Sky 1.

Her career has also encompassed ten years as a senior executive producer at Lion Television where credits include The Real Cherie, BBC1, Bad Behaviour, Channel 4, Mum’s on Strike, ITV1, Ann Robinson’s Travels With an Unfit Mother, BBC 1 and Going Straight, Channel 4. Hilary began her career with a decade in BBC News and Current Affairs, including stints on Panorama and Newsnight. Hilary has also acted as a consultant for BBC Academy, training the factual development teams and helping to launch idea portal iCreate.

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Douglas Ross
Founder & President, Evolution Media

The founder of the independent production company Evolution Media (acquired by MGM in 2017), Douglas Ross heads up the company’s varied slate of reality programs. Currently, Ross is Executive Producer of MTV’s reboot of The Hills, E!’s Botched and Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and its spinoff Vanderpump Rules, as well as the franchise that started it all, The Real Housewives... read more

The founder of the independent production company Evolution Media (acquired by MGM in 2017), Douglas Ross heads up the company’s varied slate of reality programs. Currently, Ross is Executive Producer of MTV’s reboot of The Hills, E!’s Botched and Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and its spinoff Vanderpump Rules, as well as the franchise that started it all, The Real Housewives of Orange County.

Under Ross, Evolution has produced 60+ series, including ABC Family’s Beverly Hills Nannies, WE’s critically acclaimed High School Confidential, Disney’s hidden camera comedy, CODE: 9, MTV’s comedy Yo Momma, truTV’s action drama Ocean Force and TLC’s long-running Clean Sweep and 10 Years Younger.

Ross is considered an innovator in the “reality” television genre having created TV’s first teen docu-drama, Disney’s Bug Juice, and launching the first season of NBC’s alternative series Fear Factor, and the first season of CBS’s Big Brother. Ross is also known for challenging convention with Bravo’s controversial gay dating series Boy Meets Boy and the network’s docu-series Gay Weddings.

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Moderator Mark Rowland
Chair, C21Media

Rowland is chair of C21 Media, the international publishing business that connects the entertainment industry through daily news, screenings, and keynote events, including Content London. Rowland is also chair of the Rose d’Or TV Awards, now in their 62nd year. A media entrepreneur and executive producer, he started his career as a journalist and producer in BBC news and BBC features; joined the... read more

Rowland is chair of C21 Media, the international publishing business that connects the entertainment industry through daily news, screenings, and keynote events, including Content London.
Rowland is also chair of the Rose d’Or TV Awards, now in their 62nd year.

A media entrepreneur and executive producer, he started his career as a journalist and producer in BBC news and BBC features; joined the leading UK independent production company, Mentorn, as a series editor – before launching the highly successful global production and distribution business, Mentorn International, of which he was managing director.

After leaving Mentorn, Rowland launched his own rights management company, Indie TV, which works with leading production companies on international deals. He has been responsible for developing a number of highly successful TV franchises including Robot Wars, Paradise Hotel, and Supernanny.

Rowland currently advises media investors in the UK and the US on a wide range of strategic finance and M&A transactions.

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Stuart Rowson
Head of discovery, BBC Children’s

Stuart Rowson is the head of discovery at BBC Children’s and is responsible for ensuring the commissioned content is delivered to young audiences across the best suited BBC Children’s platforms. He oversees the digital platforms including our raft of digital products for under-16s from websites, apps and games as well as the scheduling across the CBeebies and CBBC Channels and iPlayer. He als... read more

Stuart Rowson is the head of discovery at BBC Children’s and is responsible for ensuring the commissioned content is delivered to young audiences across the best suited BBC Children’s platforms. He oversees the digital platforms including our raft of digital products for under-16s from websites, apps and games as well as the scheduling across the CBeebies and CBBC Channels and iPlayer. He also oversees the TV presentation teams and the social media and YouTube strategies. Prior to joining Children’s, Stuart worked for BBC Sport for seven years, where he was the Digital Editor on the BBC Sport website overseeing the digital coverage of London 2012 and the Rio Olympics during a period of huge digital and social media growth.  Before joining Children’s, he spent a year as BBC Sport’s first Younger Audiences Editor, devising and implementing the strategy to target 16-34-year-olds.

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Eva Röse
Actor, Honour

Eva Röse is perhaps best known as the star of international hit crime series Maria Wern, where she has played the eponymous lead role for the past decade. She also starred in SVT’s Real Humans, a sci-fi series that sold to over 50 territories worldwide. As well as acting and presenting work on Swedish television, she has appeared on stage in a number of roles at Sweden’s Royal Dramatic Theatr... read more

Eva Röse is perhaps best known as the star of international hit crime series Maria Wern, where she has played the eponymous lead role for the past decade. She also starred in SVT’s Real Humans, a sci-fi series that sold to over 50 territories worldwide. As well as acting and presenting work on Swedish television, she has appeared on stage in a number of roles at Sweden’s Royal Dramatic Theatre and Stockholm City Theatre. Aside from acting, Eva is an advocate for humanitarian causes and was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2007.

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Gonzalo Sagardía
CEO, Onza Entertainment

Gonzalo is co-founder of Onza group and CEO of Onza Entertainment, the production and distribution arm of the group. His career in the industry began over 15 years ago following his great passion for TV. He started focusing on international distribution and after he specialized in production. He has been one of the executive producers of successful shows like Pequeñas Coincidencias, El Ministerio... read more

Gonzalo is co-founder of Onza group and CEO of Onza Entertainment, the production and distribution arm of the group. His career in the industry began over 15 years ago following his great passion for TV. He started focusing on international distribution and after he specialized in production. He has been one of the executive producers of successful shows like Pequeñas Coincidencias, El Ministerio del Tiempo, Control de Fronteras, Fuera de Cobertura or Amazonas Clandestino, among others. Gonzalo holds a Media MBA and a Ph.D in Media Management.

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Hyppe Salmi
Executive producer , YLE

Hyppe Salmi is an executive producer of Drama department in Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle. At the moment Hyppe is working with several online short form fiction series for young adults. She is also creating drama series for social media platforms. Previously Hyppe has been working with successful online contents for teens. She is especially proud of the short form fictions series: the award-win... read more

Hyppe Salmi is an executive producer of Drama department in Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle. At the moment Hyppe is working with several online short form fiction series for young adults. She is also creating drama series for social media platforms.

Previously Hyppe has been working with successful online contents for teens. She is especially proud of the short form fictions series: the award-winning #lovemilla, game-changing campaign Mental dealing with mental problems of the teens and The Dragonslayer666 that became a phenomena within the most difficult audience, the teenage boys and young men from the gaming community.

Hyppe is fascinated about the new type of storytelling the social media offers beside the broadcast. Karma was the first drama series ever made for Instagram Stories. The real time drama was shot by phone and the young audience could participate to the story during the three days event. Nofilter is a working title for a new Instagram Stories drama series that reveals the gap between the private and the public life of social media of young adults.

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Miguel Salvat
Commissioning editor of original programming, HBO España

Miguel Salvat is Commissioning Editor of Original Programming for HBO España, with responsibility for HBO Europe’s local original production activities in Spain. A wide range of projects are currently in development from HBO Europe’s newest producing territory, including an adaptation of Fernando Aramburu’s bestselling novel Patria. Salvat started his television career at WBZ-TV Boston, ret... read more

Miguel Salvat is Commissioning Editor of Original Programming for HBO España, with responsibility for HBO Europe’s local original production activities in Spain. A wide range of projects are currently in development from HBO Europe’s newest producing territory, including an adaptation of Fernando Aramburu’s bestselling novel Patria.

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 and services for Movistar+. He joined HBO España in 2016.

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Tom Sänger
Head of entertainment, daytime and daily drama series , RTL

Tom Sänger is Head of Entertainment, Daytime and Daily Drama Series at leading German broadcaster RTL. He’s held this post since 2002 and is responsible for bringing some of television’s biggest entertainment brands to the German market including “Idols”, “Got Talent” and “Dancing with the Stars”. Tom also launched the new physical game show ‘Big Bounce’, collaborating with... read more

Tom Sänger is Head of Entertainment, Daytime and Daily Drama Series at leading German broadcaster RTL. He’s held this post since 2002 and is responsible for bringing some of television’s biggest entertainment brands to the German market including “Idols”, “Got Talent” and “Dancing with the Stars”.

Tom also launched the new physical game show ‘Big Bounce’, collaborating with Endemol Shine Group on the format which successfully premiered earlier this year, has been ordered for a second series and has sold to France. Other hit format adaptations include “Farmer wants a Wife” and “Who wants to be a Millionaire”.

Sänger has also successfully introduced prime time specials of daily drama series “Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten” – the German equivalent of “Coronation Street”.

He’s played an important role in spotting new talents, both on and off screen, re-developing and successfully establishing reality formats, quiz and game shows for RTL and RTLplus. Beside the work for the linear TV – channels, he also increasingly focuses on identifying and launching entertainment formats for SVOD channels.

Tom began his career at VOX before joining RTL2 in 1994, where he held numerous senior roles before moving to RTL in 2000.

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Richard Scott
CEO, co-founder, Axis Studios

Richard has spent his entire working life in the creative industries – which is ideal experience to provide the vision and leadership for Axis Studios. Richard co-founded Axis in 2000 in partnership with Dana Dorian, Stuart Aitken and Graham McKenna, following a career in design, photo retouching, and animation. As CEO, Richard steers the strategy and direction of Axis Studios across multiple pr... read more

Richard has spent his entire working life in the creative industries – which is ideal experience to provide the vision and leadership for Axis Studios. Richard co-founded Axis in 2000 in partnership with Dana Dorian, Stuart Aitken and Graham McKenna, following a career in design, photo retouching, and animation. As CEO, Richard steers the strategy and direction of Axis Studios across multiple projects, building international relationships and ensuring creativity is always at the forefront. He has been instrumental in the expansion of Axis to three locations in the UK and has acted as Axis Studios Executive Producer on projects for Channel 4, Netflix, and Amazon Studios. He is a former board member of Creative Scotland, and has been involved in advisory roles in various Scottish universities and art schools.

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Lindsay J Sedgwick
Screenwriter, author,

Lindsay is an award-winning screenwriter and creator of the ground-breaking series Punky, recognized as the first mainstream animation series worldwide in which the central character has special needs (Down’s syndrome). Two series later, it is available in over 100 countries with circa 5 million hits on YouTube. Crossing genre, searching out the best stories to tell, Lindsay has worked in live a... read more

Lindsay is an award-winning screenwriter and creator of the ground-breaking series Punky, recognized as the first mainstream animation series worldwide in which the central character has special needs (Down’s syndrome). Two series later, it is available in over 100 countries with circa 5 million hits on YouTube.

Crossing genre, searching out the best stories to tell, Lindsay has worked in live action and animation, written for kids and adult, film and TV, games and apps. As well as delivering masterclasses and courses throughout Ireland for two decades, she has worked with a wide range of production companies in Ireland and the UK as screenwriter, creator and creative consultant and is currently developing a number of children’s series and books that link her desire to celebrate difference and to entertain.

In April, Lindsay published Ireland’s first comprehensive guide to screenwriting, Write That Script. In 2012 she founded the Creatives in Animation Network to bring writers and animation creatives together with a view to fostering collaborations.

A graduate of Moonstone Screenwriting Labs (2002), Lindsay has an MA in Screenwriting for Film & TV from Leeds Metropolitan University (1999), during which time she interned at Granada in the children’s department.

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Nicola Shindler
Chief executive , RED Production Company

Nicola Shindler set up RED Production Company in 1998 to work with the best writers on original television drama. The Manchester-based indie, with Nicola at its helm, 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 and Sally Wainwright. Nicola’s credits includ... read more

Nicola Shindler set up RED Production Company in 1998 to work with the best writers on original television drama. The Manchester-based indie, with Nicola at its helm, 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 and Sally Wainwright.

Nicola’s credits include BAFTA award-winning and critically acclaimed Happy Valley and Last Tango In Halifax, Lenny Henry’s first screenplay Danny and the Human Zoo, Dan Sefton’s Trust Me, Danny Brocklehurst’s Ordinary Lies and The Driver and Russell T Davies ambitious and acclaimed trilogy Cucumber, Banana and Tofu.

Recent shows include Harlan Coben’s Safe starring Michael C Hall and Amanda Abbington for Netflix, Come Home by Danny Brocklehurst for the BBC, Butterfly by Tony Marchant, for ITV, starring Anna Friel, Trust Me series 2 written by Dan Sefton and Years & Years written by Russell T Davies. Nicola and Russell will also be making The Boys for Channel 4 in 2019. RED Production Company became part of STUDIOCANAL’s international production network in 2013. In September 2018 Nicola was appointed CEO of StudioCanal UK, which she will undertake alongside her work at RED and continue developing both TV and features.

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Indra Siera
Director, Professor T

Indra Siera graduated as a radio and television director at the HRITCS, the Flemish Higher Institute for Audiovisual Arts, and successfully finished his musical studies at the Antwerp Conservatory. He completed his education at the London Film School (Screen and Cast Direction). In 1997 Indra and editor Manu Van Hove started an audiovisual service company in Antwerp (Belgium) called Het Digitaal G... read more

Indra Siera graduated as a radio and television director at the HRITCS, the Flemish Higher Institute for Audiovisual Arts, and successfully finished his musical studies at the Antwerp Conservatory. He completed his education at the London Film School (Screen and Cast Direction). In 1997 Indra and editor Manu Van Hove started an audiovisual service company in Antwerp (Belgium) called Het Digitaal Geweld. Since then, Indra directed a large number of commercials, idents, and music videos, as well as docudrama, creative nonfiction and TV drama for various channels winning several awards. His mini-series Oud België was nominated for a Rose d’Or, the Prix Europa and at the Monte Carlo TV festival in 2010. One of his most recent projects, Professor T, was a major hit in Belgium and the first Flemish series ever to be remade in both France and Germany, with a third remake in Czech Republic on the way. The series, into its third season in Belgium, won the Jury Award for Best International TV series at the Television Festival in La Rochelle. Indra is fluently trilingual: Dutch-French-English.

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Morten Skov Hansen
Programme and channel director, DR Ramasjang & DR Ultra

In 2016 Morten Skov Hansen became head of DRs two Kids Channels, DR Ramasjang & DR Ultra. Previously Morten has been at DR as part of the team launching DR Ramasjang back in 2009. He has also been Nordic director of Kids Programming at  Cartoon Network & Boomerang.

Nicola Söderlund
Managing partner, Eccho Rights

Nicola started out his career as a producer before founding Eccho Rights (formerly Sparks Network) with business partner Fredrik af Malmborg in 2004. The company has grown to be one of the world’s leading independent distributors, currently delivering over 12 000 hours of international drama per year.

Steve Stark
President, television production & development, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios

Steve Stark is president, television production & development of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios (MGM) and is responsible for all scripted content, from concept to production; partnerships with multi-platform broadcasters; and the development of new productions, including reinvigorating MGM’s stellar library. Since 2011, Stark has elevated the studio through the creation of award-winning, networ... read more

Steve Stark is president, television production & development of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios (MGM) and is responsible for all scripted content, from concept to production; partnerships with multi-platform broadcasters; and the development of new productions, including reinvigorating MGM’s stellar library. Since 2011, Stark has elevated the studio through the creation of award-winning, network-defining series including The Handmaid’s Tale, Fargo, Vikings, Get Shorty, Teen Wolf and Condor.  Throughout his career, Stark has been responsible for overseeing or producing more than 2,400 episodes of television.

Stark joined MGM from Steve Stark Productions where he served as President and Executive Producer and led the company to an overall deal with NBC/Universal Television. His Executive Producer credits include Fairly Legal; The Event; Medium, a series he developed while serving as President of Grammnet Productions; The Game and the U.S. adaptation of The Sketch Show.

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Carlyn Staudt
EVP Love Nature programming and development, Love Nature

Carlyn Staudt, EVP, Love Nature programming & development leads the global programming strategy of Love Nature’s linear platform internationally and commissions original content to grow the brand’s extensive library of 4K natural history programming. Prior to this, Staudt held numerous roles at National Geographic. As SVP, Global Programming and Managing Director for National Geographic Ch... read more

Carlyn Staudt, EVP, Love Nature programming & development leads the global programming strategy of Love Nature’s linear platform internationally and commissions original content to grow the brand’s extensive library of 4K natural history programming. Prior to this, Staudt held numerous roles at National Geographic. As SVP, Global Programming and Managing Director for National Geographic Channels International’s operations in Washington DC, Staudt was responsible for spearheading co-production partnerships and global acquisitions across NGCI’s suite of channels. Staudt also served as Channel Manager for Nat Geo Wild internationally, charged with increasing the network’s footprint and managing all content, both commissioned and acquired.

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Philipp Steffens
Head of fiction, RTL

Philipp 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 stud... read more

Philipp 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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Melanie Stokes
Managing director, Kindle Entertainment

Melanie is a founder and managing director of multiple BAFTA-winning Kindle Entertainment, now in its twelfth 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; Dustbin Baby (BBC1), International Emmy, BAFTA winning fe... read more

Melanie is a founder and managing director of multiple BAFTA-winning Kindle Entertainment, now in its twelfth 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; Dustbin Baby (BBC1), International Emmy, BAFTA winning feature about an abandoned child; Some Dogs Bite (BBC3), a road-movie with a unique interactive ending about a stolen baby; mini-series, Treasure Island (Sky1) a dark reboot of this much loved classic; returning series, Leonardo (CBBC), the first fictional account of the young da Vinci, and mini-series, The Life & Adventures of Nick Nickleby (BBC 1 & Gold), the first modern retelling of a Dickens title. Award-winning, Dixi (CBBC), an interactive mystery for tweens, in its fourth series, has 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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Russell T Davies
Writer, Years and Years

Russell T Davies was awarded the 2006 Dennis Potter Award at BAFTA for his writing services to television and an OBE in the Queen’s 2008 Birthday Honours list for services to drama. He started writing whilst working in the Manchester department of Children’s BBC and has gone on to create several award-winning series including Bob & Rose, The Second Coming, the revival of the classic Britis... read more

Russell T Davies was awarded the 2006 Dennis Potter Award at BAFTA for his writing services to television and an OBE in the Queen’s 2008 Birthday Honours list for services to drama. He started writing whilst working in the Manchester department of Children’s BBC and has gone on to create several award-winning series including Bob & Rose, The Second Coming, the revival of the classic British science fiction series Doctor Who, and the trilogy Cucumber, Banana and Tofu for which he won the BAFTA for Best Drama Writer. In 2016 Russell was awarded the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Award for his Outstanding Contribution to Writing and the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Edinburgh TV Festival in 2017.

Russell T Davies credits include; A Very English Scandal, Cucumber, Banana, Tofu, Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Casanova, Mine All Mine, The Second Coming, Bob & Rose, Queer As Folk, The Grand, Century Falls, Dark Season. Forthcoming projects include Years & Years for BBC One and The Boys for Channel 4.

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Mark Talbot
Head of comedy development, Hat Trick Productions

Mark Talbot is a BAFTA award winning producer and Head of Comedy Development at Hat Trick. After starting life at Hat Trick as the office runner, then production runner on Have I Got News For You (BBC1) then Assistant to the Head of Comedy, Mark became a Development Producer within the comedy team. He produced the multiple award-winning comedy series The Revolution Will Be Televised (BBC3), winni... read more

Mark Talbot is a BAFTA award winning producer and Head of Comedy Development at Hat Trick.

After starting life at Hat Trick as the office runner, then production runner on Have I Got News For You (BBC1) then Assistant to the Head of Comedy, Mark became a Development Producer within the comedy team. He produced the multiple award-winning comedy series The Revolution Will Be Televised (BBC3), winning a BAFTA award for Best Comedy. The second series was nominated for a BAFTA award for Best Comedy and Comedy Entertainment. His most recent credits include the Rose D’Or nominated comedy Brexaggedon (BBC2); and the Broadcast Award Best Comedy nominee Revolting (BBC2). He has just finished production on series one of Flack, the first original drama commission for UKTV’s W and US cable network POP. The show transmits in February 2019.

As Head of Comedy Development he runs the development team, focusing on new opportunities in the UK, USA and SvoD markets; and continues to create, develop, produce and Executive Produce shows for Hat Trick.

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Anders Tangen
CEO, producer, Viafilm

For over 20 years Anders Tangen has passionately produced award-winning drama series, feature films, documentaries and short stories. Anders’ signature TV series, Lilyhammer and Norsemen are hailed by audiences worldwide, and his multi-awarded dramedy series, DAG, received acclaim from both critics and viewers across Europe. Additionally, many of Anders’ productions have been invited to ... read more

For over 20 years Anders Tangen has passionately produced award-winning drama series, feature films, documentaries and short stories. Anders’ signature TV series, Lilyhammer and Norsemen are hailed by audiences worldwide, and his multi-awarded dramedy series, DAG, received acclaim from both critics and viewers across Europe. Additionally, many of Anders’ productions have been invited to A-list festivals.

Through his company, Viafilm (Los Angeles / Oslo), Anders continually pushes at the industry boundaries. The Netflix/NRK Viking dramedy, Norsemen (aka Vikingane), is the first TV series to have been shot and released in two languages (Norwegian & English). Norsemen is quickly becoming an international sensation; season 3 shoots August 2018.

Continuing with this successful, multi-language model, Viafilm recorded in both English and Norwegian the real-time, romantic dramedy series, One Night (2018 release), and the upcoming supernatural-mystery-drama, Magnus (filming Jan. 2018). This model hops over the remake system, and introduces outstanding Scandinavian talent to the rest of the world.

Essential to Viafilm’s success is Anders’ international network. Anders enjoys collaborating with many of the best people in the industry hailing from N. & S. America, Scandinavia and Europe. This is owed to Anders’ diligent drive to develop outstanding concepts with visually excelling production value and highly engaging stories.

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Larry Tanz
Vice president, global television, Netflix

Larry Tanz is vice president, Scripted Co-License and Original Television at Netflix, the world’s leading internet entertainment service. Tanz is responsible for coproducing and commissioning english language content from independent studios and producers, globally. Recent highlights of his team’s work include shows like Bodyguard, Safe, Fauda, and Castlevania. Tanz previously served as chief ... read more

Larry Tanz is vice president, Scripted Co-License and Original Television at Netflix, the world’s leading internet entertainment service. Tanz is responsible for coproducing and commissioning english language content from independent studios and producers, globally. Recent highlights of his team’s work include shows like Bodyguard, Safe, Fauda, and Castlevania. Tanz previously served as chief executive officer of Michael Eisner’s digital studio Vuguru (now Tornante Television), which he grew into a major supplier of scripted content for streaming and TV platforms. Prior to Vuguru, Tanz was founder of multi-platform studio Agility Studios, chief executive officer and president of LivePlanet (with founders Ben Affleck and Matt Damon), with additional senior positions at AOL Time Warner and Mercer Management Consulting. He is a founding board member of Water.org.

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Nebojša Taraba
Producer and partner, Drugi Plan

Drugi plan is a leading Croatian independent production company. Established in 2004 by Nebojša Taraba and Miodrag Sila, Drugi plan has worked with all three Croatian national TV stations (HRT, Nova TV, RTL) and created and produced more than 15 original formats across all genres. For the last 8 years, Drugi plan has specialized in documentary and high-end drama productions. Their recent TV serie... read more

Drugi plan is a leading Croatian independent production company. Established in 2004 by Nebojša Taraba and Miodrag Sila, Drugi plan has worked with all three Croatian national TV stations (HRT, Nova TV, RTL) and created and produced more than 15 original formats across all genres. For the last 8 years, Drugi plan has specialized in documentary and high-end drama productions. Their recent TV series The Paper (2 seasons) was picked up by Netflix, and now is available for streaming in 190 countries. Drugi plan have also produced the first HBO Europe series in the Adria region, Success, which will premiere at the beginning of 2019.

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Cheryl Taylor
Head of content, BBC Children’s

Until November 2017 Cheryl was controller of CBBC but is now head of content for BBC Children’s and commissions content for both CBeebies and CBBC. Both channels continue to be the most popular for their age group in the U.K and are proud of their stealth learning expertise. Cbeebies  “Lights Up Little Learners” and ignites a sense of tolerance and inclusivity in our youngest viewers. The p... read more

Until November 2017 Cheryl was controller of CBBC but is now head of content for BBC Children’s and commissions content for both CBeebies and CBBC.

Both channels continue to be the most popular for their age group in the U.K and are proud of their stealth learning expertise. Cbeebies  “Lights Up Little Learners” and ignites a sense of tolerance and inclusivity in our youngest viewers. The public service baton is passed up to CBBC which also celebrates diversity and aims to reflect the lives of all UK children. Both Channels inspire, inform, and entertain with unique multi-genre slates

Cbeebies boasts world class pre-school content amongst its key brands such as Hey Duggee, Something Special, Biggleton, Pablo and Justin’s House:

Standout and award-winning brands on CBBC include Horrible Histories, Dangermouse, My Life Documentaries and Hetty Feather.

Previously Cheryl was Head of Comedy for the BBC and was responsible for Mrs Browns Boys, Cuckoo and Bad Education.  As Head of Comedy at Hat Trick Productions she co- created Drop Dead Gorgeous (BBC Three) and at Channel 4 commissioned Spaced, Black Books and The World of Derren Brown.

Cheryl was educated at the Quaker Mount School in York. She lives in West Yorkshire with her family and a characterful dog. 

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Sebastian Thiel
Director, writer, producer,

Sebastian Thiel is a writer, director and producer, who created BBC Three comedy drama Just A Couple, about a couple in a distinctly modern relationship, produced by Big Talk Productions. Born in Zambia, Sebastian was raised in Northwest London, which later provided inspiration for his first films, and in his late teens he founded Upshot Entertainment. Sebastian made his TV debut in 2014 on Londo... read more

Sebastian Thiel is a writer, director and producer, who created BBC Three comedy drama Just A Couple, about a couple in a distinctly modern relationship, produced by Big Talk Productions. Born in Zambia, Sebastian was raised in Northwest London, which later provided inspiration for his first films, and in his late teens he founded Upshot Entertainment. Sebastian made his TV debut in 2014 on London Live with his documentary Trap Town, and has since built an online following amassing over 10 million views for his self-produced work on his YouTube channel.

Sebastian has featured on TEDx Talks, was listed in the Evening Standard’s Top 25 Under 25 most influential Londoners and included on the BBC’s 2017 Hotlist for New Talent – unveiled by Idris Elba and Tony Hall. Sebastian is represented by Femi Oguns of Identity Agency Group, and has recently signed to WME agency in LA.

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Justin Thomson
Executive producer, DoveTale Media

DoveTale Media was set up by Justin at the end of 2017 to provide both a media consultancy and a packaging business specialising in co-production, pre-sales and the structuring of deals. Currently DoveTale is providing media consultancy services for distributors, broadcasters, production companies and individuals as well as putting together big European projects for both the SVOD and non-SVOD mark... read more

DoveTale Media was set up by Justin at the end of 2017 to provide both a media consultancy and a packaging business specialising in co-production, pre-sales and the structuring of deals. Currently DoveTale is providing media consultancy services for distributors, broadcasters, production companies and individuals as well as putting together big European projects for both the SVOD and non-SVOD market.

Over the last few years Justin has put together a number of high profile projects executive producing the award winning and critically acclaimed The Fall for BBC/Netflix, The Frankenstein Chronicles for ITV/Netflix  starring Sean Bean, the Welsh BAFTA winning Bang for S4C, the BBC 1 fantasy serial Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and the ABC/Shaw show Combat Hospital for ABC. Other projects he packaged include Death Comes to Pemberley (Mathew Rhys and Jenna Coleman), Sweeney Todd (Ray Winstone), The Wind in the Willows (Matt Lucas and Bob Hoskins), The Last Enemy (Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Carlyle), Thorne (David Morrisey, Eddie Marsan, Sandra Oh, Aiden Gillen, Natasha McElhone) and Crimson Petal and the White (Chris O’Dowd and Romola Garai). Justin regularly works with all the major agencies in the US and has access to top end writing and acting talent on both sides of the Atlantic.

Justin worked at FilmFour in the 1990s, where he was Senior Business Affairs Executive. Prior to that Justin trained as a solicitor at media and city practice Denton Hall before moving to boutique film practice Marriott Harrison where he represented clients such as Working Title, Lucas Films and Rocket Pictures.

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Pete Thornton
Head of scripted, UKTV

Pete Thornton is head of scripted at UKTV, Britain’s biggest multichannel broadcaster, where he commissions scripted comedy and drama for Gold, Dave, W, Drama and Alibi. Comedy productions under his management include Zapped, Red Dwarf and Porters for Dave, and Murder on the Blackpool Express for Gold. He’s also responsible for UKTV’s first Original drama, the Anna Paquin fronted Flack,... read more

Pete Thornton is head of scripted at UKTV, Britain’s biggest multichannel broadcaster, where he commissions scripted comedy and drama for Gold, Dave, W, Drama and Alibi. Comedy productions under his management include Zapped, Red Dwarf and Porters for Dave, and Murder on the Blackpool Express for Gold. He’s also responsible for UKTV’s first Original drama, the Anna Paquin fronted Flack, as well as Sharon Horgan and Lorna Martin’s comedy drama Women on the Verge, both due to air on W over the next 6 months.

Pete began his career at Spitting Image before moving to Aardman animations where he partnered with Nick Park on two of the Oscar winning Wallace and Gromit films, The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave. He then joined the BBC as a producer on BAFTA award-winning series The Smoking Room and Roger and Val Have Just Got In, before becoming one of the key creatives within the in-house comedy team. In 2012 Pete left the BBC to become a commissioning editor at Comedy Central where he commissioned and executive produced the broadcaster’s first ever scripted comedy, Threesome, and before joining UKTV, Pete was Head of Comedy at Tiger Aspect.

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Damien Timmer
Executive producer, Mammoth Screen

Damien established Mammoth Screen in 2007. Shows have included Poldark, Blandings, Remember Me, And Then There Were None, The Witness for the Prosecution, Ordeal by Innocence, The ABC Murders and the upcoming The War of the Worlds, World on Fire, Noughts and Crosses and The Serpent for BBC One, Parade’s End, NW and The City and the City for BBC 2, Best Possible Taste and Margot for BBC 4, Vanity... read more

Damien established Mammoth Screen in 2007. Shows have included Poldark, Blandings, Remember Me, And Then There Were None, The Witness for the Prosecution, Ordeal by Innocence, The ABC Murders and the upcoming The War of the Worlds, World on Fire, Noughts and Crosses and The Serpent for BBC One, Parade’s End, NW and The City and the City for BBC 2, Best Possible Taste and Margot for BBC 4, Vanity Fair, Endeavour, Fearless, Next of Kin, Victoria, Monroe, Lost in Austen and the upcoming The Singapore Grip for ITV, Tripped for E4, Falcón for Sky Atlantic.

Prior to this he was head of drama for ITV Productions for five years working on shows including Housewife 49, Lewis, Marple, Poirot, The History of Mr Polly, Walk Away and I Stumble, Jericho, If I Had You and Night and Day for ITV, and Ballet Shoes, Dracula, and Casanova for the BBC.

Damien worked at United Productions for three years as an executive producer on shows including Hearts and Bones for BBC One and Where the Heart Is and Touching Evil for ITV. Before this, Damien worked at Central Films and Carlton for four years, producing Peak Practice, developing projects including Frenchman’s Creek, Heat of the Sun, and The Unkown Soldier and script-editing Cadfael, Kavanagh QC and Inspector Morse.

Damien read history at Oxford University.

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Caroline Torrance
Head of scripted, Banijay Rights

Caroline plays an integral role in the senior management team at Banijay Rights and across Banijay Group. As Head of Scripted for Banijay Rights she spearheads the distributor’s ambitions in the international drama arena working with in-house and external producers around the world to develop and acquire scripted programming and comedy. Caroline has strengthened the Banijay Rights slate using a ... read more

Caroline plays an integral role in the senior management team at Banijay Rights and across Banijay Group. As Head of Scripted for Banijay Rights she spearheads the distributor’s ambitions in the international drama arena working with in-house and external producers around the world to develop and acquire scripted programming and comedy. Caroline has strengthened the Banijay Rights slate using a multi-faceted strategy including a number of first look and development agreements with third party producers and is actively continuing to expand its drama offering.

Her role extends further into the Banijay Group working to promote the network of drama producers – through acquisitions and joint ventures in the UK and worldwide. Recent announcements include Neon Ink, Blacklight, Fearless Minds and the launch of Yellowbird UK. Caroline brings her expertise in financing and international co-production, which is essential to the progress of creative and ambitious projects.

With more than 20 years in the television business Caroline has a wealth of experience built in similar roles at BBC Worldwide, Endemol, and Granada. Fluent in French and English, Caroline has overseen success stories such as lavish English-Franco drama Versailles, which has sold to more than 135 countries worldwide, Occupied the tri-lingual political suspense thriller and brand-new drama Straight Forward the first international scripted co-production between New Zealand and Denmark.

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Jude Troy
Director, Wooden Horse Pty Ltd

Under her own shingle, Wooden Horse which was launched in July 2018, Jude Troy is attached to a slate of exciting titles in development that she championed during her time at Entertainment One (eOne). Jude moved into TV development and production for eOne in 2015, after serving many years there as a film and TV executive for the Company (before that she was a partner at eOne’s Australian entity ... read more

Under her own shingle, Wooden Horse which was launched in July 2018, Jude Troy is attached to a slate of exciting titles in development that she championed during her time at Entertainment One (eOne).

Jude moved into TV development and production for eOne in 2015, after serving many years there as a film and TV executive for the Company (before that she was a partner at eOne’s Australian entity predecessor Hopscotch), and since then co-produced with Aquarius (Lion) the 6 x 30 comedy The Other Guy for SVOD platform STAN. The show recently sold to Hulu in the US and Super Channel in Canada and a second season is currently in advanced development.

Jude’s current slate also includes Sex in the West, a 6-part drama comedy for the ABC set in Sydney’s Arab community. She has projects in development with STAN and Foxtel

During her time at eOne, Troy developed and nurtured strong creative relationships working with some of Australia’s leading writers and has developed projects with Emily Ballou (Jerusalem, Taboo, Humans), Giula Sandler (Glitch, Devils Playground) and John Collee (Master & Commander, Happy Feet) and also optioned Emily Maguire’s critically acclaimed novel An Isolated Incident, shortlisted for the 2017 Miles Franklin Award and Stella Prize.

She has and is working with some of Australia’s finest producers including Andrew Mason (The Matrix, the Water Diviner), Goalpost, (Cleverman, The Sapphires) Robert Connolly’s Arena Media (The Warriors, The Turning, Paper Planes) and Aquarius Films (Lion, Wish You Were, Berlin Syndrome). Jude is working with exceptional talent including John Collee (Master & Commander, Tanna) , Sarah Lambert (Love Child), Sarah Walker (Wentworth), Greg Waters (Dance Academy, Soul Mates),  Witi Ihimaera (Whale Rider), Jane Espenson (Buffy, Jessica Jones), Samantha Strauss (The End, Dance Academy), Elise McCredie (Sunshine)  and a growing list of writing and directing talent through her professional networks around the globe.

Jude was an Executive Producer on All This Mayhem (from Oscar award-winning team James Gay Rees & Chris King – Senna, Amy) which won three AACTA awards in Australia.

Jude also played an integral role in the eOne Films theatrical acquisitions and enjoyed great success with her acquisition of Asif Kapadia’s, AMY.

Jude also handled Australian acquisitions for eOne Television for the international market.

Jude spent the previous decade as Managing Director of eOne and Hopscotch Home Entertainment, handling acquisitions, sales, marketing and distribution. A former partner in Hopscotch, Jude grew the business dramatically using her acquisitions acumen to broaden and strengthen the slate beyond theatrical titles to include top-rating TV, cutting edge documentary and classic and cult film re-issues. The bulk of Jude’s acquisitions have been at script stage. The TV slate included international phenomenon’s like the UK smash hit series The Inbetweeners, Miranda, Catastrophe, BBC drama hits such as Peaky Blinders with Cillian Murphy, Rectify and BBC’s Golden Globe nominated The Missing and Indian Summers, ITV’s Frankenstein Chronicles and cult series Hannibal & From Dusk ‘til Dawn and Bosch which was created for Amazon.  The catalogue boasted a range of ground-breaking UK comedies such as Peep Show, The Catherine Tate Show, IT Crowd and Green Wing, the Golden Globe nominated Jekyll, Secret Diary of a Call Girl as well as a host of top-rating local productions including Cleverman, The Broken Shore, The Slap and the eagerly anticipated series The Warriors for ABC 1.  Other titles Jude worked on and launched in Australia include Peppa Pig & The Walking Dead and many more.
Jude has also previously enjoyed a successful career building the home entertainment business at Shock locally and in marketing and promotions with EMI and Polygram (Universal) and was a former news journalist and features writer both in Melbourne and London.

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Selma Turajlic
Co-founder, Little Dot Studios

Prior to co-founding Little Dot Studios in April 2013, Selma 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 ... read more

Prior to co-founding Little Dot Studios in April 2013, Selma 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.

Little Dot Studios is a next generation production company that works with broadcasters, publishers and commercial brands to create and distribute video content across digital platforms. We develop and produce original video for our own online channels, and work in partnership with broadcasters and brands to create award-winning platform-optimized content across video platforms and social media, including broadcaster VOD, YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat. The company was founded in 2013 and has grown rapidly to a team of 120 people with offices in London and Los Angeles.

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Bea Hegedus
VP global content, scripted, ITV Studios Global Entertainment

Bea joined ITV Studios GE in 2018 and is tasked with overseeing some of the most ambitious high-end dramas in the ITVS GE catalogue. Her remit includes financing and international co-productions of the upcoming World on Fire, Noughts and Crosses, War of The Worlds, Singapore Grip and The Serpent – she is also looking after the recently launched Vanity Fair and new seasons of returning series Pol... read more

Bea joined ITV Studios GE in 2018 and is tasked with overseeing some of the most ambitious high-end dramas in the ITVS GE catalogue. Her remit includes financing and international co-productions of the upcoming World on Fire, Noughts and Crosses, War of The Worlds, Singapore Grip and The Serpent – she is also looking after the recently launched Vanity Fair and new seasons of returning series Poldark and Victoria. Prior to ITV Studios GE, she was Head of Television for Swiss financier Silver Reel, leading financing of shows such as The Luminaries from Working Title Television and Fremantle. She has also held senior commissioning and distribution roles at MTG, Fox TV Studios and Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury. Bea started her television career in production.

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Josh Varney
Co-founder, 42

Josh Varney started his career in business television as an assistant producer, before moving to ICM as an assistant to Literary agent Michael McCoy. At ICM, and then the rebranded Independent Talent Group, Josh represented and now continues to rep a number of leading and Award winning writers and directors and has a reputation for discovering new talent, and structuring production finance on beha... read more

Josh Varney started his career in business television as an assistant producer, before moving to ICM as an assistant to Literary agent Michael McCoy. At ICM, and then the rebranded Independent Talent Group, Josh represented and now continues to rep a number of leading and Award winning writers and directors and has a reputation for discovering new talent, and structuring production finance on behalf of his clients. Josh left ITG in 2012 and founded 42, an integrated management and production company, based in London and LA, alongside partners Rory Aitken, Kate Buckley and Ben Pugh, and now Cathy King.

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Elly Vervloet
International drama executive , VRT

Elly Vervloet is the international drama executive of VRT, the Flemish public broadcaster (Belgium). As part of VRT’s drama strategy, it is the ambition to make high quality drama with international appeal and potential. Therefore, Elly takes up responsibility to find international financing, to set up international co-productions and to look for international cooperation in general. It is her r... read more

Elly Vervloet is the international drama executive of VRT, the Flemish public broadcaster (Belgium). As part of VRT’s drama strategy, it is the ambition to make high quality drama with international appeal and potential. Therefore, Elly takes up responsibility to find international financing, to set up international co-productions and to look for international cooperation in general. It is her role to build an international network and share her expertise within the company, in order to co-create a sustainable drama strategy that reinforces the local ecosystem.

After a degree in Communication science at the University of Leuven, Elly began her career at VRT in 1994. She worked at the news department for 12 years, first as researcher and production assistant, later as journalist and editor-in-chief. She worked for the TV news and the current affairs programs Terzake and Koppen. In 2006, she became program manager for Eén (channel one), and later was vice channel manager for 6 years. During that time, she was commissioning editor for news, reality and fiction. She commissioned, amongst others, Salamander and Hotel Beau Sejour. Both series were very well received internationally.

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Faye Ward
Creative director, Fable Pictures

Faye Ward – Creative director of Fable Pictures and formerly film and television producer at Ruby Films. Known for fantastic films such as Suffragette, Jane Eyre, Golden Globe nominated Dancing on the Edge and Netflix’s award-winning TV series The Crown (Series 1). Most recently Faye has appeared at Toronto Film Festival with two of the most talked about feature films this year Stan & Olli... read more

Faye Ward – Creative director of Fable Pictures and formerly film and television producer at Ruby Films. Known for fantastic films such as Suffragette, Jane Eyre, Golden Globe nominated Dancing on the Edge and Netflix’s award-winning TV series The Crown (Series 1). Most recently Faye has appeared at Toronto Film Festival with two of the most talked about feature films this year Stan & Ollie and Wild Rose, both of which are produced under her Fable banner. Fable are currently nurturing a bespoke slate of equally high end television projects, focusing on returnable series and prestige mini-series that burst with bold, beautiful character-driven stories.

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Mika Watkins

Creator, writer, EP, Origin

Mika Watkins was a Broadcast Hot Shot in 2016. She has several original developments with Sister Pictures, Company Pictures, Carnival, Left Bank Pictures and Kudos. 
Alongside her own projects she has written an episode of Carnival Films’ Sky One series Stan Lee’s Lucky Man and an episode of Kudos’ BBC One period drama Troy: Fall of a City. She has also recently been part of the writers r... read more

Mika Watkins was a Broadcast Hot Shot in 2016. She has several original developments with Sister Pictures, Company Pictures, Carnival, Left Bank Pictures and Kudos. 
Alongside her own projects she has written an episode of Carnival Films’ Sky One series Stan Lee’s Lucky Man and an episode of Kudos’ BBC One period drama Troy: Fall of a City. She has also recently been part of the writers room for NBC Universal’s Amazon series Hanna.

Mika is currently showrunning her first series – 10-part sci-fi Origin for Left Bank Pictures and YouTube Premium.

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Jon Wax
Head of drama series & movies, YouTube Originals

 As head of drama series & movies for YouTube Originals, Jon Wax is responsible for building YouTube’s scripted drama slate as well as overseeing acquisition and production of its movie roster.  Since Jon arrived in late 2017, YouTube Premium has launched tentpole dramas in Step Up: High Water and Impulse, and he’s now at the forefront of YouTube Premium’s expanding programming pus... read more

 As head of drama series & movies for YouTube Originals, Jon Wax is responsible for building YouTube’s scripted drama slate as well as overseeing acquisition and production of its movie roster.  Since Jon arrived in late 2017, YouTube Premium has launched tentpole dramas in Step Up: High Water and Impulse, and he’s now at the forefront of YouTube Premium’s expanding programming push with his involvement in the forthcoming drama On Becoming a God in Central Florida, which will star Kirsten Dunst and begin production in late 2018, and Vulture Club, a feature film starring Susan Sarandon and Edie Falco that will premiere on the platform in early 2019.

Jon was previously EVP at WGN America & Tribune Studios, where he oversaw WGNA’s first foray into scripted series with the hit drama Underground and critical darling Manhattan, among others.  Prior to WGNA, Wax spent nearly 15 years on the Fox studio lot, where in various roles at both TCFTV and FBC he helped shepherd some of the most popular series on television, including Prison Break, Bones, 24, Malcolm in the Middle, and Firefly. Jon lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their three boys.

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Birgitta Wännström
Producer, Honour

Birgitta Wännström is the producer of the award-winning series Gåsmamman for C More/Kanal 5 in Sweden. She has also produced several series of the international success story Maria Wern. In 2017 she co-founded production company Bigster.

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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Emma Westcott
Commissioning editor, factual, Channel 5

Emma has been commissioning editor, factual at Channel 5 since February 2013. She oversees a wide range of factual series in the channel’s peak-time schedule and also leads the channel’s push to double its amount of regional commissions. At Channel 5 Emma has been responsible for successful series such as: GPs: Behind Closed Doors; Violent Child, Desperate Parents; The Murder Next Door; Alcoho... read more

Emma has been commissioning editor, factual at Channel 5 since February 2013.

She oversees a wide range of factual series in the channel’s peak-time schedule and also leads the channel’s push to double its amount of regional commissions.

At Channel 5 Emma has been responsible for successful series such as: GPs: Behind Closed Doors; Violent Child, Desperate Parents; The Murder Next Door; Alcohol and Me; Me & My Mental Illness; Tony Robinson: Coast to Coast; Bargain-Loving Brits In The Sun and Alex Polizzi’s Secret Spain.

Before joining Channel 5 she was director of commissioning at The Lifestyle Channels in Australia from 2010 to 2012. There Emma developed and managed key local productions as well as successfully translating a number of UK formats such as: Location Location Australia; Grand Designs Australia and Trinny and Susannah’s Australian Makeover Mission.

Prior to that she worked as Channel 4 commissioning editor for features, responsible for channel defining shows including: Location, Location; Property Ladder; No Going Back; You Are What You Eat and Ten Years Younger as well as managing key brands such as Grand Designs and Supernanny.

Emma has also worked for ITV Productions Children’s and Entertainment and BBC Entertainment and Features as well as an executive producer in the independent sector, producing content for all major UK broadcasters.

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Stephanie Whitley
Planning and brand strategy manager, Dubit Trends

As planning and brand strategy manager at Dubit, Steph develops strategies and oversees the initial stages of the digital entertainment and education apps and games that Dubit create. Steph 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 bui... read more

As planning and brand strategy manager at Dubit, Steph develops strategies and oversees the initial stages of the digital entertainment and education apps and games that Dubit create. Steph 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.

Colin Williams
Creative director, Sixteen South

Colin Williams is a creator and showrunner and the owner of Sixteen South Studios which he founded in 2007 to create and produce quality television for children. His work can be seen on all major networks across the globe. Colin has gained an international reputation for the highest quality work and has already created and produced over 400 episodes of award winning children’s television which ... read more

Colin Williams is a creator and showrunner and the owner of Sixteen South Studios which he founded in 2007 to create and produce quality television for children. His work can be seen on all major networks across the globe. Colin has gained an international reputation for the highest quality work and has already created and produced over 400 episodes of award winning children’s television which have picked up 30 international awards including two EMMY® nominations, a British Animation Award, the coveted Prix Jeunesse and the BAFTA for the Best Independent Production Company. The studio’s latest shows include the mixed media animated series, Lily’s Driftwood Bay; WildWoods, a live action puppet sitcom for Hulu; Claude, for Disney Junior – based on the popular book series; and Pinkalicious and Peterrific for PBS Kids.  He has a busy slate of new ideas.

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Courtney Williams
European regional director, Parrot Analytics

Courtney Williams is the european regional director for Parrot Analytics. With more than 20 years’ experience in the international media and entertainment sector both as a senior executive at several networks and studios, as well as having been a successful entrepreneur in several media ventures, Mr. Williams brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to Parrot Analytics. Most recently Mr. Will... read more

Courtney Williams is the european regional director for Parrot Analytics. With more than 20 years’ experience in the international media and entertainment sector both as a senior executive at several networks and studios, as well as having been a successful entrepreneur in several media ventures, Mr. Williams brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to Parrot Analytics.

Most recently Mr. Williams has provided strategic consulting services to CSI Media, Turner Europe, MGM Networks, Chellomedia, AMC Networks International and Digiturk DTH Platform. Prior to this he was acting MD for AMC Networks Asia Pacific and acting GM for MGM Channel Italy. Mr. Williams also spent five years at MGM Studios in the MGM Networks group: Initially as Vice President of International Sales and Marketing based in New York, and eventually as Vice President of EMEA based in London. Earlier in his career Mr. Williams held several positions with Viacom’s Nickelodeon division, the last of which was Director of New Media Ventures.

In his position for Parrot Analytics, Mr. Williams’ responsibilities include business development in the European market to ensure corporate growth, and working closely with European business partners and customers to ensure their respective needs and interests. Mr. Williams earned his MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business and is currently based in London.

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Ruth Wilson
Executive producer, Mrs Wilson

Two-time Olivier award-winner, Golden Globe winner, Ruth Wilson has paved her way in theatre, television and film. For her portrayal as Alison Lockhart in Showtime’s series The Affair, Wilson earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. Wilson is also known for starring as Alice in the acclaimed BBC series Luther, which was nominated for eight Emmy Awards. She received BAFTA and Golden Globe n... read more

Two-time Olivier award-winner, Golden Globe winner, Ruth Wilson has paved her way in theatre, television and film.

For her portrayal as Alison Lockhart in Showtime’s series The Affair, Wilson earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. Wilson is also known for starring as Alice in the acclaimed BBC series Luther, which was nominated for eight Emmy Awards. She received BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for Best Lead Actress for the BBC miniseries Jane Eyre. She is currently in production on BBC’s His Dark Materials. Wilson serves as executive producer and stars in this BBC/Masterpiece Theatre miniseries, Mrs. Wilson.

Wilson made her Broadway debut in Nick Payne’s Constellations opposite Jake Gyllenhaal, for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress. She was last seen on stage in Ivo van Hove’s Hedda Gabler at the National Theatre, garnering another Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress. Wilson earned her first Olivier Award, Best Supporting Actress, for playing Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire and her second Olivier Award, Best Actress, for playing the title role in Anna Christie, both at the Donmar Warehouse. She made her London stage debut in 2007 in the National Theatre’s production of Maxim Gorky’s Philistines, and starred in the Almeida Theatre adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s Through a Glass Darkly. Wilson made her directorial debut with The El Train, a series of Eugene O’Neill plays that she also starred in, staged at Hoxton Hall in London.

Film credits include Dark River, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, Suite Française, Saving Mr. Banks, The Lone Ranger, Anna Karenina, and most recently The Little Stranger.

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Olivia Wingate
Co-president, Mo Studios

Olivia grew up in London but has been based in New York on-and-off for over 2 decades. After an MBA from NYU, she moved back to the UK to independently produce theater runs of contemporary American Drama and Comedy, working with playwrights including Bridget Carpenter, Stephen Belber, Angus McLachlan and comedians including David Cross, Patton Oswalt and Louis CK. Olivia then formed her management... read more

Olivia grew up in London but has been based in New York on-and-off for over 2 decades. After an MBA from NYU, she moved back to the UK to independently produce theater runs of contemporary American Drama and Comedy, working with playwrights including Bridget Carpenter, Stephen Belber, Angus McLachlan and comedians including David Cross, Patton Oswalt and Louis CK.

Olivia then formed her management company Olivia Wingate Artists in NYC in 2004, which she grew for 8 years to then merge with Avalon Entertainment Group in 2012. Her longtime clients included Marc Maron, Reggie Watts, John Hodgman, Wyatt Cenac and Eugene Mirman. Throughout this time she developed and produced TV projects around her clients including Maron (IFC), Ragnorok: John Hodgman (Netflix) and Wyatt Cenac: Brooklyn (Netflix)

In July 2015 Wingate left her management business to become a full time development executive, and in June 2018 partnered with Michele Ganeless to launch Mo Studios.

Mo Studios is a New York based micro-studio, run jointly by Ganeless and Wingate, developing projects for the International TV and Film markets. Mo Studios is dedicated to investing in the development, incubation and optioning of IP to launch premium projects which empower female and diverse creatives on the global stage, with a special focus on hourlong comedic drama.

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Jörg Winger
Executive producer, UFA

Jörg Winger is co-creator and executive producer of the award-winning, eight-part spy series Deutschland83 as well as its sequel Deutschland84. Deutschland83 garnered numerous international and national accolades, including the International Emmy Award in the Drama Series category, the Golden Camera as Best German Multi-parter/Miniseries, the Grimme Award, the Peabody Award, two C21 Drama Awards ... read more

Jörg Winger is co-creator and executive producer of the award-winning, eight-part spy series Deutschland83 as well as its sequel Deutschland84. Deutschland83 garnered numerous international and national accolades, including the International Emmy Award in the Drama Series category, the Golden Camera as Best German Multi-parter/Miniseries, the Grimme Award, the Peabody Award, two C21 Drama Awards as well as the Special Jury Award of the RomaFictionFest. At the Festival Seriés Mania Deutschland83 was voted World’s Best Series. Deutschland86 will be launched in the fall of 2018 on Amazon. Jörg Winger has produced 300 episodes of the multi-award-winning primetime series Soko Leipzig for ZDF, 14 episodes in feature length and set in Moscow, Istanbul and Santo Domingo, as well as a crossover episode with The Bill (ITV). Amongst Jörg Winger’s current projects is the German-Romanian cybercrime drama Hackerville, on which he is both creator and executive producer. The six-part series is an international coproduction with HBO Europe and TNT Serie and will launch in the fall of 2018. Before becoming a producer, Jörg Winger got a masters degree in Economics and worked as a journalist.

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Marci Wiseman
Co-president, Blumhouse Television

Marci Wiseman is co-President of Blumhouse Television. Wiseman (along with co-President Jeremy Gold) is growing the footprint of Blumhouse’s independent television studio, managing its portfolio of scripted and unscripted TV series, supervising creative development and production and overseeing distribution strategies across all platforms. Wiseman and Gold are leading the expansion of the Blumho... read more

Marci Wiseman is co-President of Blumhouse Television. Wiseman (along with co-President Jeremy Gold) is growing the footprint of Blumhouse’s independent television studio, managing its portfolio of scripted and unscripted TV series, supervising creative development and production and overseeing distribution strategies across all platforms. Wiseman and Gold are leading the expansion of the Blumhouse brand beyond horror content to explore not only genre material, but also dark, provocative subject matter with projects like “Loudest Voice in the Room, the Roger Ailes story,” a limited series for Showtime with Academy Award-winning writer/director Tom McCarthy and starring Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Russell Crowe in the title role, based on the book by acclaimed journalist, Gabe Sherman.

Since joining Blumhouse in 2016, Wiseman and Gold successfully concluded a capital raise of $40 million and currently have close to $100m in annual production revenue. During that time, the company has launched series including Sharp Objects for HBO (based on Gillian Flynn’s novel from Marti Noxon and Jean-Marc Valle and starring Amy Adams); Sacred Lies for Facebook Watch (from Raelle Tucker and Scott Winant); The Purge for USA/Syfy based on the successful Purge film franchise; and is currently in production on Into The Dark, a first-of-its-kind 12 episode monthly horror anthology series for Hulu; No One Saw a Thing (w/t), a true crime documentary series for SundanceTV; another documentary series for f/x with acclaimed Jinx producer, Marc Smerling and featuring Errol Morris, and an unnamed real-time crime investigative series for Oxygen. Blumhouse Television has also earned critical acclaim and numerous honors for its dark, edgy fare including Emmy awards for its productions of HBO’s The Normal Heart and The Jinx, as well as the prestigious Peabody award for The Jinx and the documentary How to Dance in Ohio.

Wiseman and Gold have also built a significant feature-length documentary division, with five projects currently in development and completed documentaries in the marketplace, including “This Is Home,” the 2018 Sundance Audience Award winner (World Documentaries), aired on EPIX in June of 2018 and “Bathtubs Over Broadway,” which was awarded the Albert Maysles New Documentary Director Award at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and won the Documentary Feature Audience Award at 23rd annual Nantucket Film Festival.

A significant majority of Wiseman’s TV career has been spent building and growing independent content play television companies. As a long-time executive at AMC, Wiseman launched AMC Studios, whose first series was the mega-hit “The Walking Dead” and for which Wiseman orchestrated the unprecedented day-and-date global release of the series. Wiseman was responsible for the growth of AMC’s library of owned content with series such as “Turn, Halt and Catch Fire,” “Fear the Walking Dead,” “Into the Badlands” and “Rectify;” and for launching AMC’s foray into international co-production with “Night Manager.” As the sole executive responsible for building AMC’s highly successful distribution business, Wiseman brokered the cable group’s first exclusive SVOD deal with Netflix in 2011, its 2015 SVOD deal with Hulu, as well as long-term distribution deals with eOne and Anchor Bay.

Before joining Blumhouse, Wiseman was Executive Vice President, Global Production and Business Affairs at eOne Television and was instrumental in negotiating key deals with Amazon for global rights to series such as “Fear the Walking Dead” and “Into the Badlands” and oversaw international co-production in Canada, France, and the UK.

From 2000-2010, Wiseman was the owner of a boutique, specialized business development consulting firm developing, designing and managing new business models for various clients. Major highlights include: launching fox21 (the first major studio arm to specialize in cable TV series); working for FOX on dozens of pioneering, breakout reality series, including American Idol and Joe Millionaire; building the business model for Fremantle’s entrée into scripted drama in the U.S. Wiseman previously ran business affairs at Pressman Films and served as a VP, Business Affairs on the feature side at Columbia (Sony) Pictures. Wiseman also took a brief leave from the entertainment industry and served in the Riordan administration as Assistant Deputy Mayor, Economic Development for the city of Los Angeles.
Wiseman was named to 2012 Variety Women of Impact List and was a 2013 Honoree at the JDRF LA Gala.

Wiseman received her law degree from New York University and began her career at O’Melveny & Myers and earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University.

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Adam Woodgate
Senior research manager, Dubit Trends

Adam 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 consulte... read more

Adam 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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Andrew Woodhead
MD, Working Title Television, Executive producer, Hanna

Andrew Woodhead is the managing director of Working Title Television UK. He oversees the company’s slate of high-end scripted programming, which includes the TV adaptation of Hanna for Amazon Studios and the six part drama series, The Luminaries for BBC Two – both of which he serves as executive producer. With a career spanning more than twenty years, Andrew has worked on a number of award-win... read more

Andrew Woodhead is the managing director of Working Title Television UK. He oversees the company’s slate of high-end scripted programming, which includes the TV adaptation of Hanna for Amazon Studios and the six part drama series, The Luminaries for BBC Two – both of which he serves as executive producer.

With a career spanning more than twenty years, Andrew has worked on a number of award-winning dramas. Whilst at Kudos Film and TV, he executive produced multiple series of the BAFTA-nominated Spooks and ITV’s Law & Order U.K., as well as Sky Atlantic’s critically acclaimed psychological thriller Fortitude and Sky One’s Sinbad. He was also Series Producer on ITV’s Marcella and produced Abi Morgan’s BAFTA-winning film White Girl.

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Michael Wright
President, EPIX

Michael Wright is president of EPIX, responsible for overseeing all facets of the rapidly growing premium network including expanding its slate of original programming, growing distribution and leading creative and marketing efforts. In his first six months, Michael worked with the team to increase the network’s overall distribution by nearly 50% and tripled the amount of original programming av... read more

Michael Wright is president of EPIX, responsible for overseeing all facets of the rapidly growing premium network including expanding its slate of original programming, growing distribution and leading creative and marketing efforts.

In his first six months, Michael worked with the team to increase the network’s overall distribution by nearly 50% 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, DC origin story Pennyworth from Warner Horizon Scripted Television, spy-thriller Deep State and a new version of the seminal competition series The Contender from EP Mark Burnett, along with Season 2 of critically-acclaimed dark comedy Get Shorty and Season 3 of renowned CIA drama Berlin Station.

Prior to joining EPIX, Michael was the chief executive officer of Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Pictures and Amblin Pictures, the latter which he helped launch in 2015. Under Michael’s management, the company released the hit films The Girl on the Train, Office Christmas Party and A Dog’s Purpose, and prepared films The Post, Ready Player One, and The House with a Clock in its Walls, starring Jack Black and Cate Blanchett.

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Paul Youngbluth
Joint managing director, TAPE Consultancy Ltd

Paul Youngbluth is joint managing director of TAPE Consultancy Ltd. Paul has worked for many years within the television industry, specialising initially in building TAPE’s business within the US, where he has extensive experience of concept testing and analysis, but more recently across Europe, Asia, and specifically China, spending the last five years building strong working partnerships with ... read more

Paul Youngbluth is joint managing director of TAPE Consultancy Ltd. Paul has worked for many years within the television industry, specialising initially in building TAPE’s business within the US, where he has extensive experience of concept testing and analysis, but more recently across Europe, Asia, and specifically China, spending the last five years building strong working partnerships with key broadcasters and production companies in the Chinese market.

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Marc Zicree
Showrunner,

Marc Scott Zicree is a showrunner who has written and produced hundreds of hours of series TV, pilots and feature films for most of the major studios and networks, including Paramount, Universal, Disney, Sony/Columbia Tri-Star, MGM, Warners, Castle Rock, New Line, CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, WB, UPN, Showtime, PBS, Turner, USA Networks, Syfy, Discovery, Nickelodeon, the BBC, Marvel, Scholastic, ITV and NP... read more

Marc Scott Zicree is a showrunner who has written and produced hundreds of hours of series TV, pilots and feature films for most of the major studios and networks, including Paramount, Universal, Disney, Sony/Columbia Tri-Star, MGM, Warners, Castle Rock, New Line, CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, WB, UPN, Showtime, PBS, Turner, USA Networks, Syfy, Discovery, Nickelodeon, the BBC, Marvel, Scholastic, ITV and NPR. Among his credits are classic episodes of Star Trek – The Next Generation, Sliders, Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine, among many others. He’s been nominated for the Humanitas Prize, Hugo, Nebula and American Book awards and has won the TV Guide Award, Rondo Award, Saturn Award, Writers Guild Diversity Award and prestigious Hamptons Prize. Bestsellers include The Twilight Zone Companion, Magic Time trilogy and Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet Of Curiosities. His book Greenlighting Yourself will be published by Silman James in 2019. Currently, he and his wife Elaine are writing and producing the feature Subversive, based on current Member of Parliament Lord Peter Hain’s memoir about his apartheid-era activist parents. Additionally, they have just written, directed and produced the epic science fiction series pilot Space Command, with Doug Jones (Shape of Water, Star Trek Discovery), Robert Picardo (The Orville) Mike Harney (Orange is the New Black, A Star is Born), Bryan McClure (Atlanta), John Hennigan (Glow) and other stars.

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Helen Ziegler
Executive producer, Mammoth Screen

Helen Ziegler is an executive producer at Mammoth Screen. Her recent executive producer credits include; the latest Agatha Christie adaptation for BBC One ‘The ABC Murders’; the critically-acclaimed prequel to Morse, Endeavour for ITV; and Peter Bowker’s recently announced landmark drama, World on Fire for BBC One, which is currently filming. Helen began her career script editing on the Gol... read more

Helen Ziegler is an executive producer at Mammoth Screen. Her recent executive producer credits include; the latest Agatha Christie adaptation for BBC One ‘The ABC Murders’; the critically-acclaimed prequel to Morse, Endeavour for ITV; and Peter Bowker’s recently announced landmark drama, World on Fire for BBC One, which is currently filming.

Helen began her career script editing on the Golden Globe winning psychological crime drama Luther and multi-award winning BBC continuing drama EastEnders. Her first producer credit was From Darkness starring Anne Marie Duff and this was followed in 2017 by the fourth series of ITV’s Endeavour. She then moved into executive producing, for her first Executive Producer role on BBC’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Ordeal by Innocence.

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Klaus Zimmerman
General manager, Dynamic Television

Born in 1966 in Düsseldorf, Germany, Klaus Zimmermann has a DEA degree in general private law (Sorbonne) and a master degree in management science with a special mention for international business studies (Paris Dauphine). He started his career in 1993 at the German company KirchGruppe. For two years, he worked in Munich alongside the company’s director of production and distribution, Jan Mojto... read more

Born in 1966 in Düsseldorf, Germany, Klaus Zimmermann has a DEA degree in general private law (Sorbonne) and a master degree in management science with a special mention for international business studies (Paris Dauphine). He started his career in 1993 at the German company KirchGruppe. For two years, he worked in Munich alongside the company’s director of production and distribution, Jan Mojto. He was successively in charge of marketing, international distribution and international productions. In this capacity, he participated on the production of animation films, feature films (such as Pippi Longstocking), television series and features and international co-productions (Le comte de Monte Cristo, Balzac, Les Misérables, etc…). He returns to France in 2002, creating and heading the company Zimt Média, Paris & Munich.The following year, Klaus Zimmermann joins GMT Productions (Lagardère Active) as head of international development and worked on Les Trois Mousquetaires. He was also executive producer of the French TV features Brasier (M6) and Salieri (France 2). In 2004, he is additionally made Vice President and Director of Operations of Capital Image, a subsidiary of GMT specialized in the financing of international projects for television and cinema. In 2006, he co-founds Zen Productions with Nathalie Drouaire. In this company, he developed, produced and co-produced a number of ambitious projects (Laconia for ARD, BBC and Canal+, The Bible Code for ProSieben and M6, etc…).

Nominated four times for the award of Best Producer in Germany for The Patin (2008), Vulkan (2009), Die Grenze (2010) and Borgia (2012) Klaus returned to Lagardère Entertainment from October 2009 to September 2013 as managing director and producer of Atlantique Productions where he initiated, developed, financed and produced several outstanding television programs with the world’s leading talent and broadcasters such as Borgia, Transporter, Death in Paradise and Jo. In the beginning of 2014 he started Dynamic Television in Los Angeles with his American partner Dan March and Dynamic Productions based in Paris and Berlin to develop, finance and produce outstanding, high-end drama in television and feature film. His recent projects include 100 Code, Cape Town and Trapped from Baltasar Kormakur and RvK Studios.

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Karni Ziv
Head of drama and comedy, Keshet Broadcasting

As head of drama and comedy, Ziv is responsible for the development and management of the creative processes of all scripted projects destined for Keshet 12, Israel’s most-watched commercial TV channel. In addition, Ziv also supervises the production aspects related to content and creativity for all international drama projects of Keshet’s co-productions with foreign content producers. Sin... read more

As head of drama and comedy, Ziv is responsible for the development and management of the creative processes of all scripted projects destined for Keshet 12, Israel’s most-watched commercial TV channel. In addition, Ziv also supervises the production aspects related to content and creativity for all international drama projects of Keshet’s co-productions with foreign content producers.

Since joining Keshet in 2013, Ziv has focused on developing content with great international potential: including the romantic comedy The Baker and the Beauty, which Amazon acquired the global rights to; the double Canneseries-winning False Flag which has recently been adapted by Keshet Productions for Apple TV+ as Suspicion; the psychological thriller Sleeping Bears, which premiered internationally at Berlinale 2018; the action-packed drama When Heroes Fly, winner of the Best Series award at Canneseries; HBO’s limited drama series Our Boys, winner of 14 Israel Academy Awards and Peabody Nominee; and most recently, Line in the Sand, the highest rating drama in Israel since 2015.

Ziv began her career in 1992 as a scriptwriter for kids’ content for the Israeli cable company ICP, and in 2000 became the CEO of the country’s largest kids’ channel. She was later appointed Deputy CEO of Noga Communications Media Group and became the Head of the content division at Israel’s major cable company, HOT. In 2010 she was appointed Deputy Executive Director for Content for Channel 10.

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Naomi de Pear
Executive producer, Sister Pictures

Naomi is an executive producer for Sister Pictures. Current projects include Don’t Forget The Driver created and written by Obie award winning playwright Tim Crouch (An Oak Tree/ Beginners/Adler & Gibb) and BAFTA winning Toby Jones (BBC2), Adam Kay’s adaptation of his literary phenomenon This is Going to Hurt (BBC2) and Naomi Alderman’s international best seller, The Power. Through her ... read more

Naomi is an executive producer for Sister Pictures. Current projects include Don’t Forget The Driver created and written by Obie award winning playwright Tim Crouch (An Oak Tree/ Beginners/Adler & Gibb) and BAFTA winning Toby Jones (BBC2), Adam Kay’s adaptation of his literary phenomenon This is Going to Hurt (BBC2) and Naomi Alderman’s international best seller, The Power.

Through her comedy label, Hootenanny, De Pear executive produced BAFTA-nominated Flowers by Will Sharpe for C4 and Desiree Akhavan’s The Bisexual for C4 and Hulu. Previous projects include Spooks (BBC1), Humans (C4, AMC), Tin Star (Sky Atlantic) and Abi Morgan’s Emmy- winning The Hour (BBC2) and was associate producer on River (BBC1)

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Izabela Łopuch
Head of original production, HBO Poland

Izabela Łopuch is head of original production at HBO Poland, responsible for its slate of series and documentaries, where her credits include In Treatment, The Pack, The Pact and upcoming Blinded by the Lights, as well as 11 documentary films including Communion, which won the European Film Award for Best Documentary in 2017. Prior to HBO Poland, Izabela was at leading Polish commercial station T... read more

Izabela Łopuch is head of original production at HBO Poland, responsible for its slate of series and documentaries, where her credits include In Treatment, The Pack, The Pact and upcoming Blinded by the Lights, as well as 11 documentary films including Communion, which won the European Film Award for Best Documentary in 2017.

Prior to HBO Poland, Izabela was at leading Polish commercial station TVN, firstly as head of development, and later as producer and deputy director of the Production Department, responsible for TV series and feature films. A graduate of the Institute of Audiovisual Arts of Jagiellonian University, she gained professional experience as a programmer for Cracow Film Festival, was a member of the distribution team at the Polish Film Foundation, as well as being active in the academic field and lecturing at IAA.

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