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  John Lesher

  John Lesher
  Producer and Founder | Le Grisbi Productions

  John Lesher, founder of Le Grisbi Productions, is the Oscar-winning producer of BIRDMAN, FURY, HOSTILES, BLACK MASS, END OF WATCH, THE BEACH BUM, WHITE BOY RICK, MONA LISA AND THE BLOOD MOON, MEDITERRANEA, and BLOOD TIES. Formerly the president of Paramount Vantage, Lesher was responsible for overseeing BABEL, THERE WILL BE BLOOD, and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. In his next position as the president of the film group at Paramount Studios, he supervised such pictures as BENJAMIN BUTTON, STAR TREK, and the reboot of the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE franchise. Prior to producing, Lesher was one of the top agents in the business, with clients including Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson, Harmony Korine, and Alejandro González Iñárritu.

  Up next, Lesher will reteam with Michael Mann to produce his passion project FERRARI starring Adam Driver and is currently in post-production on Scott Cooper’s THE PALE BLUE EYE for Netflix starring Christian Bale. Le Grisbi Productions also has a first look deal with Amazon Studios and will produce Lynne Ramsay’s STONE MATTRESS starring Julianne Moore. On the TV side, Lesher and Le Grisbi recently produced BJ Novak’s THE PREMISE anthology series for FX and is gearing up to shoot second season of HBOMax’s hit series TOKYO VICE.

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  Kim Magnusson

  Kim Magnusson
  Founder and Producer | M&M Productions

  In 1995 he founded M&M Productions with his father, Tivi Magnusson. Headhunted to run Nordisk Film’s Film Division as CEO from 2003 – 2009. In the years 1995-2021 he has produced or EP’ed more than 140 films such as:, I KILL GIANST, MEN&CHICKEN, THE GREEN BUTCHERS, ADAM’S APPLES, HEADHUNTER, TERKEL IN TROUBLE, WORLDS APART, R, PUSHER II &P III. He has been Oscar® nominated in the category “Live Action Short Film” six times, and won the coveted award 2 times, in 1999 for ELECTION NIGHT and in 2014 for HELIUM. Kim Magnusson has been the chairman of the Danish Producers Association for 9 years (most ever), as well as chairman of the Danish Film Academy for 20 yrs. Kim is a voting member of AMPAS® and as well as both The Danish and The European Film Academy. In 2010 he launched Dansk Film Kompagni to develop and produce high-end, commercial-driven film for the international market. In Los Angeles, USA, he has multiple projects in development incl. LAST WITNESS, optioned by 20th Century Fox. Lately he has been part of forming Scandinavian Film Funds, which has raised $16M to fund a New Pan-Nordic distribution company SCANDINAVIAN Film Distribution, where Kim is head of Creative & development, and latest launched Tales Inc. – together with Christian Bévort, who currently are in production with The Cake Dynasty (KAGEFABRIKKEN) by Christian Lollike

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  Alana Mayo

  Alana Mayo
  President | Orion Pictures

  Alana Mayo, President, Orion Pictures, Los Angeles, CA. As President of Orion Pictures, Alana oversees the label’s day-to-day operations, including development, acquisitions, physical and postproduction. Orion Pictures, a division of MGM, is dedicated to underrepresented voices and authentic storytelling in film with a focus on developing, producing, and acquiring feature films that amplify underserved voices, both in front of and behind the camera. A veteran industry executive and producer, Alana most recently served as Head of Production and Development for Outlier Society, a multi-platform production and media company led by actor Michael B. Jordan, where she oversaw the company’s slate of films (in partnership with Warner Bros Studios) and television series (in partnership with Amazon Studios). Before her time with Outlier Society, Alana worked with Vimeo as the company’s VP and Head of Original Development. Previously, Alana served as Vice President of Production at Paramount Pictures. She began her career interning with independent New York filmmakers such as Lee Daniels, Tribeca Films and Warrington Hudlin. She serves on the board of directors of GLAAD and is a board member of Color of Change. Alana is the recipient of the NYWIFT Muse Award 2020 and the AAFCA Special Achievement Award 2018. Alana graduated from Columbia University in 2006 with a BA in English and film studies. She is a member of the 2022 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute.

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  Tom Quinn

  Tom Quinn
  CEO and Founder | NEON

  Tom Quinn is the CEO and Founder of NEON, est 2017.  In just five years, NEON has grossed over $180M at the box office with 18 Academy Award®Nominations and 5 wins, including best picture for Bong Joon Ho’s record-breaking drama Parasite, which won a historic 4 Academy Awards® including Best Picture, the Palme d’Or at Cannes and the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language. The critically acclaimed film broke multiple U.S. Box Office records including highest per screen average of 2019 and highest per screen average for a foreign language film of all time, amassing over $54M.  In 2022, NEON garnered 6 Academy Award® Nominations for Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Flee, which made history as the first film to score an impressive trifecta of Oscar nominations in the categories of Animated Feature, Documentary and International; Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World; and Pablo Larraín’s Spencer.

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  Robert Walak

  Robert Walak
  Co-President | Anonymous Content Studios

  Robert Walak is the Co-President of Anonymous Content Studios, the premium independent film and TV production studio that sits inside Anonymous Content. Here, he oversees development and production on projects across film, television, documentaries, doc series and podcasts. Walak was previously President at Focus Features, which acquires and produces specialty films for the global market and is a premier label with a library of iconic movies. He was Co-Managing Director at Universal Pictures International Productions, where he worked on internationally oriented productions, acquisitions and local-language product. Prior to this, Walak was Managing Director and President of Production and Acquisitions at The Weinstein Company. He was previously SVP of Production and Acquisitions at Alliance Films/Momentum Pictures. Earlier in his career, Walak worked in business development at Endemol and was a producer at MTV Europe. He graduated from the University of Amsterdam.

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  Nick Shumaker

  Nick Shumaker
  Manager, Producer and Executive | Anonymous Content Studios

  Nick Shumaker works at Anonymous Content as a manager, producer, and executive across film sales and financing.  Currently he is producing or executive producing a slate of non-fiction and narrative projects from directors and producers such as Pippa Ehrlich, Viktor Kossakovsky, Raoul Peck, Alex Gibney, Penny Lane, Elizabeth Lo, Zachary Wigon, Malgorzata Szumowska, and a number of others.  Previously he held senior positions at the United Talent Agency and Memento Films International in Paris.

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  Philippe Rousselet

  Philippe Rousselet
  Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO | Vendôme Group

  Philippe Rousselet is the founder, chairman and co-CEO of Vendôme Group, the leading global independent production company with a strong track record and production activities across both Europe and the U.S. Most recently Rousselet produced Siân Heder’s 2021 Sundance Film Festival winner of the top four prizes and smash hit, CODA. The film which stars Marlee Matlin, Emilia Jones and Eugenio Derbez sold to Apple for a record-breaking $25 million at the festival and recently premiered to critical acclaim on Apple TV+.

  Over the last year, Rousselet spearheaded the production of five new feature films including : Room of Wonders directed by Lisa Azuelos ; Sophie Boudre’s Schoolmates ; Fred Cavayé’s Farewell Mr Haffmann ; Pascal Elbé's Hear Me Out and Bruno Chiche’s La Scala. The company is in pre-production on The Man with the miraculous hands, the latest collaboration between writer/director Oren Moverman and Woody Harrelson and active on the television side with projects including Code Name Hélène in partnership with Anonymous Content and starring Elizabeth Debicki as well as the Untitled Notre Dame Project, a miniseries in partnership with Moonriver based on a New York Times report about the battle to save Notre-Dame cathedral.

  Vendôme Group’s cross-Atlantic approach allows the company to develop universally appealing projects that can be produced in a cost-effective way, maximizing foreign pre-sales opportunities with European distributors and TV channels. The holding company owns Vendôme Films, Vendôme Pictures and holds a 50% stake in Jerico Films and Prelude. They also work with Pathé Films to fully finance and develop English-language films for theatrical release in France and distribution worldwide.

  Vendôme Films has produced more than 20 French-language films to date including: Women on the Sixth Floor, Paris-Manhattan, Haute Cuisine, Dad in Training, How I met My Father, Two is a Family,In and Out, Farewell Mr Haffmann, La Scala and Schoolmates. Alongside French production company Jerico Films, they co-produced a slate that includes : Radin!, Promise at Dawn, Remi Nobody’s boy, Small Country, Hear Me Out, Room of Wonders and La Famille Bélier, which won one César and wasnominated for a further five. In conjunction with French production company Prelude, they also co- produced The Lost Prince.

  Vendôme Pictures is the Los Angeles based arm which develops, finances and produces commercially viable English language motion pictures with strong international appeal. In addition to CODA, the company’s diverse slate of acclaimed films includes : What Happened to Monday for Netflix ; Tom Hanks’ Larry Crowne ; Duncan Jones’ Source Code with Jake Gyllenhaal which earned $150 million at the box office ; Andrew Niccol’s Lord of War with Nicolas Cage ; and the Idris Elba starrer The Take.

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  Thomas Benski

  Thomas Benski
  Producer and Founder | Pulse Films

  Thomas Benski is a BAFTA and Emmy winner and Grammy nominated producer and the founder of Pulse Films. He launched the company in 2005 and over the following 16 years, he has led the company's evolution into a multi-disciplinary, award-winning global studio producing feature films, television series, music videos and commercials and reaching revenues of $140m in 2021 – his last year as CEO. With Pulse Films offices in London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Berlin and Milan, Benski was responsible for the studio’s worldwide creative output and strategic development, as well as lead producing specific projects and overseeing output from the company's scripted motion picture and television divisions. He successfully sold Pulse to Vice Media group with whom he continues to collaborate while building his next entertainment vehicle. 

  Benski’s recent include Berlin Prize winner MOGUL MOWGLI starring Riz Ahmed; breakout hit PIG starring Nicolas Cage; Spike Jonze-directed BEASTIE BOYS STORY and the global returning TV series GANGS OF LONDON – Sky biggest drama hit since launching as well as producing some seminal films such as Cannes Winner AMERICAN HONEY, Sundance Winner - 20,000 DAYS ON EARTH, Break out debut THE WITCH and the Sundance winner SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS over the last decade. Upcoming projects include a slate of film and TV projects with acclaimed filmmaker Yann Demange and PERFECT - Olivia Wilde’s biopic on the life of Kerri Strug. He will be announcing plans for his new venture shortly.