Inside Pictures Participants Announced
Skillset's Inside Pictures has announced the 14 successful applicants for 2004. The group was chosen from hundreds of applications through a committee selection process and a shortlist of interviews.
Christine Alderson, Producer, Ipso Facto Films
Kenneth Anderson, Producer, Red Kite Productions
Amanda Boyle, Director and Producer, Big Pond Productions
Eve Gabereau, Managing Director, Soda Pictures
Tally Garner, Agent and Producer, Curtis Brown and Cuba Pictures
Soledad Gatti-Pascual, Producer, The Bureau
Gayle Griffiths, Producer, Wild Horses Film Company
Nick Manzi, Senior Executive Acquisitions, Development and Production, Redbus Films
Fiona McGuire, Head of Production, Revolution Films
Christos Michaels, Head of Legal and Business Affairs, Icon Entertainment
Luke Morris, Producer, Momac Films/Cinema 16
Jonny Persey, Producer, APT Films
Meg Thomson, Producer, Arcane Pictures
Ivan Wormley, Marketing Director, Universal Pictures International
Iain Smith, Producer and Chair of the Film Skills Strategy Committee overseeing the implementation of A Bigger Future, the UK Film Skills Strategy, said:
"Skillset's Inside Pictures is a career making opportunity for emerging film executives and producers. It opens doors to some of the most senior executives on both sides of the Atlantic and provides exposure to the US and global film markets. Well done to the successful participants. This unique experience will pay dividends for their individual careers and for the future of UK film."
Jill Tandy, Programme Director, said
"We are thrilled with the 14 participants who have been selected this year. They are highly representative of the great business and producing talent we have in the UK and are all extremely motivated, committed professionals in whose careers we are very proud to be investing".
The film business training programme consists of three intensive one-week modules taking place in London and Los Angeles between November 2004 and May 2005 and includes seminars, workshops and studio visits hosted by senior industry professionals.
This initiative was set up by the UK Film Council, supported by the National Lottery, and is run by Michael Kuhn's Qwerty Films. The LA module is supported by the UK Film Council LA office and United International Pictures and Dorsey & Whitney are sponsors of the programme.
Speakers confirmed as of 4 October:
oTim Bevan, Co-Chairman, Working Title Films
oJenny Borgars, Head of the Development Fund,
UK Film Council
oKaaren Brook, Consultant, LetsGrow
oColin Brown, Chairman, Cinesite (Europe) Ltd
oJohn Byrne, Partner, Dorsey & Whitney
oColin Callender, President, HBO Films
oSally Caplan, President, Icon Film Distribution
oPhilippe Carcassonne, Producer, Ciné B
oJonathan Channon, Director of Film, TV and Media, EMI Publishing
oLiza Chasin, President of Production US, Working Title Films
oMartin Churchill, Editor, Tax Efficient Review
oAndrew Cripps, President and COO, United International Pictures
oRichard Curtis, Writer
oMark Devereux, Senior Partner, Olswang
oCathy Dunkley, Staff Reporter, Daily Variety
oPeter Dunne, International PR Consultant to Dreamworks
oKaren Elliott, Music Supervisor, Hot House
oRichard Eyre, Director
oRick Finkelstein, President and COO, Universal Pictures
oJane Frazer, Producer
oLyn Goleby, Director, City Screen Ltd
oSteve Golin, Founder and CEO, Anonymous Content
oBeth Goss, EVP of Universal Consumer Products
oPeter Graves, Marketing Consultant, Cinemarket
oElizabeth Guider, Deputy Editor, Daily Variety
oJon Gumpert, Vice Chairman, Head of Motion Picture Operations, Intermedia Films
oBilly Hinshelwood, Lawyer
oPremila Hoon, Managing Director, Media and Telecoms Sector, Société Générale
oJoanna Johnson, Head of International Marketing, Paramount Pictures
oAnthony Jones, Co-Chairman, Peters Fraser Dunlop
oRobert Jones, Head of the Premiere Fund, UK Film Council
oJeffrey Katzenberg, Co-Founder, Dreamworks SKG
oDuncan Kenworthy, Producer, DNA Films
oPhillipe Kern, General Secretary, European Film Companies Alliance
oMiles Ketley, Lawyer, Wiggin & Co
oSteve Knibbs, CEO, Vue Cinemas
oMichael Kuhn, Chairman, Qwerty Films
oDavid Livingstone, President of Marketing and Distribution, Working Title Films
oFiona McBlane, Promotions and Licensing Manager, EMI Music Publishing
oMike Medavoy, Chairman, Phoenix Pictures
oAdam Minns, UK Film Editor, Screen International
oCharles Moore, Lawyer, Wiggin & Co
oWilliam Murray, Exec VP & Co-COO. Motion Picture Association of America
oSteve Norris, British Film Commissioner, UK Film Council
oNick Osborne, Partner, Underground Films
oMichael Peretzian, Agent, Creative Artists Agency
oRichard Philipps, Partner, Richards Butler
oMalcolm Ritchie, Co-Managing Director, Qwerty Films
oMarion Rosenberg, Manager and Producer, The Marion Rosenberg Office
oCharles Roven, Producer, Mosaic Media Group
oRussell Schwartz, President, Domestic Marketing, New Line
oJames Shirras, Director of Legal and Business Affairs, Film Finances
oPeter Smith, President International Video, Universal Studios
oDavid Steele, Senior Research Executive, UK Film Council
oDavid Thompson, Head of Films, BBC Films
oStewart Till, Chairman and CEO, United International Pictures, Chairman, UK Film Council and Vice-Chairman, Skillset
oPaul Trijbits, Head of the New Cinema Fund, UK Film Council
oColin Vaines, EVP of European Production and Development, Miramax Films
oGareth Wigan, Vice Chairman of Columbia Tristar Motion Picture Group
oMark Wolfe, Producer
oJohn Woodward, Chief Executive Officer, UK Film Council
oMark Woolley, Chief Financial Officer, Qwerty Films
oJane Wright, Head of Rights and Commercial Affairs,
BBC Films
- ENDS -
SKILLSET PRESS OFFICE:
Eve Ragout 020 7520 5752 / 07968 010 325
eve@skillset.org
SKILLSET INSIDE PICTURES OFFICE:
Sarah Nuttall 020 7440 5924
snuttall@qwertyfilms.com
FILM COUNCIL:
Caroline Nagle 020 7861 7508caroline.nagle@ukfilmcouncil.org.uk
Notes to editors:
Skillset is the Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries. Audio visual industries in this context means, Broadcast, Film, Video, Interactive Media and Photo Imaging. Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) are independent, UK wide organisations developed by groups of influential employers in industry or business sectors of economic or strategic significance. SSCs are employer-led and actively involve trade unions, professional bodies and other stakeholders in the sector.
The UK Film Council is the lead agency for film in the UK ensuring that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad. Investing Government grant-in-aid and Lottery money in film development and production; training; international development, export promotion; distribution and exhibition; and education, with the aim of delivering lasting benefits to the industry and the public alike.
A Bigger Future is a joint strategy developed by Skillset and the UK Film Council with the support of the Northern Ireland Film & Television Commission, Scottish Screen and Sgrin Cymru Wales. It is a five year strategy to attract and retain the brightest and the best into a film career and covers everyone working in film from top to bottom in all grades from development through to exhibition. It makes provision for a network of Skillset Screen Academies; a Skillset Film Business Academy; a Skillset Guiding Lights mentoring scheme; short courses for the existing workforce; structured new entrants schemes; and improved careers information, advice and guidance services.
Qwerty Films is a feature film production and development business and media consultancy based in London. The team, Michael Kuhn, Malcolm Ritchie and Jill Tandy, were among the senior managers who established and ran PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, one of the few examples of a Europe-based worldwide studio built from scratch. Together with Citibank, Qwerty Films established N1 European Film Produktions to produce and finance a slate of international feature films. This autumn, Qwerty will release Stage Beauty (Dir: Richard Eyre), I ?Huckabees (Dir: David O. Russell) and Kinsey (Dir: Bill Condon), and have recently completed production on The Moguls (Dir: Michael Traeger).
UK Film Council US is the UK Film Council's office in North America. Headed by Susan Finlayson-Sitch, its aim is to create opportunities for the UK film industry by building and strengthening relationships with the US. It delivers the UK Film Council's policies in the US and services the US industry for UK film. The main area of activity for the UK Film Council US is to support strategic development, export promotion, develop new talent, and encourage inward investment. However, it also works closely with other UKFC departments, such as the Funds, Diversity, and the Research and Statistics Unit.
United International Pictures (UIP) is one of the world's leading international theatrical distributors of motion pictures. A partnership between Universal Pictures and Paramount, UIP has offices in some 40 countries worldwide, and is represented through a network of distributors and licensees in more than 100 other markets. As well as the films of its partners, UIP works actively with local producers in every territory.
Dorsey & Whitney is an international law firm with 19 offices across the United States, Europe and Asia. As a team of seasoned lawyers who are intimately familiar with the dynamics of the creative industries, Dorsey & Whitney's Creative Industries Group provides tailor-made solutions designed to meet the needs of media and entertainment clients operating at national and international levels.
The Group regularly calls upon the expertise of colleagues across many time zones, specialising in areas as diverse as intellectual property due diligence, acquisitions and sales, licensing, financing and tax planning. This depth of capability enables us to provide a seamless service to clients involved in the film, TV, video, DVD, music, fashion, advertising, publishing, sport and leisure, computer games and technology sectors.
