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Natalie Lawley

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Natalie started in distribution with Indigo Film & Television in London before establishing the company in Australia, managing Asia, Australia & New Zealand. In 2010, Natalie took over as Manager, Content Sales for ABC Commercial  following the merger with ABC Digital Sales. During Natalie’s time as Manager, Content Sales, she consistently exceeded annual budgets whilst also refreshing the catalogue with premium titles across each genre and investing in blue-chip projects. During her time at ABC Commercial she oversaw products such as A Cautionary Tail narrated by Cate Blanchett, The WotWots by Weta Workshop, Bananas in Pyjamas and the beautiful Adventures of Figaro Pho. Natalie also oversaw the acquisition of high profile docos such as Search for the Ocean’s Super Predator and Shark Girl. In addition, Natalie played a major role as Executive Producer in setting up ABC Commercial’s first feature documentary, Stop At Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story. Escapade Media was started in November 2013 with the assistance of Ambience Entertainment and Omnilab Media. To date, she has 3 Executive Producer roles one of which is for drama series, Art of Killing.

E-mail: [email protected]

Mobile: +61 411 035 317

Anthony Mrsnik

DIRECTOR

Anthony has over 25 years experience in film and television (including production, financing, co-production, distribution), radio, music, licensing, print publishing and digital and across all genres (drama, kids, light entertainment, comedy, news & current affairs, documentary & factual, sport). Previously, Anthony was the Director of Legal & Business Affairs and General Counsel for Showtime Australia (owned by 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Liberty Media). The role included the management of Showtime’s Feature Film and Drama Investments, which saw over 100 hours of original commission series drama (including Satisfaction) and approximately 65 feature films (including Animal Kingdom). Anthony has also worked for a number of organisations in Legal and Business Affairs roles, including Foxtel, the former Grundy Organisation – now Fremantle Australia (including as head of Grundy Music Publishing), ABC Legal, and Southern Star Entertainment. Some of Anthony’s notable achievements include the rights acquisition, financing and distribution of Cloudstreet; the launch of the highly successful Showcase channel and negotiation of HBO supply agreements; the legal work for the establishment of ABC’s Bananas In Pyjamas; and, feature film script assessment and investment structuring for Showtime.

E-mail: [email protected]

Mobile: +61 408 978 631

James Braham

CONSULTANT FOR DEVELOPMENT AND COMPLETED CONTENT: UNITED KINGDOM, IRELAND, GERMAN-SPEAKING EUROPE AND SELECTED UNITED STATES CLIENTS

James Braham has over 27 years of experience in TV content distribution. In his first major role, James oversaw sales in Asia at Pearson Television (later Fremantle). One of his key achievements were placing all Baywatch seasons with Japan’s Super Channel.
James joined Southern Star International in 2005, to handle Eastern Europe sales (where he negotiated 2 format deals for The Block) and later added the Nordics to his role.  At Endemol, James had sales responsibility for E. Europe and later in German Speaking Europe.  Notable achievements were a volume deal with new channel Viacom Blink in Poland, and in Germany preselling Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell to TMG and The Fall to ZDFE.
At Endemol Shine International, James was appointed senior sales director for UK.   He negotiated in a multi-year deal, the live transmission rights for Big Brother UK to Virgin Media Ireland, while managing significant volume secondary rights deals for key ESI properties including – One Born Every Minute, Masterchef, Pointless, Ricard Osman’s House of Games, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Mary Berry’s Kitchen and Total Wipeout.
As a sales consultant James has licensed content for independent producers and assisted them develop drama series, movies and factual entertainment content, create pitch documents, identifying co-production partners and sourcing finance. He placed the feature documentary City of Queens, produced by Great Guns to Peacock in the USA and Ten Australia.

E-mail: [email protected]

Mobile: + 44 7879 643763

SPG Media – Damien Naughton

CONSULTANT FOR AFRICA

Damien has worked in TV and media for 25 years across Australia, UK, Central Europe and Africa in Business Development, Distribution and channel management. Beginning with Showtime and Foxtel in Australia in 1997, he move to Budapest in 2005 as Business Development and Operations Director for Sony Pictures Television Central Europe, expanding the AXN brand into the Balkans, launching new brands in Poland and establishing advertising sales vertical in Romania and the Adriatic and expanding the business development role to sub Saharan Africa.

In 2014 he established his own consulting services providing Business development, distribution and management to start ups across CEE and Africa, establishing Sports News Africa across the continent, distributing major studio brands in East Africa and developing distribution channels for digital and broadcast brands in CE. Other projects as well as establishing distribution and live broadcast of sports from Africa to global mobile markets. He has also provided Business Development services for broadcast operations across APAC
His work with brands includes Sony Pictures Television, Curiosity Stream, Hopster, Insight TV, Sports News Africa, & Deluxe

E-mail: [email protected]

Mobile: +61 467 660 104

Lilium Distribution – Paola Zani

CONSULTANT FOR ITALY

Lilium Distribution is an Italian independent distribution company, based in Rome, specialized in the distribution of television programming through all media and all platforms. Lilium operates both within the Italian and the International market. The company was founded by Simona Garibaldi in 2004, her profound knowledge and understanding of the industry has grown and consolidated in over 20 years of experience working in both film & television distribution.

In the Italian market the company positions itself as a point of reference for the industry as a supplier of fiction and non-fiction programming ranging from documentaries to factual entertainment and formats, from Tv series to docu-dramas and libraries.

Lilium’s activities and services also include:

Dubbing: Lilium takes care and supervises the dubbing of documentaries, films, TV series, kid’s programming and animation. Despite Lilium does not have in-house facilities, it has worked throughout the years with different dubbing studios, selecting, case by case, the best laboratory to produce the Italian tracks of a specific program. Lilium oversees and maintain editorial control of the dubbing process: supervises the adaptation, select the voices.

Reversioning: The importance (and processes) of reversioning and adjusting content to provide networks with bespoke programming solutions: Lilium’s focus is on satisfying commercially and editorially the needs of its content suppliers and broadcasters.

E-mail: [email protected]

Mobile: +39 06 33225265

Website: www.liliumdistribution.it

Luk

CONSULTANT FOR SPAIN AND PORTUGAL

Luk Internacional is a full service distribution company and one of the largest independent companies in Spain with close to 40 years’ experience in the Spanish and Portuguese markets. Apart from Television distribution, Luk also has a licensing, promotion and marketing division and a full service laboratory and services such as translating and adaptation as well as dubbing.

E-mail: [email protected]

Mobile: +34 696 953 610

Website: http://luk.es

SLB Enterprises, INC.

CONSULTANT FOR LATIN AMERICA

Susan Bender’s career in the television distribution business began in Los Angeles in 1972 at Metromedia Producers Corp., a subsidiary of Metromedia Inc., owned by John Kluge. Susan was involved in all facets of the distribution business, beginning in accounting, promoted to Director of Worldwide Contract Administration, and further promoted to Executive Director of International Sales.

In 1986, Susan left Metromedia to become Vice President of Latin American Television Sales for Paramount Pictures, where she remained for 20 years.  Susan then opened her own company, Bender Media Services Corp., and is headquartered in New York City.

E-mail: [email protected]

Mobile:+ 1 917 912 7524

Daydreamers Worldwide Entertainment OHGUte Cichocki

CONSULTANT FOR CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE

As an independent Sales Agent and International Distributor we are placing kids & family (animation & live-action series, family movies & series), non-fiction (LSTY, Reality, documentaries), and fiction (movies, series) content with Broadcasters and VOD platforms all over Europe and CIS. We have several agency agreements, represent selected programs originating from around the world (Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, USA) and are constantly extending our network with producers, content houses and European broadcast and VOD platforms

 

E-mail: [email protected]

Mobile:+423 9713 203

Charo Penedo

CONSULTANT: DEVELOPMENT AND COMPLETED CONTENT: FRANCE AND FRENCH SPEAKING TERRITORIES

Charo Penedo has a 20 year career in international TV distribution and acquisitions. Currently based in Madrid (Spain), she developed her professional life in London, working for independent producers such as TV Corporation and Optomen TV, to finally make it into Discovery Networks distribution team, specialising in Southern Europe. Since 2019 she has become a consultant under her SurrealTV brand, handling clients such as Cineflix Rights and most recently WBD., as well as independent international producers and distributors.

 

E-mail: [email protected]

Mobile:+34 647 666 378

Lisa Lee

CONSULTANT FOR ALL NON-SCRIPTED FOR CHINA, TAIWAN, MACAU AND HONG KONG

10+ years experience in international distribution and media business. Have stable relationship with all major platforms in China, including steaming websites, IPTV and OTTs as well as TV stations. Served for Wildbrain as Asia territory manager for more than 6 years, before that she worked for government owned media platform China International Broadcasting Network as acquisition manager.

 

E-mail: [email protected]

Mobile:+86 18511761143

Maggie Liu

CONSULTANT FOR ALL SCRIPTED TITLES FOR CHINA, TAIWAN, MACAU AND HONG KONG

As a contents distribution professional, Maggie has 15+ years experience in the media industry, led and managed business between Hollywood Studios and media platforms in Greater China/SEA; 10+ years business development and marketing experience, led and successfully closed over 300+ films, 10,000+ TV episodes complex deals in rapidly changing Greater China/SEA market; Solid experience in developing and managing client relationships across Asia, including BAT, ByteDance, Huawei, China Mobile, CCTV, Phoenix TV, TVB and MOD in Greater China, MediaCorp in Singapore, WeTV, Viu in SEA, etc.

 

E-mail: [email protected]

Mobile:+86 13910030392

Anthony Appell

CONSULTANT: DEVELOPMENT AND COMPLETED CONTENT: SCANDINAVIA AND SELECTED UNITED STATES CLIENTS

Anthony Appell most recently servied as Head of Sales and Co-Productions at Magnify Media, part of Plimsoll Productions where he looked after English Speaking world including US (Thatcher and Reagan), UK (Queer Planet) and Australia (100s of shows)
Prviously Anthony was Head of pre-sales and co-productions consultant for Viacom International/VIS UK for three years. In that role, he was responsible for the global co-production Story of the Songs for C5 and REELZ US.
Prior to that, he was Managing Director of Twofour Rights for five years where he launched and managed the Sales, Business Affairs and International Divisions.
There, he was responsible for all global and U.S. co-productions including Impossible Engineering, Born to Kill, Lost World of Pompeii and This Time Next Year.
Previously, he worked as vice president of sales for Zodiak Rights and senior vice president at Channel 4 International and ITV Studios, respectively.

 

E-mail: anthonyappell@escapademedia.com.au

Mobile:+447766 800104

Sarah Kwek

CONSULTANT: DEVELOPMENT AND COMPLETED CONTENT: SOUTH EAST ASIA & INDIA

Sarah’s extensive experience covers all aspects of channel management, including business development, strategy, content sourcing and program planning, for local terrestrial as well as multi-national broadcasting companies such as Discovery, A&E and Disney networks, and covering a diverse genre of channels including kids, documentary and general entertainment.

She has also consulted on and managed sales of kids, lifestyle, factual and reality content, developing and managing client relationships with broadcasters across all platforms throughout Asia, as well as identifying opportunities to collaborate with producers and platforms interested to produce content. 

 

E-mail: [email protected]

Mobile:+65 91892538