Film London Welcomes Three New Board Members

Film London is pleased to announce the addition of three new members to its Board of Directors underChairman David Parfitt. Ian George, Managing Director, Paramount Pictures UK, Anna Higgs, Commissioning Executive, Film4.0 and Angela Jain, Director of Digital Channels and Acquisitions, ITVbring a wide range of experience to Film London and its national division the British Film Commission.
With the expansion of Film London’s remit to include attracting high-end television to the capital by theMayor of London Boris Johnson in April 2013, the additional television expertise is timely in ensuring this new sector can be successful reached and serviced. As Film London looks to develop its production, training and exhibition activity, as well as exploit new areas in the digital landscape, the agency will hugely benefit from the combined experience and expertise held by new Board members.
David Parfitt, Chairman of Film London said: “I am delighted to welcome Ian, Anna and Angela to our Board of Directors, bringing a strong range of experience in film and television production and commissioning, marketing, talent development and exhibition. I look forward to having their expertise and industry knowledge at hand and driving our strategy forward. I also anticipate seizing our increased responsibilities in television with the help of our new strong industry voices to advise. My thanks go to outgoing Board membersTim Richards and John Akomfrah, for their years of hard work in contributing to Film London’s success.”
Adrian Wootton, Chief Executive of Film London and the British Film Commission said: “London is at the genesis of an incredible expansion for film and television, with the new UK creative sector tax reliefs now in place. Film London has an incredible and exciting set of tasks before it: facilitating international productions as well as nurturing domestic creativity and fostering a diverse film culture across the whole of the city. I greatly look forward to working with the new high-level executives on our Board to take full advantage of all the new opportunities offered. I would also like to extend my gratitude to outgoing Board members for all their hard work and dedicated service in making Film London all it is today.”
 
Ian George, SVP and Managing Director Paramount Pictures UK since 2012. Following a stint on the agency side, Ian began his theatrical distribution career in 1994 when he Joined Warner Bros. as Marketing Director. Moving to Pathé Distribution in 1999, under his guidance they quickly became a leading independent force in film production and distribution, introducing audiences to an ambitious range of films such as Chicken Run,The Blair Witch Project and more specialised fare from directors such as Pedro Almodovar, Mike Leigh and Walter Salles. In 2006 20th Century Fox tapped Ian to lead their UK Theatrical team and he took charge of releasing a diverse slate of films including the ground-breaking Avatar, as well as other crowd pleasers likeBorat, Juno and The Last King of Scotland. Ian joined Paramount Pictures International in 2010 as Head of International Marketing, helping steer Paramount International’s $3.2bn record breaking year in 2011. During Paramount’s global restructure in 2012 Ian transitioned to MD for Paramount Pictures UK.
 
Anna Higgs has been Commissioning Executive at Film4.0 since 2011. The first feature from Film4.0's slate is Ben Wheatley's A Field in England, along with other quintessentially British projects including Ken Loach's The Spirit of ‘45 and acclaimed music video directing team Shynola's Dr. Easy. Higgs has an extensive track record of multi-award-winning independent film and television production with Quark Films. She was recently named as one of Time Out's 'Culture 100', described as "the innovators, visionaries and pioneers behind what’s now and what’s next" alongside Danny Boyle and Steve McQueen.
 
Angela Jain has worked in television for 20 years and is currently Director of Digital Channels and Acquisitions for ITV. She is responsible for running ITV2 (the biggest digital channel in the UK), ITV3, ITV4 and CITV and acquiring programmes across the network. ITV2 was recently named Broadcast Digital Channel of the Year. Prior to that she was Head of E4, where she commissioned Misfits and The Inbetweeners as well as acquiring The Big Bang Theory and Glee. E4 won Broadcast Channel of the Year in 2011 and the MGEITF Digital Channel of the Year in 2009. Before moving into commissioning Jain spent 10 years in television production, producing and directing shows across a range of genres: from T4 to Moving People to The O Zone.

Film London
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