U.K. Media Personality Afua Hirsch Set as Edinburgh TV Festival Advisory Chair – Global Bulletin

APPOINTMENTS

Eminent British media personality Afua Hirsch has been named advisory chair for the 2022 edition of Screen Scotland‘s Edinburgh TV Festival. Founder of Born in Me Productions, an independent production company focusing on scripted and non-scripted television, movies and podcasting, Hirsch is renowned for her work on black culture, history, identity and culture in the African diaspora and worldwide. Hirsch has presented documentaries including “African Renaissance,” a documentary series for the BBC on African art, “Enslaved,” an Epix series about the history of the transatlantic slave trade with Samuel L. Jackson, and podcast series “We Need to Talk about the British Empire,” for Audible. Hirsch is also the author of “Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging” and bestselling children’s book ‘Equal to Everything’. She is currently the Wallis Annenberg Chair of Journalism at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Hirsch has been a festival contributor since 2020 when she had a frank discussion on working in television in the U.K. and U.S. with actor and broadcaster, Jameela Jamil for the Alternative MacTaggart interview. After online editions in 2020 and 2021, this year’s festival will return to being an in-person event, held in the Scottish capital between Aug. 24-26.

Meanwhile, global sports entertainment company DAZN Group has appointed Bosco Aranguren to the newly created role of general manager, Spain, based in DAZN’s Madrid office. DAZN recently acquired domestic LaLiga rights in Spain. The monthly subscription price of the DAZN’s streaming service has recently been substantially hiked from €9.99 ($11.16) to €12.99 ($14.52). DAZN’s global leadership team has been bolstered in recent weeks by the appointment of high profile Italian businesspeople – Franco Bernabè as a strategic advisor and Stefano Azzi as CEO of DAZN Italy. Aranguren joins on Apr. 18, from Vodafone Spain’s executive committee, where he ran Vodafone’s digital and growth areas. Previously, he held senior roles in Microsoft and Google.

Elsewhere, animation company Omens Studios has appointed Asian media industry veteran Jimmy Kim as executive chair, where, working with CEO Chi Sim Tang, he plans to achieve growth through regional and global partnerships for its current offerings and the development of new strategic businesses. Kim most recently worked as MD at Genflix, the first OTT platform out of Indonesia and a part of the second largest conglomerate in the country.

Further, Martin Krapf, non-executive board member of Screenforce Germany, has been appointed as the new president of the Global TV Group, the grouping of TV broadcasters and sales houses’ trade bodies in Europe, the U.S. Canada, Australia and Latin America, replacing Sean Cunningham, president and CEO of the Video Advertising Bureau in the U.S. Krapf will work together with Catherine MacLeod, president and CEO of thinktv Canada, who will serve as VP of the Global TV Group, to determine the key topics and strategic focus of the group in the coming year.

And, Sony Pictures Television-owned, Belfast-based indie Stellify Media has appointed Sam Pollard and Jim Regan as joint heads of development. Pollard is the former co-MD of Dr Pluto, and prior to that he was head of development at Gogglebox Entertainment. Shows he’s created include “Release the Hounds,” “Bigheads” and “The Great British Village Show.” Regan was formerly head of daytime and popular factual at STV Studios. Previously, he executive produced “Antiques Road Trip” for the BBC and “Fifteen to One” for Channel 4.

COMIC STUDIO

Abu Dhabi has launched Sandstorm, a comic book studio with the aim of harnessing local talent in the U.A.E. to develop a regional comic book industry. Part of Abu Dhabi’s AED30 billion ($8.1 billion) Culture and Creative Industries Strategy, Sandstorm is seeking pitches for comic books or graphic novels spanning any genre, theme or style. The most promising ideas will be turned into comic books, with the potential to be internationally published. The studio will connect the authors to publishers and mentors from world-famous studios, who will coach them to help create high-quality final products. Mo Abedin, an Emirati comic book author has been appointed to lead Sandstorm with a vision to put Abu Dhabi on the global map of the comics industry and build the region’s comics ecosystem.

MUSIC

Iconic London music venue KOKO is set to open in April following a $94 million restoration.

The historic venue, which opened over 120 years ago and has hosted acts from Charlie Chaplin to Madonna, has been turned into a 50,000 square foot live music venue and production facility.

KOKO will re-launch with a season of artists including Lianne La Havas, Peter Doherty and Kim Gordon. It will also boast a series of club events on Friday and Saturday nights with sets from 2ManyDJs and DJ Seinfeld among others.

“KOKO has been truly missed,” said Lianne La Havas. “It’s one of my favourite London venues and many of my favourite artists have played there. Having always wanted to do my own show at KOKO, I’m excited that I now have the opportunity to do that.” – K.J. Yossman

STATEMENT

The board of directors of UNIC, the trade body representing the interests of cinema operators across 39 European territories, has today issued a statement in solidarity with Ukrainian exhibitors and the Ukrainian people.

“We have watched with growing horror the death and destruction arising in recent days from the decision of the Russian Government to invade its near-neighbour Ukraine. We stand in absolute solidarity not just with our Ukrainian colleagues but also the Ukrainian people as they seek to withstand this outrageous and unwarranted attack,” the statement said.

“As a wide-ranging European organization, our membership includes operators and associations in both Russia and Ukraine. But we cannot stand by and remain silent on such terrible actions and note with huge respect the statements and positions taken by some Russian colleagues in opposition to the war. There is no division in our minds between our mission to promote the cultural value of cinema-going and our desire to encourage European unity and celebrate the diversity of different European territories.”

“This attack on all of those principles is therefore to be steadfastly resisted and we wholeheartedly support any measures taken by the international community quickly to bring this bloodshed to an end. More practically, we stand ready to do all we can to support Ukrainian colleagues when the time comes to rebuild those cinemas destroyed by Russian aggression, so that their audiences can once again enjoy the inclusive big screen experience.”