Following the departure of the subsidiary’s founders Lionel Fages and Majid Loukil, Xilam Animation has upped Cécile Hergaux-Essame to the position of General Manager of Cube Creative, which Xilam acquired in January 2020. In this new role, she will be supervising current productions and developing new properties for the company, as well as securing premium projects from third parties. She will report to Marc du Pontavice, President of Xilam and Cube Creative.
Hergaux-Essame is a graduate of Gobelins, and started her career working on internationally recognized programs such as Totally Spies, before joining Cube Creative in 2014 as Director of Productions and then becoming Studio Director, overseeing internally produced projects, such as Kaeloo, Athleticus, Tangranimals and Pfffirates, as well as third-party titles including Mush-Mush (La Cabane) and Brawl Stars (Supercell). She held the position of Production Manager at Cube for six years, then Head of Xilam Group’s studios for a year.
Caterina Gonnelli-Linden joined Xilam in 2020 as Head of Editorial, with a goal of steering the continuing growth of Xilam’s portfolio. She now takes on the role of Chief Content Officer for a newly created content division, which will bring together several departments: literary development, graphic development and the management of editorial supervisors. She will be responsible for sourcing all of Xilam Group’s content, including editorial
supervision of both development and production, and she will be the first point of contact for the group’s clients across these services. She reports to du Pontavice.
Prior to Xilam, Gonnelli-Linden held a number of positions, including Director of Development and Line Producer at various independent French production companies. In 2012, she joined The Walt Disney Company, where she managed acquisitions and co-productions for the French market, before extending her remit to include pre-buy and co-productions in EMEA for Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior, and identifying and negotiating content developed by third-party producers.
Xilam’s Technical and IT services have been regrouped within a single department under the leadership of Guillaume Jallot: Since joining Xilam in 2019, Jallot has propelled the company’s use of 3D animation technology, notably with the development of Oggy Oggy and Karate Sheep. In his new role of Chief Technical Officer, Jallot leads the newly formed department and is responsible for managing the group’s technological investments and strategy. He will report to Dorothée Lanchier, COO of the Xilam Group.
A DNSEP graduate from the Beaux-Arts d’Angers, Jallot began his career as a 3D animator and has since held numerous positions in animation production. After five years as technical director at Moonscoop, he managed the Ellipses studio in Angoulême for two years before joining Xilam to lead the development of 3D production expertise at the company’s Angoulême site.
DNEG announced the promotion of Philippe Denis to Creative Director for DNEG Animation. In the new role, Denis will oversee the creative output of the DNEG Animation teams globally while also developing the long-term strategy for the creative direction of the division.
The promotion comes as DNEG Animation continues to explore co-production opportunities and develops its recently announced new focus on the high-end episodic animation market, in addition to its ongoing work as a full-service animation studio, on shows such as Entergalactic and the upcoming Nimona.
Denis, who joined DNEG Animatinon in 2017, has more than 25 years of experience in the animation industry, and served as VFX supervisor on the studios debut feature Ron’s Gone Wrong for 20th Century and Locksmith Animation, Paramount’s upcoming Under the Boardwalk. Denis spent almost 20 years at DreamWorks Animation as a CG Supervisor on projects such as Madagascar, Over the Hedge and Shrek the Third, and latterly as VFX supervisor for Megamind, Mr. Peabody & Sherman and Trolls.
Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group, a multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-winning comic-book and graphic novel publisher headquartered in Portland, Ore., has announced a number of appointments in recent days. Leading the charge, BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse and DC/Vertigo veteran Sierra Hahn has been named Editor-in-Chief. With more than 15 years of professional editorial experience working alongside some of the most acclaimed and influential creators in comics, Hahn will be tasked with executive management of the Oni-Lion Forge publishing line and editorial team, and creative oversight of the company’s extensive output of award-winning periodical comics, original graphic novels, and high-profile licensed content.
Hahn began her career in the publicity department at DC/Vertigo in 2005 and, two years later, joined Dark Horse as an Editor, where she oversaw creator-owned titles including the Eisner-winning Green River Killer: A True Detective Story, Mesmo Delivery, The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys and Two Brothers, alongside best-selling licensed series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Nine and Guillermo del Toro’s The Strain. In 2015, Hahn was tapped to join BOOM! Studios as Executive Editor of its Archaia imprint. Hahn’s tenure produced a high-profile releases including Once Upon a Time at the End of the World, A Vicious Circle, the Faithless trilogy and the Eisner-nominated adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five.
Oni Press has also welcomed former Third Eye Comics General Manager Michael Torma as Senior Sales Manager, tasked with expanding Oni’s operations in the direct market and book market; increasing the company’s communication and effectiveness with comic shops and independent bookstores; working hand-in-hand with Oni’s distribution partners at Diamond Comic Distributors, Lunar Distribution, and Simon & Schuster; and building a successful battery of tools and strategies to support Oni’s robust and wide-ranging line of comics and graphic novels.
Desiree Rodriguez — the longstanding Oni Press and Lion Forge editor behind multiple acclaimed titles, including the Eisner-winning anthology Puerto Rico Strong — has been promoted to the role of Digital Marketing Manager. In her new role, Rodriguez will oversee all of Oni’s cross-platform social media content generation and management, while working in close collaboration with Oni’s creators, editors, and marketing department to maximize awareness, visibility, and engagement for Oni’s upcoming slate of comics and graphic novels.
And announced at ComicsPRO 2023, Bill Schanes — an instrumental figure in the history of independent comics, the expansion of the Direct Market, and the ascendance of Diamond Comic Distributors — will join Oni Press as a Publishing Consultant.
With more than 50 years of experience in publishing and distribution. In 1971 he co-founded Pacific Comics, – eventually transforming the chain of San Diego comic shops into one of the industry’s first independent publishers and distributors, among the first to release creator-owned series from legendary creators like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Neal Adams, Dave Stevens, Richard Corben and Sergio Aragonés. In 1985, Schanes joined Diamond Comic Distributors, eventually serving the company for more than 25 years before his retirement as Vice President of Purchasing in 2013.
More Executive & Artist Moves
- LAIKA is bolstering its expansion into live-action by naming longtime Netflix executive Matt Levin as President, Live-Action Film & Series. The studio is currently developing its first ever live-action project, a film based on acclaimed screenwriter John Brownlow’s action thriller novel Seventeen.
- Continuing to strengthen its core team, Fancy House of Visual Effects has hired veteran VFX artist, designer and creative director Tim Sepulveda as Head of CG and sales and marketing specialist Amy Jones as Executive Producer/Head of Sales. The studio, a sister company of Goldcrest Post, has also promoted Alex Tracy, adding Executive Producer to his title as Head of Production.
- Pixotope, software platform for end-to-end real-time virtual production solutions, has appointed Clarke Uren and Kate Watson to its sales team as Regional Sales Manager, U.K. and Ireland, and Sales Executive, respectively. They will serve these regions while lending critical support to emerging virtual production markets.
- VFX and finishing house Stone Dogs has hired Mark Meadows as a Colorist in its dedicated facility launched last year. Meadows has worked in post production for over 15 years, working up from runner, to MCR operator, to TK assistant, and now colorist.
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Boutique color correction studio Rare Medium has promoted Stephanie Park to Colorist. Park began her career at The Mill as a runner, working her way up to Color Assist. From there, she moved on to Rare Medium, where was a Senior Color Assist before moving up to Junior Colorist, working on projected like an Elon Musk deep fake and Latto live performance.
- Former NHK Executive Vice President Satoru Masagaki has stepped down as President of the ABU (Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union）after concluding his term as EVP.
