Market Ready: Fiction

With over 25 years of working in the film industry from production to distribution, Julia Short has always had a passion for training. She is keen that opportunities that weren’t available to her when she was developing her career are made available to those working in the industry now. She is actively involved in delivering training. For 7 years, Julia ran the Marketing & Distribution Course for the Media Business School in Ronda, Spain, and was Director of Content for the Creative Europe/ScreenSkills-funded senior executive training programme Inside Pictures, as well as delivering training programmes for Screen Skills Ireland, Film Distributor’s Association, Focus in Scotland, and Creative England. Julia has been a driving force in creating The International Screen Institute since the UK announced it would be leaving the EU and wanted to continue working with those in the international industry.

Satesh is a distribution and financing expert, former Production Financial Officer at Terra Mater Studios, and Chief Operating Officer of Mel Gibson’s Icon Entertainment International.

Satesh’s career has spanned a few decades, and during this phenomenal journey, he handled the finance and distribution of the likes of Wild at Heart, The Piano, Little Buddha, Muriel’s Wedding, Secrets & Lies, Virgin Suicides, What Women Want, The Ivory Game and Sea of Shadows.

Satesh has been heavily involved in the creation of the International Screen Institute and currently holds the position of treasurer, where he also acts as co-course director for the Market Ready programme.

Mark Byrne has been Group Head of Business Affairs at Element Pictures since 2012. Current films include the Academy Award-winning Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things (Searchlight Pictures/Film4), written by Tony McNamara and starring Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, and Willem Dafoe, which won the Golden Lion in Venice and Best Picture Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes and four Academy Awards, including Best Actress. Prior to joining Element Pictures, Mark spent 6 years with the Irish Film Board as Head of Legal Affairs. Mark is also a member of BAFTA and the European Film Academy.

Simon is one of the most respected names in the film sales industry. Founder of Velvet Octopus and formerly Head of Sales at Icon Entertainment International and Capitol Films, Simon has a wealth of experience in the international sales, production, and distribution business.

In November 2008 Simon decided to go solo and formed SC Films International with financier Matthew Joynes. He has been responsible for the international sales of commercial and art house films, most recently: ‘Monkey King – Hero is Back’ (No.1 Chinese animation film of all time: $155,000,000 BO), ‘The Reef’ animation franchise, ‘Yellowbird’ from TeamTo, Gabor Csupo’s ‘The Secret Of Moonacre’, Sony’s ‘Legion’, George Clooney’s ‘Sand and Sorrow’, Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ’, Robert Altman’s ‘A Prairie Home Companion’, ‘Lucky Number Slevin’ starring Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, and Bruce Willis, and the action adventure ‘Stormbreaker’.

Holly is a freelance industry, talent development, and events manager for film festivals, training bodies, and arts organisations, delivering talent initiatives supporting writers, directors, producers, animators, sales agents, composers, sound designers, and exhibitors.

Currently overseeing the industry programme and film market at the Red Sea International Film Festival, Holly previously ran the industry department at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. She has most recently delivered training and projects for BFI, EURODOC, Cork Film Festival, and Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Michael has been working in the film industry for more than 30 years. He is co-owner of Berlin-based production company MUT Productions.

Until 30th of November 24, Michael acted as GM of Terra Mater Studios Germany and Head of Features & Special Projects at Terra Mater Studios (Vienna), where he helped produce the feature films Brothers of the Wind and Mindgamers, the 2017 Oscars© shortlisted feature doc The Ivory Game, and the feature doc Sea of Shadows, which won the Audience Award at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Both films were produced alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. Their latest feature docs, The Bastard King, Patrick and the Whale, and Orca – Black & White Gold, are currently touring various festivals and being theatrically released in Europe. He is currently developing and producing a slate of national and international drama and multimedia projects.

Michael is a member of the European Film Academy, a board member of Bridging the Dragon, and co-initiator of the Vienna-based International Screen Institute.

Eun-Zi Kim, an Austrian media executive with Korean roots, has a diverse background in legal training and film production across Europe and Korea. She’s produced documentaries like FEMMEfille and managed business affairs for DCM, contributing to hits like “BIBI & TINA.” As General Manager of THE AOS, she’s developed numerous audio projects.

There are two hearts beating inside of Kim. One, which flourishes in the business side, i.e., the development, packaging, financing, production, and licensing of films. And another one, which is Kim discovering, furthering, and producing creative talent and content with unwavering passion and alert curiosity. Hence, she continues to work as a creative producer. Kim is an alumna of ACE Animation, Inside Pictures, Torino Film Lab, EAVE Ties That Bind, and HFF Munich’s Script Lab (Drehbuchwerkstatt München).

David is a creative producer and script consultant working internationally. Consultations include TIGER STRIPES, winner of the Jury Prize Critics Week Cannes 2023 and candidate for Best International Film Academy Award 2024, TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT, a candidate for Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award 2019, and TRUTH OR JUSTICE, a candidate for Best International Film Academy Award 2020.

He was Creative Producer on the feature film THE GOAT (2023). Among many other contributions, he is the annual advisor for the Rotterdam Lab at IFFRPro, an external advisor for Eurimages, and co-founder of Stowe Story Labs in the US.

Xavier Henry-Rashid started his career as a photographer, which introduced him to the festival circuit some 18 years ago. Thereon he contributed to publications including Variety, Screen, Esquire, and GQ, as well as being a writer for the original Yahoo Movies, Film247, and BBCFilms news websites.

He has worked in various festival positions, from previewing for Sheffield Doc/Fest, in sponsorship for Sundance London/AEG and the East End Film Festival, and in management as a programmer and executive director of Raindance Film Festival, where he also ran the year-round training programme.

Since 2012, he has run Film Republic, a London-based world sales company that specialises in director-driven features and young auteurs. He is a Berlin Talent Campus alumnus, a Screen Institute alumnus, and a member of EAVE.

Xavier attended the Business and Legal Course in 2022 and is one of the Sceen Institute’s esteemed alumni.

Lena Vurma is Head of Acquisitions for Filmweltverleih (GUNDA, THE SALT OF THE EARTH, LUNCHBOX, BEAUTIFUL BOY).
She is also a producer with companies in Germany and Scotland. On release is ADVENTURES OF A MATHEMATICIAN (D-PL-UK) about the Manhattan Project, and her 4th feature, LEONORA IN THE MORNING LIGHT, is currently in post (D-MEX-UK-ROM).

Lena is a Film Independent and Tribeca Film Institute fellow, Alfred P. Sloan grant winner and eave & Inside Pictures alumni, programme delegate for the Zurich FilmFestival, ScreenSkills mentor, lecturer at film schools and runs the Skye Community Cinema.