Neon Hires Veteran Exec Kristen Figeroid as President of International Sales and Distribution – Film News in Brief

Indie studio Neon has named veteran exec Kristen Figeroid as its new president of international sales and distribution. In addition, the studio tapped Laurel Charnetsky as its new VP of international acquisitions and operations along with Dan Stadnicki as its manager of international sales and distribution.

In their new roles, Figeroid, Charnetsky and Stadnicki will work to expand Neons international production and distribution capabilities, helming global acquisitions deals and handling sales of third-party projects. Figeroid joins the studio with over two decades of experience, having handled the sales of various films from Whiplash to Nightcrawler. She previously held distribution and sales roles at Endeavor, Sierra/Affinity, the Film Department and Media8.

Neons new hires come on the heels of its recent releases Sanctuary starring Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott and precedes its upcoming films Anatomy of a Fall, Michael Manns Ferrari and It Lives Inside.

Richard Shepard Announces Film Geek Documentary to Premiere This Fall (EXCLUSIVE) Emmy and DGA award-winning director Richard Shepard (Ugly Betty, Girls, The Perfection, Welcome to Chippendales) has announced his latest project, a documentary titled Film Geek, which will premiere on Sept. 22 at the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles.

Film Geek is inspired by Shepards experiences growing up in New York City as a young kid in love with the art of film. The documentary is comprised of clips from over 200 movies, as well as footage from Shepards personal archives, which help underscore his relationship with his mysterious father.

With Film Geek, I wanted to look back at my youth in New York City, and create a work of art out of the hundreds of movies I was obsessed with as a kid. I also wanted to tell the story of my complicated father a loving but often mysterious man, who had no discernible job, went by three ot four different names, had an incredible connection and fascination with the citys underbelly, and whose deep love of movies helped foster my own cinematic DNA, said Shepard.

This personal journey brought me incredible joy, along with the pain that comes from unraveling secrets about ones parents, he continued. In telling my own story in Film Geek, I also hope to find common ground with other film lovers over the movies we were obsessed with as kids, as well as how our parents shape us both in their best virtues and their worst.

The American Cinematheque premiere will be presented by screenwriter Larry Karaszewski (The People vs. Larry Flynt), who will lead a QA with Shepard following the screening.

Film Geek is produced by Stacey Reiss, edited by Adam Lichtenstein and with Jonathan Stern as executive producer. Movie theatre artwork is by Skip Sturtz.CAA Media Finance represents the films worldwide distribution rights.