Publisher

Eric Mika
President & Publisher eric@thefimverdict.com Eric Mika, Publisher, Launching his career in Rome as an advertising sales executive for Variety magazine, Eric has dedicated himself to the international film & amp; TV business. He has launched products, events, and a daily TV festival news program with RAI International. As Publisher of The Hollywood Reporter and Vice President of Nielsen’s Entertainment Group, he led these companies through transformational expansion, redesign and globalization and launched multiple digital products. Tasked with developing all commercial aspects of the Hollywood Reporter brand, he led it successfully through the challenging economic environment of 2008 to increase its value when it was sold to Guggenheim Partners in 2009. He also launched a daily THR New York edition of the national daily print magazine. Eric joined Nielsen Business Media in London as Senior Vice President, Managing Director, International, heading all its global entertainment brands including The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard. Prior to Nielsen, Eric served as Vice President and Managing Director for Reed Elsevier’s entertainment business magazine group, overseeing Variety magazine’s European, Middle East and Asian operations. He published the Variety Cannes dailies and several other festival dailies. He was Publisher of Variety China and its Beijing- based domestic market strategy. Eric’s “start-up” entrepreneurial life began when he was brought on board Vivendi Universal in Paris to develop a European, multi-access, direct marketing, advertising sales and content company. He launched five Vivendi Universal digital companies throughout Europe, integrating content and distribution technologies. This was followed by a line of successful start-up companies. Eric was born in Orléans, France, and grew up in Europe. He has worked professionally in Rome, Paris, London, New York and Los Angeles.
2 PostsBusiness Team

Kelly Jones
Int’l Business Relations & Operations Director kelly@thefilmverdict.com Kelly Jones, former Vice President of Production and Distribution at The Hollywood Reporter and veteran of entertainment magazines Variety, Billboard & Backstage. Kelly was entrusted with the launch and daily operations at all the festival Dailies around the globe. She also was a major player in the redesign of the The Hollywood Reporter, its global re-launch, digital news-room and business development strategist. Operationally. Kelly managed the global relationship with international and domestic printers and distributors, providing effective cost analysis to ensure daily profitability. As VP of Production and Distribution, Kelly managed festival dailies, weekly & daily magazines, including special editions and features. Kelly led teams up to thirty individuals. She effectively increased distribution, streamed line production, decreased costs, and worked with both clients and sales agents to increase overall efficiency and profitability. Kelly has a unique understanding of the overall importance of business relationships and effectively responds with genuine enthusiasm to create new platforms for the clients. She created the first 3-D Hollywood Reporter front cover for Sony Animation, introduced QR codes & developed cross platform strategies. Kelly was involved overseeing multiple launches and special projects, Award Season Partnerships, Awards Ceremony programs, catalogs, specialty publishing and conferences. Energetic, creative, entrepreneurial, strategist, analytical and fun are among Kelly professional attributes.
2 Posts
Rashid Bahati
Business Development Director rashid@thefilmverdict.com Rashid has an extensive career focused on producing film, television, and new media projects for domestic and international distribution. As founder and managing partner of boutique distribution company LEAD DOG ENTERTAINMENT, Rashid has delivered distribution deals at major film markets, including; Cannes, Berlin, Burkina Faso, Los Angeles, Cape Town, and Toronto. Rashid’s producing credits include; “Charleston-A Cradle of Jazz Music” a documentary film on the evolution of Jazz Music in Charleston, South Carolina., served as producer of syndicated television series “Global Cinema TV” for the Black Family Channel, “Silent Warrior” biographic film African-American soldier James T. Jones WWII hero and Los Angeles Entrepreneur, Noah’s Art, a Biopic-documentary, which captures the life story of Noah Purifoy, founder of the Watts Towers Art Center in Los Angeles, the film received special recognition by the American Film Institute (AFI),;Reach For The Skies”, a sports biographical and motivational film that looks at the career of the shortest player in the NBA Anthony “Spud” Webb, released and distributed by Sony Home Video; and; The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute; the DVD accompanying the award-winning HBO film by Spike Lee; The 4 Little Girls; and “The Black Cyclone: An Forgotten American Hero Major Taylor” a feature-length documentary (development phase). As a founding partner of STEAMCASTERS, LLC, a streaming media start-up co-owned by former Microsoft engineers based in the Los Angeles, Rashid has produced several new-media for such companies as; Sony Pictures Entertainment, Home Box Office, California African American Museum, Association of African American Museums, and Black College Satellite Network, to name a few. Rashid produced a live streaming – media project for HBO/Spike Lee's Academy Award nominee film documentary; 4 Little Girls; and the HBO movie; Soul of the Game; multi-media component outreached to high school students nationally. Rashid served as a founding board member of the DOWNTOWN FILM FESTIVAL LOS ANGELES. He is also a co-founder of the GLOBAL CINEMA AND URBAN MUSIC INITIATIVE that produces symposiums and knowledge exchange platforms for African Diaspora festival markets globally. Currently, Rashid is principal and curator of the AFRIQUE360 – REEL TALK FILM SERIES, an annual event showcasing films and panel discussions that speak to the legacy of Martin L. King, Jr.
2 PostsLorena Cofradia
Based in Mexico City, Lorena is a proven communication professional who has put her skills to work in the creative and multimedia industry, as well as into social issues that have a direct effect on the lives of women. Her career has extended into audiovisual production, photography, advertising and as an art director – from Conde Nast to GQ, but Lorena continues to work in projects that promote art, design and cultural issues that have a direct impact on society. Lorena is the best of communication marketers, one who understands both the commercial aspect of art and the need for all artforms to find their home and develop. She has developed several projects in the multimedia arena, as well as developing different BTL advertising campaigns for such major global brands as Sephora, Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, Danone, Bridgestone and many more. Lorena has worked as a photographer in Donde Ir, as well as in different international festivals such as Madrid Fusión, Digital Media LATAM for WAN-IFRA and as a stage producer in Pickathon, Portland. As an art director she has worked at Victor Trani Studio for Glamour, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, among others. With a unique understanding of media and culture, Lorena also created a film club in Mexico city. Lorena’s passion and love for art, social justice, media, film, advertising creates a deep understanding on how to best position her clients, while not ignoring the importance of the artists point of view.
2 Posts