Hangtime International Pictures Taps Producer Jessica Malik as Development Head, Inks Partnership With Gemma Arterton’s Rebel Park Productions (EXCLUSIVE)
Hangtime International Pictures is making its first major plays since launching at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.
The transatlantic production company, which was founded by Frank Murray and Frida Torresblanco, has snapped up “She Will” producer Jessica Malik as its new head of development as well as inking a strategic partnership with Rebel Park Productions, the production company Malik founded in 2017 alongside Gemma Arterton and Jessica Parker.
Malik joins Hangtime effective immediately, reporting to Murray. She will be based out of the company’s London office where she’ll oversee development of high-end, specialist and mainstream content across film, television and documentaries.
The first projects co-produced by Hangtime and Rebel Park are in advanced development and set to be announced in the near future. The partnership spans film and television.
At Rebel Park, which was launched in 2017 with the aim of boosting female filmmakers and producing female-led stories, Malik exec produced the first and forthcoming second seasons of “Funny Woman” for Sky, which starred Arterton and Rupert Everett and was based on Nick Hornby’s novel “Funny Girl.” She also produced “Leading Lady Parts,” a satirical short supporting the Time’s Up and #MeToo campaigns. It was broadcast on the BBC and starred Arterton, Catherine Tate, Gemma Chan, Florence Pugh and Tom Hiddleston.
Malik’s feature films include Alice Lowe’s “Timestalker,” Ben Kingsley-starrer “Daliland” and Charlotte Colbert’s horror film “She Will.”
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to join the team at Hangtime and to build upon an already exciting and ambitious slate,” said Malik. “Frank and Frida’s strategic vision for the company is a breath of fresh air. Their intention to create visually distinctive, high-quality content for studios, independents, streamers and broadcasters aligns perfectly with my own taste and I look forward to curating a smart, fearless, globally-focused slate of both film and TV projects with them.”
Murray and Torresblanco added: “Jessica’s previous experience perfectly resonates with our own intentions for Hangtime; we are not only auteur-driven and actively using our existing relationships with established filmmakers to create ambitious, incredible content – but we are dedicated to championing emerging talent and powerfully diverse stories, too. Jessica brings experience across both these fundamental areas in spades – we’re thrilled to have her on board.”
Among other projects on the slate, it was recently confirmed Hangtime’s Murray and Torresblanco will co-executive produce the second season of “The Night Manager” alongside The Ink Factory.
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