Victoria Venantini has joined global entertainment company Alkemy X as VP of business development. She will oversee business development for Alkemy X’s expanding animation and design work, building upon the growth in 2020 spurred by the hire of award-winning creative director Rupert Cresswell, formerly of MPC. In addition to continuing to grow Alkemy X’s agency work, Vanantini will further the company’s offerings in the brand-direct and gaming spaces. Venantini is based in Los Angeles, but will cover national business development, drawing from her extensive experience in both the East and West Coast markets. Alkemy X maintains offices in Philadelphia, L.A., NY and Amsterdam. Prior to joining Alkemy X, Venantini was a business development exec at Two Fresh Creative. Earlier she helped lead the expansion of Mill+ to the West Coast. She has handled business development both in-house and as an independent rep for top industry shops including Beast Editorial, RSA Films, Smoke & Mirrors and Moxie Pictures. Coming from a family steeped in the film and television industries, Venantini was drawn to the production business from a young age. Learning the ropes of production hands-on, she immersed herself in the process of creating commercials, music videos and longer form content while working as a director’s assistant. She organically shifted to the business development side of the industry, playing an instrumental role in the launch of PS260, handling sales and marketing strategies. She expanded to the independent sales representation space with CAM MGMT and Holbrook MGMT before spending four years with RSA Films handling the production company’s East Coast sales. She joined Free Agents in 2016 as an executive sales agent focusing on live action and content-driven opportunities across all media platforms. After parting ways with Free Agents, she reconnected with former client The Mill, relocating to Los Angeles to lead brand strategy, business development and direct-to-brand partnerships for Mill+….
Oscar Winners “I’m Still Here” and “Emilia Pérez” Shed Light On Latin America’s Thousands of People Who’ve Disappeared
If there is a still open wound in Latin America, it is that of the tens of thousands of disappeared people and decadeslong pain that has accumulated in parts of the region such as Mexico and Colombia.
Two visions of the trauma had a central role at the 97th Academy Awards: the Brazilian film "Ainda Estou Aqui" ("I'm Still Here"), which tells the drama of the family of a leftist former congressman who disappeared in 1971 at the height of the military dictatorship; and the musical "Emilia Pérez," about a fictional Mexican drug lord who leaves a life of crime to become a transgender woman and searcher for the disappeared in Mexico.
"We hope that in this way the society will be sensitized," said activist Indira Navarro, who directs the Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco collective in Mexico and has been searching for her brother, who disappeared in the northern state of Sonora nine years ago.
The Academy Awards' recognition of the films, both of which were nominated in multiple categories, was an unparalleled opportunity to make the problem visible, Navarro said.
"I'm Still Here," by Brazilian Walter Salles, won the Oscar in the category of best international film. "Emilia Pérez," by renowned French director Jacques Audiard, was this year's most-nominated film and won in the categories of best original song and best supporting actress for Zoe Saldaña.
Salles and Audiard's films also had a common denominator of disappearances in Latin America: impunity.
The story behind "I'm Still Here"
"I'm Still Here" was inspired by the book "Ainda Estou Aqui" by Marcelo Rubens Paiva, son of the disappeared former congressman Rubens Paiva. More than five decades after he was taken from his Rio de Janeiro home and... Read More