Hecho Studios unveiled its leadership team with Briony McCarthy serving as president. McCarthy joins Hecho's ongoing chief content officer Tom Dunlap and executive creative director Gui Borchert, bringing more than 20 years of creative media expertise to the group. By combining their diverse capabilities, the leadership trio will work together to position Hecho as a creative studio breaking down the walls between creative, production and media. The creative studio is already working with brands spanning entertainment, sports, technology, retail and media. The team recently completed projects for CBS, Google, TOMS, Adobe, Pinterest, Syfy, and NBCUniversal. Alongside its brand work, the company is launching a division dedicated to the development and production of original entertainment with several feature films, TV and streaming projects already underway. Prior to joining Hecho Studios, McCarthy served as president of PHD New York where she delivered breakthrough media strategies for brands such as HBO, Delta Airlines, MailChimp, Ferrero and Old Navy. Dunlap and Borchert previously worked at 72andSunny, as chief production officer and group creative director, respectively. Dunlap has more than two decades of advertising and entertainment experience working with agencies and production companies such as the Ridley Scott Creative Group. Borchert also has nearly 20 years of experience in the industry, during which time he has worked on major campaigns for Starbucks, Google and Nike, among many others….
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More