iThentic management team
Founders & Shareholders |
Management Team |
Barna-Alper Productions - Joint Venture Partner and Shareholder
In April 2007, Barna-Alper Productions announced its investment in iThentic. iThentic has been restructured with headquarters in Toronto and offices in New York City. Barna-Alper is celebrating 25 years of entertaining, socially relevant programming. With numerous national and international awards and a reputation for exceptional quality in drama, documentary and features, Barna-Alper is proud to be recognized as Canada's leading independent production company. Barna-Alper is led by Laszlo Barna, a passionate advocate for the Canadian film and television industry. The company’s outstanding reputation for quality in both dramatic and documentary programming continuously attracts internationally recognized creative talent and strong business partners. With 25 years of experience behind it, Barna-Alper continues making productions that garner the interest of major broadcasters, distributors, and, most important, are relevant to audiences around the world.
Catherine Tait - CEO and Co-Founder
Catherine’s career in the film and television business spans two decades and includes leadership in the American independent film industry as well as in film and television financing and public company management. She is co-founder of Duopoly, an independent production company which also provides business strategy services to the film and television industry. At Duopoly, she has executive produced a number of television programs including CHILLY BEACH (65 episodes of comedy animation for CBC), YAM ROLL (39 episodes for CBC and Cartoon Network), and SHANIA (a biopic for CBC). Prior to founding Duopoly, Catherine was President and Chief Operating Officer of Salter Street Films, a television production & distribution company that she took public on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 1997. Catherine was also President of Salter New Media, an Internet business which incubated several content services including www.Q1234.com, Canada’s first webcasting service for analyst calls and public company communications. Catherine was responsible for Salter Street's successful bid for digital broadcasting licenses including the Independent Film Channel Canada, and oversaw the sale of the company to Alliance Atlantis Communications in 2001 at a significant shareholder premium. Programs produced during her tenure at Salter Street Films include Michael Moore's THE AWFUL TRUTH and BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE. Prior to Salter Street Films, Catherine was Executive Director of the Independent Feature Project in New York. She has served as a Director of the Board of Aliant (TSX: AIT), a Canadian telecommunications company from 2001 to 2006, is currently a Director of CHUM Ltd (TSX: CHM), a leading Canadian television and radio broadcasting company, and is former Chair of the Independent Feature Project in New York.
Liz Manne - Co-Founder
Liz co-founded Duopoly with Catherine Tait in 2002. At Duopoly, Liz has provided strategic consulting services to HBO Films on the start-up and launch of Picturehouse, HBO’s theatrical distribution joint venture with New Line Cinema. She also consulted to HBO Films on the marketing of AMERICAN SPLENDOR, MARIA FULL OF GRACE, and Gus Van Sant’s ELEPHANT. In 2005, Liz produced THE HEART OF THE GAME, the award-winning documentary feature about a girls’ high school basketball team which was released by Miramax. She is in post-production on A DOG YEAR, a feature film starring Jeff Bridges for HBO Films. Prior to Duopoly, Liz was Executive Vice President, Programming & Marketing for Robert Redford's Sundance Channel. Before that, she co-founded Fine Line Features with Ira Deutchman, and served as the company's Executive Vice President, Marketing. During her tenure, Liz ran the marketing campaigns for more than 70 feature films including the Academy Award-winning SHINE, the critically acclaimed documentary HOOP DREAMS, and THE PLAYER and SHORT CUTS, both directed by Robert Altman. At Fine Line, she worked with many world class filmmakers including Woody Allen, Jane Campion, David Cronenberg, Atom Egoyan, Jim Jarmusch, Ken Loach, Roman Polanski, Alan Rudolph, David O. Russell, Gus Van Sant, and John Waters. Liz is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
Al Cattabiani - Co-Founder
Al is President of 1409 Entertainment, a company which develops, finances, produces and distributes high-quality film, television and video programming – with an emphasis on emerging distribution channels. Prior to 1409, Al was CEO of Wellspring Media, a leading independent distributor of arthouse cinema (from classic auteurs like Truffaut and Kurosawa to current masters like Alexandr Sokurov, Vincent Gallo and François Ozon) and programmer promoting holistic living (featuring leading figures like Joseph Campbell, Alan Watts, Andrew Weil, Caroline Myss and Wayne Dyer). Al and his partners bought Wellspring, a film/TV/home entertainment company he founded in 1993, back from bankrupt Winstar in 2001, and restructured and sold the company in 2004. Before starting Wellspring, Al served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Los Angeles-based Pacific Arts Corporation, best known for creating the PBS Home Video label around such acclaimed titles as THE CIVIL WAR, I, CLAUDIUS, THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE, AMAZING GRACE AND EYES ON THE PRIZE. An active musician, Al recently founded Garagista Music (www.garagistamusic.com), a micro label devoted to finding and promoting artists who use new technologies for production and distribution.
Derek Lee - Shareholder
Derek joined iThentic in 2006 after concluding his MBA at NYU’s Stern School of Business. Prior to iThentic, Derek spent 7 years at BMG Entertainment in a variety of positions, including Financial Analyst with BMG Distribution, Senior Financial Analyst, RCA Records, Manager, Marketing Controls and Analysis for BMG North America and Associate Director of Finance of Arista Records where he handled the planning, administration, and reporting of the company's $40M marketing budget. Most recently, Derek worked at MTV Networks in their Affiliate Sales Strategy and Business Development group where he focused on the company’s new media strategies. Derek completed his undergraduate studies at the Wharton School of Business and is currently a member of a New York hip hop band, Aquavibe (www.aquavibe.com).
Jocelyn Topolie - Manager, Operations
Jocelyn Topolie is a graduate of the Television Broadcasting program at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. Her experience includes working for Rogers Television in London on the shows DAYTIME and TODAY'S LONDONER, as well as, AGAINST ALL ODDS for Barna-Alper Productions. After completing an internship for Barna-Alper Productions, Jocelyn became the newest member of the iThentic team.
Jessica Beirne - Acquisitions, Australia
Jessica Beirne is the owner of Lemonade, an entertainment company that develops television and new media projects. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Jessica is a Canadian citizen with 10 years experience in the animation and television industry. To date Jessica has been instrumental in the establishment of two fully operational animation studios, March Entertainment & Spumco Canada. Recent production credits include New Media and Animation Development Producer, Media World (Australia); Producer, YAM ROLL for the CBC and Cartoon Network US; Producer, CHILLY BEACH for the CBC; and Producer, THE NEW REN & STIMPY SHOW for Spike TV US. Jessica worked at Nelvana for a number of years; project credits there include CLONE HIGH, BRACE FACE, JOHN CALLAHAN’S PELSWICK and the Emmy nominated LITTLE BEAR.
Rachael Shapiro - Head of Acquisitions
Rachael has a broad range of experience in entertainment production and marketing, most recently as a producer of branding campaigns and interstitial programming for cable TV. In addition, Rachael headed up the marketing department and filmmaker relations division of Reelplay.com, an on-line marketplace for independent film and TV product. As VP of Marketing, she was instrumental in the creation, execution and management of Reelplay’s B2B launch strategy and supervised the creation and maintenance of a distinct on-line Independent Filmmakers Marketplace for films in various stages of development and production. Prior to her work as a producer and marketing consultant, Rachael was the Director of the Independent Feature Film Market (IFFM) produced by the Independent Feature Project (IFP), the nation's premier independent film community.
Shane Tilston - Producer
Shane received his BA from Tufts University and his MFA in Theater from Sarah Lawrence College, where he focused on Directing and Dramatic Writing, and wrote and directed his first two short films. In 2004, after spending a year as freelance Production Manager and Technical Director on a number of Off-Broadway productions, he turned his focus to film full time. Working with Jamie Magid at Red Jacket Productions, he produced A PERFECT MATCH and A TALE OF TWO CORNERS. In 2005, Shane directed KUWAIT for Thursday Films and wrote and directed WATCH for Hush/Roar Productions, a company he began with producing partner Patricia Sykes. He was also a member of QuickFlicks NY, a filmmaking group for which he wrote and directed eight short films in six months. In May 2006, Shane wrote and directed FUN AND GAMES which was selected as Best Short Film at the New York Midnight Madness Film Festival, where Shane was also awarded Best Director. He has also recently shot two videos for upcoming artist Ben Carroll, and is developing projects with Hush/Roar and Pier’s End Productions.