Film4 have promoted three members of their creative team: Julia Oh and Lauren Dark are promoted to Senior Commissioning Executives, while Ben Coren is promoted to Head of Development.

Julia and Lauren will continue to commission new projects, oversee productions, and now co-manage the development team. In the newly created Head of Development role, Ben will oversee Film4’s development slate, spearheading the team’s search for new writers and ensuring a balance of projects from a diverse range of talent across the slate. All three will report to Head of Creative Ollie Madden.

The promotions signal a restructuring of the department following the departure of Sam Lavender to Motive in 2019.

Ollie Madden comments: “Lauren, Julia and Ben are amongst the most talented executives I’ve worked with. Passionate advocates for the filmmakers and projects they support, fiercely devoted to the best of independent cinema, and always looking to expand horizons and innovate. I’m thrilled that they are receiving this well-deserved promotion, and can’t wait for us all to get working on the 2020 slate and beyond”.    

Since joining Film4, Julia Oh has overseen films including Sarah Gavron’s Rocks, Tom Harper’s Wild Rose and Chris Morris’s The Day Shall Come, as well as Ben Sharrock’s Limbo and Will Sharpe’s Louis Wain, both still in post. Prior to joining she produced another Film4 production, Andrea Arnold’s Cannes prize-winner American Honey.

Lauren Dark, who jointly won the Outstanding Debut BAFTA award earlier this year for producing Michael Pearce’s Beast, has overseen Florian Zeller’s Sundance selection The Father for Film4, as well as Rebecca Hall’s Passing and Prano Bailey Bond’s horror Censor – both still in post – plus short films including Moin Hussain’s Naptha (Cannes Critics Week), Bijan Sheibani’s Morning Song and Luna Carmoon’s Shagbands.

Ben Coren joined Film4’s development team in 2013 and has worked across films including Armando Iannucci’s The Personal History of David Copperfield, Steve McQueen’s Widows, Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang, Michael Winterbottom’s Greed, Nick Rowland’s Calm With Horses and Rungano Nyoni’s BAFTA and BIFA-winning I Am Not a Witch.

Lauren, Julia and Ben will continue to work closely with Film4’s Development Executives Celine Coulson, David Kimbangi and Max Park. 

Film4 titles launching in 2020 include Euros Lyn’s Sundance selection Dream Horse, Rose Glass’s Saint Maud, Edgar Wright’s Last Night In Soho, Coky Giedroyc’s How To Build a Girl and Jonathan Butterell’s adaptation of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.