Movies
Earlyman’s Ayappa KM and Ted Lasso star Cristo Fernández named to One Screen 2023 Short Film Festival jury
Mumbai: Ayappa KM, co-founder and director at Earlyman Films in Mumbai, has been named to the jury for the global ONE Screen 2023 Short Film Festival, the premiere short film festival produced by The One Club for Creativity that celebrates and awards global filmmakers from both commercial advertising and film industries.
He will share judging duties with Cristo Fernández, who starred as Dani Rojas in the AppleTV+ hit series Ted Lasso. In addition to his acting career, Fernandez founded independent film production company Espectro MX Films in 2017.
The fast-growing global festival focuses on all forms and aspects of short films — narrative fiction, comedy, commercials, branded content, music videos, spec work, passion projects, animation, sound, movie poster design, title sequences and more — and has a mission to celebrate and award filmmakers from around the world working in both the film and ad industries, with no limitation and total artistic freedom, all on one screen.
Other confirmed ONE Screen 2023 jury members include:
Gonzalo Arica, independent art director, Madrid
Aisha Blackwell, head of production services, NEVEREST, Serviceplan Make, Munich
Loren Bradley, executive producer, FINCH, Sydney
Špela Čadež, director, producer, Ljubljana
Neels Castillon, film director, artist, Motion Place, Paris
Angelo Cerisara, director, London
Carol Dunn, executive producer, Human Worldwide, Los Angeles
Pejman Fakharian, independent filmmaker, creative director, Tehran
Yann Goodfaith, animation filmmaker, Paris
Mohammad Gorjestani, filmmaker, creative director, artist, Even/Odd, San Francisco
Bianca Guimaraes, partner, ECD, Mischief, New York
Michelle Higa Fox, founder, ECD, Slanted Studio; group creative director, BUCK, New York
Rob Hughes, head of culture, Moxie Pictures, London
Rodrigo Inada, director, London
Erin Kawalerki, partner, CCO, Anger Butterfly, Toronto
Jeff Kwiatek, independent creative director, writer, Los Angeles
Rafael Nântua, creative supervisor, FCB Lisboa
Gaul Porat, independent director, New York
Eva Povilauskaite, senior art director, DDB Voltage, Berlin
Anke Röll, head of copy, HeimatTBWA, Berlin
Adina Sales, cofounder, Ode to Joy, New York
Ged Sia, film director, visual artist, founder, PetPunk, Vilnius
Ricky Solano, senior copywriter, DAVID Madrid
Guillermo Zapiola, graphic artist, art director, BUCK, New York
The global ONE Screen 2023 call for entries is still open for work released online or offline between 1 January 2022 and 17 July 17 2023. Final deadline for entry is 16 October 2023.
ONE Screen is part of The One Club for Creativity, the foremost global non-profit organization celebrating creative excellence in advertising and design, and has its pedigree in The One Show, the club’s leading global awards program for advertising and design.
The One Show was the first ad industry awards competition to recognize original branded content, creating the separate new category of Branded Entertainment in 2003 to accommodate the first work from BMW Films. The ONE Screen Short Film Festival was launched in 2011 to further honor creative excellence in film.
Hollywood
Paramount Skydance secures financing for Warner Bros Discovery deal
Debt syndication and new loans push $111 billion merger closer to close
WASHINGTON: Paramount Skydance has taken a major step towards its planned acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, securing fresh financing and completing the syndication of its bridge loan facility.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company confirmed that the bridge facility has now been distributed among a group of 18 banks, reducing total commitments to $49 billion from an earlier $54 billion. The move spreads risk across lenders and signals growing confidence in one of the year’s largest media deals.
Alongside this, the company has finalised permanent financing arrangements, including $5 billion in senior term loans and a $5 billion revolving credit facility. A previously planned $3.5 billion credit line has been dropped as part of the restructuring.
The loans are secured against key assets, including Paramount Global, Skydance Media and Warner Bros post-merger, underlining the scale and complexity of the transaction.
The financing push follows a competitive bidding process earlier this year, which saw interest from players such as Netflix before Paramount Skydance emerged as the frontrunner. The deal, valued at $111 billion, is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.
Adding to the momentum, the company has also secured significant equity backing, including investments from Middle Eastern funds, with support from billionaire Larry Ellison, who has guaranteed the equity portion of the transaction.
Commenting on the development, Paramount Skydance chief strategy officer Andy Gordon said, “Our successful debt syndication and new debt facilities represent another important milestone towards the completion of our acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery.”
Once completed, the combined entity is expected to carry net debt of just under $80 billion, reflecting the sheer scale of the merger.
As Hollywood continues to consolidate in the streaming era, this deal could reshape the competitive landscape, with Paramount Skydance betting big on scale, content and financial muscle to take on global rivals.
