Channel 4 has hired a Vice Media senior creative producer as editor of Random Acts to supercharge the arts strand.
Pegah Farahmand will join the broadcaster in mid-January after a decade at Vice in which time she produced and directed documentaries with an array of talent including Spike Jonze, Jonathan Glazer and Sally Potter.
Farahmand will report to commissioning editor for arts John Hay, ordering shorts from new and emerging talent for online and TV, as well as seeking out new partnerships and ways to expand the strand. Talks are already underway with a number of bodies to grow Random Acts’ reach and scale.
She will also work closely with Arts Council England as part of a £3m initiative to create a series of network centres to find, train and develop 16-24 year old creatives.
Farahmand, who is keen to hear ideas for films from February, will take charge at a significant time for Random Acts. Rather than air as standalone films in the schedule, C4 plans to group several together into a 12 x 30-minute series, titled Random Acts TV. The shorts will also be featured more prominently online.
Farahmand said she was looking forward to shaping the “evolution” of Random Acts. “C4 is an innovative brand that has consistently inspired me over the years,” she said.
Hay added he considered the strand to be a “hidden treasure” of the broadcaster.
“Pegah is the perfect person to realise its full potential. Short-form, online filmmaking is one of the most exciting and richest areas of creative activity out there, and a huge opportunity for the future,” he said.
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