Head of development at Showtrial producer to become creative director at French outfit’s UK division
French producer Pathé has bolstered its senior TV ranks with the appointment of World Productions head of development Emma Luffingham as its creative director.
The move is part of Pathé’s ongoing push into English-language output.
The company has also signed BBC Films’ Claudia Yusef as creative director on the features side.
Luffingham and Yusef report into co-chief executives Faith Penhale - the former Lookout Point managing director who joined in 2022 - and Ben Browning, who arrived from FilmNation in November last year.
Luffingham had been at ITV Studios-owned World Productions for six years, overseeing its drama slate and most recently executive produced ITV duo Malpractice and Karen Pirie and BBC1’s Showtrial.
She previously had stints at BBC Drama, script editing shows including Bafta-winning Three Girls, before moving to Tiger Aspect as a development executive.
In her new role at Pathé, she will work closely with Penhale across the company’s TV projects.
As a commissioning executive at BBC Films, Yusef has executive produced features such as Naqqash Khalid’s In Camera and Aneil Karia’s Hamlet.
Browning and Penhale said: “Emma and Claudia both have deep creative relationships and career track records which speak to their immense talent. Their hires signal the scale of our ambition in the UK and we can’t wait to see what’s to come as we write this next chapter of Pathé.”
Luffingham added: “After six brilliant years at World, I am thrilled to be joining Pathé at such a defining moment in its iconic history.
“I have long admired the extraordinary body of work Faith has produced throughout her stellar career, and I cannot wait to roll my sleeves up and work alongside her to grow an ambitious TV slate and continue to champion the phenomenal creative talent we have in the UK.”
Yusef said: “It’s an honour to join Ben and the rest of the team at Pathé, a company with such an illustrious history, and at such a pivotal and exciting time in its recommitment to international film.”
Pathé was founded in 1896 and is one of the oldest film companies in the world. It is the only French studio still fully involved in production, sales, distribution, and exhibition.
Its film catalogue includes Slumdog Millionaire, Coda and The Iron Lady and it has talent deals with stars filmmakers such as Pedro Almodóvar, Jane Campion, Paolo Sorrentino and Matteo Garrone.
The company has been looking to grow its TV output since the arrival of Penhale, with BBC Studios Productions’ former scripted exec Caroline Stone joining in 2023 as its first commercial director.
The slate includes recently unveiled series Les Brumes, which is being produced with Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière for Netflix.
No comments yet