WarnerMedia France has appointed Stéphane Quéneudec as head of local theatrical production to strengthen its French original productions team.
Quéneudec, who has been at the company since 2007 working as vice president for TV and SVOD sales, will be managing and developing the company’s local film production, for release both in cinemas and on HBO Max. He will report into Pierre Branco, country manager for France, Benelux and MENAT, and will join the WarnerMedia France board.
Quéneudec, who worked at Studiocanal before joining WarnerMedia France, will work closely with Olivier Snanoudj, senior VP of theatrical distribution, and Grégory Schuber, senior VP of marketing, data and innovation, and their respective teams.
“WarnerMedia and French cinema share a long history together and I’m excited to develop this next chapter,” said Quéneudec. “Our ambition is to increase the number of French films that we are producing, and we look forward to continuing to work with the best creative talent in the business,” added the executive.
Branco said the company has “great ambitions to further accelerate French film production and look forward to doing so under Stéphane’s leadership.”
The company has also expanded the development team of its French operations with Jordi Coleno, appointed senior manager local production, and Josselin Grandsire, appointed senior local production analyst. A development director is currently being recruited.
Bruno Perez, the executive director of local production marketing, will continue to be responsible for local film marketing. He be joined by Julie Girardot, who takes up the role of senior product & strategy manager after seven years working with the Warner Bros. film and home entertainment marketing team in the U.S.
WarnerMedia has started ramping up its output of French films within the last couple years and has five films slated for a release in 2022, including “Simone,” a biopic of French feminist icon and politician Simone Weil starring Elsa Zilberstein, and “Le voyage du siècle,” along with several other titles.
