Bolstering its London operation, production and distribution company MyriadPictures has hired former Winchester executive Christine Howard as head of international business affairsand Alice Weston, formerly at Universal, as sales executive.

Both appointments come asthe London office expands its role as a stand-alone production and acquisitionsentity led by Marion Pilowsky, head of international production, and a sales and distribution operation headed by Samantha Horley, senior vice-presidentof international distribution.

Myriad president Kirk D'Amico said in a statement: "Part of ouroverall business plan is to generate at least half of our slate throughUK-driven productions and co-productions."

"Our goal is todevelop, produce, co-produce or acquire projects, working with both UK andinternational companies and we are on track to meet these objectives."

In her new role Howardwill manage the business affairs and legal departments, where her duties willinclude providing legal analysis as well as advising on production,acquisition, and distribution agreements on a worldwide basis.

She will report toPilowsky for production-related activity and to Horley for distributionmatters. Howard arrives from Winchester Entertainment, where she was vicepresident of business and legal affairs for two years.

Prior to this, she servedas head of business and legal affairs at Scala Productions and also worked atQuinta Communications, based in Paris.

Weston will be involvedin driving theatrical and TV sales in a number of territories including EasternEurope, South East Asia and the Middle East.

She will report directlyto Horley and joins Myriad after a four-year tenure at Universal PicturesInternational, where she was executive of international sales and development.

Weston has also heldsales posts at PolyGram Television International and UIP Pay Television.

Myriad recently concludedproduction on the UK Spanish co-production Imagining Argentina starring AntonioBanderas and Emma Thompson and has finalised contracts on the UK, Canadian andHungarian co production Being Julia starring Annette Bening, from RobertLantos' Serendipity Point Films.

In addition thepsychological chiller Trauma, from Little Bird's new Ministry of Fear label andBBC Films, is currently shooting on the Isle of Man. It stars Colin Firth andMena Suvari.

Both Being Julia andTrauma are also being made in conjunction with Grosvenor Park's new FirstChoice Films.

Other current MyriadLondon projects include the Scottish comedy One Last Chance (formerly known asThe Bums' Rush) and the Australian comedy thriller You Can't Stop The Murders.