Neon has promoted Elissa Federoff from president of distribution to chief distribution officer and Ryan Friscia from EVP, finance & business development to chief financial officer.
Federoff has been with the company since its inception in January 2017 and will continue to oversee the company’s release strategy.
The executive has steered Neon to one of its most successful periods at the box office since inception, with Sydney Sweeney starrer Immaculate earning more than $16m, 2023 Palme d’Or winner Anatomy Of A Fall taking more than $5m to become the highest-grossing specialised foreign-language release post-Covid, and Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days on more than $3.7m.
Friscia joined Neon in June 2020, leveraging relationships in finance and closing a credit facility to expand production capabilities and support the international sales operation.
He has overseen production financing on Tilman Singer’s Berlinale selection and upcoming release Cuckoo starring Hunter Schafer, and Brandon Cronenberg’s body horror film Infinity Pool.
Following the company’s collaboration with Waypoint on Cuckoo, Friscia facilitated a slate deal with the company.
As CFO, he will continue to evaluate opportunities to raise the company’s profile such as the recent entry into international sales.
The Cannes sales slate includes Steven Soderbergh’s Presence, while Neon has North American distribution rights to Sean Baker’s imminent Cannes Competition world premiere Anora.
This week it was announced Neon had acquired North American rights to Julia Ducournau’s upcoming Alpha, reuniting with the French director of 2021 Palme d’Or winner Titane.
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