Bruna Papandrea has left her job as president of Michael London's Groundswell Productions and branched out to launch her own outfit Make Movies.

Papandrea opens the company's Beverly Hills office this week with several properties ready to go out to actors and directors. The emphasis will be on 'smart movies with broad commercial appeal' with particular focus on romantic comedies and thrillers. She also plans to launch Make TV and will announce her first comedy pilot shortly.

At Groundswell for three years, Papandrea served as executive producer on Gus Van Sant's Milk and Rawson Marshall Thurber's The Mysteries Of Pittsburgh, and was a producer on Andrew Jarecki's upcoming All Good Things, Noam Murro's Smart People, and Todd Louiso's The Marc Pease Experience.

Prior to Groundswell she was a producer for five years in the UK at Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack's Mirage Enterprises, where she oversaw Philip Noyce's The Quiet American among others and acquired properties including The Ninth Life Of Louis Drax.

'I had a wonderful time building and running the company with Michael, and I am and will always be extremely proud of the brand that we've created and the movies we've made,' Papandrea said.

'I aim to be in the commercial marketplace while nurturing an artist-friendly environment where everyone works toward shared goals.'

Papandrea began her career in Australia as a film and commercials producer. She moved to New York in the mid-19902 to co-produce the independent feature Lifebreath, before returning to Australia where she produced Jonathan Teplitzky's Better Than Sex.

After the five-year stint at Mirage Enterprises she moved back to New York in 2005 as creative director at GreeneStreet Films, serving as executive producer on Michael Ian Black's comedy Wedding Daze starring Isla Fisher and Jason Biggs.

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