SISTER to Receive Variety’s International Achievement in TV Award
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Powerhouse producer SISTER has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the Variety International Achievement in Television Award, to be presented at global content market MipTV in April.
The award is presented in recognition of leadership and innovation in the international television marketplace with co-founder and chief content officer Jane Featherstone accepting the award in Cannes for all three founders, including executive chair Elisabeth Murdoch and CEO Stacey Snider, and the wider company.
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Featherstone is a pioneering producer responsible for some of the U.K.’s most ground-breaking and beloved TV shows. As the former chief executive of Kudos and co-chairman of Shine U.K., Featherstone helped to grow the company into one of the country’s most recognized independent outfits. Under her leadership, Kudos produced such acclaimed shows as “Broadchurch,” “Life on Mars,” “Spooks,” “The Hour” and “Utopia’, to the breakout BAFTA- and Golden Globe-winning drama sensation “Chernobyl” for HBO and Sky Atlantic with Sister Pictures, the scripted production company Featherstone founded in 2015.
In October 2019, Featherstone joined forces with Murdoch and Snider to found global content studio SISTER.
Murdoch is also founder and chair of Locksmith Animation, and a strategic minority shareholder in 110% Content and belofx. She’s also the founder of production company Shine, which she managed and grew ahead of its sale to Endemol.
Elsewhere, Snider, a veteran industry leader, served as chair and CEO of 20th Century Fox from June 2017 until its acquisition by Disney in April 2019. Before that, she served as the co-chair/CEO of DreamWorks, and from 1999 to 2006, she was chair of Universal Pictures.
SISTER’s slate is filled with diverse projects which, combined with its corporate growth, has seen the company moving into new areas of storytelling through a series of creator-led investments via deals with award-winning documentary production company Dorothy Street Pictures; British animation film studio, Locksmith Animation; podcast company Campside; publishing venture Zando; AWA Studios, a comic book and digital media publisher; and a partnership with iconic London music venue KOKO.
Featherstone will receive the award on stage at MipTV where she’ll also participate in a conversation with Variety.
At SISTER, Featherstone has overseen the production of award-winning titles “This is Going to Hurt” (BBC One/AMC), “The Split” Seasons 1-3 (BBC One/ AMC), “Landscapers” (Sky/ HBO) and “Gangs of London” Seasons 1-2 (Pulse Films/Sky Atlantic/ HBO). Forthcoming projects for SISTER include “The Power (Amazon), “Kaos,” “Eric” and “Good Grief” (Netflix), “My Ex-Friend’s Wedding (Sony), “The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies”(BBC One) and “Passenger” (ITVX).
Michelle Sobrino-Stearns, CEO and group publisher of Variety, said: “The success that Jane Featherstone, Elisabeth Murdoch and Stacey Snider have enjoyed at SISTER reflect the incredible opportunities that our industry offers for talented producers and savvy entrepreneurs. We are happy to honor this women-led venture that has already had major impact on media.”
Lucy Smith, director of RX France’s entertainment division and director of MipTV, added: “Sister’s productions have time and time again raised the bar for the whole industry internationally. It’s our honor to partner with Variety to provide the stage for these achievements to be recognized in front of the global TV community at MipTV and to hear from a creative leader such as Jane Featherstone in Cannes.”
Featherstone, Murdoch and Snider said in a joint statement: “We are honored to be recognized by Variety and Mip. When we launched SISTER, our mission from the outset has been to utilize our resources to champion visionary storytellers, and to create an independent home for creative talent across all genres and platforms. This recognition encourages us to continue our pursuit of excellence.”
MipTV celebrates its 60th edition this year, and will run from April 17-19 in Cannes. The market is expected to welcome more than 180 exhibitors and around 2,000 buyers, with participants traveling from 100 countries. China will have its first major presence at a Mip market since 2019. The market will also feature a new FAST and Global Summit, focused on the growth of FAST channels.
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