4 weeks ago
EXCLUSIVE: The Gotham has announced its action of fellows for its 2026 Festival De Cannes Producers Network Program.
They are Kamala Avila-Salmon (The Gate), Sophie Luo (The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire), J. Daniel Torres (Selena Y Los Dinos), Trevor Wall (Slanted), Rita Walsh (The Wolves Always Come astatine Night), and Patrick Wengler (Love, Brooklyn).
The Gotham annually selects U.S. fabrication and nonfiction producers to participate successful this programme moving concurrently pinch nan Cannes Film Festival and Marché du Film. Designed for knowledgeable producers, it offers an opportunity to grow their world networks and deepen their knowledge of world production, financing, ineligible frameworks, and packaging. This year’s fellows will beryllium participating successful personification astatine Cannes from May 13-18.
“Alongside our unthinkable partners astatine nan Festival de Cannes, we’re thrilled to support our Producer Fellows by elevating their promising careers,” said The Gotham Executive Director Jeffrey Sharp. “This year’s cohort of Fellows guidelines retired not only for their awesome way grounds of bringing powerful projects to life, but besides their genuine dedication to honing their craft.”
Alongside its activity connected nan Producers Network Program, The Gotham supports Colgate University, Quinnipiac University, and American University— partners successful its profession improvement program, Gotham EDU — by providing students pinch entree to Gotham resources and opportunities to link pinch nan Gotham/Cannes Producers Network Fellows connected nan crushed astatine Cannes.
The Gotham Managing Director said nan statement is “proud to support our Gotham EDU partners and to supply students pinch entree to nan wider world movie community.”
Read connected for much accusation astir this year’s Producers Network Program fellows.
Kamala Avila-Salmon
Kamala Avila-Salmon is nan Founder and CEO of Kas Kas Productions, a movie and tv institution pinch a first-look woody astatine Lionsgate focused connected commercially viable, culturally impactful storytelling. Previously, arsenic Lionsgate’s first Head of Inclusive Content, she drove inclusive decision-making crossed nan studio’s movie slate and launched Story Spark, a model to beforehand equity successful greenlight discussions. Through Kas Kas, she develops genre-forward projects—horror, thriller, action, rom-com, comedy, family drama, and prestige series—centered connected underrepresented leads successful stories designed for wide audiences. Her activity sits astatine nan intersection of culture, commerce, and representation. Her executive producing project The Gates, directed by John Burr, is being released successful prime AMC Theatres.
Sophie Luo
Sophie Luo is simply a shaper and filmmaker based successful Lenapehoking/New York City, moving crossed film, art, and commercialized spaces. She produced nan characteristic film The Ballad of Suzanne Césaire, directed by Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich, which premiered astatine nan International Film Festival Rotterdam successful nan Tiger Competition, screened astatine nan Toronto International Film Festival and nan New York Film Festival, and was released successful 2025 by Cinema Guild and TAPE. Her caller activity includes Without a Song, directed by Mark Armijo McKnight, exhibited astatine nan Whitney Museum; Onlookers, directed by Kimi Takesue, which premiered internationally astatine nan Centre Pompidou successful Paris; and Conspiracy, directed by Simone Leigh and Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich, which screened astatine nan Berlin International Film Festival, MoMA Doc Fortnight, and nan Venice Biennale. Sophie received nan 2024 Gotham Global Producer of nan Year Award and is simply a Gotham/Rotterdam Producers Lab Fellow, arsenic good arsenic an inaugural personnel of Women In Film’s Emerging Producers Program.
J. Daniel Torres
Through his activity astatine Motto Pictures, Emmy Award-winning shaper J. Daniel Torres has astir a decade of accumulation acquisition crossed films for aggregate streaming platforms. He produced Isabel Castro’s Selena y Los Dinos, which premiered astatine nan 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and co-produced Patricia Gillespie’s award-winning The Fire That Took Her, which screened astatine nan 2022 Woodstock Film Festival. His further co-producer credits include Love to Love You, Donna Summer, directed by Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano, which premiered astatine nan 2023 Berlin International Film Festival and was released by HBO; Victim/Suspect, directed by Nancy Schwartzman, which premiered astatine nan 2023 Sundance Film Festival and was released by Netflix; and The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile, directed by Kathlyn Horan, which won nan Audience Award astatine nan 2022 SXSW Film Festival and was released by Sony Pictures Classics. He was an subordinate shaper on Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn, directed by Ivy Meeropol, which screened astatine nan 2019 New York Film Festival and was released by HBO, and The Velvet Underground, directed by Todd Haynes, which premiered astatine nan 2021 Cannes Film Festival and was released by Apple TV+. Torres is presently processing and producing a slate of caller projects.
Trevor Wall
Profiled successful Variety’s “10 Producers to Watch: Class of 2025,” Trevor Wall began his intermezo profession arsenic an awkwardly awkward Squanto successful a problematic kindergarten Thanksgiving play. After a twelvemonth astatine Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment, he joined The Mission Entertainment, wherever he worked connected projects including Queen & Slim and Being Mary Tyler Moore, and collaborated intimately pinch Emmy Award victor Lena Waithe to thief build nan instauration for Hillman Grad Productions. He later joined 30K FT, a erstwhile accumulation institution founded by Drake, wherever he produced his first characteristic film, Ponyboi. The movie premiered astatine nan 2024 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for Outstanding Film astatine nan 37th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. Directed by Esteban Arango, nan movie stars River Gallo, Dylan O’Brien, Victoria Pedretti, Murray Bartlett, and Indya Moore. Now an independent producer, his latest feature, Slanted, written and directed by Amy Wang, premiered astatine nan 2025 SXSW Film Festival, wherever it won nan Grand Jury Prize. The movie was released theatrically successful nan United States by Bleecker Street successful March 2026 and stars Shirley Chen (Didi), McKenna Grace (Scream 7, Ghostbusters: Afterlife), and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Never Have I Ever). Outside of work, Trevor tin beryllium recovered wandering creation museums aliases doom-scrolling done nan news.
Rita Walsh
Rita Walsh is an award-winning fabrication and non-fiction shaper moving betwixt Australia and nan United States. She precocious produced The Wolves Always Come astatine Night, directed by Gabrielle Brady, which screened astatine much than 30 world festivals, including nan Toronto International Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, Marrakech International Film Festival, True/False Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, and IDFA. The movie was Australia’s charismatic submission for nan 2025 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Her different credits include The Assistant and Casting JonBenet, some directed by Kitty Green; Buoyancy, directed by Rodd Rathjen; I Used to Be Normal, directed by Jessica Leski; and Now, Hear Me Good, directed by Dwayne LeBlanc. She is presently producing a caller characteristic by Kit Zauhar, is successful accumulation connected Mackie Mallison’s debut documentary feature, and is processing projects pinch a scope of collaborators. Walsh besides useful arsenic a co-producer specializing successful post-production, pinch credits including If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, directed by Mary Bronstein; Reality, directed by Tina Satter; The American Society of Magical Negroes, directed by Kobi Libii; and Never Rarely Sometimes Always, directed by Eliza Hittman.
Patrick Wengler
Patrick Wengler is simply a Los Angeles-based shaper pinch Bay Area roots. He astir precocious produced Love, Brooklyn, directed by Rachael Abigail Holder, which premiered successful title astatine nan 2025 Sundance Film Festival and won Outstanding Independent Motion Picture astatine nan 2026 NAACP Image Awards. He is presently building a slate of independent movie and tv projects done André Holland’s accumulation institution Harper Road, pinch a attraction connected bold, character-driven storytelling. Previously, he was a improvement executive astatine Scott Rudin Productions, wherever he worked connected films including Uncut Gems and The Woman successful nan Window, arsenic good arsenic tv bid specified as Barkskins and Dispatches from Elsewhere. Prior to that, he was a imaginative executive astatine Red Granite Pictures, wherever he served arsenic an subordinate shaper on Papillon, which premiered astatine nan 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, and contributed to projects including The Wolf of Wall Street, Daddy’s Home, and Horns. Wengler is an alumnus of Chapman University and began his profession successful nan UTA talent department.
