Pulse Films Ups Emma Cooper To Global Non-Fiction Boss, Hires Ryan Harrington
EXCLUSIVE: XY Chelsea producer Pulse Films is expanding its Non-Fiction division, promoting Emma Coo..
EXCLUSIVE: XY Chelsea producer Pulse Films is expanding its Non-Fiction division, promoting Emma Cooper to Global President. The Vice Media-backed studio’s growth also incorporates new hire Ryan Harrington as Executive Producer for Non-Fiction Feature Documentaries. He will be based in Venice, CA and report to Cooper who is based in London.
The refreshed division will put a focus on a single team for both non-fiction film and TV. The crossover is designed to place an emphasis on burgeoning filmmakers, storytellers and new ideas without limitations on formats or platforms.
Pulse Films’ refocused strategy builds on the studio’s mission to be a leading global home for talent, that develops, creates and finances award-winning stories. Under Cooper’s direction, the unit will further concentrate on attracting world-class storytellers for director-driven series’ and feature docs, as well as responding to the resurgence of premium music documentaries and ambitious formats.
Cooper’s latest production, No Greater Law, will premiere at Tribeca in April. The feature doc is set in the American West, where a patriarch of a faith-healing family fights to protect the right to deny his children medical care while an investigation into child deaths closes in on him and his church.
Thomas Benski, CEO of Pulse, says, “Under Emma’s leadership our Non-Fiction division has found a real focus and drive to develop and produce premium film and TV for global markets. Our focus has coincided with the evolution of the marketplace and we now feel that we are positioned perfectly to make the most of the golden age of premium non-fiction work. We are excited to build a team who are dedicated to developing and producing projects that redefine and revolutionize the non-fiction space.”
Before joining Pulse, Harrington helped launch A&E IndieFilms, the theatrical documentary arm of A&E Networks. He also managed production on such docs as Jesus Camp, My Kid Could Paint That, Murderball and American Teen. He was previously Vice President of Artist Programs for Tribeca Film Institute.
Pulse’s XY Chelsea was recently picked up by Showtime and its Sundance pic Skate Kitchen is coming from Magnolia later this year. The company also recently announced a push into scripted TV with the Gareth Evans-directed Gangs Of London for Sky Atlantic, Cinemax and HBO.
