WME has made five key promotions in its Independent group and film production department.
The Hollywood agency has promoted Dylan Kelley and Daniel Rak to agent, and Durrana Subat to associate counsel, business affairs within the WME Independent group. Additionally, Sara Malinow and Sarah Hurley, from the agency’s production department, have been upped to agent.
WME Independent brought domestic and international film sales and financing consulting services back inside the agency after it was spun out from Endeavor Content. (WME parent Endeavor agreed to divest at least 80 percent of its stake in Endeavor Content under the terms of a 2021 deal struck with the Writers Guild.)
Kelley and Rak worked in film financing, packaging and sales, with a focus on domestic and international film sales while with Endeavor and WME. Kelley and Rak, both based in Beverly Hills, came up through the agent trainee program at WME, before shifting to Endeavor Content’s film advisory group in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
They landed at WME Independent when the business returned to the agency from Endeavor Content. As associate counsel at WME Independent, Subat will focus on the international sales division, managing distribution and licensing agreements, mainly for the Asia-Pacific region and inflight entertainment. Before WME, Subat worked in the film advisory group at Endeavor Content.
WME Independent in the last year represented sales of the Sundance audience award winner Cha Cha Real Smooth, the Cannes jury prize winners Joyland and Triangle of Sadness, and the Sitges Festival best film winner Sisu.
In the agency’s production department, Malinow focuses on identifying emerging talent and works with cinematographers, production designers, costume designers, editors and line producers across both indie and studio films. She interned at WME in 2019 and worked in the mailroom, before nabbing a desk in the production department and being promoted to coordinator in 2021, before finally joining the trainee program.
Hurley works with cinematographers, production designers, and costume designers in the short-form space, including commercials and music videos. She joined the WME mailroom in 2018 and worked her way up to the production department as an assistant. Hurley was promoted to coordinator in 2021.
WME’s production department works with artists like line producers, cinematographers, production designers, costume designers, editors, second unit directors/stunt coordinators and visual effects supervisors/producers.
The division’s clients include Oscar winners Hannah Beachler (production designer) and Ruth Carter (costume designer), and editors Kelley Dixon and Jen Lame.