EXCLUSIVE: New York-based production and financing company Closer Media has expanded its executive ranks as part of efforts to increase its production of scripted feature films, naming Joanna Korshak and Whitney Dibo as senior vice presidents of production. The company also promoted John Lin to chief development officer.
Dibo will be based in New York and work alongside company founder Zhang Xin and creative directors Sean Pan and Sophie Levy. Korshak and Lin will work out of Closer’s Los Angeles offices, alongside company president Jonathan King.
Prior to joining Closer, Korshak held production management roles at Sister and Fifth Season. She spent much of her early career at Endeavor Content and WME, where she rose through the ranks of the independent film group specializing in financing, consulting services and the sale of distribution rights for such notable films as The riderdirected by Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao and Don’t you want to be my neighbor?the documentary Mr. Rogers directed by Academy Award winner Morgan Neville.
Dibo joins us from Anonymous Content, where she served as VP of Film and Television, overseeing an ambitious slate of TV/films with a particular focus on projects originating outside of the traditional industry pipeline. She began her career at the Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago and earned a master’s degree in playwriting and drama criticism at Yale before holding management positions at Scott Rudin Productions and The Weinstein Company.
Moving from Creative Executive, Lin previously worked at Participant and Concordia Studio – alongside Closer Media’s King, in both cases – on narrative features such as Ben Cleary’s. Swan song and that of Jayro Bustamante Ritaas well as documentaries Still Photo: A Michael J. Fox Film And President deaf now!.
In a joint statement on the appointments, Closer Media’s Zhang and King said: “Joanna, Whitney and John bring different experiences and talents to Closer, but all share the kind of exceptional drive, taste and professional reputation we need to help our company grow. As we rebuild our development pipeline and pursue funding opportunities and partnerships creatives in the United States and internationally, we rely on them to be leaders in developing the list. ”
Founded in 2022, Closer Media is known for its work on the Tony Goldwyn film. Ezrathe documentary Paul Simon by Alex Gibney In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul SimonPawo Choyning Dorji’s Bhutanese Oscar entry The Monk and the Gunand that of Justin Lin Last days. Most recently, the company released the Oliver Hermanus film The history of soundwith Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor, with Mubi, as well as Raoul Peck’s doc Orwell: 2+2=5 via Neon. Upcoming projects include that of Alice Winocour Sewingwith Angelina Jolie, premiering at TIFF, and Alex Gibney’s documentary Elon Musk Musk for HBO Documentary Films and Universal Pictures Content Group.
