Love Nature’s newly created roles see Alison Barrat appointed VP, Development & Production and James Manfull on board as Executive Producer
(Washington, D.C. – May 31, 2018) – Love Nature, a joint venture between Blue Ant Media and Smithsonian Networks, announced today new development and production appointments for its ever-growing commissioning office in Washington, D.C. As part of this expansion, Alison Barrat has been appointed to VP, Production & Development and James Manfull to Executive Producer.
“This is an exciting time for Love Nature as we add world-class talent to our commissioning team, which will see us growing our slate with more returnable series and formats for wildlife and nature fans globally,” said Carlyn Staudt, EVP, Programming & Development, Love Nature. “Alison and James bring deep production and development experience, strong producer relationships and proven track records in creating highly successful natural history programming.”
In her role as VP, Development & Production, Love Nature, Alison Barrat will provide creative leadership on new projects for Love Nature’s growing slate and is responsible for executing programming strategies for the brand’s international channels through development and production. Serving as the main point of creative contact for both in-house and independent production companies, Barrat will also work with producers to scout and develop production and on-screen talent for the brand’s projects. Barrat is a multi award and Emmy winning film professional with over 20 years experience in natural history film production. She arrives at Love Nature from the Living Oceans Foundation where she launched a specialist wildlife film production unit and executive produced films for PBS, the Smithsonian Channel and Curiositystream. Prior to that she has written, produced and directed natural history and science documentaries and series for National Geographic Channel, Discovery Communications, and PBS. Barrat’s experience also includes leadership roles in development and production with National Geographic Television. Reporting to Carlyn Staudt, EVP,Programming & Development, Love Nature, Barrat’s role is effective immediately. She will join the Love Nature team at Sunny Side of the Doc this June.
Effective in August , James Manfull will assume the role as Executive Producer, Love Nature where he will be responsible for overseeing the production of Love Nature’s commissioned series and documentaries. Manfull will also work closely with production companies and Alison Barrat to identify, review and develop new projects for the brand’s slate. With more than two decades of experience in science and natural history television production, Manfull’s more recent work includes: Gorongosa: Rebirth of Paradise PBS; 2014, Living With Maneaters for Animal Planet; 2016, Jaguar vs. Croc for Nat Geo Wild; 2017. Manfull’s previous work includes senior roles at Discovery Communications as Executive Producer and National Geographic Television as Staff Series Producer. Manfull will report to Alison Barrat, VP, Development & Production, Love Nature.
Love Nature, a Blue Ant Media and Smithsonian Networks joint venture, creates and distributes the largest library of 4K wildlife and nature content in the world. Love Nature is available on linear television internationally and via streaming video in 60+ countries worldwide. LoveNature.com
Blue Ant Media is a privately held, international content producer, distributor and channel operator. From our production houses around the world, we create content for multiple genres including factual, factual entertainment, short-form digital series and kids programming. Our distribution business, Blue Ant International, offers a catalogue of 3,000+ hours of content, including the largest 4K natural history offering on the market. Blue Ant Media’s international channel business offers a portfolio of media brands such as Love Nature (International), ZooMoo Networks (International), Smithsonian Channel Canada, BBC Earth (Canada), Blue Ant Entertainment (International), Blue Ant Extreme (International) and HGTV (New Zealand). Blue Ant Media is headquartered in Toronto, with operations in Los Angeles, Singapore, Auckland, Dunedin, London, Washington, Sydney, Beijing and Taipei. blueantmedia.com.
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