Lionsgate UK Head Marie-Claire Benson, Dogwoof CEO Anna Godas, and Universal Content Group MD Helen Parker celebrated with Inaugural BASE & DEGI Hedy Lamarr Inspirational Women in Entertainment Leadership Awards
L-R, Rob Marsh, Marie-Claire Benson, Anna Godas, Liz Bales, Helen Parker, Johnny Thompson
Johanna Beaven
First Hedy Lamarr Rising Star Award presented to NBCUniversal Marketing Manager Johanna Beaven as BASE and DEGI announce new industry wide mentoring scheme
Monday 21st October: Marie-Claire Benson, EVP, Head of Motion Picture Group, Lionsgate UK; Anna Godas, CEO, Dogwoof and Helen Parker, EVP/MD Universal Pictures Content Group were the joint winners of the first ever British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE) and DEGI: The Digital Entertainment Group International (DEGI) Hedy Lamarr Leadership Awards at the BASE Awards on Wednesday 25th September.
Named after the brilliant actress and inventor who helped pioneer the technology that laid the groundwork for modern communication, the inaugural BASE and DEGI Hedy Lamarr Award honours inspiring women who reflect the tenacity, teamwork and leadership vital for the future of Home Entertainment. The award was inspired by our sister organisation DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), and their annual Women in Entertainment Technology Award.
“Hedy Lamarr was a Hollywood legend who is best known for her roles in film classics including Samson and Delilah and Tortilla Flat, but she was also a lifelong inventor whose innovative work included pioneering “frequency hopping,” which became the foundation for spread spectrum technology,” said Amy Jo Smith, President and CEO of DEG. “DEG has been privileged to present the Hedy Lamarr Award for Innovation in Entertainment Technology to female leaders in the U.S. since 2017 and we are extremely proud to see the recognition of Hedy’s off-camera legacy now expand in her European homeland through the DEGI Hedy Lamarr Leadership Awards.”
The Exceptional Leaders are women who have all enriched the industry in unique ways. Through their vision, impact and creative and commercial brilliance they continue to guide and shape the face of UK Entertainment.
Winner, Marie-Claire Benson, EVP, Head of Motion Picture Group, Lionsgate UK, on winning the award, said: “I’m truly honoured to receive the DEGI Hedy Lamarr Award for Inspirational Women in Entertainment. Being recognised alongside two powerhouse women, Anna Godas and Helen Parker and in connection with Hedy Lamarr—an icon of innovation, courage, and resilience—is humbling. I’m inspired by many incredible women in this industry and am surrounded by colleagues at Lionsgate UK who motivate me to do my best every day. Thank you to British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE) for a wonderful evening celebrating achievements across the Home Entertainment industry, and congratulations to Lionsgate on your multiple awards!”
Ron Schwartz, Lionsgate’s President of Global Licensing and Distribution, Motion Picture Group, said: “We are thrilled to see the industry recognise Marie-Claire with this much deserved honour. Marie-Claire has been a true agent of change throughout her career. And as a mentor and valued colleague, she is a highly regarded, inspirational leader. Congratulations, MC!”
Elizabeth Karlsen, BAFTA winning Producer and Founder of Number 9 Films, said: “I’m delighted to see Marie-Claire, or MC as she is known to those like me who have had the pleasure or working with her, rightly honoured with this prestigious award. MC has played a meaningful role in the industry bringing her intelligence, commercial skills and distinctive good taste to Lionsgate, which has reaped the rewards of all of these strong personal attributes. But, what makes her a joy to work with is her straightforward, fair and friendly approach to it all. Congratulations MC!”
Winner Anna Godas, CEO of Dogwoof, distributor of the BASE Social Impact award-winning 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL, commented after the ceremony: “It was a real honour to receive such a wonderful award. I’m so grateful to BASE for recognising women in the industry in such a special way.”
Alex Gibney, Academy award & Emmy award winning film director & producer, said: “I can’t think of a more deserving recipient of the Hedy Lamarr award than Anna Godas. Like Hedy, she combines the allure of cinema with rigorous science to perfect the art of motion picture distribution. Anna has a discerning eye for provocative and artful movies and the hard-nosed determination to find the best way to get them seen. And as a producer, she knows how to push projects forward, against all odds, supporting directors even while hiding the hard work of doing so behind her lilting laugh.”
Sally Aitken, Emmy nominated director, writer & showrunner wrote: “Dearest Anna, Well, as they say in Australia – “Nah Yeah!” (which naturally, means yes). Australians are perverse. Of course, YES, it is completely fitting that this wonderful, inaugural award named after the entertainment industry’s most surprising and enlightened member, Hedy Lamarr, goes to you. Hedy was brilliant, beautiful, bold and inspiring. So too dear Anna are you.
Like Hedy, you are also a role model for women. And a champion of excellence. Your contribution to the global field of high calibre storytelling is unsurpassed. And, just like the inventor of WIFI, your own radar for story and creative talent, is far reaching, resists interference and operates (usually) at high speed. I’m so thrilled for you and so proud to work together.”
Winner Helen Parker, EVP/MD Universal Pictures Content Group said: “I was very touched and proud to receive this award.”
Peter Kujawski, Chairman of Focus Features, said: “I thank my lucky stars every day that I get to work with a rock star like Helen who is smarter than me, cooler than me, more strategic than me, a better leader than me, has better taste than me, and yet is generous enough of spirit to never remind me of these things. She is only ever interested in lifting everyone around her up to become our best selves, and she has truly enriched our industry and our culture at large as a result.”
Johnny Fewings of Virgin, Polygram, Universal said: “I’ve worked with a lot of people in my 50 years, Helen is head and shoulders above all of them.”
NBCUniversal Marketing Manager Johanna Beaven was selected as the first Hedy Lamarr Rising Star winner from a shortlist of six nominees, by a judging panel including Liz Bales, CEO British Association for Screen Entertainment & Digital Entertainment Group International; Ian Durndell, EVP Digital Distribution and Direct to Consumer Services, Sony Pictures Entertainment; Melanie Nicholas, prev. Managing Director, Universal Pictures UK; Amy Jo Smith, President and CEO, DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group and Sima Westley, Business Development Director, Thirty Plus Health & Performance, prev. Executive Director Franchise & Retail Marketing, Warner Bros. Entertainment.
As an integral part of the award, Johanna will receive coaching from Monica Chadha, non-executive director of The British Film Institute, Board Advisor to Marlow Film Studios, and (prev.) Chair of the British Independent Film Awards Advisory Board.
Monica said: “Many many congratulations to all the nominees and to Johanna Beaven for being the inaugural recipient of this important award. To the extent that we achieve success through people before technology or numbers, I couldn’t be more proud to give back to an industry that has given me so much. BASE and DEGI are to be commended on building the leadership bench in the home entertainment sector and potentially changing the career trajectory of human lives.”
Johanna said: “It’s amazing to have this award introduced to the BASE Awards. It feels so special to be recognized and an honour to have received it amongst such fantastic women. I’d like to thank BASE and all the judges – it’s definitely a career highlight, myself and everyone in my team at Universal Pictures is so thrilled.”
All the shortlisted nominees will be enrolled in the first trial phase of the new BASE & DEGI Industry Mentor Programme.
Liz Bales, BASE and DEGI CEO, said: “The BASE and DEGI Industry Mentor Programme will foster individual professional growth by connecting emerging talent with expert industry professionals to the mutual benefit of each. Beginning in January 2025, the programme will run as a six-month trial for the five shortlisted nominees of the inaugural BASE Awards 2024 Hedy Lamarr Rising Star Award.”
Further BASE and DEGI personal impact programme initiatives coming in 2024 and 2025 include:
The BASE Member Policy Library, now live on www.baseorg.uk which assembles best-in-class polices from across the industry, offering support and guidance for all organisations.
The BASE Sentiment Study, which ran for the first time across the summer of 2024, to anonymously gather information about the UK Entertainment Distribution Industry. The results will be shared at the BASE and DEGI Annual Wrap Up and Industry Outlook Member event on December 10th 2024.
The BASE/DEGI Next Gen Board, which will meet for the first time in Q4 2024, to harness the voices and power of the next generation of entertainment industry leaders.
The BASE/DEGI Industry Induction Programme which will commence in Q1 2025. The programme will introduce BASE and DEGI Member entrants to the entertainment industry and is suitable for all business levels.
