NewFilmmakers Los Angeles Adds Four to Its Board and Teams Up With a Sharjah Festival

Four new people have joined the board of NewFilmmakers Los Angeles, and the group has formed a collaboration with a film festival for young audiences in the United Arab Emirates. Variety reported both developments on 26 October 2026.

NewFilmmakers Los Angeles is a non-profit arts and culture organisation. A non-profit is a group that reinvests its money in its mission rather than paying profits to owners, and this one focuses on championing independent filmmakers and content creators. Its board of directors, the small group that sets the organisation's overall direction, is now adding several new faces.

The newcomers are Aditya S. Ezhuthachan, a Beverly Hills entertainment attorney with Pessah Law Group; Niels Juul, producer of the film Ferrari and founder of No Fat Ego; Susanne Ault, vice president of event programming at Variety; and Joyce Liu-Countryman, a producer who is also interim director of physical production at NBCUniversal. Physical production is the practical side of making a film, the planning and running of the shoot itself.

The partnership is with the Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth. It will launch during the festival's 2026 edition, which runs from 25 October to 1 November in Sharjah. This is the festival's 13th edition.

Larry Laboe, co-founder and executive director of NewFilmmakers Los Angeles, leads the organisation day to day. According to the group's website, Danny De Lillo serves as board chair, and David Quan and Divya D'Souza are also board members.

Festivals like Sharjah's and organisations like NewFilmmakers Los Angeles are often where independent filmmakers meet the people who help get their work seen. A board with lawyers, producers and studio staff on it gives the group contacts across different corners of the industry. The new partnership adds a route for young audiences and the filmmakers who make for them.