YouTube veteran Fede Goldenberg has been named Head of Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) today announced Friday.
Under a new creative strategy, the film label will expand its longstanding focus on traditional genre films to include theatrical projects from the next generation of digital-native storytellers. Ashley Brucks, president of the label since 2023, will transition to a producing role.
“Some of the most exciting new filmmakers and ideas are emerging from creators outside of traditional Hollywood development pipelines. Screen Gems has long been a home for distinctive genre storytelling, and we see tremendous potential in expanding that vision to include a new generation of digital-native creators with theatrical ambitions,” Sanford Panitch, President of Sony Pictures’ Motion Picture Group, said in a statement. “Fede has spent his career at the intersection of online creators and entertainment, and he is uniquely suited to build those relationships and help translate great storytelling from digital platforms to the big screen. We’re also thrilled that Ashley will continue her relationship with the studio as a producer on several films, bringing her expertise and distinctive genre taste to all the labels.
Reporting to Panitch, the release adds that “Goldenberg will leverage his deep relations with content creators to broaden the studio’s pipeline of filmmaker talent and develop theatrical movies from creators who have cultivated devoted audiences through original stories and immersive worlds online.”
“After 15 years at YouTube, the world’s biggest digital platform, I know firsthand that the next generation of great filmmakers is already building audiences on the platform. Expanding Screen Gems’ creative vision to include digital-native creators is the right move at the right moment, and I’m excited to join the incredible team at Sony to help lead that effort,” Goldenberg added.
Goldenberg brings more than 20 years of experience across entertainment, technology and digital media, including 15 years at YouTube, where he has held a series of senior content partnership roles. Since 2017, he was Head of TV & Film Content Partnerships, where he worked closely with major studios to scale their global footprint across the platform. A thought leader in the creator economy, Goldenberg bridges the gap between Hollywood and the YouTube ecosystem, driving major creator initiatives such as Markiplier’s exclusive digital release of the theatrical hit “Iron Lung” on YouTube.
Earlier in Goldenberg’s career at YouTube, he managed partnerships with leading MCNs such as Maker Studios and Fullscreen, which aggregated more than 100,000 creator channels at their peak. He negotiated original content deals, incentive structures, and major studio collaborations while overseeing their integration into the acquiring studio’s internal structures. Prior to YouTube, Goldenberg held leadership positions at Globosat, Terra Networks Brasil and FremantleMedia Latin America, where he led content acquisition and distribution initiatives across Latin America.
Ashley Brucks, President of Screen Gems since 2023, will transition to a producing role on select upcoming Screen Gems projects. Screen Gems most recently released the box office hit “Insidious: Out of the Further,” which has earned $170 million globally. Prior to Sony Pictures, Brucks helped shape several of Paramount Pictures’ most successful horror franchises. She brought in the original “Paranormal Activity,” which launched a nearly $1 billion franchise, relaunched the “Scream” franchise in 2022, and oversaw “A Quiet Place” and “A Quiet Place Part II.”
The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.