Paradigm has hired Babacar Diene, a veteran film financing, sales and production executive formerly of Voltage Pictures, to join the agency as a content agent, the agency announced Thursday.
Paradigm also promoted four employees to agents across its departments, including Sam Benfey, Josh Cohen, Natalie Handelsman and Wilson Rubinoff.
Diene’s role as a content agent will see him handling film and series content packaging, financing, and sales. Benfey has been promoted to a digital and brand partnerships agent, Cohen and Handelsman are each talent agents, and Rubinoff is a literary agent.
“We are proud to congratulate these four exceptional and dedicated members of our team on their promotions, and look forward to their bright future at Paradigm,” Paradigm partner Andrew Ruf said on behalf of the company’s department leaders. “We welcome Babacar Diene to the company, a colleague we have long admired, who brings his extensive expertise as we redefine our content business, with particular focus on developing and packaging content for clients across our talent, literary, book publishing and digital departments.”
Diene previously was the VP of acquisitions and development for Voltage Pictures, which he joined in 2012. He co-produced titles such as “AVA” starring Jessica Chastain, “Good Kids”starring Nicholas Braun, “Fathers & Daughters” starring Russell Crowe, “Pay The Ghost” starring Nicolas Cage, and “I.T.” starring Pierce Brosnan. He also executive produced a number of Voltage titles, including “Time Is Up,” “Archenemy,” “Safer at Home,” “Redemption Day,” “Follow Me” and “Drive Hard.” Previously, Diene was VP of acquisitions & apsara distribution at IM Global. He held prior positions at Icon Entertainment International and GreeneStreet Films International. Diene is based in Los Angeles.
Benfey joined Paradigm in 2016 after working in the tech and non-profit space. He began his career at Paradigm in the mailroom and has worked across departments including Business Development, Digital, and Brand Partnerships. Benfey’s digital specialties including podcasting, video games, AR & VR, blockchain & NFTs, apps, and emerging platforms. His work in Brand Partnerships focuses on social media deals, licensing deals, and equity & investment opportunities.
Cohen joined Paradigm in 2019 after working in production and as an actor. Cohen’s previous experience includes production work on “The Girl on the Train” and ABC’s “Quantico” and “Grand Hotel.” Cohen was previously a coordinator in the Talent Department.
Handelsman joined Paradigm in 2019 and most recently served as a talent department coordinator. Handelsman was born in Taiwan and raised in Hong Kong, establishing her passion for discovering and championing diverse talent.
Rubinoff began his career at Paradigm in 2017 as an intern in the company’s Los Angeles office and later held positions in the mailroom, and as contract administrator and coordinator in the Television Literary Department.