Sunrise Productions Expands Senior Teams

CAPE TOWN: Sunrise Productions, creators of the award-winning animated series Jungle Beat, has made a number of new senior appointments.

Jennifer Burgos will join the senior management team, where she will be responsible for driving commercial and business development. Her focus will be the deepening of current strategic partnerships, as well as the growth of new collaborations worldwide. Burgos has previously worked with Turner Broadcasting, Aardman Animations and Discovery Networks.

Joining the story team are BAFTA winner Will Brenton and writer Robin Crowther-Smith. Brenton has co-created, written, produced and directed such kids’ shows as The Tweenies, Wibbly Pig and Mighty Mites. Crowther-Smith has written for Shaun the Sheep and Morph.

Meanwhile, Eric Lessard will join the production team as animation director. He previously worked at DreamWorks as the senior animator on Shrek, Shrek 2 and Madagascar, and as animation supervisor on Shrek 3.

The hires come as Sunrise preps a new TV series set in the world of Jungle Beat.

Founder Phil Cunningham said: “We are delighted to welcome Jennifer, Will, Robin and Eric to the team. They all join us with a wealth of experience in the children’s sector and we’ve already benefitted from their expertise. We have ambitious plans for growth over the next three years and these key appointments enable us to reach our goals.”