NewFilmmakers LA Adds Four Board Members, Partners With Sharjah Festival

NewFilmmakers Los Angeles has named four new board members, including a Variety executive and an NBCUniversal producer, and announced a partnership with the Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth in the United Arab Emirates.

The board additions, confirmed by the non-profit, span legal, production, events and studio ranks:

• Aditya S. Ezhuthachan, a Beverly Hills-based entertainment attorney at Pessah Law Group
• Niels Juul, producer of "Ferrari" and founder of the No Fat Ego shingle
• Susanne Ault, VP of event programming at Variety
• Joyce Liu-Countryman, producer and interim director of physical production at NBCUniversal

NFMLA co-founder and executive director Larry Laboe announced the appointments in a statement.

"Welcoming Aditya, Niels, Susanne and Joyce to our board of directors is an exciting moment for NewFilmmakers Los Angeles," Laboe said. "Each of these individuals has built an impressive career while developing a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges that shape our industry."

The statement is enthusiastic. It does not specify what committees the new members will chair, how long their terms run, or how the board's size changes with the additions. Those details remain with the organization.

What does the Sharjah partnership involve?

The second announcement carries a date. NFMLA has forged a collaboration with the Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth, extending the Los Angeles organization's international programming and cultural exchange initiatives into the UAE.

The partnership launches during the festival's 2026 edition, which runs October 25 through November 1 in Sharjah, a city known as the UAE's cultural capital. The festival is now in its 13th edition and has brought films from Thailand, Brazil, India, Italy and across the Arab world to the Emirates, with a lineup that mixes international festival titles, emerging filmmakers and Emirati talent.

Laboe framed the tie-up as both an audience play and a conversation about craft.

"One of the most rewarding aspects of our work at NFMLA is seeing how filmmakers from different backgrounds and parts of the world connect through their stories," he said. "Our partnership with the Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth creates an exciting opportunity to introduce remarkable independent films to new audiences while participating in conversations about the future of filmmaking and creative education."

Neither party has detailed the partnership's mechanics — whether NFMLA will program a sidebar of Los Angeles independent work at Sharjah, co-commission projects, or run educational sessions for young filmmakers. The announcement names intent, not yet structure.

What does this change for independent filmmakers?

For NFMLA's constituency — emerging directors and content creators seeking platforms and industry connections — the practical stakes are two-fold. A board with members inside Variety's events operation, NBCUniversal's physical production arm and a working feature producer's shingle tightens the link between the non-profit's programming and the industry that can greenlight careers.

The Sharjah deal opens a second, geographically distinct door: a festival focused on children and youth audiences in the UAE's cultural capital, where independent work from Los Angeles could reach viewers and filmmakers it would not otherwise meet. NFMLA describes its year-round mission as fostering diverse creative voices through film festival programming, educational opportunities, industry partnerships and international collaborations, connecting artists with resources and networking needed to advance their careers.

Both moves signal a strategy of reach — more board expertise in-house, more territory abroad. The test arrives in October 2026, when the partnership's first concrete programming becomes visible in Sharjah.