Ayo Kepher-Maat, Sara Castillo, Lilly Stuecklen head up DECAL, joint venture from NEON and Bleecker Street
DECAL’s upcoming home entertainment slate includes Together Together, starring Ed Helms and Patti Harrison, Ben Wheatley’s In The Earth and Pablo Larraín’s Spencer, starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana
DECAL announced today that Ayo Kepher-Maat has been tapped as SVP of Acquisitions to spearhead day-to-day operations of the newly launched label alongside Sara Castillo, SVP of Marketing and Distribution. DECAL, the full-service home entertainment distributor, is ramping up its executive team, also appointing Lilly Stuecklen as Distribution Manager. The joint venture from independent distributors NEON and Bleecker Street is handling distribution deals on the home entertainment rights to both of the outfit’s curated slate of high-profile, thought-provoking films.
“Ayo is a leader in her field, and we can’t wait to see what exciting films she is able to bring into the DECAL fold,” said NEON’s Andrew Brown and Bleecker’s Kent Sanderson in a joint statement. “With her, Sara, and now Lilly on the team, we look forward to seeing DECAL grow into the preeminent independent brand in the home entertainment space.”
Kepher-Maat, previously Director of Acquisitions at NEON, most recently oversaw the acquisition of Sundance 2021 breakout documentaries Jamila Wignot’sAiley and Theo Anthony’s All Light Everywhere. Other recent acquisitions facilitated by Kepher-Maat include Oscar-shortlisted Dear Comrades! and Independent Spirit John Cassavetes’ nominated Killing of Two Lovers,set to release May 14 theatrically by NEON. Kepher-Maat has previously held positions at Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, The Film Arcade, and Creative Artists Agency.
Stuecklen has most recently worked as the Post-Production/Delivery and Exhibition Marketing Coordinator at Bleecker Street since 2018. She helped launch 20+ theatrical films nationwide including Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace and Kitty Green’s The Assistant, both nominated for multiple Independent Spirit Awards. She is a member of BAFTA’s Young Professionals program as well as Women in Animation. Prior to Bleecker, Stuecklen graduated from Syracuse University’s prestigious S.I. Newhouse program.
DECAL is also in market seeking new content as its own standalone entity, and will be acquiring additional third-party content as part of their growth and expansion. The joint venture recently made its first acquisition with Jaco Bouwer’s critically acclaimed Gaia, which just made its debut in the Midnight section of SXSW, and will hit theaters on June 18th and VOD on June 25th.
DECAL’s upcoming release slate also includes Together Together, starring Ed Helms and Patti Harrison, which will be released theatrically by Bleecker Street on April 23, with VOD and EST to follow on May 11; Ben Wheatley’s In The Earth, which will be released by NEON on April 23, with VOD and EST to follow on May 14; and Dream Horse, which will be released nationwide theatrically by Bleecker Street on May 21 with Premium VOD to follow on June 11. Additional films will include NEON’s Spencer, starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana, the Sundance award-winning film, FLEE, and Jamila Wignot’s Ailey, an immersive portrait of dance pioneer, Alvin Ailey.
DECAL is overseen by NEON’s Andrew Brown and Bleecker’s Kent Sanderson.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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