Former Voltage & Gravitas Exec Danielle Gasher Lifts Lid On Plans For Sales & Production Firm Vaneast — AFM

EXCLUSIVE: Former Voltage and Gravitas executive Danielle Gasher is talking for the first time about plans for her recently launched sales and production company, Vaneast.

Based in LA, Gasher is attending the company’s first American Film Market with a slate of projects including Marisa Tomei, Chris Messina and Sam Rockwell action-comedy Hellhound, which the company will now produce in-house.

Gasher has newly partnered with John Ierardi (Torn Hearts) and Bo Youngblood (Break) of Showdown Productions, who will lead Vaneast’s production arm, overseeing in-house development and physical production.

Gasher, the former head of acquisitions and international sales at Gravitas Ventures and vice president of international sales at Voltage Pictures, told us: “The plan is to acquire ten third party acquisition titles per year, with an additional three-five in house productions. That’s where John and Bo come in. They manage our financing partners and bring in financing and work closely with filmmakers, the budget and line producer etc. Our first in-house production is Hellhound, which is due to start shooting in Q1. So, John and Bo oversee production and financing while I oversee distribution. ”

Gasher says the company amicably took over production reins on Hellhound from former producer Hungry Bull. Early buyers of the film include Front Row (MENA), NOS Lusomundo (Portugal) and Paradise (CIS).

Also among the team is Paige Williams, former Voltage and The Exchange business affairs exec, who is handling business affairs for the company.

Vaneast’s early sales lineup also includes comedy Jacob Beats Up Nate, starring Lamorne Morris, Justin Long and Naturi Naughton, which Deadline announced earlier this week, and Little Lorraine, the Toronto Film Festival selection starring Stephen Amell and J Balvin.

Among movies sold include Ambleside, What We Hide and The Cure to Signature in the UK; Little Lorraine to Twelve Oaks in Spain; The Confession to Quiver (North America), Exponenta (CIS) and Mediawan (France); and The Grieving to Kinologistika (CIS), Mediawan (France), Mundo Films (LatAM), Silverline (Philippines), and Tiberius (GAS).

“At Vaneast, we’re not trying to reinvent the indie model,” Gasher said. “But we are looking to elevate and modernize the experience for filmmakers, investors, and distributors. Our approach is holistic. We feel that understanding how each part of the industry connects is key to delivering real value.”

The company’s name carries personal significance. Gasher named Vaneast in honor of her late father, a journalist and lifelong cinephile, who used “Vaneast” as his password — a nod to meeting her mother on Vancouver’s east side in the 1980s.

“He was the one who introduced me to the magic of movies,” Gasher added. “That love of cinema is what drives everything we do at Vaneast.”

Gasher’s executive producer credits include upcoming romantic comedy F*ck Valentine’s Day starring Tomei, Virginia Gardner, Skylar Astin, and Lil Rel Howery.