Lionsgate’s Kamala Avila-Salmon Exits Post as Head of Inclusive Content, Signs First-Look Film Deal
Lionsgate motion picture group exec Kamala Avila-Salmon is pivoting to producing — signing a two-year, first-look feature film deal at the studio.
Avila-Salmon has served as head of inclusive content for the motion picture group since 2020 and will hand over leadership of the department to her longtime lieutenant Tayanna Todd. Avila-Salmon will take several unnamed projects with her as she launches her new company, Kas Kas Productions. Announcements about those films will be made in the coming months.
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The transfer of power was jointly announced by Lionsgate motion picture group chair Adam Fogelson and Avila-Salmon.
“I have known Adam since 2012 and we’ve had countless conversations about the lifelong goals that brought me to this town,” stated Avila-Salmon. “I cannot thank him and the entire team at Lionsgate enough for creating a path for me to fulfill my dream of producing films from storytellers who represent the diversity of the world and the future of our business. I am excited to take this next step and champion movies I am passionate about.”
She continued: “I am also enormously grateful to Lionsgate for nurturing the Inclusive Content team and supporting our work over the last four years. Tayanna has been an integral part of that work since day one and I could not be prouder of her as she leads the next chapter of the Inclusive Content team within the Motion Picture Group.”
Avila-Salmon joined Lionsgate in 2020 from Facebook as the studio’s first head of inclusive content for film. Since then, she has spearheaded groundbreaking initiatives like Story Spark, a creative-first tool for development execs and filmmakers to measure diversity and intersectionality in their projects. Under her leadership, the inclusive content team collaborates with the development and marketing teams to focus on inclusive decision-making across Lionsgate’s film slate. Avila-Salmon and Todd also launched the annual Storytelling Summit for underrepresented filmmakers and collaborated with leading research institutions to examine the limited opportunities for first-time directors, such as Lionsgate’s partnership with UCLA’s Center for Scholars & Storytellers. Avila-Salmon’s work promoting diversity and inclusion in storytelling has garnered her awards from the American Black Film Festival/Hoorae, AdColor and AdWeek.
“We are thrilled for Kamala and I feel proud to support her future as a filmmaker,” stated Fogelson. “When Kamala shared with me her dream of producing films, we set out to develop an opportunity that would not only nurture her growth toward this personal goal, but also use her strengths to help us continue creating commercial, culturally relevant films for Lionsgate’s slate — a win-win. For the last four years, Kamala has created an incredible space for conversation with some of the most brilliant, diverse creatives in our business, and we’re excited for her to join those ranks and to work with her as she brings those stories to life.”
About Todd, Fogelson added: “I’m also excited for Tayanna to step up and continue driving the strategy for this work, as we remain committed to furthering inclusion in our film slate and overall business.”
Todd joined Lionsgate from Showtime’s original programming team, where she aided in developing a slate of premium television shows including “Halo” and “Ripley,” as well as served on the company’s DEI council as its only junior member. Prior to Showtime, she held development and production roles at CBS and STARZ.
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