Mike Fleming

FilmDistrict has hired Lia Buman to be executive vice president of acquisitions for FilmDistrict. She will report to Adrian Alperovich, FilmDistrict’s president of acquisitions and operations. Buman was veep at Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions, where she worked for FilmDistrict chief Peter Schlessel. Buman helped in the acquisiton of the FilmDistrict hit Insidious as well as Moon, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Machete and Hanna. Buman started her career at IBM before becoming a development exec for Schlessel at his consulting company before he brought her over to Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions.

“Lia is an established world class acquisitions executive who understands how to acquire and manage product in order to achieve success,” Alperovich said.

FilmDistrict’s Schlessel and Bob Berney have gotten off to a strong start with Insidious and Soul Surfer. They next release Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark on Aug. 26, the Ryan Gosling-starrer Drive on Sept. 16, the Johnny Depp-starrer The Rum Diary on Oct. 28, the Angelina Jolie-directed In the Land of Blood and Honey on Dec. 23, Playing the Field on March 9 and Lockout on April 13.