Who We Are

Nicholas Weinstock

Founder of Craft Services

Nicholas Weinstock is a producer in Los Angeles as well as a former writing teacher, journalist, communications executive, and book author. He is the head of Invention Studios, a creative production company in Los Angeles developing dozens of television series and movies for studios, networks, and streaming platforms across Hollywood and around the world. Formerly the creative head of Apatow Productions, Senior Vice President at Chernin Entertainment, and the head of Red Hour Films, Weinstock has developed and produced hit movies including Get Him to the Greek, Bridesmaids and Alex Strangelove and acclaimed series including Escape at Dannemora (nominated for 12 Emmy Awards) and Severance (nominated for 14 Emmy Awards). Weinstock attended college at Harvard University and the University of Nairobi; went to graduate school at the University of Botswana and the University of Cape Town; has lived in France, Italy, Ghana, Kenya, Botswana, and South Africa; and currently produces shows and films across the globe.

Celine Eva

Director of Operations

Originally from Romania, Celine Eva is a Los Angeles-based writer and filmmaker with a passion for bold stories and perspectives. After graduating from Ghetto Film School, a Los Angeles-based filmmaking program supported by 20th Century Fox, she went on to write, direct, and produce various original short films while working in development at Black Bicycle Entertainment. In addition to overseeing and coordinating the worldwide operations of Craft Services, she works as a Creative Executive at Invention Studios, helping to develop a wide range of movies and shows.

Vanessa Kihuguru

Membership Director (Africa)

Vanessa Kihuguru is a Uganda-based producer and engineer, and serves as the CEO of Bad Mama Jama Films, a multimedia storytelling production studio based in Kampala. Before her transition into the film industry, Vanessa worked as an engineer and project manager for over six years in the construction industry. She is a certified Project Management Practitioner (PMP) and Prince 2 Professional.

Carmen Knox

Membership Director (Australia and new Zealand)

Carmen Knox is an Australian producer and screen entrepreneur based in Melbourne. With over a decade of experience in scripted development and literary management internationally, Carmen has consulted extensively in the Australian sector, with past clients including the Australian Writers Guild and major universities. Most recently, Carmen managed a boutique roster of Australian and Canadian writers under her independent label, CK Artists. In 2019, Carmen co-founded In Dreams, Australia’s first talent discovery platform designed to connect underrepresented voices to global industry practitioners. Previously, Carmen was based in Los Angeles, where she helped launch and build the independent television studio Insurrection Media. Carmen drove the growth and success of the company’s scripted video programming by managing a development slate which included Gary Fleder’s TINY PRETTY THINGS for Netflix, DEAD GIRLS DETECTIVE AGENCY for Snapchat, Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer’s DRIVE SHARE for Verizon/Go90, and Mason Novick’s LIBERTY CROSSING for Complex Networks. During this time, Carmen also managed the studio’s strategic partnership with HarperCollins Publishers, developing an eye for IP through identifying multiple book properties for successful series adaptation. Carmen received a Bachelor of Business/Arts (Management) from Monash University and completed an international exchange program at Queens University, Canada.

Prudence Kolong

Membership Director (Europe and Africa)

Prudence Kolong is a business consultant and producer who works with various organizations across industries and is the founder of the Paris-based company Yanibes Productions. In the film industry, she consults with SVOD services, filmmakers, festival organizers, film commissioners and industry professionals across the globe. She has organized the first edition of the Pavillion Afriques at Cannes Film Festival 2019, the Wandering Diasporan at Cannes 2021, and AfroCannes since 2022. Yanibes is a producer of THE WHITE LINE and INVISIBLES KAUNAPAWA, both Namibian movies selected in 2022 by the Oscars to run in the Best Picture category and the Short Category respectively. She is also the founder of an award-winning free mentorship program, the Yanibes Mentorship Program.

Michael Svoboda

Director of Writing Workshops

Michael Svoboda left his small rural hometown to be the first in his family to attend college. After getting his English and Film degree at the University of Nebraska, Michael moved to Portland, Oregon, to pursue writing. There he wrote for the satirical newspaper The Portland Mercury for three years. But writing for film and television was always calling his name, so he packed up and moved to Los Angeles. In L.A., Svoboda worked in various positions on TV shows until he landed a writer’s assistant job on THE WALKING DEAD. Soon he got to write his first TV script on the Netflix dramedy CLUB DE CUERVOS. He was staffed the following year on the EPIX dramedy GRAVES. He has made numerous short films and developed television shows with several major production companies, and is a proud member of the WGA. Svoboda has also been the director of the writing track for Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab since its inception in 2020. He has guided over one hundred people through the process of writing TV pilots and feature films as a private writing coach and instructor. He has also been teaching screenwriting at the University of Nebraska since 2018.

Who we are