Side Street Studios
An artist-friendly and creatively driven film sales and production company
Meet the Team
Lauren McKean
Acquistions
With her first story written at the age of five Lauren has had the desire to combine storytelling into everything she does from an early age. Recognizing the power of shared experiences, communicated through storytelling, Lauren strives to weave intentional stories into everything she does, whether it's traditional formats like features and television or modern formats like social media or VR. Having spent the last year working as a producer, production coordinator, and assistant accountant Lauren understands both the creative, logistical, and financial sides of a project as well as the balance that has to be struck in order to tell a successful story. Some of the projects she's been a part of can be seen on platforms like Disney+, Amazon, Apple TV and more.
Jonathan DuBow
Sales
For Jonathan, film and television is a family business. His father is an experienced Sales Agent and his grandfather was an entertainment lawyer. Jonathan has been on an upward trend since graduating college including being a PA for director Catherine Hardwicke, and numerous Marketing, Digital Sales and domestic and foreign distribution and sales. He is a seasoned executive with over 10 years of experience working in the film industry.
Jonathan was able to plant his roots in the world of international sales working for Cinema Management Group (CMG), where he began as an Operations Manager and grew into a Senior Sales Executive. At CMG, Jonathan sold projects from all over the world with an emphasis on clients in Asia, Europe, and the US. He worked on films such as Seal Team (Netflix), Away (Annecy Award Winner), and Loving Vincent (Best Animated Feature Oscar Nominee). After his successful career at CMG, Jonathan joined OpenGate Entertainment in June 2021, where he was the Director of Financing Production and Distribution. There, he built a network of over 100 Production and Financing entities that form a part of the RealPath Media distribution infrastructure, as well as over two dozen production deals and shopping agreements for OpenGate’s clients.
Meet the Founder:
John Fessler
John combined his passion for film and experience in finance and accounting to start Side Street Studios, a Brooklyn-based, media & entertainment company focusing on sales and production. Fessler started the company after successful stints at PwC, Grace Global Capital, J.P Morgan, and HBO. He founded Side Street Studios because he wanted to bridge the gap between artistry and sales in the film industry. Side Street’s main focus is finding independent films that have a strong story to tell.
John’s top three favorite movies are the Godfather, Good Will Hunting, and Citizen Kane.
Fessler currently resides in Brooklyn and continues to establish relationships with production companies, film financiers, and distribution companies worldwide.