Justin Rebelo, CEO of Vortex Media
Vortex Words + Pictures and A71 Releasing announced the rebranding of the company to Vortex Media, a boutique entertainment studio which aims to bring together global distribution and production with a focus on film and television spanning all genres.
Vortex Media includes Vortex Canada, a theatrical releasing company focused on feature films in Canada while maximizing the monetization across all platforms; Vortex International, a worldwide sales and distribution company; and Vortex Productions, an in-house production company with the resources to self-finance and produce 10-12 feature films and made-for-television movies per year.
Production company Vortex Words + Pictures, in business since 1983, acquired the majority interest in A71 Entertainment and full ownership of V71 Entertainment in 2019. It announced in January of 2020 the hiring of Justin Rebelo as the new CEO to lead the company with a new strategic vision. Immediately following his appointment, it was announced the company had purchased the assets of D Films Corp. These acquisitions all fall under the Vortex Media umbrella.
The partners in Vortex Media are Chairman Bill Marks, CEO Justin Rebelo and Chief Creative Officer Jesse Ikeman, all based in the Toronto head office. In June, Ben Bishop was announced as President of Vortex International, based in Sydney, Australia; and in July, Rob Harrison was named EVP of Marketing and Distribution at Vortex Canada, based in the Hamilton, Ontario office; both reporting to the CEO. Meanwhile, reporting to Ikeman for Vortex Productions, Christopher Giroux is Head of Production and Courtney McAllister is Head of Development, both based in the Toronto head office.
“This is a watershed moment in the growth of the company with all the pieces coming together to fulfill the boutique studio vision. It’s the result of a lot of hard work and team building. We couldn’t be more proud of our momentum as a company and look forward to further growth in 2021,” Justin Rebelo said.
This is a watershed moment in the growth of the company with all the pieces coming together to fulfill the boutique studio vision” Justin Rebelo CEO of Vortex Media
