Our story
August Night is an award-winning independent studio that develops, produces, and finances impactful content. Founded in 2009, the company, formerly known as Levantine Films, has a broad slate of projects that are both commercially viable and rooted in its mission: to entertain wide audiences with compelling, character-driven, thought-provoking stories that spark conversation. Under the leadership of industry veteran and CEO Benjamin Hung, August Night is in an active growth phase, leveraging its resources and infrastructure to multiply and diversify its film output, expand into the television space, and build partnerships with leading creators.
August Night’s film credits include Hidden Figures, starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe, which grossed over $235 million worldwide and was nominated for three Academy Awards®, including Best Picture. Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation won a Peabody Award and earned BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for Idris Elba. The Fundamentals of Caring, starring Paul Rudd and Selena Gomez and written and directed by five-time Emmy winner Rob Burnett, premiered as the closing-night film at the Sundance Film Festival. Blinded by the Light, the Bruce Springsteen musical comedy, came from BAFTA nominee Gurinder Chadha. Jerry and Marge Go Large, starring Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening, was directed by Academy Award winner David Frankel. Most recently, A Nice Indian Boy, a romantic comedy directed by Roshan Sethi and featuring Karan Soni alongside Emmy nominee and Tony and Grammy winner Jonathan Groff, was released theatrically this past spring.
August Night’s slate of upcoming projects includes Poetic License, a TIFF Official Selection and the directorial debut of Maude Apatow, starring Leslie Mann, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Nico Parker, and Maisy Stella, with Judd Apatow producing. Also in development is In Too Deep, an action-adventure film written and directed by Armando Iannucci, the Emmy-winning and Academy Award–nominated creator of Veep.
Our team
Jamal Daniel
Founder, Chair of the Board
A producer, entrepreneur, and innovator, Jamal Daniel has over 35 years of experience managing a diverse portfolio of investments in media, entertainment, technology, hospitality, real estate and energy sectors. Throughout his career, Mr. Daniel has remained deeply committed to educational, humanitarian, and artistic endeavors, with an emphasis on promoting multicultural understanding.
In addition to Mr. Daniel’s role with August Night, where he has executive produced every project, he founded The Bastion Collection – an internationally renowned hospitality group with nine distinct concepts including L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon and Le Jardinier. Since 2019, The Bastion Collection has been awarded a total of ten Michelin stars and three Michelin Keys. The Bastion Collection also includes a portfolio of exceptional real estate assets including The Woodward, an all-suite luxury hotel located on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland.
In 2012, Mr. Daniel created Al-Monitor, an award-winning global news platform that provides nuanced, in-depth reporting on the Middle East and its surrounding regions. Guided by Mr. Daniel’s strategic leadership, Crest Media has established itself as a leading investor in diverse and innovative media platforms such as Semafor. As a strong advocate for cultural cooperation, Mr. Daniel established the New Levant Initiative, a conference series aiming to promote peace and prosperity through the Levant. In 1999, Mr. Daniel formed The Levant Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing knowledge of Levantine history and culture, as well as fostering interfaith understanding.
Benjamin Hung
CEO
Benjamin Hung brings over 25 years of entertainment experience to his role as CEO of Levantine Films, in which he leverages his deep expertise and industry-wide relationships to grow the company and support projects at every stage of production.
Prior to Levantine, Hung held senior positions at MRC, DMG Entertainment, Marvel Studios, and Sony Pictures. Across these roles, he was critical to the launch and growth of some of the industry’s most iconic brands and franchises, directing strategy, finance, marketing, creative, and distribution initiatives spanning all sectors of entertainment. Hung has also been a key advisor for companies including Aggregate, Angry Hero Studios, ABS-CBN Entertainment, Trioscope, and Retro Entertainment. He holds a BA from UC Berkeley and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Thalia Daniel
Chief Content Officer
As Chief Content Officer, Thalia Daniel oversees August Night’s content strategy, as well as development and production processes. She started her career with a focus on literary sourcing and aims to champion compelling voices and stories that resonate with global audiences. Daniel served as an Executive Producer on Jerry and Marge Go Large and A Nice Indian Boy. Most recently, she was a Producer on Poetic License, Maude Apatow’s directorial debut. She is a graduate of Georgetown University with a major in Political Science and French Literature.
Renee Witt
EVP
A seasoned producer and executive, Witt serves as Head of Development for August Night, where she has executive produced films including Best Picture nominee Hidden Figures, Sundance darling Blinded by the Light, the festival’s largest sale of the year, and Netflix’s The Fundamentals of Caring, starring Paul Rudd. She has produced August Night films, including Jerry and Marge Go Large, starring Annette Bening and Bryan Cranston, and Roshan Sethi’s acclaimed A Nice Indian Boy. Throughout her career, Witt has acquired, developed, or executive produced numerous adaptations of major literary IP, including Silver Linings Playbook and About a Boy, as well as Hidden Figures — all of which earning Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay. Prior to August Night, Witt served as EVP of Development & Production for The Weinstein Company, managing a slate of over 60 films, and as SVP for Laura Ziskin Productions, where she helped develop the Tobey Maguire-led Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. Earlier, Witt spent a decade at New Line Cinema, where she acquired and oversaw films including Freddy vs. Jason, The Notebook, and The Time Traveler’s Wife. Witt started her career in the literary department of William Morris Agency after receiving a BS from Northeastern University.
Charlie McSpadden
VP
As Vice President at August Night, Charlie works across the company’s entire slate of projects, including spearheading the development and production of the critically acclaimed A Nice Indian Boy.
Charlie began his career in production in New York, working on Whit Stillman’s Damsels in Distress, Steve McQueen’s Shame, Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby, Stuart Blumberg’s Thanks for Sharing, and Darren Aronofsky’s Noah. He then transitioned into development at Tobey Maguire’s company Material in Los Angeles, where he worked for five years, advancing from Maguire’s assistant to Director of Development. While at Material, he worked on a slate of over 40 projects, including Z for Zachariah, The Best of Enemies, and Brittany Runs a Marathon, which won the US Dramatic Audience Award at Sundance. He is a graduate of Duke University.
Michelle Upton
EVP, Finance & Operations
As Executive Vice President of Finance & Operations, Michelle Upton leads August Night’s contractual negotiations with studios and partners, as well as other strategic and operational matters supporting project development. Her extensive expertise within media & entertainment is supported by experience in international affairs, government consulting, and beyond. She is a graduate of Cornell University, a member of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, and a former member of the Council G Foreign Relations.
