LuckyChap International, the London-based joint venture between LuckyChap and Mediawan that was unveiled in late 2025, has given its filmmaking ambitions a shot in the arm with a significant new hire.
Katie Goodson-Thomas, a hugely respected and experienced exec who has spent more than a decade at Searchlight Pictures, is set to leave the studio to join the LuckyChap International team in the new role of president of film.
Working in close partnership with co-managing directors Mona Qureshi and Tanya Qureshi, who joined earlier this year, Goodson-Thomas will spearhead the film slate, with the LuckyChap International leadership trio working in collaboration with LuckyChap partners Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, Josey McNamara and Milan Popelka, alongside the broader U.S. team.
At Searchlight, where she was most recently executive vice president, co-head of production and development, Goodson-Thomas played a key role in expanding the studio’s U.K. presence, overseeing numerous award-winning films such as Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Favourite” and “Poor Things,” Martin McDonagh’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “The Banshees of Inisherin” and the upcoming “Wild Horse Nine,” as well as “All of Us Strangers,” “The Roses” and Alice Birch’s forthcoming directorial debut “Sweetsick,” starring Cate Blanchett.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Katie to LuckyChap International,” said Mona Qureshi and Tanya Qureshi. “Her career embodies the kind of independent spirit and big-heartedness that inspires us, and her ambition, taste and creative instinct make her a natural fit for what we are building. We can’t wait to have her alongside us as a fellow journeywoman!”
Added Goodson-Thomas: “The LuckyChap team has exceptional taste, fearlessness and a creative identity entirely its own, as well as an infectious sense of possibility about what the company can achieve. Searchlight has been such an incredible creative home for me that I always knew it would take somewhere truly special to tempt me away. The opportunity to join that alongside Mona, Tanya and such a brilliant team was simply too exciting to resist. The U.K. and Europe are full of remarkable talent, and I’m hugely ambitious about what we can find, back and get made together.”
Goodson-Thomas will officially join LuckyChap International in the new year.
“We’re in awe of everything Katie has accomplished throughout her career, and we all feel extraordinarily privileged that she is bringing her undeniable creative talents, vision and depth of experience to LuckyChap International,” said LuckyChap’s US partners Robbie, Ackerley, McNamara and Popelka. “She’s such a kindred spirit culturally, and we’ve long admired her ability to spot exceptional filmmaking talent and champion their projects from the very beginning all the way through. We genuinely couldn’t be more excited to have her join us on this adventure, and to forge a killer slate together that we can all be incredibly proud of!”
Added Searchlight president Matthew Greenfield: “Katie has been a wonderful colleague all of these years and LuckyChap International is getting an exceptional and passionate advocate for filmmakers. We couldn’t be happier for her as she takes on this next chapter, and we’re excited to see all that she and the team will accomplish together.”