New York Distribution Company 1-2 Special Hires Amanda Trokan, Nico Chapin for Key Executive Roles (EXCLUSIVE)

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1-2 Special, a New York-based distributor, has promoted Amanda Trokan to the position of Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Nico Chapin to Vice President of Publicity.

1-2 Special, a new film company established by ex-Sideshow executive Jason Hellerstein in February, aims to purchase and distribute movies from prestigious domestic and foreign film festivals. Their first acquisition was “Kontinental ’25,” directed by Radu Jude, which they obtained at the Berlin International Film Festival. As the team prepares for Cannes, new hires are being made.

Following her tenure as head of the North American programming team at global streaming service Mubi, Trokan has now moved to 1-2 Special. During her time at Mubi, she was instrumental in managing platform curation and licensing, successfully negotiating film deals with directors like Hirokazu Kore-eda, Quentin Dupieux, Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Alex Ross Perry, Rebecca Zlotowski, Albert Serra, Tyler Taormina, Martín Rejtman, Vera Drew, Alonso Ruizpalacios, Radu Jude, and others.

Prior to Mubi, Trokan was a seasoned professional at HBO, spending eight years on their film acquisitions team. During this tenure, she not only handled studio titles but also played a key role in bringing independent films such as Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Oscar-winning “Drive My Car” and the entire A24 library to the service. She also struck deals that introduced auteurs such as Amalia Ulman, Roberto Minervini, Fernanda Valadez, and more to HBO and Max viewers.

Trokan’s career began in production and development, where she worked at Film at Lincoln Center before transitioning to HBO’s original programming team.

Nico Chapin has signed on with 1-2 Special, taking charge of all film promotion, festival initiatives, and strategic communication. In his latest position, he was pivotal in the launch of Metrograph Pictures, orchestrating the successful debut of India Donaldson’s “Good One.” This movie garnered numerous nominations at the Gotham Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, and was recognized as the best directorial debut by the National Board of Review. Prior to this, Nico worked at Mubi and Cinetic Media, where he played significant roles in the promotion efforts for Thomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round,” which won an Academy Award, Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow,” and Céline Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

At Mubi, Chapin oversaw the American debut and accolade initiatives for “Decision to Leave” by Park Chan-wook, “Passages” by Ira Sachs, and “Fallen Leaves” by Aki Kaurismäki.

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2025-04-30 16:20