Element Pictures, the powerhouse Irish film and TV production company and awards season regular, has appointed its first in-house head of communications and marketing.
Seasoned publicity veteran Chris Duggan has been appointed to the newly-created role and will work across Element’s stable of producers to promote their projects and lead corporate communications, reporting directly to founders and co-CEOs Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe.
Most recently, Duggan held a senior communications role at Sky, working across programming including “The Day of the Jackal,” “Lockerbie: A Search for Truth” and “The Tattooist of Auschwitz.” Prior to that, he led communications for local original programming at HBO Max in Europe while also helping deliver global campaigns for HBO U.S. shows such as “True Detective” and “Westworld.” He began his TV publicity career at the BBC, promoting iconic drama series “Doctor Who,” “Sherlock” and “Line of Duty.”
“Chris brings extensive experience promoting some of the biggest entertainment properties of recent years, and we are excited to welcome him to Element Pictures,” said Guiney and Lowe. “As we continue to develop our slate of television and film projects, we are delighted to have found someone to lead our communications and marketing function who shares our passion for telling authentic, high quality stories.”
As head of communications and marketing, Chris will oversee all aspects of Element Pictures’ external relations, including festival activity, awards campaigning and social channels.
The appointment comes as Element celebrates its 25th year and with the company — which was acquired by Fremantle in 2022 — continuing to make waves on both the big screen and small. It recently received received acclaim for “Bugonia,” its latest feature with regular collaborator Yorgos Lanthimos, which received four Oscars nominations, including best picture. Meanwhile, both Harry Lighton’s “Pillion” and Akinola Davies Jr.s “My Father’s Shadow” both won awards in Cannes in 2025 and combined received multiple nominations and wins across both the British Independent Film Awards and BAFTAs. On TV, Element recently announced the adaptation of David Nicholls’ “We Are Here,” reuniting it with the BBC after their smash hit “Normal People.”
Duggan will start his new role in August, working between Element’s offices in London and Dublin