reported by Jason Miller, CyberScreenwriter.com

Fox Searchlight Pictures President of Production, Claudia Lewis, announced today that Zola Mashariki has been promoted to Vice President of Production, reporting to Lewis.

Said Claudia Lewis, "We are thrilled to promote Zola, who started here as an intern five years ago and has been skyrocketing her way to the top ever since. With her creativity and intelligence, she has proven to be an integral part of our team, and we are so proud that she will continue to make the distinctive films she is known for."

Added Mashariki, "When I left my legal career, I took a leap of faith and landed at a remarkable company. Fox Searchlight is my home and I love being able to make truly innovative and creative movies here. Peter Rice and Claudia Lewis have taught me what it takes to be a great production executive and I am honored to be a part of the Searchlight team as we move forward."

Mashariki began her tenure at Fox Searchlight in May 2000 as a production intern, was upped to Creative Executive in January 2001, and to Director in November 2003. Amongst the titles she has worked on are Bill Condon's KINSEY; Jim Sheridan's thrice Oscar(R)-nominated IN AMERICA; the multiple award-winning ANTWONE FISHER; LE DIVORCE, starring Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts; NEVER DIE ALONE, starring DMX and David Arquette; and THE CLEARING, starring Academy Award(R) winner Robert Redford, Helen Mirren and Willem Dafoe.

Mashariki's current projects include: PHAT GIRLZ, starring the outrageous comedic talents of Mo'Nique and set for an April 7 release; and Academy Award(R)-nominated director Mira Nair's THE NAMESAKE, based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri's novel of the same name. Upcoming films under Mashariki include I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE, starring and co-written by Chris Rock; and THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G., the story of the life and death of infamous hip hop rapper Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. Notorious B.I.G.

Prior to Fox Searchlight, Mashariki worked as a corporate attorney for Proskauer Rose LLP in New York. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and received her Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School.

Fox Searchlight Pictures is a filmmaker-oriented company that focuses on distinctive films helmed by world-class auteurs and exciting newcomers. It has its own marketing, distribution and publicity operations, and its films are distributed internationally by Twentieth Century Fox. Fox Searchlight Pictures is a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, a unit of Fox Entertainment Group.