About Us

ASHOK AMRITRAJ
Chairman & CEO

Ashok Amritraj is Chairman and CEO of the Hyde Park Entertainment Group, and was formerly CEO of National Geographic Films.

An internationally renowned award-winning producer, Amritraj has made over 100 films during the span of his 35-year career, with worldwide revenues in excess of $2 billion. He has partnered with every major studio in Hollywood and produced films starring the likes of Bruce Willis, Sandra Bullock, Sylvester Stallone, Angelina Jolie, Cate Blanchett, Dustin Hoffman, Andrew Garfield, Steve Martin, Antonio Banderas, Robert De Niro, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jennifer Aniston, Nicolas Cage, and many more.

Amritraj has grown Hyde Park into a cutting-edge independent alternative to the traditional Hollywood system, fully realizing his vision for a progressive global company that incorporates the most essential elements of a full-fledged studio. Hyde Park’s mandate encompasses feature film, television, digital, documentary, and local language content, with the Company possessing development, production, and financing capabilities in addition to handling worldwide sales and marketing.

Amritraj has had box office hits such as GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE, starring Nicolas Cage, BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE, starring Steve Martin, PREMONITION, starring Sandra Bullock, WALKING TALL starring The Rock, and many more, as well as critically acclaimed titles including 99 HOMES starring Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon, BLUE VALENTINE starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, and SHOPGIRL, starring Steve Martin and Claire Danes.

Amritraj’s current projects include: Tennis Champion & African American Activist ARTHUR ASHE’S BIOPIC with Warner Music Group, REMOTE CONTROL starring Gerard Butler with STX Films, PASHMINA, a Major Animated Musical with Netflix, and a remake of Blake Edward’s iconic film “10” with Warner Brothers.

Hyde Park Entertainment Group and its artists have received awards and recognition from the major award shows and film festivals including the Oscars, the BAFTA awards, the Emmys, the Independent Spirit Awards, the Cannes Film Festival, the Golden Globes, and many more.

Amritraj’s extraordinary career from Wimbledon tennis player to billion dollar Hollywood producer (chronicled in his autobiography Advantage Hollywood) is matched only by his commitment to education, gender, race, and class. Dedicating a significant amount of his time to philanthropic endeavors worldwide, Amritraj was appointed as the first United Nations India Goodwill Ambassador for the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and remains fully engaged in the creation of diverse, socially-relevant content.

In December 2018, by decree of the President of the Republic of France, Amritraj was appointed a Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre National du Merité. In 2015, he was bestowed an honorary Doctorate of the Arts from the University of East London.

Amritraj serves on the Diversity & Inclusion Executive Committee as well as the Producers Executive Board of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and on the advisory board for the Dodge Film School at Chapman University.

CARL CLIFTON
President, Hyde Park International

Carl Clifton is President of Hyde Park International based in London. Prior to Hyde Park, Carl was Partner in K5 International, Sales and Marketing. K5 films included Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson, Martin Zandvliet’s Oscar-nomiinated Land of Mine, Born To Be Blue, The Visitor, Get Low, Vehicle 19, Night Train to Lisbon and The Reluctant Fundamentalist as well as Oscar–nominated documentary Cutie And The Boxer and Next Goal Wins.

Carl has over 26 years’ experience in the film business working for companies such as Polygram, Universal, FilmFour, Handmade and The Works.

Prior to K5, Carl was Managing Director of The Works International and Executive Director of the Board of The Works Media Group plc. Films handled by The Works included the hugely successful Bend it like Beckham and Whale Rider and more recent titles like Io Sono L’Amore and Oscar-winning documentaries Man on Wire and The Cove.
Before The Works he was Chief Operating Office and Head of International Sales at Handmade Films International handling films from Manolete starring Penelope Cruz and Adrien Brody to the big budget 3D animation Planet 51 and the thriller 50 Dead Men Walking starring Ben Kingsley and Jim Sturgess.

At FilmFour, Carl ran the company’s International Division during a maternity cover period working on films such as Peter Cattaneo’s Lucky Break, Cate Blanchett-starrer Charlotte Gray, and Sexy Beast among others. He oversaw FilmFour’s biggest ever Cannes during his time there.
Prior to Film Four, Carl was Senior Vice-President and Head of International Sales at Universal Pictures International (previously PolyGram Films International). During this time he worked on films which included blockbusters and Oscar winners. Titles included Four Weddings and a Funeral, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Dead Man Walking, Sleepers, Bean, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, When We Were Kings, Elizabeth, Notting Hill, The Game and The Green Mile.
Carl has also been involved in film production and he co-produced 3 films including Patrice Leconte’s award-winning L`Homme du Train with Philippe Carcassonne and starring Johnny Halliday and Jean Rochefort.
Carl has consulted for a number of European bodies such as the UK Film Council and a number of its regional organizations and the renowned European producers’ organisation ACE for which he has been a regular consultant for over 20 years. He has taught at EAVE, France’s FEMIS and tutored for ECAFIC and its Audiovisual Masters Programme and also Italian State body ANICA.  He is a member of BAFTA and the European Film Academy and is on the Board of IFTA.