René Bastian is the founder of Belladonna Productions Inc., which he established in 1994 to make commercials, and feature films of the highest creative standards, with international perspective, and commercial appeal.

In 1995 he partnered with producer Linda Moran, and together they have produced multiple award winning films, such as “Sue”, “L.I.E.”, “Transamerica”, “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” and “Funny Games US”. His films have been honored at the Sundance, Berlin, Venice and Toronto Film Festivals, have won a Golden Globe and received a Grammy, as well as several Academy Award nominations.

René has also produced countless commercials and music videos for blue chip clients such as American Express, BMW, T-Mobile, DHL, El-Al Airlines, Qantas Airlines, Mercedes Benz and Panasonic.

For his accomplishments in film production, he was awarded the Motorola Producer of the Year award in 2001 and was named amongst “10 Producers to Watch” by Variety in 2005.

He was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany and lived and worked in Barcelona, Spain, before he moved to New York in the early 90s to study political science and journalism at NYU, which he concluded Magna Cum Laude.