Hans Fraikin joined Abu Dhabi Film Commission in June 2020, following a twenty-five-year global career in film distribution, co-production and financing. As Abu Dhabi Film and Television Commissioner, Hans is responsible for developing a world-class production center and film friendly community in Abu Dhabi, capable of supporting productions from around the world.
Prior to joining the commission, Hans was the co-founder and CEO of Libra Project, one of the world’s first renewable energy blockchain-based impact investment companies.
Hans began his professional career working with major US film studio Twentieth Century Fox, where he distributed nearly 100 motion pictures, including Independence Day, Mrs. Doubtfire, the Full Monty, Romeo + Juliet, the Star Wars trilogy, Alien Resurrection, Anastasia and Titanic. He was later appointed Director of the European office at Telefilm Canada in 2003, where he advised and packaged co-productions for Canadian producers and their international counterparts and led on international corporate strategic developments and Official International Co-production Treaties.
In 2006, Hans became the Founding Managing Director and Quebec Commissioner of BCTQ / QFTC Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec. Over the course of his nine-year tenure at BCTQ, Hans opened Quebec’s first ever Film Commission, and was responsible for designing and implementing its corporate vision and strategic plan, which ultimately generated $1.3 billion in inward investments over 9 years with feature-films such as Beastly, X-Men, The Mummy 3, Life of Pi, 300, RED 2, Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Get Smart, Smurfs, Death Race, The Words and White House Down, Within Canada, Hans led the BCTQ’s fundraising, lobbying, and public relations efforts. He was also responsible for all local and international media relations and the BCTQ’s overall communications strategy.
Hans currently serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors at the Canadian Business Council. He was previously a board member at the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI). He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration – majors in Marketing/Management from the University of Ottawa. Hans has lived and worked in 10 countries around the world, and speaks English, French, German and Japanese.
