Papaya Films has signed Madrid-born, Mexico-based director and photographer Lidia Estepa for representation in the U.K. Estepa’s commercial work spans collaborations with Palacio de Hierro, American Eagle, Kate Spade, Bose, Coca-Cola and Pantene. With deep roots in the fashion industry, she has also created emotionally resonant worlds for a slew of leading editorial titles including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and L’Officiel alongside luxury fashion brands such as Gucci, Cartier, Chanel and BCBG. A graduate of Madrid’s prestigious Centro Internacional de Fotografía y Cine, Estepa spent 15 years honing her photography practice in New York, Boston, Barcelona and Madrid before moving to Mexico City and expanding organically into directing. Rooted in emotional truth and guided by an intuitive feminine gaze, Estepa’s storytelling explores the space between the sacred and the ordinary, the seen and the felt. Her ability to create emotionally resonant worlds, both mystical and human, is seen in work such as her short film Khimia for Harper’s Bazaar, which portrays the transformative process of the soul….
Havas has acquired a majority stake in Acento Public Affairs, a public affairs consultancy in Spain led by Alfonso Alonso and Pepe Blanco. Founded in 2019, the firm employs more than 50 professionals across its offices in Madrid, Barcelona, and Brussels. Acento will be immediately integrated into H/Advisors, Havas’ global communications and public affairs advisory network, and will expand international advisory services in Spain in coordination with 1,500 professionals across 50 offices worldwide. Acento will rebrand as H/Advisors and remain under the leadership of co-CEOs Alonso and Blanco. H/Advisors is in a strong expansion phase, having completed several strategic acquisitions in recent years in the fields of communications and public affairs, including Gauly Advisors in Germany; Cunha Vaz & Associados (CV&A) in Portugal; Australian Public Affairs (APA) in Australia; and Klareco Communications in Singapore. H/Advisors has been operating in Spain since 2022 following the acquisition of Tinkle. European affairs are a strategic priority for H/Advisors. Over the past year, the network has opened a new building in the heart of Brussels, bringing together the teams from Acento Brussels and Gauly Advisors, its penultimate acquisition in Germany, which also maintains a presence at the European Union headquarters. Stéphane Fouks, executive chairman of H/Advisors and EVP of Havas, noted that public affairs and strategic communications are increasingly central in helping clients navigate political, regulatory, and reputational complexity….