Raymond J. Markovich, President

Ray Markovich was raised in New Hartford, New York. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame (BBA in Accounting) where he played varsity ice hockey, Albany Law School (JD cum laude and editor of Albany Law Review) and The London School of Economics (LLM in International Business Law).

Ray has lived in Russia since 1993. His first cinema in Moscow called the Americom House of Cinema at the Radisson Hotel screened films in the English language. After that, he developed and became General Director of Kodak Kinomir, a cinema/entertainment complex in Moscow, from 1996-2000.

In 1997, he founded, with partners, Cascade Film which became the theatrical distributor for Sony, Disney, Spyglass and Revolution. For many years, Cascade Film had a large share of the Russian box office. In 1999, he founded Albany Kino in Tula, Russia which has 15 to 25,000 customers per month.

In late 2006, he founded Parallel Media with Olga Mirimskaya. Parallel Media is a US film production and distribution company. He was the executive producer of American Summer, Autopsy and A Broken Life. He has produced The Black Waters of Echo’s Pond and Nine Miles Down.

Ray and his wife Ingie reside in St. Petersburg, Russia but also spend considerable time in Los Angeles, California.

Olga Mirimskaya, Chairwoman

Olga Mirimskaya was born in Moscow, Russia. After graduating from Moscow Plekhanov Institute of National Economy, she worked at various international research centers. In 1993, she received a Diploma from the School of International Politics at Georgetown University. Afterwards, she worked at a large international company.

Upon returning to Russia, she held various positions at the MENATEP banking group including being in charge of investments in the food industry. While serving as General Manager of the MENATEP trading house, one of the largest in Russia, she founded a distribution company to serve large Moscow food factories which had been acquired earlier by MENATEP. In 1996, she became Chair of the Board of Russkiy Product and continues today.

In late 2006, she founded Parallel Media with Ray Markovich. Parallel Media is a US film production company. She was the executive producer of The Black Waters of Echo’s Pond, Nine Miles Down, American Summer, Autopsy and A Broken Life.

Olga’s son Arcadiy recently graduated as a film/theater director from Central St. Martins in London and his studies were one of the factors that initially sparked Olga’s interest in the film industry. She hopes that when he is ready, he will be able to direct a Parallel Media film but for now, he is learning from some of the best. Olga splits her time between Moscow, London, Los Angeles and Italy.

Chris Bialek, Distribution

Chris has more than 20 years of experience licensing, distributing, and marketing independent feature films overseas. He has worked on projects from script stage through delivery including development, packaging and financing, as well as, pre-selling films internationally and working on co-productions with Europe and Asia. Chris has worked with leading producers such as Maria Kassar, Arnold Kopelson, Mark Damon and Edward Pressman. Chris has played an intricate role with the international distribution of the Rambo series, Total Recall, Terminator 2, Basic Instinct, 2001-Space Travesty and American Summer.

Peter Rafelson

Born in New York City, Peter Rafelson grew up in the heart of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. As the son of Hollywood legend Bob Rafelson, Peter spent his formative years in the film industry. As a young adult Peter blended his love of film and music, studying film and music at schools in both Los Angeles and Colorado. Peter established himself early on as a successful writer and music producer, working with music legends such as Jackson Brown and Elton John. Peter has written many successful songs, including the #1 hit “Open Your Eyes” for Madonna (27million sold), as well as top ten singles for Stevie Nicks and Jane Wiedlin of the GoGo’s. Currently, Peter is developing and producing a slate of films, which include Pretty Little Hate Machine, with Parallel Media.

Warren Zide

Warren Zide has more than 15 years of experience in the film industry as a Producer including both the American Pie and Final Destination franchises. In 2007, Warren Zide teamed up with Parallel Media, becoming the president of Parallel Zide. His most current projects include Demoted with Michael Vartan Sean Astin, and David Cross, and High School with Colin Hanks and Adrien Brody. Warren’s upcoming projects in development include The Harvard Zombie Massacre and Bat Out of Hell. Some of his best ideas come from his time snoozing away on the office couch.

Arkady Golubovich

For over ten years now, Arkady Golubovich has been involved in the films and theatre. He received a Master in Theatre Arts, Russian Literature and English at Moscow Economic School and then, from 2005 to 2008, Arkady studied at the University of Arts London, Central St. Martins, graduating with a BA in Directing (Theatre and Film). During that time, he dabbled in various projects and positions such as a stage manager, a writer and director, and a DOP. As well, he trained as an actor studying in both Moscow and Los Angeles. His acting credits include Nine Miles Down (feature), A Broken Life (feature), The Aryan Couple (feature), Three Sisters (play), and On the Edge (play). When he became Manager/Vice president of Parallel Media, he helped produce a variety of films including A Broken Life, American Summer, The Black Waters of Echo Pond, and Night of the Demons. His most current producer credits include Demoted, directed by J.B. Rogers and starring Michael Vartan, Sean Astin and David Cross and High School, directed by John Stalberg and starring Adrien Brody, Michael Chiklis and Colin Hanks. Arkady continues his work in the film industry and hopes to successfully produce and direct his own international feature films.

Armen Mahdessian

His contributions are primarily with script development and all Company marketing affairs. He received his BA in Communication, and subsequently his MA in Communication Management from the University of Southern California. Upon completing his MA, Armen joined Parallel Media in 2008 to help produce Enough.mpg, which springboarded him to feature films like Demoted and High School. He continues helping to produce multiple projects for Parallel's various divisions and is actively participating in all of Parallel's daily business affairs. He is currently honing his skills in film editing by undertaking courses in post production and film editing, to help foster his passion in producing.