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STATE OF DISTRIBUTION


Movie theaters have been declared dead many times throughout history. Television and then home video, among many other threats, somehow never did kill them off. Even prior to the pandemic, pundits were speculating on the health of the theatrical film business due to the rise of streaming services. Now, with audiences hunkered down in their living rooms, there is open discussion once again about whether theaters can survive. Yet, the re-opening of European and Asian cinemas, alongside limited openings in some regions of the United States, have indicated exactly the opposite. Box office has been stronger than expected, adding fuel to the argument that when it feels safe, audiences will be craving the collective experience that can only be had in a public venue. Our panel of experts will attempt to answer some of the pressing issues facing the film business in 2020. How will the business change in light of all the forces facing it? Will audiences return who have become used to streaming all manner of content at home? Will the major studios adapt differently from smaller independents and what might that mean for the availability of a wide range of films? Are distributors abandoning or undermining theaters by embracing the streaming model? What are theaters doing to survive the pandemic? This is destined to be a freewheeling and provocative discussion.


MODERATOR: 


Eugene Hernandez is Director of the New York Film Festival and Publisher of Film Comment at Film at Lincoln Center where he serves as Deputy Executive Director. His duties include strategic leadership, programming special events, and managing emerging artist, industry, and education initiatives. He joined Film at Lincoln Center in 2010 as Director of Digital Strategy to develop digital platforms and content. In 1996, Hernandez co-founded IndieWire, which he built over 15 years as it became the leading editorial publication for independent and international films, filmmakers, industry, and audiences.

 





PANELISTS:


Ira Deutchman has been making, marketing and distributing films since 1975, having worked on over 150 films including some of the most successful independent films of all time. He was one of the founders of Cinecom and later created Fine Line Features—two companies that were created from scratch and, in their respective times, helped define the independent film business. He was also a co-founder of Emerging Pictures, the first digital projection network in the United States and a pioneer in delivering live cultural events into movie theaters. Currently Deutchman is an independent producer, and a consultant in marketing and distribution of independent films. Among his clients are Istituto Luce Cinecitta, for which he promotes Italian cinema in the U.S. He is also a Professor of Professional Practice in the School of the Arts at Columbia University, where he was the Chair of the Film Program from 2011-2015. His current projects include serving as producer of NICKEL & DIMED, based on the book by Barbara Ehrenreich and directed by Debra Granik (in pre-production), director/producer of the feature documentary SEARCHING FOR MR. RUGOFF (in post-production) and producer of the stage adaptation of Joan Micklin Silver’s HESTER STREET (in development). In 2017, Deutchman was awarded the Spotlight Lifetime Achievement Award by the Sundance Art House Convergence for his service to independent film marketing and distribution.





Wendy Lidell is Sr. VP, Theatrical/Nontheatrical Distribution & Acquisition at Kino Lorber Inc. Prior to joining Kino Lorber in 2016, Lidell was President of International Film Circuit, an organization she founded in 1987 with support from the Rockefeller and MacArthur Foundations. From 1999 to 2004, Lidell headed the theatrical division of Fox Lorber which later became Winstar and then Wellspring. Under her leadership, that company released films including RUSSIAN ARK, UNDER THE SAND, YI YI, and NOTORIOUS C.H.O. Since joining Kino Lorber, she has been responsible for the release of films including BACURAU, FIRE AT SEA, BEANPOLE, LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, GRACE JONES: BLOODLIGHT AND BAMI. Lidell has run campaigns for four documentaries nominated for Academy Awards, and most recently led the development and implementation of the first and largest virtual cinema platform, Kino Marquee. 










Steve Leiber is the co-founder and exec director of Upstate Films since 1972, Steve Leiber has experienced quite a bit of film history while serving in the trenches of film exhibition programming and also popping corn as well as dabbling in distribution. He has hosted visiting film folk such as: Emile De Antonio, Jonathan Demme, Lizzie Borden, James Ivory, Ismail Merchant, Pauline Kael, Todd Haynes, Wally Shawn, Jennie Livingston, Gyula Gazdag, Barbara Kopple, any many more.









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Connie White is president at Balcony Booking. Connie has been working in the independent film business since the late ‘80s, first as an innovative programmer and co-owner for the historic Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA from 1987 - 2001. In 2002 she founded Balcony Booking which programs and books films for 25 quality art-house cinemas throughout the US, including the Coolidge Corner, Brookline, MA, the Broadway, SLC; the Loft, Tucson; and Film Streams, Omaha, among others.


Connie co-founded the Boston International Festival of Women’s Cinema, served as the Artistic Director of the Provincetown International Film Festival from 1999 - 2016, and is currently the Director of Programming at the Middleburg Film Festival, Middleburg, VA. Connie was honored with the "Image Award for Vision and Excellence" from Women in Film and Video, New England. She has served on the jury for the Sundance Film Festival, was an early organizer/creator of Sundance’s Art House Project, and was on the founding leadership team for the Art House Convergence.