Seven premiering productions will compete for the Berlinale Series Award next month, with one further world exclusive launch screening out of competition.
10.01.2023 - 17:35 / deadline.com
Karen Cooper, longtime director of New York City’s indie cinema gem Film Forum, says she’s stepping down at a good time, not just for her, but for the business. Despite all the naysayers and after slogging through Covid with the help of federal grants and weathering a slow recovery, Cooper said business is currently pretty lively at the lower Manhattan nonprofit cinema she’s run for the past 50 years.
She’s leaving her position this summer with Deputy Director Sonya Chung taking the reins July 1.
The Film Forum launched in 1970 on the Upper West Side with a $19,000 annual budget to show American independent films not playing in commercial cinemas. Cooper led it through three expansions, building it into a $6 million business with a range of programming and premieres from around the world. It’s been at its current location on West Houston Street since 1989. She counts New York openings of hundreds of indie narrative films, documentaries and animated features over the decades – many by debut directors – as her greatest accomplishment. Filmmakers she’s supported range from New German Cinema to Terence Davies, Mira Nair and Agnès Varda to Wong Kar-wai and Chloé Zhao.
Cooper will continue to advise on fundraising and programming. She’ll be at the Berlin International Film Festival in February. Meanwhile, she fielded a few questions from Deadline about the organization that been her life’s work, and the state of independent film market.
DEADLINE: There’s so much doom and gloom around the future of arthouse film. So, how’s business?
COOOPER: Financially we are pretty solid. The losses during Covid were tremendous but we did get federal support and support from individuals and foundations that were helpful to us.
I know this
Seven premiering productions will compete for the Berlinale Series Award next month, with one further world exclusive launch screening out of competition.
King Charles visited Scotland in his first public appearance since Prince Harry released his memoir Spare.
Barry Grove will step down as the Executive Producer of Manhattan Theatre Club, a major Broadway and Off Broadway institution, at the conclusion of the 2022-2023 season.
A match made in heaven. Ben Affleck is finally teaming up with Dunkin’ for a commercial.
Welcome to The O.C.! Adam Brody, Rachel Bilson, Ben McKenzie and more young actors got their starts on the teen drama — but there were even more faces that would soon become familiar in the background.
In a major shift one of the nation’s premier arthouses, Karen Cooper will be exiting as director on June 30 after 50 years running the Film Forum in New York City. Deputy Director Sonya Chung will assume the role.
BAFTA has unveiled the longlists across all categories for its 2023 Film Awards, and Martin McDonagh’s tragicomedy The Banshees Of Inisherin and Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front lead. Scroll down for the lists in full.
In his own words. Prince Harry has spent most of his life as Prince William‘s “shadow” — a role he says his family members “reinforced” regularly.
Sharing her story. Ricki Lake is proud of a “brave ass leap” she took in 2019.
Yesterday, Variety published a piece about what plans DC Studios co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran have for the DCU‘s immediate future. But this morning, Gunn took to Twitter to dismiss some of the publication’s claims, including the future of Wonder Woman and Ezra Miller staying on as The Flash.
Almost four years after the FBI swooped in on Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin and other well-heeled parents who tried to bribe their kids’ way into elite colleges, the man who masterminded the whole scheme today finally faced justice.