Taking Care of Business
by Karen Pecota

A few weeks later, the Sundance Institute announced the appointment of John Cooper as Director of the Sundance Film Festival. The press memo stated, “Effective immediately, Mr. John Cooper will serve as the Festival’s artistic director leading the Festival’s programming and strategic growth and oversee activities such as content production, online initiatives and key national and international partnerships.”

Robert Redford, Sundance Institute President and Founder comments, “When we established the Festival, it was always with two goals in mind: supporting new artists and inspiring new audiences. Copper has never lost sight of these goals. He brings to the position an infectious enthusiasm as well as a deep understanding of the Sundance brand and culture…he is a natural choice to follow Geoffrey Gilmore to lead the Festival into the 21st century.” Ken Brecher, Executive Director of the Sundance Institute adds, “To have such an innovative leader who is very much in tune with the needs and interest of the today’s filmmakers is invaluable.”

John Cooper accepted the appointment with these words, “This is a tremendous opportunity not just for me but for the entire programming team. Our industry is at a crossroads: innovative technology and global accessibility are making filmmaking wildly creative while, at the same time, traditional funding and distribution models are being challenged. Never has our Festival been more relevant. I am honored to accept this position and ready to get to work on shaping the Festival of the future.”