Ira Deutchman

Ira Deutchman
Born (1953-03-24) March 24, 1953 (age 71)
Cherry Point, North Carolina
Occupation(s)Independent producer, distributor, marketer
Years active1975–present

Ira Deutchman is a producer, distributor and marketer of independent films.[1][2][3][4] In 2000, he moved into film exhibition as co-founder and managing partner of Emerging Pictures,[5] a New York-based digital exhibition company, which was sold in January 2015 to Vancouver-based 20 Year Media.[6] He also served as Chair of the Film Program at Columbia University School of the Arts from 2011 to 2015,[7][8] where he has been a Professor since 1987. Deutchman is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He was one of the original creative advisors to the Sundance Institute[9] and formerly served on the board of advisors for the Sundance Film Festival. He has also served as a board member and former board chair for the Independent Feature Project,[10] the board of advisors for the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, the Williamstown Film Festival, IFP/West, and the Collective for Living Cinema, and was a member of the board for Kartemquin Films.[11]

Deutchman continues to produce films, consults on the marketing and distribution of independent films and teaches producing students in the MFA Film Program at Columbia University's School of the Arts. Current projects include a film adaptation of Barbara Ehrenreich's best-selling book "Nickel and Dimed," a theatrical adaptation of Joan Micklin Silver's 1976 independent film "Hester Street" [12] and a documentary about art film maverick Donald Rugoff, which premiered at the 2019 DOC NYC Festival in New York.[13] He consults for Cinecitta on the marketing of Italian cinema in the United States. Deutchman was awarded the first annual Spotlight Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2017 Sundance Art House Convergence.[14]

  1. ^ Dawes, Amy (19 May 1990). "A fine time for Fine Line". Moving Pictures: 17.
  2. ^ Brown, Colin (January 17, 1997). "Executive Suite: Ira Deutchman". Screen International.
  3. ^ "The Big Shakeout". The Off-Hollywood Report. January 1989.
  4. ^ Lehman, Susan (July 1992). "Independent's Day". Harper's Bazaar: 96–98.
  5. ^ Deutchman, Ira. "Ira Deutchman - Emerging Pictures". Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  6. ^ Thompson, Anne (20 January 2015). "20 Year Media Acquires Emerging Pictures (EXCLUSIVE)". Thompson on Hollywood. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  7. ^ Appelo, Tim (July 27, 2011). "Ira Deutchman New Chair of Columbia's Film School". Hollywood Reporter.
  8. ^ Cox, Gordon (27 July 2011). "Deutchman upped at Columbia U". Variety. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  9. ^ "Sundance Institute". film institute. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  10. ^ Kaufman, Anthony (October 26, 2006). "Awards Watch: A Crisis for Independent Film?". IndieWire.
  11. ^ "Kartemquin Films". film company. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  12. ^ Chow, Andrew R. (28 December 2016). "'Hester Street' to Be Adapted for the Stage". The New York Times.
  13. ^ "Searching for Mr. Rugoff at DOC NYC". DOC NYC.
  14. ^ "Ira Deutchman Gets First Spotlight Cinema Laurels For Lifetime Of Indie Service". 18 January 2017.