John Cooper, a 20-year veteran of the Sundance Institute and Film Festival, was appointed Director of the festival, succeeding Geoffrey Gilmore, now Chief Creative Officer at Tribeca Enterprises. Cooper, whose appointment was widely expected in indie circles, previously served as Director, Creative Development for the Sundance Institute and Director of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival. Under his new title, he will serve as the festival's artistic director, leading the festival's programming and strategic growth, as well as overseeing activities such as content production, online initiatives and key national and international partnerships.
Cooper joined the institute in 1989, and has played a vital role in encouraging the development of the "New Frontier on Main" strand of the festival, enhacing Sundance's presence through its website, and instigating the distribution of short films through through strategic relationships with iTunes, Netflix and Xbox 360 platforms. In addition to programming the popular Sundance at BAM series, since 2005 Cooper has spearheaded The Sundance Institute Art House Project, a national initiative of 18 art-houses from across the country designed to connect regional audiences to the Sundance's films and filmmakers.
"This is a tremendous opportunity not just for me but for the entire programming team," Cooper said in a statement. "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."
"When we established the festival, it was always with two goals in mind: supporting new artists and inspiring new audiences," Robert Redford, Sundance Institute President and Founder, added, in the statement. "Cooper 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. Forward thinking, he is a natural choice of succession to lead the festival into the 21st century."