PARK CITY, Utah, Sept. 7, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — The Sundance Institute and Film Festival have announced a new hire.
Eugene Hernandez joins the 41-year-old festival as its director, starting in 2024, and will also serve as head of public programming.
Hernandez, who Sundance describes as “a leader in the film and media industry for more than 25 years,” has spent much of his career leading and advising nonprofit arts organizations, the announcement says.
“Since its founding, the Festival has been the premier platform for independent storytellers and audiences. It’s the home for new voices and perspectives, introducing global audiences to the most groundbreaking and culturally defining films,” the Sundance statement says.
“The upcoming 2023 Festival is being led by (CEO Joana) Vicente, working closely with Director of Programming Kim Yutani, along with the Institute’s leadership team. Hernandez’s first Festival leading as Director will be in 2024 for Sundance’s 40th.”
Hernandez will join Sundance Institute’s core leadership team this November, will report to Vicente, and will be based between the Institute’s New York and Los Angeles offices while also working in the Park City office.
He will be the Sundance Film Festival‘s fourth director. He joins the Sundance Institute from Film at Lincoln Center (FLC), where he has spent the past 12 years, most recently as Senior Vice President of FLC, Executive Director of the New York Film Festival, and publisher of Film Comment.
Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO, said in the release statement that Hernandez was first connected with the festival in the mid 1990s, when he came “to build Indiewire, an online community for indie film.
“He’s been at the forefront of supporting independent artists and deeply invested in the careers of storytellers and the field as a whole,” Vicente said. “I am thrilled that he will be the next Festival Director, and that he is joining the Institute’s leadership team.”
“He joins at a critical time in the industry for independent filmmakers when the Institute has never played a more important role for artists, audiences, and the field in total.”
