SCHEDULE
Independent Film Today: A Conversation
Join legendary film producer Christine Vachon (Past Lives, May/December, Boys Don’t Cry and so many more!) and Kathryn Spitz Cohan, Executive Director of Film Pittsburgh, as they discuss the current state of independent cinema.
Preceded by a brunch.
Co-Presented by Point Park University Cinema Arts
Christine Vachon
Producer — Keynote Speaker
Christine Vachon is an Independent Spirit Award and Gotham Award winner who co-founded powerhouse Killer Films with partner Pamela Koffler in 1995. Over three decades, they have produced more than 100 films, including some of the most celebrated and important American independent features: Kids, I Shot Andy Warhol, Happiness, Boys Don't Cry, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Far From Heaven, One Hour Photo, Still Alice, Carol, Beatriz At Dinner, and Dark Waters. In television, Vachon executive-produced the Emmy and Golden Globe-awarded miniseries Mildred Pierce for HBO as well as the Emmy Award-winning limited series Halston for Netflix. Recent releases include Todd Haynes' May December (Netflix), starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, and Celine Song's Past Lives (A24), which marks her first Oscar nomination in the Best Picture category.
Kathryn Spitz Cohan
Executive Director
Kathryn Spitz Cohan has been Executive Director of Film Pittsburgh since 2001. From 2003 to 2007, she also was the Artistic/Education Director of Shakespeare-in-the-Schools and a Teaching Artist at the University of Pittsburgh. Previously, she served as Assistant Director of Administration for the Three Rivers Arts Festival and was Artistic Director of the Theater Department at the JCC-Greater-Pittsburgh. In 2004, Kathryn was named to Pittsburgh’s Top 50 Cultural Forces list in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In 2012, she received an Opal Award from Women in Film and Media–Pittsburgh for exemplary professional achievement. Kathryn serves on the Board of Film Festival Alliance and is a graduate of Northwestern University.