Ira Deutchman
Ira Deutchman has been making, marketing and distributing films since 1975, having worked on over 150 films including some of the most successful independent films of all time. He was one of the founders of Cinecom and later created Fine Line Features—two companies that were created from scratch and, in their respective times, helped define the independent film business. He was also a co-founder of Emerging Pictures, the first digital projection network in the United States and a pioneer in delivering live cultural events into movie theaters.
Currently Deutchman is an independent producer and a consultant in marketing and distribution of independent films. He is also Emeritus Professor in the School of the Arts at Columbia University, where he was the Chair of the Film Program from 2011-2015.
His current projects include serving as producer of “Nickel & Dimed,” based on the book by Barbara Ehrenreich and directed by Debra Granik (in pre-production); director/producer of the feature documentary “Searching for Mr. Rugoff” (currently available on the Criterion Channel and on various pay-per-view platforms); producer of the stage adaptation of Joan Micklin Silver’s “Hester Street” (recently opened on Washington DC); and executive producer of the mini-series based on the novel Radio Girls by Sarah-Jane Stratford (in development).
In 2017, Deutchman was awarded the Spotlight Lifetime Achievement Award by the Sundance Art House Convergence for his service to independent film marketing and distribution.
Adeline Monzier
A Harlem resident, Adeline Monzier is currently the US representative of Unifrance, the organization promoting French cinema abroad and the founder of the Harlem film series Uptown Flicks. She also programs films at the Metrograph downtown.
After graduating from Sciences Po in Paris (with a Master’s degree in Culture and Media Management) and from the Ecole Normale Supérieure d’Ulm in Paris (with a Master’s degree in Contemporary German Studies,) in 2005 Adeline Monzier joined DIRE, a French syndicate comprised of nine independent theatrical distributors. Within DIRE, she created Europa Distribution, a network of 130 leading independent distributors from 26 European countries, which she managed from 2007 to 2013.
From her base in NYC, Adeline Monzier also started and ran, from 2011 until 2016, the filmmakers program US-in-Progress in partnership with the American Film Festival in Poland and the Champs-Elysées Film Festival in France. US-in-Progress presents American independent films at rough-cut stage to European buyers and post-production funds, providing the producers with access to completion funding and distribution.
Through her own company, Black Rabbit Film, Adeline Monzier produced her first short film, “L’Héritage” by Michaël Terraz, a French-Swiss co-production which was selected by 40 international film festivals and won 10 awards. She also was a script reader for numerous French companies & funding bodies, including Mars Distribution & the CNC.
In 2013, Adeline Monzier was appointed the US representative of Unifrance and has since then organized Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in partnership with Film at Lincoln Center. In October 2017, she also launched Uptown Flicks, an international film series at various locations in Harlem.
In 2018-19, Adeline Monzier collaborated with Serge Toubiana on his book about Helen Scott, L’Amie américaine.