We invite you to a “Meeting with the promoters of independent cinema in the United States” with Janet Pierson, South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW); John Pierson, filmmaker; and Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival. The meeting will be moderated by the filmmaker Eduardo Chapero-Jackson.
Janet Pierson
Responsible for the concept, programming and execution of the SXSW Film Festival, which he joined in its 2009 edition. Until then, he had dedicated more than 30 years to the defense of independent films and filmmakers, carrying out very diverse tasks, from his beginnings in the distribution of experimental cinema, to exhibition and production. She met her husband, John Pierson, at the Film Forum in New York in 1983 and together they were instrumental in the careers of directors such as Spike Lee, Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater and Michael Moore. Both also worked on the creation and production of the Split Screen video magazine on The Independent Film Channel (IFC).
John Pierson
An essential figure and one of the most notorious promoters of the explosion of American independent cinema in the 90s, together with his wife, Janet Pierson, he has been essential in the careers of directors such as Spike Lee, Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater and Michael Moore. He is the author of the book Spike, Mike, Slackers, and Dykes, about the coming of age of independent cinema between 1985-1995. In 1997 he launched the Split Screen video-magazine on The Independent Film Channel (IFC) through which all the young filmmakers of the time spent years, showing facets of themselves rarely seen in other formats. He has been a professor at the University of Texas-Austin for ten years.
kim yutani
The recently appointed Director of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival started at the Sundance Film Festival as a short film programmer in 2006 and became a feature film programmer in 2009, focusing on US and international fiction films. Yutani was instrumental in creating the Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong, for which she is also a programmer. Over the past five years she has overseen a new collaboration with the Berlinale's European Film Market, which has provided visibility and opportunities for films following their Sundance premiere. Yutani began her career as a programmer at Outfest Los Angeles, one of the world's leading LGBT festivals. She was previously a freelance journalist, independent film critic, and assistant to director Gregg Araki.
Eduardo Chapero-Jackson
He holds the record of having been nominated for the Goya Awards for his first short film, first feature film and first documentary. His short films Contra Cuerpo, Alumbramiento and The End have won more than 150 awards around the world, including Best Short Film at the Venice International Film Festival, Best Short Film of the Year at the European Film Academy Awards and Best Short Film at the the Los Angeles Film Festival. His first feature film, Verbo, was selected for the San Sebastian International Film Festival and the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival. And his first documentary feature film, Los mundos sutiles, received an honorable mention at the Valladolid International Film Festival. He has been an associate producer on films such as The Others and was part of the executive production team for The Sea Inside, winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. He has directed the television series Tiempos de Guerra and Laembasa for the Spanish production company Bambú. He is a professor of direction, script and interpretation at the TAI School.