The Film Independent Board Chairman Bill Condon announced that Senior Director Sean Mc Manus and Director of Artist Development Josh Welsh have been appointed to newly created positions of Co-Presidents. They succeed Executive Director Dawn Hudson, who departed in June to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences as CEO. In their new positions, Mc Manus and Welsh will work together to lead the organization and run its year-round programs that nurture independent filmmakers and expand the audience in which their work can be appreciated.
“The Board of Directors and staff are delighted to have Sean and Josh as Co-Presidents. They are a seasoned team whose skills and expertise complement one another beautifully. They collectively possess 25 years of experience, in every area of the organization, and it’s clear they have a shared vision that will take Film Independent to its next level of growth. We’re confident they will build upon the solid foundation Dawn established and will successfully usher Film Independent into the future,” said Condon.
“Josh and I are incredibly passionate about Film Independent and its mission, and we are eager to step into our new roles and jointly lead the organization’s robust portfolio of programs. We are also deeply appreciative of Dawn and her 20-year legacy of creating a uniquely warm and welcoming organizational culture. Dawn instilled core values in us and in Film Independent, especially freedom of expression, artistic excellence, inclusiveness and accessibility. We are honored to follow in her footsteps and are ready to move full steam ahead,” said Mc Manus.
“Sean and I have a long track-record developing and administering programs together, so this will be a very natural transition for us and for the staff,” said Welsh. “We’ve inherited a thriving organization with a strong, committed team in place on the Board and on the staff. I’m so excited to work with Sean in this capacity as we continue to expand existing programs and develop new ways in which Film Independent can provide vital support to the independent film community.”
“Selecting a new permanent leader for Film Independent one of the most important decisions our Board has ever made. We took it very seriously and explored many candidates. We found ourselves uniquely inspired by Sean and Josh’s complimentary talents, their complete dedication, and their combined potential to strengthen Film Independent’s existing programs while developing new initiatives to serve filmmakers’ needs. It became clear to the Search Committee that creating a shared leadership position was the best possible way to expand the organization’s reach and carry it into the future,” said Search Committee Co-Chair and Board of Directors member Alan Poul.