Join us for our second Creative Connect of the year with film producer Ira Deutchman, moderated by filmmaker and RTVF professor Spencer Parsons.
This event is free, and open to the public. There will be a lunch reception following the discussion
While at Northwestern, Ira will be participating in special screenings of his films
SEARCHING FOR MR. RUGOFF (2019) and
ALL I WANNA DO (aka STRIKE!!) (1998), in collaboration with RTVF. Both screenings will be held at the Block Museum (40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, IL).
Click
here to RSVP for the screening of
SEARCHING FOR MR. RUGOFF (Friday, May 2, 7:00pm)
Click
here to RSVP for the screening of
ALL I WANNA DO (aka STRIKE!!) (Saturday, May 3, 12:20pm)
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 Professor Emeritus in the School of the Arts at Columbia University, where he has taught since 1987 and was the Chair of the Film Program from 2011-2015.
His current projects include serving as director/producer of the feature documentary "Searching for Mr. Rugoff" (opened in theaters in August, 2021), producer of the stage adaptation of Joan Micklin Silver’s "Hester Street" (opens April 1, 2024), producer of "Nickel & Dimed," based on the book by Barbara Ehrenreich and directed by Debra Granik (in pre-production) 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.
Spencer Parsons
Spencer Parsons's latest feature film, Saturday Morning Massacre, premiered at the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival, and was awarded Best Feature at the 2012 Minneapolis Underground Film Festival. His previous feature, I'll Come Running (2008) played numerous festivals, has screened on the Sundance Channel and is distributed by IFC. His award-winning short films include Chainsaw Found Jesus (2011), Once and Future Asshole (2005), Resolution (2002), and A Common Confuxion (1999). Parsons served as senior programmer for Cinematexas International Short Film Festival in Austin, Texas , from 2000-2003, and continued as a board member and curator-at-large until 2007.
He has curated programs of films for the Thessaloniki Film Festival (Greece), L'Alternativa (Spain), Rooftop Films (Brooklyn, NY), Exploding Cinema (London), Fusebox Festival (Austin, Texas) and for the Block Cinema at Northwestern. He has worked on the programming committee of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival and has served on awards juries for SXSW, Sundance Film Festival, and Chicago Underground Film Festival.
His writing has appeared in the Austin Chronicle, Cinespect, Film in Focus and Filmmaker Magazine. Parsons teaches Advanced Production, Directing Actors for Camera, and Media Production, among other courses.
