Who We Are, Currently
In the spirit of independent film, the Future Film Coalition is unafraid of confronting long odds and pursues its goals with the same tenacity and “suspension of disbelief” that allows independent filmmakers to produce brilliant cinematic works with an economy of means.
Austin Lee Brown is the Director of Advancement Strategy at Sundance Institute where he serves on the Future Models committee, which focuses on addressing systemic challenges facing the independent film sector. Austin has worked with independent film organizations for over a dozen years. Prior to joining Sundance Institute, he held positions with Film at Lincoln Center, Museum of the Moving Image, and Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Austin previously founded one of the first queer film festivals in the state of Kentucky in response to a string of hate crimes in the region.
Aymar Jean "AJ" Christian is the Margaret Walker Alexander Professor of Communication Studies and Director of the Media and Data Equity Lab at Northwestern University and 2024-25 Visiting Scholar at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center. He is the author of Open TV: Innovation Beyond Hollywood and the Rise of Web Television (NYU Press, 2018) and the forthcoming Reparative Media: Cultivating Stories and Platforms to Heal Out Culture (MIT Press, 2025). Dr. Christian co-founded OTV | Open Television, a distribution platform for intersectional television. OTV programs have received recognition from the Television Academy (Emmy Awards), Webby Awards, Streamy Awards, Gotham Awards, among others.
Abby Sun (she/her) is IDA's Director of Artist Programs and Editor of Documentary magazine. Before joining IDA, Abby was the Curator of the DocYard and she edited MIT Open Documentary Lab's Immerse. Abby has served on festival juries for Hot Docs, Dokufest, and Palm Springs, and has reviewed projects for IDFA Forum, NEA, SFFILM, Princess Grace Foundation, the Boston Foundation, and Sundance Catalyst. She received a Warhol Foundation Curatorial Research Fellowship in fall 2022 and was a fall 2024 Shorenstein Center Documentary Film Fellow, researching policy that supports a distributed and just media ecosystem.
Barbara Twist is the Executive Director of the Film Festival Alliance, a nonprofit for festivals and the people who run them. She has extensive experience in distribution and exhibition. Her previous work includes Vidiots, Art House Convergence, Europa International, and others. Barbara is one of the organizers of IND/EX, the largest gathering of independent Exhibitors and Distributors in North America, and has been a key force behind exciting discussion series and new initiatives to address the distribution crisis - including most recently The Popcorn List, highlighting exceptional films that have yet to secure distribution after a festival premiere.
Brian Newman, founder of Sub-Genre, consults on film and media content strategy, distribution and marketing for some of the top brands in the world. His company guides companies through the process of leveraging entertainment to showcase their values, have greater impact, and to stand out from the crowd. Current and former clients include: The Climate Pledge (Amazon), Hilton, Indeed, John Deere, Lowe’s, Oatly, Patagonia, Purina, REI, SmugMug, Stripe, Sundance, WeTransfer, and Yeti Coolers. Brian has served as CEO of the Tribeca Film Institute, president of Renew Media (the Rockefeller Fellowships), and executive director of IMAGE FIlm & Video in Atlanta. During his career, he has served on the board of Media Impact Funders (formerly GFEM), AIVF, Rooftop Films, Muse Film & Video and many other organizations focused on advocacy for the field. Brian also produces independent films, and writes a popular weekly newsletter on film.
Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte is a Golden Globe® winning, Academy Award® and Emmy Award® nominated, producer working under the banner of Antidote Films, the company he founded in 2000; he has also directed two documentaries. He is currently working as an acquiring book editor at Bold Type Books, an imprint of the Hachette Book Group, and resides in Brooklyn New York, with his spouse and two children. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and serves as Chairperson of the Board of Trustees for Type Media Center and as Treasurer of Board for Circuit Arts.
Jon Reiss is a filmmaker, author and media strategist who wrote the book Think Outside the Box Office. His company, 8 Above, creates custom audience-building strategies, theatrical experiences and digital release campaigns for independent films. He helped create and run the IFP/Gotham Filmmaker Lab for ten years and recently created the 8 Above Distribution Lab to teach filmmakers how to distribute and market their films. He just launched an eponymous Substack. Jon got his start in filmmaking and distribution at the documentary collective Target Video where he not only shot seminal bands such as Black Flag, Iggy Pop, Throbbing Gristle, The Cramps, but was one of the first to conceptualize and execute video tours throughout Europe, carting 500 pounds of video deck and projector across 15,000 miles.
Keri Putnam is a producer, advisor and board member. She was the 2023-2024 Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellow at the Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School researching the challenges and opportunities facing independent film in the U.S. Herproduction company Putnam Pictures produces high-quality, distinctive film and television from visionary creative voices. She is a director of AMC Entertainment and a board member, consultant, and advisor to private media companies and nonprofit organizations. Putnam’s previous jobs include CEO of Sundance Institute from 2010-2021, President of Production at Miramax Films, and Executive Vice President of Production at HBO.
Sanjay Sharma is the founder and CEO of MARGINAL, an indie studio focused on popular storytelling genres from outsider voices in film, television, audio, animation, interactive and web3. Since launching four years ago, the studio has been nominated for or won Gotham, NAACP, Indie Spirit, Imagen, and GLAAD Awards. Sharma previously helped lead two digital media companies, All Def Media, based on the iconic Def Jam Records; and Machinima, the first YouTube MCN, ushering in the “creator economy," which was acquired by Warner Bros. Sharma began his career at the U.S. Department of Justice and then as a technology lawyer. He is a Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, graduate of Columbia University where he studied History & Film, and a graduate with distinction of Stanford Law School, after which he clerked on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Sharma teaches entrepreneurship at Stanford University; is a co-founder and Board Member of Gold House; and is the Chairman of the Board of CAPE.
Invitation to Participate
We invite you to join us in this effort! Together, our voices will be strong and impossible to ignore. Sign up to follow our communications.