Change Comes to IFP; Byrd Leaving After 17 Years

Image provided by IFP.

In the latest significant shift to hit the independent film sector in recent months, longtime IFP executive director Michelle Byrd is stepping down after some seventeen years with the leading New York film nonprofit organization. She led the organization through a number of periods of change and growth since taking charge as leader in the Spring of ‘97.

Talking with indieWIRE, Byrd indicated that she has been working towards her departure for awhile now, notifying the IFP board last year that she was not interested in renewing her two-year contract this year. She added that after nearly 18 years at the organization it was time for a change, but she wanted to spend months working with her IFP colleagues to position it for the coming leadership shift.

She will remain in her post atop the Independent FIlmmmaker Project (IFP) through the end of this year. Her contract expires on December 31, 2009. She is meeting to find a new role, aiming to explore media, global issues and technology.

The replacement for Byrd will not be found within the organization, she indicated. IFP has enlisted Time Warner’s Worldwide Recruitment & Executive Search to find a new leader for the group.

“This is a community and an organization about which I care deeply and all of us are working collaboratively to ensure that a leadership change won’t place any unnecessary stress on the organization,” Byrd said in a statement. “I have great faith in our Deputy Directors, Amy Dotson in programming and membership, and Mitch Micich in finance and operations, and their ability to aid in a smooth transition.”

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IFP’s Amy Dotson, Eunhee Cho - the recipient of the inaugural Adrienne Shelly Director’s grant for her new film “Inner Cirlce Line,” and IFP Executive Director Michelle Byrd. Photo by Brian Brooks/indieWIRE When Byrd joined IFP in 1992, the independent film sector was on the cusp of dramatic expansion and awareness that continued through the 1990s. Once known as the Independent Feature Project, the organization was born out of a demand for greater representation and respect among indie filmmakers in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. It grew to prominence with the expansion of the annual Independent Feature Film Market, a Fall event where American indie filmmakers would bring finished feature films hoping to score some sort of sale or secure an invitation from a film festival. The annual IFFM waned in importance at the turn of this century, paving the way for a dramatic restructuring that essentially concluded with this year’s event. The IFP event, as well as other new programs and labs, now showcases works-in-porgress, development and education, hoping to help filmmakers take tangible steps torwards getting films made. “Michelle has been with IFP for seventeen years, twelve years as Executive Director, and has done as much as any individual to advance the cause of independent filmmaking in New York,” said Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, IFP Board Chairman, in a statement being released today. “All of us at IFP will miss her immensely, but we also acknowledge that this is an opportunity for a new infusion of leadership, energy and direction, and we are excited to begin the search and open a new chapter in IFP’s long history at the center of independent film.” The complete IFP press release is posted on the next page.   (1 of 2)  Next Page › posted on June 5, 2009 |Share