Jonathan Sehring

President

IFC Entertainment

As president of IFC Entertainment, Jonathan Sehring oversees multiple brands that are devoted to bringing the best of specialty films to the largest possible audience: IFC Films, IFC Festival Direct, IFC Productions and the IFC Center.

One of the most well respected executives in the specialty film business, Mr. Sehring is considered a maverick among his peers for expanding the audience for independent films. He was part of the team that launched The Independent Film Channel in 1994 and later created IFC Entertainment and each of the brands it operates today.

The first company formed under IFC Entertainment was IFC Productions. Launched in 1997, IFC Productions is a feature film production company that provides financing for select independent film projects. Production highlights include: Academy Award®-winner Boys Don’t Cry, Richard Linklater’s Waking Life, Errol Morris’ Mr. Death, Steven Soderbergh’s Gray’s Anatomy and Rebecca Miller’s The Ballad of Jack and Rose.

In 2000, Mr. Sehring launched IFC Films, IFC Entertainment’s foray into film distribution. Today, IFC Films is a leading U.S. distributor of independent and foreign films. Two IFC Films releases, After the Wedding and Days of Glory, received Academy Award® nominations in 2007.

Mr. Sehring oversaw the design and construction of the IFC Center, a multi-million dollar renovation of New York City’s historic landmark The Waverly Theater, which opened in 2005. The IFC Center is a three screen, state-of-the-art cinema that shows art-house films in the heart of Greenwich Village and the bricks and mortar home of the IFC brand.

In 2006, Mr. Sehring continued to forge new ground in the independent film world with the launch of the first theatrical/VOD day and date distribution model. IFC Entertainment’s unique day and date distribution model, "IFC In Theaters," makes films available to a national audience by releasing them simultaneously in theaters as well as on cable’s On Demand platform.

IFC Entertainment expanded upon the success of "IFC in Theaters" with the launch of IFC Festival Direct in 2008, featuring a wide selection of titles from the world’s major international film festivals and initially offering them exclusively through the On Demand platform.

Since its creation, IFC Entertainment has been a leader in the independent film industry, producing and distributing unique, exceptional product. Among its most notable film projects are: Steven Soderbergh’s Cannes award-winning biopic CHE starring Benicio Del Toro (IFC Films distributed); the second highest grossing independent film on record My Big Fat Greek Wedding (IFC Films distributed); Miranda July’s Me and You and Everyone We Know (produced by IFC Productions and IFC Films distributed); foreign language hits Y Tu Mamá También (IFC Films distributed), Golden Globe® nominated 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (IFC Films distributed) and Monsoon Wedding (produced by IFC Productions); and documentary hits Touching the Void (IFC Films distributed) and the highest grossing documentary on record at the time of its release Fahrenheit 9/11 (IFC Films co-distributed).

Mr. Sehring also served as executive producer on original programming produced for The Independent Film Channel, including John Favreau’s Dinner for Five, Isaac Julien’s Baaadassss Cinema, Albert Maysle’s With the Filmmaker, Adam Simon’s The American Nightmare and Errol Morris’ First Person.

Prior to IFC Entertainment, Mr. Sehring oversaw all programming and production activities for Bravo and The Independent Film Channel, where he was responsible for creating and launching several award-winning shows and series, including Bravo’s Emmy® Award-nominated series Inside the Actors Studio and CableAce Award-winning series The South Bank Show, and IFC’s CableAce Award-winning profile of Sam Fuller The Typewriter, The Rifle and The Movie Camera. Prior to joining Bravo, Mr. Sehring was director of programming for Janus Films, Inc., where he worked in various positions in both distribution and production.

Mr. Sehring is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, sits on the International Arts Advisory Committee of the Wexner Center in Columbus, Ohio, and serves on the Board of Directors for Film Independent. He was awarded the prestigious Chevalier of Arts and Letters by the French government in 1999 and the recipient of the Sarasota Film Festival’s Filmmakers’ Tribute Excellence in Producing Award, the Woodstock Film Festival’s Industry Maverick Award and an IFP Gotham Tribute Award in 2007.