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 Center, IFC Films, IFC Productions and Sundance Selects.
One of the most well respected executives in the specialty film business, 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 that 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. Critically acclaimed films created by IFC Productions include: 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, Sehring launched IFC Films, which under his leadership has grown to become a leading U.S. distributor of independent films. Sehring continued to forge new ground with the launch of the first theatrical/VOD day and date distribution model in 2006. IFC Entertainment’s unique model makes independent films available to a national audience by releasing them simultaneously in theaters via IFC Films, as well as on cable’s On Demand platform through its IFC In Theaters label. In 2010, IFC Entertainment launched a second label under IFC Films called IFC Midnight, which features the very best in international genre cinema, including horror, sci-fi, thrillers, erotic art-house, action and more. IFC Midnight premieres new films each month on demand and select titles are also released in theaters at the same time as their VOD premiere.
Sehring also spearheaded the launch of Sundance Selects in 2009. Managed by IFC Entertainment and a brand extension of Rainbow Media-owned sister company Sundance Channel, Sundance Selects is a transactional on demand service for feature and documentary films.
The opening of the IFC Center in 2005 marked IFC Entertainment’s foray into film exhibition. 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 to create a state-of-the-art cinema that shows art-house films in the heart of Greenwich Village. In 2009, the IFC Center expanded and is now a five screen theater.
Since its inception, IFC Entertainment has been a leader in the independent film industry, distributing and producing unique, exceptional product. Among its most notable film projects are: Academy Award®-winning Boys Don’t Cry (produced by IFC Productions); Academy Award®-nominated films In the Loop, starring James Gandolfini (IFC Films distributed), and Transamerica (IFC Films co-distributed); the second highest grossing independent film on record at the time of its release and an Academy Award ®-nominated film, My Big Fat Greek Wedding (IFC Films distributed); Steven Soderbergh’s Cannes award-winning biopic CHE, starring Benicio Del Toro (IFC Films distributed); Miranda July’s Me and You and Everyone We Know, (produced by IFC Productions and IFC Films distributed); foreign language hits such as the Academy Award®-nominated films Y Tu Mama Tambien, After the Wedding and Days of Glory (IFC Films distributed), Golden Globe®-nominated 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (IFC Films distributed), and Monsoon Wedding (produced by IFC Productions); as well as the 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).
Prior to IFC Entertainment, Sehring oversaw all programming and production activities for Bravo and The Independent Film Channel. In this role, 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. He also served as executive producer on critically acclaimed IFC originals such as 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 joining Bravo, Sehring was director of programming for Janus Films, Inc., where he worked in various positions in both distribution and production.
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 is the recipient of the Chevalier of Arts and Letters, awarded by the French government, 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.