Oscar winning film studio Neon has made a key hire in Ryan Werner, a dogged veteran and fixture in the indie film space.
Neon CEO Tom Quinn has named Wener to the newly-created role of president of global cinema, where he will lead distribution and shepherd the company’s auteur-driven slate to audiences. Werner comes from Cinetic Media, the American financing and distribution company he founded in 2014.
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“Ryan’s taste, passion, and instincts for cinema are boundless,” Quinn said in a statement. “Together, combined with Ryan’s extensive knowledge, wealth of relationships and envious track record, we look forward to continue growing Neon as a premiere home for groundbreaking cinema. To say we’re thrilled about working with Ryan would be the understatement of the year.”
Werner’s new purview will be focused on theatrical distribution, working alongside Neon senior leadership (including distribution chief Elissa Federoff and international distribution executive Kristen Figeroid) to juice marketing and release strategies as the company expands worldwide production and release efforts.
“I’m incredibly excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Tom and the exceptional team at Neon. I deeply admire everything they have accomplished. This is a very special opportunity to create something with some of the most talented people working in film. I am honestly thrilled by the prospect of it.“
Neon just swept this year’s Academy Awards with five wins for Sean Baker’s “Anora,” a fairytale about a Brooklyn sex worker and the Russian oligarch’s son who takes her on a wild, emotional ride. Last year, the company marked it’s biggest ever box office earner with Osgood Perkins’ horror hit “Longlegs.”
On the ground at Cannes, Neon has Joachim Trier’s “ Sentimental Value” and Julia Ducournau’s “Alpha,” both premiering in competition, as well as Raoul Peck’s “Orwell: 2+2=5” and Michael Angelo Covino’s “Splitsville,” starring Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona.
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