Lisa Bunnell, president of distribution at Focus Features, will receive this year’s Bingham Ray Spirit Award at ShowEast, it was announced today. She will be presented with the award as part of the final night awards ceremony on Thursday, November 11 at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel.
Established in 2012 in honor of the late independent film executive Bingham Ray, the award is handed out anually to “an individual who has shown exemplary foresight and creativity in the world of independent film.”
“It is with great pleasure that ShowEast will honor Lisa with the Bingham Ray Spirit Award,” said Andrew Sunshine, President of The Film Expo Group. “Lisa’s passion for independent film has brought some of the most successful, important, and talked about indie films to the masses. We congratulate her on this well-deserved honor.”
In her five years at Focus, Bunnell has overseen the distribution of Oscar-winning films including Phantom Thread, The Darkest Hour, BlacKkKlansman and Promising Young Woman. Prior to that, she served as vice president of film at Landmark Theatres for 10 years; in that role, she programmed the chain’s 261 screens in 26 markets across the U.S. Bunnell also worked for over 17 years in the film buying department at Loews Theatres in New York City. She has been a speaker at The New School, NYU, Hunter College, TIFF and film festivals and conventions around the country.
ShowEast is slated to take place from November 8-11, 2021 at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel.
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