David Linde, CEO of Participant Media, will be honored with ShowEast’s 2019 “Bingham Ray Spirit Award” at the convention’s Final Night Awards Ceremony on October 17, 2019 at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach.
The Bingham Ray Spirit Award was established in 2012 in honor of the late Bingham Ray, one of the most beloved people in the independent film world. Each year, the award is given 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 David with the Bingham Ray Spirit Award,” stated Andrew Sunshine, president of the Film Expo Group, which manages ShowEast. “David’s passion for independent film has brought some of the most successful, important and talked-about indie films to the masses. We congratulate him on this well-deserved honor.”
Participant Media is a global media company dedicated to entertainment that inspires individuals to engage in positive social change. Linde is responsible for leading the company’s overall strategy, content creation, advocacy, operations, strategic investments and acquisitions.
Linde helped lead Participant Media toward a historic year recently, receiving 17 Academy Award nominations—the most ever for the company—resulting in wins for Best Picture (Green Book), as well as Best Director and Best Foreign Language Film (both for Roma). Other noteworthy films from Participant include Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature An Inconvenient Truthand Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film A Fantastic Woman.
Linde’s background spans production, global distribution and building multiple companies from the ground up. In the past, he served as chairman of Universal Pictures and was co-founder of specialty film studio Focus Features, formed from Universal’s acquisition of the independent production company Good Machine, of which he was a partner. Ray and Linde collaborated closely during that time, when Ray was a principal of October Films and Linde served as president of Good Machine International, which represented overseas markets for all of October Films’ productions. Prior to Participant Media, Linde was the CEO and owner of Lava Bear Films, where he produced Best Picture Academy Award nominee Arrival.
Linde currently serves on the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the board of directors of Film Independent, and the board of trustees of New Roads School.
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