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PARK CITY — The Sundance Film Festival appointed Eugene Hernandez as its new director Wednesday.
Hernandez is the festival's first Latino director since it was founded in August 1978. He will also act as head of public programming for the Sundance Institute year round.
Hernandez brings over two decades of experience in the film industry, including his current stint as director at the New York Film Festival, founding film news site Indiewire, publishing Film Comment Magazine and serving as senior vice president for the Film at Lincoln Center.
"Nearly 30 years ago, looking for direction and curious, I went to the Sundance Fest for the first time. I connected with its mission, and it changed my life. I'm so amped at the opportunity to engage artists and audiences with Sundance!" Hernandez said in a tweet.
Hernandez will join Sundance's team Nov. 1 and will be based between the institute's New York and Los Angeles offices while also working in its Park City office.
Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente will lead the upcoming 2023 Sundance Film Festival, along with director of programming Kim Yutani. Hernandez will lead the festival in 2024.
"Eugene has spent much of his 25-year career leading and advising nonprofit arts organizations and is well known as an accomplished leader in the film and media industry," Vicente said in a statement. "This is a full circle moment for Sundance and Eugene, as he has been connected to the institute since the early days of his career attending the festival in the mid-1990s to build Indiewire, an online community for indie film. He's been at the forefront of supporting independent artists and deeply invested in the careers of storytellers and the field as a whole."
Hernandez replaces Tabitha Jackson, who stepped down in June after steering the festival through two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the festival was held virtually.
