Noah Cowan

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Noah Cowan
Cowan in 2018
Born(1967-07-22)July 22, 1967
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
DiedJanuary 25, 2023(2023-01-25) (aged 55)
NationalityCanadian
EducationMcGill University (1989)
University of Toronto Schools (1985)
OccupationExecutive Director of SFFILM
Years active2014–2023

Noah Cowan (July 22, 1967 – January 25, 2023)

TIFF Bell Lightbox,[3] and also worked as the co-director of the Toronto International Film Festival from 2004 to 2008.[4]

Early career

Cowan was raised in

Jewish
.

Cowan began his career performing various roles at the Toronto International Film Festival. His first venture as a programmer was the Midnight Madness program, launched in 1989. He subsequently created national cinema retrospectives India Now! (with David Overbey) and The New Beat of Japan for the organization.[6]

Cowboy Booking International and Cowboy Pictures

Cowan developed Cowboy Booking International, a consolidating global sub-distributor for film sales agents such as Celluloid Dreams, Fortissimo Film Sales, Films Transit, Flach Pyramide and Christa Saredi Films, and producers such as Good Machine and Telling Pictures. Cowboy pioneered the application of a consistent fee structure for the growing number of film festivals worldwide to access international art films and documentaries.[7]

In 1995, Cowan and John Vanco launched and served as co-presidents of Cowboy Pictures, an art house cinema distributor. Cowboy-released films were acclaimed by a number of organizations including the

Mighty Peking Man.[10]

Global Film Initiative

In 2002, Cowan founded and served as executive director of the

The Museum of Modern Art, the foundation funded, acquired, distributed and created educational material for socially meaningful cinema from the developing world. Global Lens, the Initiative's touring program, reached more than 50 communities per year, with a focus on screenings at museum-based youth programs. The Initiative wound down its activities in 2014.[11]

Later career

Toronto International Film Festival

From 2004 to 2008, Cowan acted as co-director of the

MOCCA
.

TIFF Bell Lightbox

In 2008, Cowan became artistic director of

Museum of Modern Art, New York) and Fellini: Spectacular Obsessions (which premiered at the Jeu du Paume in Paris in 2009).[13]

Before his departure, Cowan completed two large-scale projects: A Century Of Chinese Cinema, a 100-film retrospective of Chinese cinema history that also included a new visual arts commission,

Museum Of Contemporary Canadian Art of visual artists responding to Cronenberg’s work. He contributed to catalogues for both shows, oversaw an Alternative Reality Game (Body/Mind/Change, created by Lance Weiler) and the David Cronenberg Virtual Exhibition.[15]

SFFILM

In March 2014, Cowan became executive director of San Francisco Film Society (which he rebranded as SFFILM in 2016). He led a staff of 33 full-time employees and over 100 seasonal employees and interns each year and built unique partnerships with key cultural institutions and locally meaningful brands across San Francisco, including SFMOMA, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Dolby, Lucasfilm and Pixar. While doubling the organization's revenue, Cowan worked with his team to create a revamped annual charity gala as a major national award season event, including a $250,000 net annual Fund-A-Need campaign for education initiatives. He successfully moved SFFILM Festival's theater footprint to transit-friendly neighborhoods, resulting in a significant shift to younger and more diverse audience demographics and doubled foundation support for artist development activities, initiating unique new programs with Alfred P. Sloan, Westridge, Flora Family, Compton and Time Warner Foundations, He also launched SFFILM Invest, a major initiative to bring philanthropic and equity-based investments to contemporary American independent films; initial slate generated $1 million in investments. He left SFFILM in May 2019.

Cowan had worked as an independent consultant to film festivals, movie theaters, producers and media-related NGOs from October 2019.[16]

References

  1. ^ Noah Cowan Dies: Former Toronto Film Festival & SFFILM Director Was 55
  2. ^ "About". San Francisco Film Society. Archived from the original on June 2, 2015.
  3. ^ "Noah Cowan leaving post at Toronto International Film Festival". thestar.com. January 22, 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Noah Cowan, the future of TIFF". playbackonline.ca. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  5. ^ Hampson, Sarah (September 9, 2006). "The festival's other director". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on April 6, 2017.
  6. ^ Dave McNary (February 19, 2014). "Ted Hope's Vacancy at San Francisco Film Society Filled by Noah Cowan". Variety. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  7. ^ "Coyboy Booking International Ropes in the Critical Accolades". PRNewswire. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  8. ^ "Movies". The New York Times. October 7, 2013. Archived from the original on October 8, 2013.
  9. ^ a b "Movie Reviews". February 22, 2018. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017.
  10. ^ "Noah Cowan Named Executive Director of San Francisco Film Society". Filmmaker Magazine. February 19, 2014. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015.
  11. ^ "Noah Cowan and the Genesis of GFI". globalfilm.org. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  12. ^ Gregg Kilday (February 19, 2014). "Noah Cowan Named Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Society". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015.
  13. ^ "Tim Burton Hits Toronto!". US Weekly. November 9, 2010. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015.
  14. ^ "TIFF's Chinese film retrospective traces ups and downs of greater China". cbc.ca. June 13, 2013. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015.
  15. ^ Toronto International Film Festival. "TIFF.net – David Cronenberg: Evolution". TIFF. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015.
  16. ^ Anne Thompson (February 19, 2014). "Noah Cowan Talks Leaving Toronto to Join San Francisco Fi – Thompson on Hollywood". Thompson on Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015.