Andrew Rodgers has been appointed executive director of the Denver Film Society, a non-profit organization that annually presents the Denver Film Festival and provides year-round film programming and education at the Sie FilmCenter. Rodgers will assume his full-time duties in March after relocating from Winston-Salem, N.C., with his wife Iana Dontcheva, a filmmaker and professor, and their daughters Mia and Anya.
Rodgers was selected after a comprehensive national executive search guided by Arts Consulting Group that attracted more than 100 applicants from 22 states and Canada.
With a B.A. in Journalism from Eastern Illinois University, Rodgers began his professional career as a journalist with the Chicago Tribune and later worked as a publicist for the Sundance Film Festival in Salt Lake City and the Chicago International Film Festival. In 2013, he received his M.B.A. degree from Wake Forest University.
Since 2005, Rodgers has served as the executive director of RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem. Under his leadership, RiverRun grew from a small, struggling non-profit into a financially sound, nationally-recognized regional festival with annual income nearly 200 percent higher than upon his arrival. His fundraising and business management efforts attracted support from Fortune 500 companies, major foundations and government granting agencies and led to a doubling of the organization’s revenue from individual contributions and programs.
An accomplished filmmaker and director, Rodgers also has two documentary short films to his credit – “Crooked Candy” (2014) and “Dark Station,” which will debut in 2016. Rodgers came to Denver for the screening of “Crooked Candy” during the 2014 Denver Film Festival. This was his second direct encounter with the Denver Film Society as he also served as a juror during the 2008 Starz Denver Film Festival.
“I’ve known Andrew for a number of years and have followed his successful development as a respected industry leader and festival presenter,” said Britta Erickson, festival director for the Denver Film Society. “His knowledge of film, his business acumen and his ability to attract support for film organizations will help us expand our reach even further.”
Rodgers describes himself as both a strategic and operational leader, able to balance the two sides of himself–the creative and the business/management–in order to motivate and lead a board of directors and staff toward his vision of a larger and more impactful DFS.
“For many years, I’ve been a fan of the Denver Film Society and the role it has played in nurturing emerging filmmakers and presenting groundbreaking new cinema,” said Rodgers. “In particular, I’ve been very impressed by the way DFS has been able to use its festivals, events and facility to bring communities together. I am incredibly honored to have been selected to help lead the organization forward and work alongside the talented staff to find even more ways to use the cinematic experience to entertain, educate, provoke, persuade, move and motivate audiences.”
