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    Independent Film & TV Alliance elects exec committee, board of directors

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments2331 Views
    IFTA chairman Michael Ryan of GFM Films
    LOS ANGELES --

    The Independent Film & Television Alliance® (IFTA®), the L.A. headquartered global trade association of the indie motion picture and TV programming industry, announced the results of its annual elections to select the executive committee and board of directors for the 2017-2019 term. 

    IFTA’s executive committee will continue to be headed by chairperson Michael Ryan (GFM Films), who was elected for a second term.  Joining him are Andrew Kramer (Lionsgate), who was elected as general vice chairperson, and Clay Epstein (FilmMode Entertainment), who was elected as vice chairperson/secretary.

    Jay Joyce (Artist View Entertainment), Lloyd Kaufman (Troma Entertainment), Charlotte Mickie (Mongrel International), and Almira Ravil (Screen Media) will continue serving as members of the executive committee through the second year of their term.

    The following new board members have been elected to serve a two-year term for 2017-2019: Tannaz Anisi (13 Films), Paul Bales (The Asylum), Jason Buckley (Lakeshore Entertainment), Carl Clifton (Hyde Park International), Caroline Couret-Delegue (unaffiliated), Kirk D’Amico (Myriad Pictures), Jeffrey Greenstein (Millennium Media, Inc.), Lisa Romanoff (Vision Films, Inc.), Gabrielle Stewart (HanWay Films), Jeannine Tang (The Weinstein Company), and Andrew Orr (Independent Film Sales) will serve as an alternate.

    Also on the board of directors, continuing for their second year, are: Shaked Berenson (Epic Pictures Group), Tamara Birkemoe (Foresight Unlimited), Jody Cipriano (MarVista Entertainment), Alexandra Cocean (Voltage Pictures), Camela Galano (unaffiliated), Brad Krevoy (Motion Picture Corporation of America), Albert Lee (Emperor Motion Pictures), Nat McCormick (The Exchange), Michael Rothstein (IM Global) and Alison Thompson (Cornerstone Films).

    IFTA’s executive committee and board of directors were elected by IFTA’s voting membership and represent companies from Europe, Asia, and North America, reflecting the global scope of the association’s services, activities, and its annual event, the American Film Market® (AFM®).

    Tags:AFMIFTAIndependent Film & Television Alliance



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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