IFC has a new leader. AMC Networks has named Scott Shooman the head of its Film Group, encompassing IFC Films, RLJE Films, and films for the Shudder streaming service, the company announced Tuesday.
Shooman nabs the official, full-time role following serving as interim head since the end of March of this year. He was elevated to the interim role in the wake of an exodus of veteran talent from the indie distributor, which included president Arianna Bocco, PR head Laura Sok, senior publicist Kate McEdwards, director of sales Jasper Bach, and IFC Center lead John Vanco, all within weeks of each other.
In his new role, Shooman will oversee acquisitions, theatrical film distribution, production, and development across all three brands, as well as the IFC Center. He reports to Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for parent company AMC Networks.
“Movies are an important focal point for our company, and we are thrilled to have Scott leading our efforts across our three distinctive, successful and well-established film brands: IFC Films, RLJE Films and Shudder,” McDermott said in an official statement. “He has extensive background in the industry, but also a fresh eye and a filmmaker-first approach that aligns perfectly with our strong history of elevating independent and thought-provoking storytelling.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to lead and work alongside one of the most passionate teams in the business in supporting and bringing truly independent and boundary pushing films to passionate fans across our IFC Films, RLJE Films and Shudder ecosystems,” Shooman said in his own statement. “We will continue to leverage the synergy of our great brands and are incredibly excited about our robust slate of films which underscore the type of innovative, breakthrough stories for which we are known and continue to elevate. AMC Networks’ Film Group is uniquely positioned with this suite of divisions to broadly capitalize on our reputation for quality, curation, and commerciality across all windows in this moment of evolution for filmgoing.”
Shooman joined IFC Films in 2022 as senior vice president of acquisitions and production, and he led the acquisitions team in acquiring nearly 30 films for both the IFC Films and IFC Midnight brands. He’s been behind the acquisitions and distribution of recent IFC titles such as “Watcher,” “Skinamarink,” “The Lost King,” and “Corsage.”
Prior to joining IFC, Shooman held senior executive roles at Endeavor Content, CBS Films, Sony Pictures’ Screen Gems, and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group and has worked on titles such as “Hell or High Water,” “Inside Llewyn Davis,” “The Raid, “Seven Psychopaths,” “The Squid and the Whale,” and more.
Following the departure of Bocco, IndieWire reported on the challenges and future of IFC Films, which included cost cuts at parent company AMC Networks and trying to do more with fewer resources. Shooman at the time told IndieWire that IFC is “a vital and thriving business within AMC Networks,” and McDermott reiterated that despite the exodus of jobs, the three brands were a “meaningful part of AMC’s future.”
McDermott explained to IndieWire back in May that Shooman would be tasked with better combining the resources of all three film brands, such as with the January release of the no-budget horror effort “Skinamarink,” a Shudder acquisition that grossed $2 million in IFC’s limited release. McDermott also noted a larger goal in its streaming strategy and bringing other titles onto Shudder and AMC+.
Since being named interim head, IFC Films released Matt Johnson’s “BlackBerry,” which made over $2.5 million at the domestic box office, and “Biosphere” with Mark Duplass and Sterling K. Brown, which opened on July 7 and has made just over $33,000. The distributor, along with Sapan Studios, also recently acquired the Juliette Binoche romance “The Pot-Au-Feu” out of the Cannes competition. Upcoming, the studio will next release the documentary “Lakota Nation vs. United States” and the Nicolas Cage thriller “Sympathy for the Devil.”
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