Film Forum, the downtown Manhattan nonprofit cinema and New York arthouse staple, has tapped former Sundance head and industry veteran Tabitha Jackson as its new director starting Feb. 23.
Jackson has over 30 years of experience in independent and non-profit media in the U.S. and her native England. She was named director of the Sundance Film Festival in 2020 and steered the event through the global pandemic, overseeing two fully digital festivals that took advantage of the format’s expanded reach, tripling the festival audience, establishing partnerships with independent arthouse cinemas, and increasing access for historically underrepresented communities. She first joined the Sundance Institute in 2013 as head of its Documentary Film Program.
She started her career as a researcher, producer and director for the BBC, moving to Channel4, the UK’s second public broadcaster as a Commissioning Editor for Arts and Performance and Animation, and Film4 Executive Producer. Most recently, Jackson held research fellowships with the MIT Open Documentary Lab, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, and a Rockefeller Foundation residency.
In 2022, she co-created the podcast The Film That Blew My Mind with former Sundance Festival head John Cooper.
Jackson is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and served three terms on the Documentary Branch Executive Committee.
“Independent nonprofit arthouse cinema — those four words distill everything I’ve championed throughout my career. That they also describe Film Forum, my local movie theater, makes this appointment feel like coming home,” she says. “For 56 years, Film Forum has built a national and international reputation for bold curation, unparalleled repertory programming, fiercely loyal audiences — and legendary banana bread. It is an honor to step into the world built by my predecessors Karen Cooper and Sonya Chung, Artistic Directors Bruce Goldstein and Mike Maggiore, Managing Director Chad Bolton, and the rest of the incredible Film Forum staff and board.”
Cooper, who led Film Forum for 50 years, exited in 2023 with Chung, then Deputy Director, stepping up. She left at the end of 2025. Jackson takes the helm after a national search led headed by board chair Gray Coleman.
Founded in 1970, Film Forum’s mission is to present the NYC theatrical premieres of a rich array of new independent documentaries and narrative features, programmed by Mike Maggiore, Premieres Artistic Director. The repertory program launched in 1986 by Bruce Goldstein, programs classic restorations, festivals and special events including a popular Film Forum Jr. kids series. With circa 225,000 annual admissions. it presents 400-500 movies a year, both domestic and international, and 200+ live events.