View source for Keri Putnam

{{Short description|American film executive}}
{{Undisclosed paid|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Keri Putnam
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| birth_date         = {{Birth year and age|1965}}
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| alma_mater         = [[Harvard University]]
| occupation         = Film executive and producer
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}}
'''Keri Putnam''' (born 1965) is an American film, media and arts executive and producer and current chief executive officer at [[Sundance Institute]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Sperling|first=Nicole|date=2020-02-02|title=Sundance Names Tabitha Jackson as New Festival Chief|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/01/movies/sundance-film-festival-chief.html|access-date=2021-03-23|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-04-17|title=Sundance Institute launches $1-million fund to support indie film during coronavirus crisis|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-04-17/sundance-institute-coronavirus-relief-fund|access-date=2021-03-23|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref> She is a former executive vice president at [[HBO Films]], and former president of the production at [[Miramax|Miramax films]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2010-02-25|title=Sundance Institute names Keri Putnam executive director|url=https://www.deseret.com/2010/2/25/20098441/sundance-institute-names-keri-putnam-executive-director|access-date=2021-03-23|website=[[Deseret News]]|language=en}}</ref>
== Background ==
=== Education and early career ===
Putnam graduated from [[Princeton Day School]] in 1983. She graduated [[Latin honors#Distinctions|''summa cum laude'']] from [[Harvard University]] and holds a bachelor's degree in both theatre history and literature, class of 1987''.'' She began her career working in the literary office of regional theaters, including [[Williamstown Theater Festival]], [[McCarter Theatre]], Arena Stage and the ART.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Spotlight January 2021: Keri Putnam, Sundance Executive Director and Activist|url=https://awfj.org/blog/2021/01/03/spotlight-january-2021-keri-putnam/|access-date=2021-03-23|website=[[Alliance of Women Film Journalists]]|language=en-US}}</ref>
=== HBO ===
In 1987, Putnam joined HBO as an assistant in original programming and served as HBO New York City Productions Vice President from 1996 to 1999 and as the executive vice president from 2002 to 2006.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Christian|first=Scott|date=2020-03-18|title=A Day in the Life of Reese Witherspoon's TV Right Hand|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-day-in-the-life-of-reese-witherspoons-tv-right-hand-11584535115|access-date=2021-03-23|issn=0099-9660}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Spotlight January 2021: Keri Putnam, Sundance Executive Director and Activist – Alliance of Women Film Journalists|url=https://awfj.org/blog/2021/01/03/spotlight-january-2021-keri-putnam/|access-date=2021-03-23|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=How Did I Get Here? Keri Putnam|work=Bloomberg.com|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-how-did-i-get-here/keri-putnam.html|access-date=2021-03-23}}</ref> During her tenure at [[HBO Films|HBO]], she oversaw 48 award-winning films and mini-series including ''[[If These Walls Could Talk]]'', ''Mi Vida Loca,'' ''[[Empire Falls]]'', ''[[Lackawanna Blues (film)|Lackawanna Blues]]'' and ''[[Normal (2003 film)|Normal]]''. The projects she supervised collectively received 50 [[Emmy Award|Emmy awards]] and nominations, as well as numerous other honors such as [[Peabody Award|Peabody]] and [[Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globes Awards]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Macaulay|first=Scott|title=Keri Putnam Named New Executive Director of Sundance Institute|url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/4652-keri-putnam-named-new-executive-director-of-sundance-institute/|access-date=2021-03-23|website=Filmmaker Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2005, she was the senior HBO production executive involved in the formation of [[Picturehouse (company)|Picturehouse]], a joint venture between [[Time Warner]] subsidiaries, [[New Line Cinema]] and [[HBO Films]] to acquire and distribute films such as [[Elephant (2003 film)|''Elephant'']], a Gus van Sant film that received the [[Palme d'Or]] at the [[2003 Cannes Film Festival|56th Cannes Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Keri Putnam {{!}} Andrew D. White Professors-at-Large|url=https://adwhiteprofessors.cornell.edu/2018/07/30/keri-putnam/|publisher=adwhiteprofessors.corn|language=en}}</ref>
=== Miramax Films ===
In 2006, Putnam joined [[Miramax]], then a division of Walt Disney Pictures after the departure of the [[The Weinstein Company|Weinstein brothers]] from the company, as President of Production. She oversaw the production and acquisition of 20 films including ''[[No Country for Old Men]]'', ''[[There Will Be Blood]]'', ''[[Gone Baby Gone]]'', [[The Queen (2006 film)|''The Queen'']], [[Adventureland (film)|''Adventureland'']] and [[The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (film)|''Diving Bell and the Butterfly'']].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Skoll {{!}} Keri Putnam|url=https://skoll.org/contributor/keri-putnam/|access-date=2021-03-23}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Thompson|first=Anne|date=2009-10-30|title=Battsek Exits Miramax|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2009/10/battsek-exits-miramax-239377/|access-date=2021-03-23|website=IndieWire|language=en}}</ref> She left the company when it was shut down before being sold by [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2011-01-11|title=Executive Suite: Keri Putnam|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/executive-suite-keri-putnam-69729|access-date=2021-03-23|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en}}</ref>
=== Sundance ===
In February 2010, she was appointed as executive director of [[Sundance Institute]]'s, the nonprofit arts organization founded by Robert Redford.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Herald|first=Cody Clark-Daily|title=Redford announces non-retirement at Sundance Festival kickoff|url=https://www.heraldextra.com/entertainment/movies/redford-announces-non-retirement-at-sundance-festival-kickoff/article_de766263-1959-55ba-a499-5a504fb8742e.html|access-date=2021-03-23|website=Daily Herald|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The 2021 Sundance Film Festival may have the event's biggest audience ever, organizers say|url=https://sltrib.com/artsliving/movies/2021/01/28/sundance-film-festival|access-date=2021-03-23|website=The Salt Lake Tribune|language=en-US}}</ref> In this role, she oversees the [[Sundance Film Festival]] as well as the institute's many year-round programs to support independent storytelling artists around the world through labs, workshops, and educational resources.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sundance Institute moves filmmakers' labs from Robert Redford's resort to online, because of coronavirus|url=https://sltrib.com/news/2020/03/25/sundance-institute-moves|access-date=2021-03-23|website=The Salt Lake Tribune|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=February 25, 2010|title=Sundance Institute Announces Keri Putnam As New Executive Director|url=https://www.sundance.org/blogs/news/sundance_institute_announces_keri_putnam_as_new_executive_director|access-date=2021-03-23|website=www.sundance.org|language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Alcorn|first=Ted|date=2019-10-27|title=For the Sundance Institute, the Plot Thickens|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/for-the-sundance-institute-the-plot-thickens-11572184802|access-date=2021-03-23|issn=0099-9660}}</ref>
Putnam and [[Cathy Schulman]] co-founded [[ReFrame]] in 2017, a non-profit organization aimed to support women in the media industry.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-09-15|title=ReFrame Stamp Awarded to 33 TV Shows Including 'Killing Eve,' 'Unbelievable' and 'Watchmen'|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/reframe-stamp-awarded-to-33-tv-shows-including-killing-eve-unbelievable-and-watchmen|access-date=2021-03-23|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-01-07|title=ReFrame Partners With Delta Airlines for In-Flight Channels Featuring Female-Led Films|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/reframe-partners-delta-airlines-flight-channels-featuring-female-led-films-1267508|access-date=2021-03-23|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en}}</ref>
Keri Putnam was appointed an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University from 2018 to 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Keri Putnam|url=https://adwhiteprofessors.cornell.edu/2018/07/30/keri-putnam/|access-date=27 October 2021|website=Andrew D. White Professors-at-Large}}</ref>
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [https://adwhiteprofessors.cornell.edu/2018/07/30/keri-putnam/ Cornell University bio]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Putnam, Keri}}
[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American media executives]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:Princeton Day School alumni]]
[[Category:Miramax people]]
[[Category:Cornell University faculty]]