Jean Prewitt, who has guided the Independent Film & Television Alliance through a rapidly evolving marketplace for 25 years, will step down as president and CEO of the global trade association at year end.
IFTA said it has retained the firm McCormack + Kristel to help the search for her successor in a “transition has been thoughtfully considered with Prewitt and the IFTA Board for several months.” Prewitt had committed to continue in her role until the American Film Market, the group’s signature event, was firmly relocated back to Los Angeles and to lead the IFTA team through AFM 2025. She will work with the organization’s next leader, once appointed, to support a smooth transition.
AFM’s return to LA this fall is highly anticipated after a one-year experimental detour to Las Vegas in 2024 that was widely unpopular with attendees. It will run November 11-16 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City.
Prewitt over the years has worked to give the independent sector a seat at decision-making tables and advocated for its unique needs, championing access to new markets and its ability to compete in a consolidating industry, while strengthening AFM’s role as a premier destination for the international community to conduct business.
Under her direction, IFTA solidified its standing as the definitive voice for independent production and advanced its policy work on issues vital to the sector in the U.S. and around the world including copyright protections, removing trade barriers, tax incentives, royalty collections and changes in licensing practices.
“It has been a privilege to serve IFTA and the independent sector for the past 25 years,” she said. “Driving IFTA through recent transitions — including AFM’s return to Los Angeles in 2025 and strengthening the independent industry’s capacity to meet change — has been immensely rewarding. This feels like the right moment to pass the torch as the Alliance prepares for its next chapter. I am proud of what we have accomplished together and optimistic about the opportunities that lie ahead for the Independents.”
“Jean’s vision and dedication have been instrumental in shaping both IFTA and AFM into the global pillars of our industry they are today,” said Clay Epstein, IFTA chair and president of Film Mode Entertainment. “Her leadership has navigated profound challenges while ensuring that independent film and television companies have a powerful voice and the resources to thrive in a constantly evolving business. It will be difficult to match her impact, but we are excited about the future for IFTA she has set in motion.”
Prewitt joined IFTA as president and CEO in 2000 after a decade as a senior U.S. government official with the U.S. Department of Commerce representing the White House and Executive Branch on international communications and information policy, and as a public policy specialist in Washington D.C. representing film, entertainment and tech.
Prior to that, she was SVP and General Counsel of United International Pictures (the international distribution entity formed by then-Universal, Paramount and MGM-UA studios) and managed legal and government affairs on a worldwide basis. A graduate of Harvard University and Georgetown University Law Center, she previously practiced federal antitrust, tax, and copyright law with the firm Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine.
IFTA represents independent film and television production, finance, distribution and sales companies in more than 20 countries and develops and publishes IFTA Model Agreements that articulate the industry-wide standards and key definitions for licensing international rights in motion pictures and television programming.
AMF has become one of the world’s largest motion picture event, drawing thousands of industry leaders from 80 countries and leading to more than $1 billion in distribution and film financing deals. It’s brief sojourn at the Palms Resort in Vegas last year was panned by a group of leading U.S. film sales companies, which talked about creating their own market and screenings in Los Angeles if the event didn’t return there.
The first AFM, conceived by a group of known independent sales agents, was held in March of 1981. The group shortly after launched AFMA – American Film Marketing Association, which changed its name to IFTA in 2004.
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