Respected film festival executive Noah Cowan, who formerly headed the San Francisco Film Fest and served as co-director of the Toronto Film Festival and executive director of the TIFF Bell Lightbox, died Wednesday of glioblastoma multiforme after being diagnosed in December 2021. He was 55.
Former Toronto Film Fest executive director Piers Handling remembered Cowan, saying “It was a privilege to work with Noah for as long as I did. His contribution not just to TIFF but to Sffilm, the Global Film Initiative, and the entire independent film community around the world was matchless. He was a tireless advocate, had a large appetite for life, films, friendship, travel and fine dining! His artistic leadership of both the festival and TIFF Bell Lightbox was exemplary. He put some ground breaking programs together on China, Japan, and David Cronenberg and lit up every room he entered. His passing leaves a huge hole – both personally...
Former Toronto Film Fest executive director Piers Handling remembered Cowan, saying “It was a privilege to work with Noah for as long as I did. His contribution not just to TIFF but to Sffilm, the Global Film Initiative, and the entire independent film community around the world was matchless. He was a tireless advocate, had a large appetite for life, films, friendship, travel and fine dining! His artistic leadership of both the festival and TIFF Bell Lightbox was exemplary. He put some ground breaking programs together on China, Japan, and David Cronenberg and lit up every room he entered. His passing leaves a huge hole – both personally...
- 1/26/2023
- by Julia MacCary
- Variety Film + TV
Noah Cowan, former co-director of the Toronto Film Festival and executive director of Sffilm in San Francisco, died Wednesday of cancer in Los Angeles, Deadline has confirmed. He was 55.
Cowan died of glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of brain cancer he was diagnosed with in December 2021.
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story 'Farha' Filmmakers Accuse Israel Of Attempting To Discredit Jordanian Oscar Entry, Condemn Moves To Get It Taken Off Netflix Related Story 'Alice, Darling': Anna Kendrick Thriller Getting Oscar-Qualifying Run Before 2023 Theatrical Release
Born on July 22, 1967, in Hamilton, Ontario, he joined TIFF in 1984 as a box office staffer after volunteering with the fest in summer 1981. He later ran its print traffic department before becoming one of the programmers of TIFF’s Midnight Madness program in 1989. He was promoted to Program Administrator in 1992, and co-ran Midnight Madness with Colin Geddes...
Cowan died of glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive form of brain cancer he was diagnosed with in December 2021.
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story 'Farha' Filmmakers Accuse Israel Of Attempting To Discredit Jordanian Oscar Entry, Condemn Moves To Get It Taken Off Netflix Related Story 'Alice, Darling': Anna Kendrick Thriller Getting Oscar-Qualifying Run Before 2023 Theatrical Release
Born on July 22, 1967, in Hamilton, Ontario, he joined TIFF in 1984 as a box office staffer after volunteering with the fest in summer 1981. He later ran its print traffic department before becoming one of the programmers of TIFF’s Midnight Madness program in 1989. He was promoted to Program Administrator in 1992, and co-ran Midnight Madness with Colin Geddes...
- 1/26/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Noah Cowan, a veteran film festival director and indie film specialty distributor, most recently with San Francisco International Film Festival, has died. He was 55.
Cowan died Wednesday in Los Angeles after a battle with glioblastoma multiforme that was first diagnosed in December 2021.
During a career that began in 1981 as a summer volunteer working in the box office at the Toronto International Film Festival, Cowan went on to be a veteran film festival programmer and director, a curator of visual art and film-related exhibitions, a film distribution executive and a journalist covering international film festivals and other events.
Veteran Hollywood producer James Schamus paid tribute to Cowan, emphasizing that the indie film champion represented far more than his many job titles over a long career.
“He was not simply one of the most important curators, institution builders, distributors, grantors, and festival heads of our era — although he was all these,” he...
Cowan died Wednesday in Los Angeles after a battle with glioblastoma multiforme that was first diagnosed in December 2021.
During a career that began in 1981 as a summer volunteer working in the box office at the Toronto International Film Festival, Cowan went on to be a veteran film festival programmer and director, a curator of visual art and film-related exhibitions, a film distribution executive and a journalist covering international film festivals and other events.
Veteran Hollywood producer James Schamus paid tribute to Cowan, emphasizing that the indie film champion represented far more than his many job titles over a long career.
“He was not simply one of the most important curators, institution builders, distributors, grantors, and festival heads of our era — although he was all these,” he...
- 1/26/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The film community is mourning the loss of film festival executive Noah Cowan, who died January 25 at his home in Los Angeles after a year-long battle with Glioblastoma multiforme. He was 55.
Cowan was an enthusiastic booster of independent film, a celebrated film programmer who rose from 14-year-old volunteer to co-director at the Toronto International Film Festival, cofounder of the non-profit Global Film Initiative in partnership with the Museum of Modern Art (2002-2004), Artistic Director at TIFF Bell Lightbox (2009-2014), and executive director at Sffilm (2014-2019).
In recent years he consulted for film, media, and visual arts organizations including IFC, the Telluride Film Festival, and Centre for the Moving Image in Edinburgh.
Born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1967, Cowan earned a degree in philosophy at McGill University that informed the way he looked at the world. He was that rare cinephile who not only was a festival programmer who loved to discover new talent,...
Cowan was an enthusiastic booster of independent film, a celebrated film programmer who rose from 14-year-old volunteer to co-director at the Toronto International Film Festival, cofounder of the non-profit Global Film Initiative in partnership with the Museum of Modern Art (2002-2004), Artistic Director at TIFF Bell Lightbox (2009-2014), and executive director at Sffilm (2014-2019).
In recent years he consulted for film, media, and visual arts organizations including IFC, the Telluride Film Festival, and Centre for the Moving Image in Edinburgh.
Born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1967, Cowan earned a degree in philosophy at McGill University that informed the way he looked at the world. He was that rare cinephile who not only was a festival programmer who loved to discover new talent,...
- 1/26/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Critic and writer led San Francisco Film Society; launched film consultancy.
Noah Cowan, the charismatic and widely influential former director of the Toronto International Film Festival, has died aged 55 after an illness.
Cowan, identified for so long with TIFF – he took a summer job there while still at high school before rising to become co-director of the festival and founding artistic director of TIFF Lightbox –was a popular and much-loved figure on the international film circuit. A former critic and writer, he went on to head up the San Francisco Film Society after leaving TIFF in 2014 before founding his own...
Noah Cowan, the charismatic and widely influential former director of the Toronto International Film Festival, has died aged 55 after an illness.
Cowan, identified for so long with TIFF – he took a summer job there while still at high school before rising to become co-director of the festival and founding artistic director of TIFF Lightbox –was a popular and much-loved figure on the international film circuit. A former critic and writer, he went on to head up the San Francisco Film Society after leaving TIFF in 2014 before founding his own...
- 1/26/2023
- by Fionnuala Halligan
- ScreenDaily
BBC Two has commissioned blue-chip documentary producer Brook Lapping to make a 75-minute documentary on Pink Panther star Peter Sellers.
Peter Sellers: A State Of Comic Ecstasy (working title) will be broadcast to mark the 40th anniversary of the British comic actor’s death this summer, and will explore his talent and complex personal life.
It will feature an exclusive interview with Britt Ekland, Sellers’ second wife and the star of movies including The Man With The Golden Gun, as well as contributions from the likes of Michael Palin and Steve Coogan.
BBC Arts director Mark Bell said: “Peter Sellers had a profound impact on film and comedy,...
Peter Sellers: A State Of Comic Ecstasy (working title) will be broadcast to mark the 40th anniversary of the British comic actor’s death this summer, and will explore his talent and complex personal life.
It will feature an exclusive interview with Britt Ekland, Sellers’ second wife and the star of movies including The Man With The Golden Gun, as well as contributions from the likes of Michael Palin and Steve Coogan.
BBC Arts director Mark Bell said: “Peter Sellers had a profound impact on film and comedy,...
- 4/20/2020
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Legendary comedian Peter Sellers is to be the subject of an in-depth BBC Two single documentary from acclaimed factual producer Brook Lapping, whose credits include “Trump’s First 100 Days” and “The Rise and Fall of Tony Blair.”
Commissioned by BBC Arts, the 75-minute documentary has the working title of “Peter Sellers: A State Of Comic Ecstasy” and will uncover the comedian’s talent, but also the endless complexities of his personal life, from multiple marriages to his chronic health problems, petulant fits of rage, deep insecurity and the long slow decline in his later years.
Brook Lapping managing director Greg Sanderson said the Zinc Media-backed production company has secured “exceptional” access to Sellers’ friends and family, colleagues and critics, many of whom have never spoken before.
Born to vaudeville entertainers in 1925, Sellers spent his formative years backstage as part of his parents’ itinerant music hall revue group.
The film...
Commissioned by BBC Arts, the 75-minute documentary has the working title of “Peter Sellers: A State Of Comic Ecstasy” and will uncover the comedian’s talent, but also the endless complexities of his personal life, from multiple marriages to his chronic health problems, petulant fits of rage, deep insecurity and the long slow decline in his later years.
Brook Lapping managing director Greg Sanderson said the Zinc Media-backed production company has secured “exceptional” access to Sellers’ friends and family, colleagues and critics, many of whom have never spoken before.
Born to vaudeville entertainers in 1925, Sellers spent his formative years backstage as part of his parents’ itinerant music hall revue group.
The film...
- 4/20/2020
- by Tim Dams
- Variety Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.