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Independent film marketing and distributing executive Richard Abramowitz will be honored with The Bingham Ray Memorial Award at ShowEast, the exhibitors convention that runs from Oct. 21-24 at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa in Hollywood, Fla.
The award, established in 2012 in honor of the late Bingham Ray, is given to “an individual who has shown exemplary leadership and foresight in the world of independent cinema.”
“Richard is an innovative leader in the distribution and marketing of independent films that have met with resounding success,” Robert Sunshine, executive director of ShowEast, said. “By challenging the norm, he has been instrumental in bringing quality independent film to movie-goers everywhere.”
Abramowitz’s company, Abramorama, has distributed such films as Escape From Tomorrow; Broadway Idiot; Stevie Nicks and Dave Stewart’s Stevie Nicks – In Your Dreams; Emilio Estevez’s The Way, starring Martin Sheen; Cameron Crowe’s documentary Pearl Jam Twenty; Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop; and Sacha Gervasi’s documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil.
He also has served as a producers rep for such films as Neil Young: Heart of Gold, directed by Jonathan Demme; Big Rig, Doug Pray’s SXSW entry about the independent trucking culture; Eve & The Fire Horse; Kardia; and The Weather Underground.
His client list includes AT&T, Sony Music, Warner Music Group, Neil Young’s Shakey Pictures, Demme’sClinica Estetica, 50 Cents’ Hollow Point, Inc., and Exclusive Media Group. His production credits include Robert Beckler Wants Me Dead, a documentary about the death penalty advocate, and Azazel Jacobs’ The GoodtimesKid.
Abramowitz also was a co-founder of Stratosphere Entertainment, the independent distribution and production company financed by Carl Icahn. Prior to that, he was president of Green Valley Films, a motion picture consulting firm whose clients included HBO, Sony Wonder, Cabin Fever Entertainment, International Pictures, Ltd., and Island Pictures. And while president/COO of RKO Pictures Distribution, he handled The Shooting Gallery’s first feature, Laws of Gravity.
Additionally, Abramowitz, who teaches at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Institute of Film and Television, is a founding partner in the new model distribution company, Area23a, which is devoted to the distribution of social issue films, coupled with post-screening components like live music, lectures or panel discussions.
ShowEast is produced by Prometheus Global Media, which is the parent company of The Hollywood Reporter.
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