Entertainment

President of the feature for the first time is 79 – The Hollywood Reporter

Seymour Wishman, a producer who served as president of New York-based independent film distribution company First Run Features, died on January 29 at his home in Bridgewater, Connecticut. He was 79 years old.

Wishman’s family confirms his death The Hollywood Reporter in Monday. The cause of death was not shared.

Features First Run, founded in 1979, distributed projects including Michael Apted’s 28 Up (Wishman finally brought the whole Upward series to the United States), The first feature of Spike Lee Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads, In the darkness of the starswon the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1992, and America’s Most Dangerous Man: Daniel Ellsberg and Pentagon Documents.

The company has acted in films by directors such as Peter Jackson, Alex Gibney, Michael Winterbottom, Jane Campion, David O. Russell and Claire Denis. On its 30th birthday, First Run Features was honored by the Motion Picture Association at Lincoln Center for its “remarkable bravery in distributing cutting-edge and sometimes controversial work.”

Among his production credits, Wishman co-directed and produced Sex & Justice, a 1993 documentary about the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas. Due to his commitment to personal, political, and alternative content, First Run Features is a founding member of Ovid, a streaming service for independent films.

“He’s a fighter for the underdogs and for stories that are bold, honest and creatively told,” Samantha, Wishman’s daughter, wrote in a statement to CHEAP. “But what really kept him engaged in his nearly 40 years in the film business was his admiration for the filmmakers he represented. No one understands that better than Marc Mauceri, who has been at First Run for nearly 34 years and will take over as President, carrying on his legacy and opening a new chapter for First Run Features. ”

In a statement obtained by THR, Mauceri described Wishman’s passing as “a great loss” to himself and his colleagues at First Run Features. “I learned a lot from him not only about film distribution but also about his diverse and wide-ranging passions, from Shakespeare to horse racing, from politics to the Talmud. And the most interesting thing is growing up in a Jewish family in Newark in the mid-1900s. The stories he tells are profound, compassionate, intelligent, and often hilarious. And at the end of it all is his unrelenting love for his wife and daughter. He will live on forever in all who know him. ”

The son of Jewish immigrants, Wishman was born in the South Bronx and raised in Newark, NJ. He attended Rutgers Law School and went on to practice criminal law in New York and New Jersey, specializing in civil rights cases, before embarking on his film career. In 1977, Wishman served as Deputy Assistant to President Jimmy Carter at the White House.

Martin Doblmeier, president of Journey Films, said: “Seymour has the mindset of a great lawyer, the courage of a successful businessman and the heart of a mensch. “Over 25 years ago, he took my chance and it changed my life. I know a lot of filmmakers who might say the same.”

Wishman is survived by his wife Nancy Burr Evans, daughter Samantha Burr Wishman and his brother, Harvey Wishman.

8:10 pm: Added statement from Samantha, Wishman’s daughter.

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