ARTISTIC DIRECTOR RAJENDRA ROY

Set To Depart Hamptons

For MoMA As

Chief Curator Department of Film

Rajendra Roy, who, since 2002, has served as the Director of Programming and, most recently, Artistic Director of the Hamptons International Film Festival, will be leaving his position as of June 30, 2007 to join the Museum of Modern Art as Chief Curator of the Department of Film.  He begins at MoMA on July 1, 2007.  He will continue to serve as an artistic advisor to the festival through the October 2007 Festival.

At the Hamptons Raj initiated the first U.S. based showcase for emerging actors, ?Rising Stars,? whose participants have included Golden Globe winner (for Gideon?s Daughter which premiered at the Hamptons) Emily Blunt, Carmen Chaplin, Dagmara Dominczyk, Jordan Bridges, Vinessa Shaw, Aaron Stanford and Spirit Award nominees Jacqueline Kim and Elisabeth Moss, as well as honorees Gena Rowlands, Joan Allen, Alec Baldwin, Miranda Richardson, Anthony LaPaglia, Ellen Burstyn and James Coburn for career achievement.  Film premieres at the Hamptons under his direction have included: The Situation, Kinsey, Walk the Line, Nowhere in Africa, Open Water, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Evil, Birth, Triplets of Belleville, Sophie Scholl, Elf, El Crimen del Padre Amaro and many more.  In 2005 alone, Hamptons films, selected by Raj and his team, garnered 13 Academy Award? nominations!  The Hamptons, under Rajendra Roy?s artistic leadership, also became a major festival for foreign-language films on the Oscar? track, with 2 Best Foreign Film winners and 4 Best Foreign Film nominees in the last five years making their US premieres at the Festival.

Rajendra Roy joined The Hamptons International Film Festival in 2002 with over eight years experience in film festival programming and production.  In 2004, he was appointed the sole American on the Competition Selection Committee for the Berlin International Film Festival, one of the top three festivals in the world, and over the last three years has recommended films for consideration, and moderated post-screening discussions and festival panels.. He has participated widely on juries for international and domestic film festivals, and has lectured at conferences and universities.  

From 2000-2002 at the Guggenheim Museum, he managed the development and implementation of film exhibitions and on-going programs in New York; and film exhibition initiatives at the museum?s international sites, including the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. From 1996 to 2000 he was Executive Director of the Mix Festival in New York, one of the most recognized and respected experimental film events in the world.  He served as a juror for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the Student Academy Awards from 2003 to 2007, and has organized numerous touring film programs, including screenings at festivals in Mexico, Brazil, Portugal, Belgium, Austria, Korea and online.  He has contributed to such publications as Turbulences Video, indieWIRE and Empire Magazine.

?Working with the staff and board at The Hamptons for the past five years has been the most rewarding experience of my career,? stated Rajendra Roy.  ?I am thrilled to have been a part of a festival that has demonstrated that it is not only a strategic venue for international independent filmmakers, but an organization that is serious about nurturing film professionals as well.  I have no doubt that the festival will continue to grow in stature and relevance to the field, and I look forward to celebrating the 15th Anniversary of the festival in October!?

Hamptons Board Chairman, Stuart Match Suna said, ?Of course, we are very sad to see Raj leave.  But we are proud to see that because of the great job he did with us that he has been recruited by such a distinguished institution as MoMA.  He has brought a wonderful overall artistic vision to the festival these past five years.  His films and programs have been provocative and intelligent and our audience has grown exponentially because of them.  He leaves us with a strong internationally respected festival that will continue to thrive and prosper creatively and organizationally.  We wish him great success at the Museum of Modern Art.? 

The Hamptons International Film Festival was founded to celebrate independent film - long, short, narrative and documentary - introducing a unique and varied spectrum of international films and filmmakers to our audiences.  The festival is committed to exhibiting films that express fresh voices and differing global perspectives, with the hope that these programs will enlighten audiences, provide invaluable exposure for filmmakers and present inspired entertainment for all. The 15^th Annual Hamptons International Film Festival will be held October 17 through October 21, 2007.