Rose Kuo has been named exeuctive director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, which annually puts on the New York Film Festival.
She replaces Mara Manus, who is stepping down after nearly two years in the post. Manus will remain through July to oversee the transition.
Kuo was artistic director of Los Angeles' AFI Fest for three editions, instituting its successful “free festival” in 2009. Most recently, she co-founded the festival-consulting firm Festworks and has been serving as co-director of the Santa Fe Film Festival.
Kuo also has worked as a programming consultant for the Los Angeles County Museum of
Art and for the Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Mill Valley Film Festivals.
"Mara Manus stewarded us through significant organizational changes during a difficult period for all nonprofit organizations and we are grateful for her contributions,” Ann Tenenbaum, chair of the FSLC’s board of directors, said in a statement.
“We’re extremely fortunate that on the eve of the biggest expansion in the Film Society’s history, we could turn to Rose Kuo, who has just the right expertise in creating dynamic experiences where film programmers, filmmakers and audiences can interact,” she added.
Daniel Stern, president of the FSLC board, said in a statement: "At a time when both audiences and media are changing radically, our goal is to expand into multiple platforms so that audiences can be a part of our film community anytime, anywhere. Rose has the particular experience and ability to lead that effort.”
Kuo’s first priorities will be to oversee the opening of FSLC’s Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, which will add two state-of-the-art cinemas to Lincoln Center in 2011, and to strengthen FSLC’s ties to its membership, donors and the film community in general.
