The IDA is excited to announce the newest additions to our Board of Directors. Beginning with a strategic planning meeting on Saturday, May 19, the IDA will welcome Fonda Berosini, Executive Director of Communications for the Digital Media team at Disney/ABC Television Group; Lauren Lexton, co-founder of Authentic Entertainment; filmmaker Billy Luther; Ted Mundorff, President and CEO for Landmark Theatres; and Stephen Nemeth, head of Rhino Films, to join the existing members of IDA's Board. We know that the addition of these five individuals will create a new dynamic within the Board, ushering in a new era in IDA's ongoing legacy.
Fonda Berosini is currently Executive Director of Communications for the Digital Media team at Disney/ABC Television Group. Over the course of her career in digital marketing at companies such as Participant Media and Warner Independent Pictures she has worked on The Cove, Food, Inc., The 11th Hour, Darfur Now, Jimmy Carter Man From Plains, Chicago 10, and March of the Penguins, among others.
Lauren Lexton, co-founder of Authentic Entertainment, expressed her anticipation for being selected for the BOD. "I am so excited to be part of an organization that dedicates itself to arming filmmakers with the tools necessary to tell stories that need to be told," Lauren said recently in an email. "Whether they be comedic, heartbreaking, or a combination of both, they are the truth. I feel that we on the board have the responsibility to support those out there on the front lines, dedicating their life to revealing worlds which would remain hidden if someone didn't capture them for all the world to see."
Prior to co-founding Authentic, Lauren worked as a Show Runner, Director, Story Editor, Writer and Producer. She has been awarded several CINE Golden Eagles, the "Life in America" award from the National Association of Broadcasters and numerous Telly awards. Ms. Lexton graduated cum laude from NYUʼs Tisch School of the Arts. She serves on the annual award screening committee for the International Documentary Association, and is a member of the Directors Guild of America. Her greatest passion is finding great talent and stories, and discovering that truth is stranger than fiction.
"New technologies, new platforms make this is a golden age for docs, and IDA is front and center of this renaissance," said new Board member Billy Luther. "Being on the board of IDA is simply the best way to engage with this amazing community." Luther, who belongs to the Navajo, Hopi and Laguna Pueblo tribes, studied film at Hampshire College. He has worked on various projects for the New York City-based Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian's Film & Video Center. Luther is the director of the award-winning documentary Miss Navajo, which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and aired nationally on PBS' Independent Lens. He currently serves on the Sundance Institute Alumni Advisory Board. Luther is in development on Miss Navajo: The Musical and The Untitled Hopi Project.
"I'm honored to be on the Board of IDA where I can help create opportunities for documentary films to be in the marketplace," said Ted Mundorff, President and CEO for Landmark Theatres. Leading an organization of over 1400 employees, his responsibilities include oversight for all film bookings, theatre operations, real estate, sales, marketing, sponsorships, advertising and training. Mundorff was integral to the rebuilding, rebranding and resurgence of Landmark which included the extraordinary success of the opening of their flagship theatre, located in West Los Angeles. The Landmark has become one of most important theatres to launch independent film in the country and has consistently received rave reviews including "Best Theatre in L.A." from the Los Angeles Times. Additionally, Mundorff was Executive Producer on Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview, which was recently released nationally.
"Documentaries can change the world and the IDA can change the lives of documentary filmmakers, said Stephen Nemeth, who heads Rhino Films. "I needed to be involved and so grateful to be a part of it." Nemeth has produced and executive produced dozens of films. He worked with Amnesty International through Artists for Amnesty on developing and producing human rights related projects. His Producer credits include The Surrogate, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Why Do Fools Fall in Love, Dogtown and Z Boys, What We Do Is Secret and You and I, and the upcoming Radio Free Albemuth and Snake and Mongoose. Nemeth executive produced the Academy Award-nominated documentary War/Dance, Sundance Audience Award winner Fuel, Flow, Climate Refugees, Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story, Mr. Bitchin', Beisbol, Patriocracy and Pick Up The Mic and the upcoming State of Control and A Nuclear Family.
Current IDA Board President Marjan Safinia had this to say about the new additions to the Board: "I couldn't be more excited or proud of the tremendous talent we are bringing onto our Board. It is a continued validation of just how important the work of documentary filmmakers is in the world, and how passionately people believe in supporting these amazing artists. The professional caliber of our new Board Members is just outstanding. To know that IDA is attracting the highest level talent to our Board of Directors is a sign that all the hard work we have been doing as an organization over in the last several years is really paying dividends. I am more excited than ever for our strategic planning and the work of the Board in shaping the vision for the IDA in years to come. Watch this space."