Sky Sitney has been appointed Artistic Director of the AFI Discovery Channel SilverDocs Festival, having served as the fest's director of programming since 2005. She succeeds Patricia Finneran, who stepped down following the 2008 SilverDocs to assume the role of consultant to the Sundance Institute Documentary Program. SilverDocs, based in Silver Spring, Maryland, runs June 15 to 22
Sitney was formerly programming director at the Newport International Film Festival, as well as film programmer at the New York Underground Film Festival, and was co-founder and curator for the Fresh Film Series at the Anthology Film Archives in New York. She has also held industry positions at C-Hundred Film Corp. and Fine Line Features.
"Sky's deep knowledge and appreciation of cinema, her track record for spotting emerging talent and her leadership skills make her a natural fit to lead the festival," said Ray Barry, director of the AFI Silver Theatre, in a statement. "We're very pleased that Sky will be serving as SilverDocs' new artistic director."
"It's been a privilege to be part of the team that grew SilverDocs into the leading festival of its kind, and I am honored to expand my role and lead the festival into its next phase," Sitney said. "We will remain true to our core values: celebrating excellence in cinema, honoring filmmakers, facilitating surprising dialogues around film and helping to build a meaningful community for filmmakers, media professionals and audiences."