About Us

Overview:

Michael Barker and Tom Bernard are co-presidents of Sony Pictures Classics—an autonomous division of Sony Pictures Entertainment founded in January 1992 (with Marcie Bloom) that distributes, produces and acquires independent films from the United States and around the world.

The team has worked with many of the world's finest independent filmmakers including Pedro Almodóvar, Michael Haneke, Chloé Zhao, Guillermo del Toro, Marielle Heller, Luca Guadagnino, Maren Ade, Wim Wenders, Akira Kurosawa, Charlie Kaufman, Ang Lee, Lorene Scafaria, Richard Linklater, Wong Kar Wai, Damien Chazelle, Merchant Ivory, Spike Lee, David Cronenberg, Sally Potter, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Nadine Labaki, Jonathan Demme, Aisling Walsh, Don Cheadle, Nicholas Hytner, Louise Osmond, Maggie Betts, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Rebecca Miller, Ralph Fiennes, Agnès Varda, Kenneth Branagh, Lone Scherfig, Bennett Miller, Nicole Holofcener, Ingmar Bergman, Jacques Audiard, Mike Leigh, John Boorman, Francis Ford Coppola, Eleanor Coppola, Robert Altman, Agnieszka Holland, R.W. Fassbinder, Jim Jarmusch, Haifaa Al Mansour, Louis Malle, Denis Villeneuve, Susanne Bier, David Mamet, Woody Allen, Errol Morris, Gary Oldman, Allison Anders, John Sayles, Lily Tomlin & Jane Wagner, François Truffaut, Anne Fontaine, Zhang Yimou, Rama Burshtein, Amy Berg, Rodrigo Garcia, Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck, Courtney Hunt, Marjane Satrapi, Robin Swicord, Mario Van Peebles, Wash Westmoreland & Richard Glatzer, Claudia Llosa, Maya Forbes, Paul Weitz, and Paul Verhoeven.

Current and Upcoming Releases

Releases include THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE (İlker Çatak), THE PEASANTS (DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman), THEY SHOT THE PIANO PLAYER (Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal), SHAYDA (Noora Niasari), WE GROWN NOW (Minhal Baig), and WICKED LITTLE LETTERS (Thea Sharrock).

They have been involved with some of the best and most successful independent films from the past two decades including:

Highlights At Sony Pictures Classics (1992–present)

THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE (İlker Çatak), STRANGE WAY OF LIFE (Pedro Almodóvar), LIVING (Oliver Hermanus), THE SON (Florian Zeller), SALVATORE: SHOEMAKER OF DREAMS (Luca Guadagnino), THE DUKE (Roger Michell), WHO WE ARE: A CHRONICLE OF RACISM IN AMERICA (Sarah Kunstler and Emily Kunstler), PARALLEL MOTHERS (Pedro Almodóvar), NINE DAYS (Edson Oda), THE FATHER (Florian Zeller), FRENCH EXIT (Azazel Jacobs), THE HUMAN VOICE (Pedro Almodóvar), THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS (Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw), THE TRAITOR (Marco Bellocchio), GREED (Michael Winterbottom), THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY (Giuseppe Capotondi), THE CLIMB (Michael Angelo Covino), MAIDEN (Alex Holmes), AFTER THE WEDDING (Bart Freundlich), AQUARELA (Victor Kossakovsky), WHERE’S MY ROY COHN? (Matt Tyrnauer), PAIN AND GLORY (Pedro Almodóvar), A FANTASTIC WOMAN (Sebastián Lelio), LOVELESS (Andrey Zvyagintsev), THE LEISURE SEEKER (Paolo Virzì), THE RIDER (Chloé Zhao), PUZZLE (Marc Turtletaub), THE WIFE (Björn Runge), THE HAPPY PRINCE (Rupert Everett), MARIA BY CALLAS (Tom Volf), CAPERNAUM (Nadine Labaki), STAN & OLLIE (Jon Baird), THE RED TURTLE (Michael Dudok de Wit), THE COMEDIAN (Taylor Hackford), LAND OF MINE (Martin Zandvliet), NORMAN: THE MODERATE RISE AND TRAGIC FALL OF A NEW YORK FIXER (Joseph Cedar), PARIS CAN WAIT (Eleanor Coppola), MAUDIE (Aisling Walsh), MARK FELT: THE MAN WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE (Peter Landesman), CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (Luca Guadagnino), THE LADY IN THE VAN (Nicholas Hytner), I SAW THE LIGHT (Marc Abraham), MILES AHEAD (Don Cheadle), THE MEDDLER (Lorene Scafaria), DARK HORSE (Louise Osmond), MAGGIE’S PLAN (Rebecca Miller), EQUITY (Meera Menon), THE HOLLARS (John Krasinski), THE EAGLE HUNTRESS (Otto Bell), ELLE (Paul Verhoeven), JULIETA (Pedro Almodóvar), TONI ERDMANN (Maren Ade), RED ARMY (Gabe Polsky), WILD TALES (Damián Szifron), SALT OF THE EARTH (Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado), TESTAMENT OF YOUTH (James Kent), INFINITELY POLAR BEAR (Maya Forbes), THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL (Marielle Heller), GRANDMA (Paul Weitz), TRUTH (James Vanderbilt), SON OF SAUL (László Nemes), THE LUNCHBOX (Ritesh Batra), JODOROWSKY’S DUNE (Frank Pavich), ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE (Jim Jarmusch), THIRD PERSON (Paul Haggis), LAND HO (Martha Stephens and Aaron Katz), LOVE IS STRANGE (Ira Sachs), MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT (Woody Allen), WHIPLASH (Damien Chazelle), FOXCATCHER (Bennett Miller), MR. TURNER (Mike Leigh), LEVIATHAN (Andrey Zvyagintsev), STILL ALICE (Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer) TIM'S VERMEER (Teller), THE PAST (Asghar Farhadi), THE ARMSTRONG LIE (Alex Gibney), WADJDA (Haifaa al-Mansour), BLUE JASMINE (Woody Allen), BEFORE MIDNIGHT (Richard Linklater), FILL THE VOID (Rama Burshtein), NO (Pablo Larrain), THE GATEKEEPERS (Dror Moreh), WEST OF MEMPHIS (Amy Berg), AMOUR (Michael Haneke), RUST AND BONE (Jacques Audiard), SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN (Malik Bendjelloul), THE RAID: REDEMPTION (Gareth Evans), POM WONDERFUL PRESENTS: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD (Morgan Spurlock), INCENDIES (Denis Villeneuve), IN A BETTER WORLD (Susanne Bier), OF GODS AND MEN (Xavier Beauvois), BARNEY'S VERSION (Richard J. Lewis), ANOTHER YEAR (Mike Leigh), THE ILLUSIONIST (Sylvain Chomet), Inside Job (Charles Ferguson), YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER (Woody Allen), ANIMAL KINGDOM (David Michôd), GET LOW (Aaron Schneider), THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES (Juan Jose Campanella), MOTHER AND CHILD (Rodrigo Garcia), MICMACS (Jean-Pierre Jeunet), WILD GRASS (Alain Resnais), PLEASE GIVE (Nicole Holofcener), A PROPHET (UN PROPHETE) (Jacques Audiard), THE LAST STATION (Michael Hoffman), THE WHITE RIBBON (Michael Haneke), THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS (Terry Gilliam), BROKEN EMBRACES (Pedro Almodovar), AN EDUCATION (Lone Scherfig), COCO BEFORE CHANEL (Anne Fontaine), IT MIGHT GET LOUD (Davis Guggenheim), WHATEVER WORKS (Woody Allen), MOON (Duncan Jones), TYSON (James Toback), EVERY LITTLE STEP (James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo), SUGAR (Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck), THE CLASS (Laurent Cantet), WALTZ WITH BASHIR (Ari Folman), SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK (Charlie Kaufman), I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG (Philippe Claudel), RACHEL GETTING MARRIED (Jonathan Demme), FROZEN RIVER (Courtney Hunt), THE WACKNESS (Jonathan Levine), REDBELT (David Mamet), STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (Errol Morris), MARRIED LIFE (Ira Sachs), THE COUNTERFEITERS (Stefan Ruzowitzky), THE BAND'S VISIT (Eran Kolirin), PERSEPOLIS (Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud), THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB (Robin Swicord), INTERVIEW (Steve Buscemi), PAPRIKA (Satoshi Kon), ANGEL-A (Luc Besson), THE VALET (Francis Veber), BLACK BOOK (Paul Verhoeven), THE LIVES OF OTHERS (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck), VOLVER (Pedro Almodóvar), QUINCENEARA (Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer), WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? (Chris Payne), FRIENDS WITH MONEY (Nicole Holofcener), THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA (Tommy Lee Jones), WHY WE FIGHT (Eugene Jarecki), CACHE (Michael Haneke), BREAKFAST ON PLUTO (Neil Jordan), CAPOTE (Bennett Miller), 2046 (Wong Kar Wai), JUNEBUG (Phil Morrison), HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS (Zhang Yimou), SARABAND (Ingmar Bergman), KUNG FU HUSTLE (Steven Chow), SPIDER (David Cronenberg), BAADASSSSS! (Mario Van Peebles), THE COMPANY (Robert Altman), THE FOG OF WAR (Errol Morris), TRIPLETS OF BELLVILLE (Sylvain Chomet), WINGED MIGRATION (Jacques Perrin), ALL THE REAL GIRLS (David Gordon Green), 13 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING (Jill Sprecher), TALK TO HER (Pedro Almodóvar), DOGTOWN AND Z BOYS (Stacy Peralta), POLLOCK (Ed Harris), CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (Ang Lee), SWEET AND LOWDOWN (Woody Allen), AMERICAN MOVIE (Chris Smith), RUN LOLA RUN (Tom Tykwer), THE GENERAL (John Boorman), CENTRAL STATION (Walter Salles), THE OPPOSITE OF SEX (David Roos), SPANISH PRISONER (David Mamet), IN THE COMPANY OF MEN (Neil LaBute), SUBURBIA (Richard Linklater), WAITING FOR GUFFMAN (Chris Guest), LONE STAR (John Sayles), WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE (Todd Solondz), THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN (Jean Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro), SAFE (Todd Haynes), PERSUASION (Roger Michell), CRUMB (Terry Zwigoff), VANYA ON 42ND STREET (Louis Malle), JACQUOT DE NANTES (Agnès Varda) MI VIDA LOCA (Allison Anders), ORLANDO (Sally Potter) and HOWARDS END (Merchant Ivory).

Highlights At Orion Classics (1983–1991)

PAULINE, AT THE BEACH, RAN, MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDERETTE, JEAN DE FLORETTE, BABETTE'S FEAST, AU REVOIR LES ENFANTS, WINGS OF DESIRE, WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, MURMUR OF THE HEART, CHOCOLAT, MYSTERY TRAIN, CYRANON DE BERGERAC, EUROPA EUROPA, SLACKER, THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE, RAISE THE RED LANTERN, THE ADJUSTER.

Highlights At United Artists (1980–1983)

THE LAST METRO, DIVA, LOLA, THE NIGHT OF SHOOTING STARS, THE LAST WALTZ (reissue).

Awards & Honors:

Awards bestowed upon the team's films include 187 Academy Award nominations (161 at Sony Pictures Classics) including nine for Best Picture (The Father, Call Me By Your Name, Whiplash, Amour, Midnight in Paris, An Education, Capote, Howards End, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) and 41 Academy Award winners (37 at Sony Pictures Classics) including Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins, The Father; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote), Best Actress (Julianne Moore, Still Alice; Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine; Emma Thompson, Howards End), Best Supporting Actress (Marcia Gay Harden, Pollock), Best Supporting Actor (J.K. Simmons, Whiplash), Best Adapted Screenplay (Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller, The Father; James Ivory, Call Me By Your Name; Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Howards End), Best Original Screenplay (Woody Allen, Midnight In Paris; Pedro Almodóvar, Talk to Her), and Best Documentary Feature (Searching for Sugar Man, Inside Job, The Fog of War, One Day in September, Anne Frank Remembered). Other major Oscar nominations include Best Actress (Glenn Close, The Wife; Isabelle Huppert, Elle; Emmanuelle Riva, Amour; Helen Mirren, The Last Station; Carey Mulligan, An Education; Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married; Melissa Leo, Frozen River; Penelope Cruz, Volver; Annette Bening, Being Julia; Fernanda Montenegro, Central Station; Julie Christie, Afterglow; Catherine Deneuve, Indochine; Isabelle Adjani, Camille Claudel*), Best Actor (Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory; Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name; Steve Carell, Foxcatcher; Ed Harris, Pollock; Sean Penn, Sweet and Lowdown; Gerard Depardieu, Cyrano de Bergerac*). Fifteen of their films have won the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award (Babette's Feast*, Indochine, Belle Epoque, Burnt by the Sun, Character, All About My Mother, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Lives of Others, The Counterfeiters, The Secret in Their Eyes, In a Better World, A Separation, Amour, Son of Saul, A Fantastic Woman). Twelve of their titles have been the Opening Night Presentation at the New York Film Festival (eight at Sony Pictures Classics).

Honors bestowed on Barker and Bernard include the annual Honors Award from the Director’s Guild of America, The Chevalier Order of Arts and Letters from France’s Minister of Culture, The Gotham Industry Lifetime Achievement Award from the IFP (Independent Feature Project), the FINDIE Award at the IFP/West Spirit Awards, the GLAAD Media Award, and a retrospective at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York. At the Sony Global Management Assembly, Sony Pictures Classics received the distinguished Special Recognition Award two years in a row for their continued success and achievement.

Sony Pictures Classics has also played a significant role in preserving film’s heritage. Together with the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and the Merchant Ivory Foundation, they have restored and released nine of master filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s greatest works. They have also preserved and reissued Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Passenger and Vittorio de Sica’s The Garden of the Finzi-Continis. In 2006, SPC re-released eight Pedro Almodóvar masterpieces in a festival called Viva Pedro! in theaters throughout the United States.

*At Orion Classics

Bios:

Michael Barker

As Co-President and Co-Founder of Sony Pictures Classics, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022, Michael Barker (with Tom Bernard) has distributed (and often produced) some of the finest independent movies. Previously he was an executive at United Artists (1980-1983) and went on to co-found Orion Classics (1983-1991) and Sony Pictures Classics.

Over the span of his career, Barker’s films have received 186 Academy Award® nominations, including several for Best Picture: THE FATHER; CALL ME BY YOUR NAME; WHIPLASH; AMOUR; MIDNIGHT IN PARIS; AN EDUCATION; CAPOTE; CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, recognized as the highest grossing foreign film of all time in North America; and HOWARDS END. His companies' 41 Academy Award® wins include Best Actresses Cate Blanchett (BLUE JASMINE), Julianne Moore (STILL ALICE), and Emma Thompson (HOWARDS END); Best Actors Anthony Hopkins (THE FATHER) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (CAPOTE); Best Supporting Actor J.K. Simmons (WHIPLASH); Best Supporting Actress Marcia Gay Harden (POLLOCK); Best Adapted Screenplays by Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller (THE FATHER) and James Ivory (CALL ME BY YOUR NAME) and Best Original Screenplays by Woody Allen (MIDNIGHT IN PARIS) and Pedro Almodóvar (TALK TO HER); as well as 5 wins for Best Documentary Feature, including INDOCHINE, SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN, INSIDE JOB, and FOG OF WAR; and 14 for Best Foreign Language Film, including INDOCHINE, IN A BETTER WORLD, BABETTE’S FEAST, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER, THE LIVES OF OTHERS, A SEPARATION, AMOUR, SON OF SAUL, and A FANTASTIC WOMAN.

Barker has collaborated with some of the world’s most beloved filmmakers including Pedro Almodóvar, Nadine Labaki, Luca Guadagnino, Mike Leigh, Sally Potter, Louis Malle, Zhang Yimou, Susanne Bier, Agnieszka Holland, the Dardenne brothers, Jonathan Demme, R W Fassbinder, Michael Haneke, Nicole Holofcener, Akira Kurosawa, Mario Van Peebles, Richard Linklater, David Mamet, Errol Morris, Francois Truffaut, and Wim Wenders, all of whom he’s worked with on multiple occasions, as well as Chloé Zhao, Robert Altman, Lorene Scafaria, Michelangelo Antonioni, Lone Scherfig, Ingmar Bergman, Marielle Heller, Francis Coppola, David Cronenberg, Spike Lee, Guillermo del Toro, Ang Lee, Damien Chazelle, Haifaa Al-Mansour and Maren Ade.

Over the years, Barker has released features from American masters (THE RIDER, FOXCATCHER, ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, SWEET AND LOWDOWN) and new American filmmakers (MILES AHEAD, MAGGIE’S PLAN, THE MEDDLER, INFINITELY POLAR BEAR, EQUITY, WHIPLASH, PARIS CAN WAIT, THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL, TAKE SHELTER, SLACKER, WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE, FROZEN RIVER); cutting edge films (BAADASSSSS!, KUNG FU HUSTLE, MOON, ORLANDO, RUN LOLA RUN, THE RAID); animated features (THE TRIPLETS OF BELLVILLE, PERSEPOLIS, WALTZ WITH BASHIR); feature documentaries (THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS, MAIDEN, DARK HORSE, RED ARMY, DOGTOWN AND THE Z BOYS, CRUMB, WINGED MIGRATION, IT MIGHT GET LOUD, THE GATEKEEPERS) and foreign films (PARALLEL MOTHERS, CAPERNAUM, NO, PAIN AND GLORY, WADJDA, TONI ERDMANN, RAN, A PROPHET, ELLE, CENTRAL STATION, WINGS OF DESIRE).

He and his colleagues have also restored and theatrically reissued some of the great films of the past, including THE PASSENGER, THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI CONTINIS, MURMUR OF THE HEART, and the classic films by Indian master Satyajit Ray.

Honors bestowed on Barker and Bernard include the Honors Award from the Directors Guild of America, the FINDIE Spirit Award in Los Angeles, the GLAAD Media Award, the Gotham Industry Lifetime Achievement Award from the Independent Feature Project, and Outfest’s Legacy Award. Under his and Bernard’s leadership, Sony Pictures Classics received the Special Recognition Award from the Sony Corporation CEO two years in a row. He and Mr. Bernard were awarded the esteemed French Legion of Honor from the French government and The Women in Film Beacon Award from Women in Film Los Angeles in recognition of their unmatched support of female filmmakers throughout their careers. Barker and Bernard had the privilege of being honored by the Directors Guild of America at their prestigious 3rd Annual DGA Honors, which celebrates individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions in support of the industry.

Barker currently serves as Co-Chairman on the Museum of the Moving Image Board of Directors, on the Entertainment Media and Technology Dean’s Advisory Board at the NYU Stern School of Business, and has in the past served as Adjunct Professor at the Columbia University School of the Arts Graduate Film Program and on the Visiting Committee to the Division of the Humanities at the University of Chicago. He was also inducted in the Texas Film Hall of Fame. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas.

Sony Pictures Classics most recently released RETURN TO SEOUL (Davy Chou), ONE FINE MORNING (Mia Hansen-Løve), LIVING (Oliver Hermanus), TURN EVERY PAGE – THE ADVENTURES OF ROBERT CARO AND ROBERT GOTTLIEB (Lizzie Gottlieb), THE SON (Florian Zeller), and the re-release of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (Ang Lee). Upcoming releases include THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE, THE PEASANTS, THEY SHOT THE PIANO PLAYER, SHAYDA, WE GROWN NOW, and WICKED LITTLE LETTERS.

Tom Bernard

As Co-President and Co-Founder of Sony Pictures Classics, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022, Tom Bernard (with Michael Barker) has distributed (and often produced) some of the finest independent movies. Previously he was a director at United Artists (1980-1983) and went on to co-found Orion Classics (1983-1991) and Sony Pictures Classics.

Over the span of his career, Bernard’s films have received 186 Academy Award® nominations including several for Best Picture: THE FATHER; CALL ME BY YOUR NAME; WHIPLASH; AMOUR; MIDNIGHT IN PARIS; AN EDUCATION; CAPOTE; CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, recognized as the highest grossing foreign film of all time in North America; and HOWARDS END. His companies' 41 Academy Award® wins include Best Actresses Cate Blanchett (BLUE JASMINE), Julianne Moore (STILL ALICE), and Emma Thompson (HOWARDS END); Best Actors Anthony Hopkins (THE FATHER) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (CAPOTE), Best Supporting Actor J.K. Simmons (WHIPLASH); Best Supporting Actress Marcia Gay Harden (POLLOCK); Best Adapted Screenplays by Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller (THE FATHER) and James Ivory (CALL ME BY YOUR NAME) and Best Original Screenplays by Woody Allen (MIDNIGHT IN PARIS) and Pedro Almodóvar (TALK TO HER); as well as 5 wins for Best Documentary Feature including SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN, INSIDE JOB and FOG OF WAR; and 14 for Best Foreign Language Film including INDOCHINE, IN A BETTER WORLD, BABETTE’S FEAST, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER, THE LIVES OF OTHERS, A SEPARATION, AMOUR, SON OF SAUL, and A FANTASTIC WOMAN.

Bernard has collaborated with some of the world’s most beloved filmmakers including Pedro Almodóvar, Nadine Labaki, Luca Guadagnino, Mike Leigh, Sally Potter, Louis Malle, Zhang Yimou, Susanne Bier, Agnieszka Holland, the Dardenne brothers, Jonathan Demme, R W Fassbinder, Michael Haneke, Nicole Holofcener, Akira Kurosawa, Mario Van Peebles, Richard Linklater, David Mamet, Errol Morris, Francois Truffaut, and Wim Wenders, all of whom he’s worked with on multiple occasions, as well as Chloé Zhao, Robert Altman, Lorene Scafaria, Michelangelo Antonioni, Lone Scherfig, Ingmar Bergman, Marielle Heller, Francis Coppola, David Cronenberg, Spike Lee, Guillermo del Toro, Ang Lee, Damien Chazelle, Haifaa Al-Mansour and Maren Ade.

Over the years, Bernard has released features from American masters (THE RIDER, FOXCATCHER, ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, SWEET AND LOWDOWN) and new American filmmakers (MILES AHEAD, MAGGIE’S PLAN, THE MEDDLER, INFINITELY POLAR BEAR, EQUITY, WHIPLASH, PARIS CAN WAIT, THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL, TAKE SHELTER, SLACKER, WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE, FROZEN RIVER); cutting edge films (BAADASSSSS!, KUNG FU HUSTLE, MOON, ORLANDO, RUN LOLA RUN, THE RAID); animated features (THE TRIPLETS OF BELLVILLE, PERSEPOLIS, WALTZ WITH BASHIR); feature documentaries (THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS, MAIDEN, DARK HORSE, RED ARMY, DOGTOWN AND THE Z BOYS, CRUMB, WINGED MIGRATION, IT MIGHT GET LOUD, THE GATEKEEPERS) and foreign films (PARALLEL MOTHERS, CAPERNAUM, NO, PAIN AND GLORY, WADJDA, TONI ERDMANN, RAN, A PROPHET, ELLE, CENTRAL STATION, WINGS OF DESIRE).

He and his colleagues have also restored and theatrically reissued some of the great films of the past including THE PASSENGER, THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI CONTINIS, MURMUR OF THE HEART, and the classic films by Indian master Satyajit Ray.

Bernard was previously the co-founder of Orion Classics (1983-1991), which released Akira Kurosawa’s Oscar®-winning film RAN. Prior to Orion Classics, Bernard ran the first specialized distribution company, United Artists Classics (1981-1983), where he officially began his professional relationship with long-time collaborator Michael Barker. There Bernard served as the company’s Division Director and Head of Sales until 1983. During his tenure, he released films by R.W. Fassbinder (LOLA, VERONIKA VOSS) and François Truffaut (THE LAST METRO).

He is the New Jersey State Film Commissioner and is a member of the Executive Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the Count Basie Theatre Foundation Board of Directors, the Atlantic Highland Arts Council Advisory Board and the Monmouth County Arts Council, as well as Co-Chair for the Asbury Park Music and Film Festival. Bernard and Mr. Barker have received numerous recognitions for their work, including the privilege of being honored by the Directors Guild of America at their prestigious 3rd Annual DGA Honors, which celebrates individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions in support of the industry. Additionally, he and Mr. Barker have been recognized for their work with the insignia of Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French government and the Spirit of Independence Award from Film Independent at the Los Angeles Film Festival. He and Mr. Barker were awarded the esteemed French Legion of Honor from the French government in acknowledgment for their continued contributions to French culture. He and Mr. Barker were awarded The Women in Film Beacon Award from Women in Film Los Angeles in recognition of their unmatched support of female filmmakers throughout their careers. Mr. Bernard has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Sony Pictures Classics most recently released RETURN TO SEOUL (Davy Chou), ONE FINE MORNING (Mia Hansen-Løve), LIVING (Oliver Hermanus), TURN EVERY PAGE – THE ADVENTURES OF ROBERT CARO AND ROBERT GOTTLIEB (Lizzie Gottlieb), THE SON (Florian Zeller), and the re-release of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (Ang Lee). Upcoming releases include CARMEN (Benjamin Millepied), IT AIN’T OVER (Sean Mullin), A LITTLE PRAYER (Angus MacLachlan), THE PERSIAN VERSION (Maryam Keshavarz), SHORTCOMINGS (Randall Park), and FREUD’S LAST SESSION (Matthew Brown).

Marcie Bloom

Marcie Bloom is the co-president and co-founder of Sony Pictures Classics—a company that distributes, finances and produces independent films from the United States and around the world. Recent successes include Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Pollock, Sweet and Lowdown, All About My Mother and The Tao of Steve. Previously Marcie worked at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, for Gaumont under Columbia’s Triumph Films label, and for PMK Public Relations, where she joined Michael Barker and Tom Bernard as a publicist for over five years before becoming their partner in 1989. Academy Award-winning films she released include Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Pollock, One Day in September, All About My Mother, Howards End, Babette’s Feast, Indochine, Ran, Cyrano de Bergerac, Burnt by the Sun, Belle Epoque, and Anne Frank Remembered.

She has worked with some of the world’s greatest filmmakers including: Ang Lee, Woody Allen, Francois Truffaut, Akira Kurosawa, Louis Malle, Wim Wenders, R.W. Fassbinder, Lily Tomlin, Jim Jarmusch, Richard Linklater, Zhang Yimou, Merchant Ivory, John Sayles, John Boorman, David Mamet, Neil LaBute, Errol Morris, Sally Potter, Don Roos, Gary Oldman, Allison Anders, Hal Hartley, and Mike Figgis.

Ms. Bloom has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University.