August 20, 2007

Vermont Film Commission Names New Executive Director

MONTPELIER, Vt. - A Vermonter who had a successful career in Hollywood and who established the film production program at Burlington College has been selected as the new executive director of the Vermont Film Commission.

Joe Bookchin will assume the leadership of the film commission on September 24, 2007, taking over from interim director Loranne Turgeon.

"I'm delighted that we did a national search and found the best candidate right here in Vermont," said John O'Brien, President of the Vermont Film Commission Board of Directors. "Joe knows the difference between Waterbury and Waterville, and he knows his way around Hollywood and Tribeca, too."

Bookchin, who grew up in Burlington, is a graduate of the New York University Film School and has worked at Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. studios in Los Angeles and CBS News in New York. He comes to the position with 25 years of filmmaking and media production experience.

"We are not only tremendously fortunate to have Joe joining us as Director of the Film Commission, we were also fortunate to have a strong, hard-working search committee," said Vermont Film Commission Board Vice-President and Search Committee Chair, David Rocchio. "I want to thank them on behalf of the VFC for all their time, energy and opinions. That we all agreed Joe is the right person for the job, despite our different backgrounds and perspectives, is a testament both to the candidate and the committee, and we appreciate their efforts."

Bookchin spent the last 12 years as the director of film production at Burlington College, growing that program from its infancy into the largest single program at the school. He has written, directed and produced films for Vermont Educational Television and the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, among others.

"I'm committed to establishing a sound, vibrant and steadily growing film, TV and related media production industry in Vermont," Bookchin said. "Film production is clean, green and a great way to bring revenue into Vermont."

The Vermont Film Commission was created in 1996 to attract and assist incoming film, television, commercial and new media productions, to promote the growth of Vermont's indigenous industry, and to facilitate the involvement of Vermont crews and businesses in those productions.

"Joe's local roots and strong background in filmmaking and production make him a natural fit for this position," said Tourism and Marketing Commissioner Bruce Hyde. "We're eager to call upon Joe's demonstrated leadership and management skills so that we can continue to effectively market Vermont to the film industry."

"I'm looking forward to working with local filmmakers and production companies, with the business community and legislative leaders, and with the film commission board to make Vermont a destination for filmmaking," Bookchin said. "We have an incredibly talented workforce; we have unsurpassed natural beauty and excellent post-production facilities and technical expertise."

"The film industry is an important part of Vermont's economy," said Governor Jim Douglas. "I look forward to the continued good work of the commission enticing large Hollywood productions to the state and nurturing local, independent filmmakers and production companies, and I welcome Joe aboard."