The president and CEO of the Independent Film & Television Alliance on her Las Vegas plans, hopes for the industry and what keeps her up at night.
Born in Hawaii, Jean Prewitt graduated from Harvard University and Georgetown University Law Center and practised federal antitrust, tax and copyright law. She spent a decade as a senior official at the US Department of Commerce and was a public policy specialist in Washington DC, representing entertainment and high-tech industries. After a decade as senior vice president and general counsel for United International Pictures, Prewitt joined the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) as president and CEO in 2000. The American Film Market (AFM), running November 5-10 at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, is IFTA’s flagship event.
What is your office like?
My physical office in Westwood [in Los Angeles] is on the ninth floor of a high-rise building, offering incredible views. It’s right smack in front of Westwood Memorial Park, where Marilyn Monroe is buried. I’m surrounded by art that I brought in myself. At this point, my office is in chaos.
What is the first thing you do when you arrive each day?
Go to the coffee pot.
Who helped you most when you started out at IFTA?
Kathy Morgan was chairman when I was hired and has remained a friend. She broke a lot of ground as a female business owner. Mark Damon [the late executive and pioneer of the international pre-sales model] was one of those people whose opinion always mattered and was very supportive. And I worked closely with [Canadian producer] Pierre David, particularly with SAG.
What were your favourite films growing up?
The Sound Of Music and Lawrence Of Arabia were epics that mattered. The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg was very accessible. And I liked If…., which was powerful and encapsulated the way we were all feeling in the 1970s with the Vietnam War raging and pushing back against authority.
What do you like best about your job?
I get to work with this incredible group of people who believe so strongly in what they’re doing, and figure out ways to make things easier for them.
What are you most proud of on a professional level?
A lot of the advocacy that I’ve done in DC and contributed to in Brussels. Testifying before [the US] Congress to make people understand what it means to be independent and why big mergers and big consolidations and turning over content to the people who owned the pipeline was ultimately probably not great for the US film industry.
What is the biggest professional mistake you have made?
The elevators at the Delfina keep me up at night. [Last year’s AFM hub, now called Hyatt Centric Santa Monica, drew complaints for inadequate elevator capacity.] It gives me a headache that we had no plan B. At the Palms in Las Vegas, we have walked the experience to see if there is anything we can do [to facilitate how the industry will use the venue].
How will you enjoy yourself in Las Vegas if you have the time and are able to relax?
There will be lunches and dinners with people who have become friends over the years. Beyond that, when you have free time you just want it quiet.
What is your favourite other market or festival?
I like the Berlinale. It’s so accessible and you know where everything is. It’s a good time of year to focus on content that’s new.
What is your biggest hope for the industry?
That people go on being as brave and as strong as they are. I am astounded that everybody is still standing after the pandemic, and with a level of excitement as opposed to fear and dread. My other hope is that the US will figure out that having an entertainment industry matters for a lot of reasons, other than just credentialing. You want to put some energy into supporting that industry.
What is the biggest challenge facing the industry?
Everyone is trying to figure out how to create content that appeals to a broader audience than they’ve ever had to appeal to before, or finding a distribution channel that will reach the people that want this particular thing in a world that’s changing so rapidly.
What job would you do if you didn’t work in this industry?
I would have gone back to where I started, which was in the political and policy arena. I started out to be a public interest lawyer and took a left turn because my law firm represented Disney and Universal. If I had to do it all over again, I would have wanted to be an architect. It’s all the same thing: just building a structure.
Who would play you in the biopic of your life and who would direct?
I’m not going there. I’m having enough trouble directing my own life.
No comments yet