Bingham Ray dies at 57

RayBingham Ray, who championed indie films throughout his career as co-founding father of October Films and prexy of U . s . Artists and was lately named professional director from the Bay Area Film Society, died Monday in Provo, Utah, after having suffered two strokes a week ago. He was 57.Ray have been attending the Arthouse Convergence symposium near Park City as he experienced the very first stroke and was put in the hospital in Park City. He experienced another stroke and was moved to Provo, where he died. After 30 years within the indie film biz that ended having a three-year stint being an professional at Sydney Kimmel Entertainment, Ray had lately segued towards the festival and academic world, becoming a programming consultant towards the Film Society of Lincoln subsequently Center, consultant to Snagfilms and adjunct professor at NYU. He was named professional director from the org that runs the Bay Area Intl. Film Fest in November, following the dying of SFFS director Graham Leggat. The fest happens yearly in April. "The board of company directors and staff from the Film Society are stunned and deeply saddened through the untimely dying in our executive director Bingham Ray. We in the Film Society and also the entire film community have forfeit way too early a dynamic and visionary impact player that has assisted shape the independent film niche for decades in a lot of important and valuable ways," stated Pat McBaine, Bay Area Film Society board leader. The Bay Area Film Society's annual Sundance party continues to be cancelled.In 1991, Ray and Shaun Lipsky co-founded October Films, that was probably the most influential indie distribs through the the nineteen nineties until its purchase to USA Systems in 1999. At October, he acquired films including Mike Leigh's "Secrets and Lies," Lars von Trier's "Smashing the Waves" and Jim Jarmusch's "Lost Highway." The business's films won two Academy awards. In 2001, he was named prexy of MGM subsid U . s . Artists, where he acquired and created films including Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine," which won the feature doc Oscar, "Hotel Rwanda" and "Ghost World." He left UA in 2004.In 2007 he became a member of La-based Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, where he offered leader of Kimmel Distribution and leader of creative matters. He supervised marketing and distribution plans for that original "Dying in a Funeral," "Speak with Me," "Lars and also the Real Girl" and "Synecdoche, N.Y." and was accountable for the expansion and manufacture of the remake of "Dying in a Funeral," in addition to supervisory the introduction of a seven-film production slate.Ray started his career almost 30 years ago as manager-programmer from the Bleecker Street Cinema, then labored like a booker for U . s . Artists, NYer Films, the Samuel Goldwyn Co. and Avenue Entertainment. One of the game titles he done were determining game titles from the flourishing era of independent film including "Sid and Nancy," "Prick Your Ears," "Pharmacy Cowboy," "Hope and Glory," "Sweetie" and "At Night, My Sweet." He offered like a jury member for that Sundance, Rotterdam and Edinburgh film festivals and also the Film Independent Spirit Honours and it has lectured on film production and development in the City College of NY's Graduate Film School and Columbia additionally to NYU.Ray is made it by his wife Nancy King, three children and 2 siblings. Contact Pat Saperstein at pat.saperstein@variety.com