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Janet Pierson Highlight
Start with the things that matter to you the most.
About Janet
- I grew up in a New York suburb.
- I really had no idea what I wanted to do in life until I realized my love for film.
- I started studying film at Hampshire College, but the school wasn’t a great fit for me, so I moved to San Francisco and studied film and photography at the San Francisco Art Institute.
- One of my teachers urged me to take over a small distribution co-op because it aligned with my passion for experimental films—the job revolved around championing obscure, independent filmmakers.
- After hitting a career wall, I moved back to New York and tried a few different conventional jobs that weren’t great fits.
- Through some networking, I started working for a woman who was expanding a theater that regularly premiered films that didn’t already have distribution.
- I spent the next thirty years continuing to champion independent films and filmmakers in a variety of roles—a lot of which was in collaboration with my husband.
- After moving to Austin, Texas, I took a job as the head of film for the South by Southwest Film Conference & Festival.
