Film Independent announced today that Rebecca Yeldham is joining the organization as the Director of the Los Angeles Film Festival, effective immediately.
Rachel Rosen serves as Director of Programming for Film Independent and the Los Angeles Film Festival, and had been working with Film Independent’s Senior Director Sean McManus as interim Co-Directors during the search for a new Festival Director.

“Rebecca has a wide range of experience in the industry and she’s an inspiring leader -- her many talents make her a natural fit for the Los Angeles Film Festival,” said Dawn Hudson, Executive Director of Film Independent. “She has been intimately involved in the building of this festival and the organization over the last nine years as a Film Independent Board member. Rebecca shares our vision of expanding the festival within Los Angeles and the global film community by introducing audiences to unique filmmakers and their films.”
“Dawn and her team have done an amazing job growing the Los Angeles Film Festival over the last few years,” said Yeldham. “In these times, there is such a desire to come together and celebrate our unique city, community and industry, to bridge differences and champion great filmmaking and film-going experiences. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to join this dynamic team and lead the charge in taking this Festival to the next level.”
Yeldham has built a career as a producer, festival programmer, and production and acquisition executive. In addition to serving on Film Independent’s Executive Board, she has also participated in several international film festival juries and selection committees, including the Spirit Awards, the Edinburgh Film Festival, and the Buenos Aires International Film Festival. As filmmaker Walter Salles’ producing partner, Yeldham is currently developing On the Road, based on the seminal novel by Jack Kerouac, and in post-production on the documentary Searching for the Road. Her producing credits include Marc Forster’s The Kite Runner, Walter Salles’ Linha de Passe and The Motorcycle Diaries, and Sacha Gervasi’s Anvil! The Story of Anvil.
Prior to becoming an independent producer, Yeldham served as Senior Vice President of Production at FilmFour, where she headed up the U.S. production wing. From 1997 to 2001, she was the Senior Programmer of the Sundance Film Festival and Associate Director of the Sundance Institute’s International Programs. During this time, she was responsible for organizing initiatives to support emerging screenwriters, producers and directors around the world, and helped launch a generation of filmmakers, including Marc Forster, Walter Salles, Miguel Arteta, Karyn Kusama, Chris Smith, and Darren Aronofsky. From 1990 to 1994, Yeldham served as Director of Acquisitions and Business Affairs for Fox/Lorber and Associates, where she acquired such films as John Woo’s first major U.S. release, The Killer, and George Sluizer’s The Vanishing.
This summer, over the course of ten days from June 18 – June 28 in Westwood Village, Film Independent’s Los Angeles Film Festival will showcase the best of American and international independent cinema. With an expected audience of more than 100,000 people, the festival will screen more than 175 narrative features, documentaries, shorts, and music videos, alongside gala premieres, panels and seminars, free outdoor screenings, Family Day, and live musical performances.