At a press conference this morning New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he has selected Cynthia Lopez as the new Film Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Film Theater and Broadcasting. Lopez will leave behind her position as executive VP of PBS’s POV documentary franchise.
Lopez brings her extensive experience to her new post. Under Lopez’s tenure at PBS she forged innovative partnerships with Harpo Studios, ABC News’ Nightline, The New York Times, StoryCorps and WNYC. P.O.V. has earned numerous awards under Lopez’s direction. In 2013 alone, it was one of only 13 nonprofit organizations worldwide to receive a $1 million MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. She has recently served on the Australian International Documentary Conference F4 jury, and the Tribeca Film Institute’s 2012 Latin America Media Arts Fund, among other juries, committees and panels. She currently sits on the board of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers and is also a member on the board of directors of Latino Public Broadcasting.
Lopez is expected to step into the post of Film Commissioner immediately as had been empty since January of this year after Oliver had stepped down with outgoing mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. De Blasio is looking to Lopez to build upon her predecessor’s, Katherine Oliver, work in building New York’s film and TV production revenue to a $7.1 billion dollar business.
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