IndieWire Promotes Eric Kohn, Kate Erbland, and David Ehrlich

IndieWire Staff
·3 min read

As IndieWire celebrates its 25th anniversary, the site has promoted three key staff members. In addition to serving as Executive Editor, Eric Kohn will take on the newly created role of Vice President, Editorial Strategy. Kate Erbland has been promoted to Executive Editor, Film and David Ehrlich has been promoted to Chief Film Critic.

As VP Editorial Strategy, Kohn will focus on expansion opportunities for IndieWire including education, original content, and events. He will work with Editor at Large Anne Thompson on IndieWire’s Awards Season Spotlight video series and continue to host the pair’s weekly Screen Talk podcast. He will also oversee IndieWire’s film festival strategies while contributing features, essays, and analysis to the site. He continues to report to Editor in Chief Dana Harris-Bridson.

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Erbland will lead IndieWire’s daily film coverage and its staff, as well as develop big-picture strategy for the film vertical. Ehrlich will oversee strategy and assignments for all of IndieWire’s film reviews, including weekly releases, festivals, and analysis. Erbland reports to Harris-Bridson, while Ehrlich reports to Erbland.

“Eric, Kate, and David are all IndieWire veterans who bring experience, insight, and genuine passion to their new roles,” said Harris-Bridson. “Eric is a keen critic and sharp journalist with the heart of an entrepreneur and this promotion is a perfect reflection of his unique skill set. Kate brings both smarts and joy to her film coverage and is a natural leader who will excel in her new position. And David has a unique voice with a strong vision of what IndieWire film criticism should be. I am thrilled to see all of them move into the positions they so richly deserve.”

Erbland joined IndieWire as Managing Editor in 2015. Since then, she has served as Film Editor and Deputy Editor, Film while playing a critical role in expanding coverage of issues relating to women in film as well as the ever-changing blockbuster landscape.

Ehrlich joined IndieWire in 2016. His review coverage is among the site’s most widely read features, and he retains a formidable online presence that includes one of the top profiles on Letterboxd and his popular annual video that surveys the top 25 films of the year.

Kohn has worked at IndieWire for 15 years, first as a freelancer before he became the site’s first staff critic. He developed the publication’s review strategy, contributed to elevating the brand’s visibility in the entertainment landscape, and is a co-founder of the Critics Academy and Roger Ebert Memorial Scholarship initiatives, which trains aspiring entertainment journalists from diverse backgrounds. He continues to teach film criticism and journalism at NYU.

“Even with the challenges of the past year, there are tremendous new opportunities for supporting the art of the moving image,” Kohn said. “I’m thrilled to adopt new responsibilities in building avenues for IndieWire.”

IndieWire has seen substantial growth over the past year with its specialized editorial content and partnerships, including a successful online education course for film and TV majors developed with Yellowbrick and Rolling Stone.

In commemoration of the site’s 25th anniversary, IndieWire is currently running biweekly articles by its staff on the future of the entertainment industry, and will have a presence at PMC’s upcoming LA3C event scheduled to take place December 2-4 in Los Angeles.

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