Neon announced Wednesday from the Cannes Film Festival that the company has introduced its senior film marketing and publicity career as president of global films. As award-winning studios continue to expand their footprint at Auteur-driven international cinemas, newly created role positions Werner is at the top of NEON's drama distribution assignments.
Werner's appointment comes at the busy Cannes Film Festival for Neon, with five titles in this year's festival lineup Emotional value and Julia Ducournau alphaboth premiered in the competition, and was also Raoul Peck's Orwell: 2+2 = 5 Filter as a special demonstration. The announcement also follows the company’s excellent awards season, by Sean Baker aor Winning last year’s Palme d’Or, followed by five Oscars, including the best picture.
"Ryan's taste, enthusiasm and instinct for cinemas are unlimited," Neon Founder and CEO Tom Quinn said in a statement. "Combined with his extensive knowledge, rich relationships and envious history, we look forward to continuing to develop Neon as the premier residence for groundbreaking films. To say we're happy working with Ryan will be an understatement of the year."
Werner arrived at neon lights from Cinetic Marketing, a boutique agent founded in 2014. Over the past decade, he and his team have become the backbone of industry infrastructure at the festival, carefully curating some of the most famous publicity and awards ceremony, presented awards in independent films, and owned five best films, Oscar Oscar, covering the past five titles and six of the last six of the tenten Palmee or laureates. The Cannes Film Festival has a particularly evident influence in major festivals, and Cannes has long been a quiet but effective presence behind the scenes. According to the two companies, film marketing will continue to operate independently after Werner exits.
In 2021, Werner teamed up with Jonathan Sehring and Janus Films to launch Sideshow, a distributed wood plank dedicated to launching contemporary Arthouse Gems with Janus’ respected library. Together they brought famous international features such as Ryusuke Hamaguchi's driveJerzy Skolimowski EOand Payal Kapadia What we imagine is light To our audience.
At Neon, Werner will focus on drama distribution, lead the company’s distribution strategy, and deepen relationships with film producers and exhibitors. As the company expands its production and expands its global acquisition pipeline, he is expected to play a key role in sharpening Neon's marketing and reward positioning.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity to work with Tom and Neon’s outstanding team,” Werner said. “I really appreciate everything they’ve achieved. It’s a very special opportunity to create something with some of the most talented people in the movie. Honestly, I’m excited about the prospects for it.”