Matt Dentler quits

Big news in the festival world today, Matt Dentler has resigned his position as the Festival producer (and programming identity) of SXSW. Dentler was a powerful force at SXSW since he began producing the film festival in 2004. His strong programming choices and his role as a prominent blogger helped shape the face of contemporary cinema over these years.

He is being replaced by Janet Pierson, a producer from a decidedly older generation of American independent cinema. Her contributions to the festival should provide a decidedly different tone for SXSW than her 28 year old predecessor had.

Dentler is taking a position at Cinetic Media as head of marketing and programming for their Digital Rights Media organization. This is a huge shakeup in the festival scene, I guess spring has brought change in the air, can you smell it?