Barbara Twist

Barbara Twist is a L.A.-based filmmaker and exhibition consultant, involved in the independent exhibition sector for over a decade. Her work includes producing, writing, post-production supervision, distribution, & exhibition strategies.

She is currently the Executive Director of Film Festival Alliance. She previously worked with Art House Convergence as Managing Director until 2017, and in recent years has consulted for organizations including Europa Cinemas, Europa International, and IndieCollect. Since 2020, she has worked with the Vidiots Foundation, a non-profit Los Angeles-based movie theater + video store, and continues to serve as their part-time Director of Partnerships.

She has produced multiple award-winning shorts which have played festivals including Austin Film Festival, Aspen ShortsFest, Atlanta Film Festival, IndieMemphis, and New Orleans Film Festival. She was listed on Celluloid Junkie’s Top 50 Women in Global Cinema in 2017, featured in BoxOffice’s “Women in Exhibition and Distribution” October 2015, and has participated on many festival and conference panels on contemporary exhibition issues and distribution strategies.

She has programmed films for festivals and series including Tales of Europe, Cinetopia Film Festival and the Carla Kuhn Speaker Series at Columbia University; served on the jury for festivals including Austin Film Festival and Denver Film Festival; and has sat on grant committees, including the NEA Media Arts Grants and the National YoungArts Foundation. She has been published in Box Office Magazine and Dear Producer, among others.

She has her B.A. in Screen Arts and Cultures from the University of Michigan, and her M.F.A. in Creative Producing from Columbia University. She is a member of the Producers Guild of America.