Tammie Rosen, who was 49 years old and fought cancer, was a key figure in the independent film world and the Sundance Institute’s chief communications officer. She was a well-known strategist and friendly face on the festival circuit. She was known for fiercely supporting filmmakers, festivals, and the indie ecosystem as a whole.
Rosen joined the Sundance Institute in 2019–2020. She helped the organization and the Sundance Film Festival get through the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, the switch to virtual editions, and the difficult return to a full-scale in-person event in Park City. She was also a big part of the institute’s long-term plan to move the festival to Boulder, Colorado, where it will start in 2027.
Before Sundance, Rosen worked for Tribeca for more than ten years. He became the executive vice president of communications and programming for Tribeca Enterprises and helped make the Tribeca Film Festival a global brand. People who worked with her and the people who started Tribeca often said that she was responsible for shaping the company’s voice, expanding its reach to cities around the world and new platforms, and helping new filmmakers grow.
Rosen is from New Jersey and started her career in public relations at Rubenstein Communications, where she worked on Tribeca soon after it opened and then moved to the company. People who worked with her at Sundance and Tribeca remembered her for her honesty, compassion, sharp business sense, signature red lipstick, and open-door policy that made journalists, talent, and filmmakers feel supported.
Rosen’s mother, siblings, and a large group of family, friends, and coworkers who say she helped make independent film better and build communities around it are still alive. Sundance, Tribeca, and the rest of the industry have all paid tribute to her as a “extraordinary leader” whose effects on festivals, artists, and audiences will last for years.
