Deanne Weir replacing Chris Freeland as chair of Sydney Film Festival
Weir has over 25 years’ experience in media and communications
At the closing night of the Sydney Film Festival it was revealed Chris Freeland will step down as Sydney Film Festival chair while remaining on the board. Freeland, a partner of Baker McKenzie and a member of its Asia Pacific Regional Council, chaired the organisation for eight years.
Festival board director Deanne Weir will take over the role of chair. Weir has over 25 years’ experience in media and communications and is Foxtel’s managing director, content aggregation and wholesale. She is also a television producer and philanthropist whose passion is to support the advancement of women in the community.
Sydney Film Festival CEO Leigh Small reported, “This year again, the Festival exceeded previous attendance figures – a continuing 10-year trend. There was an average of 72% capacity across all sessions with almost 185,000 attendances. This result marks a fitting end to Chris Freeland’s eight-year tenure during which the number of people attending the Sydney Film Festival almost doubled.”
Photo: Chris Freeland, Leigh Small, Deanne Weir and SFF director Nashen Moodley
