Alan Klingenstein (born 1954) is a corporate and securities attorney, investment banker, film distributor, and award-winning film producer. His feature film ''
Two Family House
''Two Family House'' is a 2000 American film produced by Alan Klingenstein, based on the story of the uncle of the film's writer and director Raymond De Felitta (''Café Society'').Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
. Another feature film, '' Runaway'', premiered at the
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...
, the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
, and won Best Dramatic Feature at the 2005 Austin Film Festival. His documentary '' Trumbo'' was awarded the
National Board of Review
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...
's Freedom of Expression Award in 2008. Klingenstein is currently the Chairman of
FilmRise
FilmRise is a New York City–based film and television studio and streaming network, which has become one of the largest independent providers of content to ad-supported streaming (AVOD) platforms, in addition to providing the largest free direc ...
, a film and television distribution company.
Early life
Klingenstein was born and raised in Scarsdale, New York. He is Jewish. His father is Lee P. Klingenstein, a noted philanthropist and partner in the New York investment management firm of
Neuberger Berman
Neuberger Berman Group LLC is a private, independent, employee-owned investment management firm. The firm manages equities, fixed income, private equity and hedge fund portfolios for global institutional investors, advisors and high-net-worth in ...
. Klingenstein graduated from the
Taft School
The Taft School is a private, coeducational school located in Watertown, Connecticut, United States. It teaches students in 9th through 12th grades and post-graduates.
About three-quarters of Taft's roughly 600 students live on the school's ...
. He then earned a bachelor's degree at
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
, and a law degree and MBA from
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
.
He was a corporate and securities attorney with the firm of McCutcheon, Doyle, Brown & Enerson, then traveled through Asia as General Counsel and VP for
Shakey's
Shakey's Pizza is a pizza restaurant chain based in the United States. Founded in 1954, it was the first franchise pizza chain in the United States. In 1968, the chain had 342 locations. The chain had about 500 stores globally, and 58 in the Uni ...
International. Later he worked as a VP of
Bankers Trust
Bankers Trust was a historic American banking organization. The bank merged with Alex. Brown & Sons in 1997 before being acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1999. Deutsche Bank sold the Trust and Custody division of Bankers Trust to State Street Corpor ...
Securities in London.
Film production and distribution
In 1996, after twelve years in the corporate world, Klingenstein produced his first film: the documentary '' The Church of Saint Coltrane'' with Jeff Swimmer. Shortly after, Klingenstein formed Filbert Steps Productions, together with media investor and production partner Jim Kohlberg. Klingenstein produced Filberts Steps' films for very low budgets: ''
Two Family House
''Two Family House'' is a 2000 American film produced by Alan Klingenstein, based on the story of the uncle of the film's writer and director Raymond De Felitta (''Café Society'').Forever Fabulous'', '' Runaway'', and '' Trumbo'' (2008)
Klingenstein developed Filmcatcher.com, containing editorial coverage of art house films, on-camera interviews with filmmakers and actors, film festival coverage, critical reviews, celebrity picks, and profiles of the independent film community.
In 2010, Klingenstein joined with brothers Danny and Jack Fisher to create
FilmRise
FilmRise is a New York City–based film and television studio and streaming network, which has become one of the largest independent providers of content to ad-supported streaming (AVOD) platforms, in addition to providing the largest free direc ...
, a film acquisition fund and distribution company established to acquire and distribute a slate of both mainstream and specialized films, documentaries, and television series.
''OC 87'' was released by FilmRise in June 2012. It depicts how Bradford (Buddy) Clayman, a middle-aged man who suffered an obsessive-compulsive disorder for over 20 years, was finally able to enter a path of recovery. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...