ShowEast Creates the Bingham Ray Memorial Award to Honor the Late Indie Film Executive

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ShowEast has created the Bingham Ray Memorial Award to honor the memory of the late Bingham Ray. Its first recipients will be Eamonn Bowles, president of Magnolia Pictures; producer Ben Barenholtz; Arnie Sawyer, who heads advertising agency Sawyer Studios; and Tom Prassis, senior vp sales ay Sony Pictures Classics.

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The award, which recognizes individuals who have “shown exemplary leadership and foresight in the world of independent cinema,” will be presented Nov. 8 at the Final Night Banquet and Awards Ceremony of ShowEast. The exhibitors convention runs Nov. 5-8 at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa in Hollywood, Fla.

Ray, co-founder of October Films and a former president of United Artists, died Jan. 23 while attending the Sundance Film Festival in Park City.

“Bingham was a visionary and tireless champion of independent films, bringing them out of the art house and to audiences everywhere,” says Robert Sunshine, executive director of ShowEast. “It is only fitting that we create an award in his memory to celebrate those individuals who exemplify the spirit, tenacity and leadership that would do Bingham proud.”