Bleecker Street founder Andrew Karpen dies aged

 

Karpen was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2024 and died in hospital in Connecticut on Monday.


Longtime friend and Bleecker Street president Kent Sanderson said, “Our industry has lost a giant. Andrew taught us all so much, foremost of which is the value of kindness, honesty, and family above all else. His leadership and courage will inspire all of us at Bleecker Street for the rest of our lives

The popular East Coast native founded Bleecker Street in 2014 and guided the company through the disruption of the pandemic, Hollywood strikes, and the rise of streaming. He remained an enthusiastic and resourceful figure throughout, and was a regular face in Cannes and the festival circuit.


Born on April 18, 1966, Karpen attended Washington University in St. Louis and got his finance MBA from NYU Stern School Of Business.


He began his career at Miramax in New York and served at Oxygen Media as SVP finance & planning. Karpen joined Focus Features in 2002, rising to president in 2006 and then on to co-CEO. Among his many duties he assumed management responsibility for Focus Features International, the company’s former international sales and distribution arm. 


Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawski said, ”Andrew’s passing is not only a loss for the filmmakers he spent his career championing, but for all of us who had the privilege of working with him and calling him a friend. His humanity, kindness and gentle spirit were an inspiration to anyone who spent time with him, and they are forever a part of Focus and our whole film community. We are all better off having had him in our lives.”


Alison Thompson worked with Karpen while she was co-president of Focus Features International. “It’s heartbreaking to see a truly good person leave us too early,” said Thompson. ”Andrew was a dear friend and colleague. He was whip smart, an inspirational leader and a loyal colleague who found time for everyone regardless of job titles. He wore his heart on his sleeve, loved a practical joke and was a family man in every sense of the word. The world needs more people like Andrew. I’m gonna miss him to bits.”

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