Bleecker Street Founder Andrew Karpen Receives Variety Vanguard Award at Indie Studio’s Emotional 10th Anniversary Celebration

Bleecker Street celebrated its 10th anniversary on Saturday night following the New York Film Festival premiere of Mike Leigh’s “Hard Truths.” It was an emotional evening, one that honored Bleecker Street’s track record of producing acclaimed indies such as “Captain Fantastic” and “Trumbo,” as well as its endurance in a challenging business. Much of that credit goes to Andrew Karpen, Bleecker Street’s founder and the recipient of the Variety Vanguard Award.

“There are few people who love independent movies like Andrew Karpen, who spent the last 25 years championing independent movies,” said Ramin Setoodeh, Variety‘s co-editor-in-chief, who noted that in addition to launching Bleecker Street, Karpen served as co-CEO of Focus Features for more than a decade.

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The evening was also a chance for Karpen’s friends and colleagues to recognize his personal courage. The Bleecker Street chief was diagnosed with glioblastoma in January. “We are in awe of Andrew,” Setoodeh said, adding, “he has handled [the diagnosis] with exceptional dignity and strength.”

Karpen said he was “not just honored to be here. I’m blessed to be here this year.” Getting the news was “devastating,” he said, but he thanked his doctors, his wife Pam and their children for helping him through those difficult months. “As you can see by my being here, nothing is impossible.”

Karpen went on to thank his team at Bleecker Street, including top executives Kent Sanderson, Tyler DiNapoli, Myles Bender and Jack Foley, for their belief in his vision to turn the studio into a home for independent-minded storytellers. “Our company is about taking those stories and trying to propel them to a grand cultural stage,” Karpen said. “Because when we share our stories with each other, we come together.”

Leigh, whose latest “Hard Truths” will be released by Bleecker Street this fall, and the film’s star Marianne Jean-Baptiste attended the event. Other partygoers included “Hereditary” director Ari Aster and David Linde, the former CEO of Participant.