Tammie Rosen, the beloved communications veteran of the Sundance Institute and Tribeca Film Festival, has died. She was 49.
Rosen, who passed on Wednesday after a battle with cancer, is remembered by friends and colleagues for her kindness and generosity as much as her professionalism. A champion of films and filmmakers — and, of course, film festivals — Rosen was always available for a conversation and questions, large and small.
“Tammie was a remarkable leader whose integrity, compassion, and unwavering commitment to our organization will have a lasting impact,” said Ebs Burnough, Sundance Institute Board Chair. “Under her stewardship, Sundance Institute’s story was told with heart and authenticity because, quite simply, she embodied the joy and power of our mission.”
“Tammie’s passion, commitment, selflessness, hard work, love of our community, the arts, filmmakers, and the stories they tell was infectious,” said Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal, who worked with Rosen when she served as EVP of Communications and Programming at Tribeca Enterprises.
A New Jersey native, Rosen started her Hollywood PR career at Rubenstein Communications, where she began working with the Tribeca Film Festival shortly after its launch. After going in-house, Rosen helped grow the festival to a lauded operation and New York City staple that launched the careers of filmmakers and celebrated independent filmmaking.
“Tammie started working with us in 2004, just eight days before the third edition of Tribeca as the co-lead on our PR account with Rubenstein. Three years later in 2007 she joined us full time — and for the next 16 years we watched this extraordinary dynamic woman help us build Tribeca,” added De Niro and Rosenthal. “She helped build creative strategies that expanded Tribeca outside our backyard to Rome, Beijing, and Doha and into areas of innovation, music and sports. We will forever be in awe of her tireless dedication, her impeccable ethics, her remarkable leadership, her humor, her love of Bruce Springsteen, her trademark red lipstick, and most of all her friendship. She was singularly just remarkable.”
Rosen joined the Sundance Institute as its chief communications officer in 2019, helping to guide the storied independent festival during many moments of transition, including going digital during the COVID pandemic, returning to in-person operations in Park City in 2023, and finding its future home in Boulder, Colorado.
“Tammie had an extraordinary ability to connect and inspire; she led with purpose and heart, always guided by an ethic of excellence, empathy, and genuine care for others,” added Burnough. “Her warmth, generosity, and laugh were infectious, and her keen intelligence and moral character inspired her colleagues not only at Sundance Institute but across the industry. She was one of a kind, and she will be deeply missed and forever remembered. Our hearts are with Tammie’s family and loved ones during this extraordinarily difficult time.”
In addition to family, friends and colleagues, Rosen is survived by her mother, Sheryle, sister Stefani and brother Brian.