NAME: Irene Cho
AGE: 34
CITY OF RESIDENCE: Los Angeles
COMPANY THAT YOU WORK FOR: Sundance Institute, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Los Angeles
Your JOB TITLE: Press Office Manager, Sundance Film Festival
TIME AT YOUR PRESENT JOB: 15 months

Describe what you do at Sundance.
I manage the day-to-day operations involved in running the Press Office. This includes the hiring, scheduling and supervision of staff and volunteers (28 total), writing press releases, organizing press conferences and press receptions, scheduling press and industry screenings, overseeing the process for media credential applications (we accredit over 1,200 journalists and 300 publicists), and pitching story ideas to journalists for domestic and international media coverage. This all happens before the festival even starts. Once the festival kicks off, the real madness begins.

Do you consider your job a passion?
Yes, I love working and interacting with filmmakers.

What do you find most fulfilling about your work?
Meeting first-time filmmakers and introducing them to journalists who can help them get the word out about their films.

Describe your path here. What other jobs have you held?
I started as a PA (production assistant) at Amblin Entertainment, Steven Spielberg’s production company. Then I spent five years at DreamWorks SKG, where I was the international publicity manager in International Theatrical Marketing and Publicity. I also managed Korean American actors Rick Yune, Will Yun Lee and Brook Lee. I first came to Sundance as a publicist with a documentary called “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” in 2000.

What are some challenges that you might not have expected?
Lack of international resources. For the first time this year, the Sundance Film Festival presented its World Cinema Competition. The competition builds on a long tradition of screening international films, and parallels the Independent Feature Film Competition for U.S. independent films. The competition is divided into two categories: dramatic and documentary. It featured new and diverse work from filmmakers all over the world. This addition to the festival expands on its commitment to presenting innovative international films to U.S. audiences and introducing emerging international filmmakers to the U.S. film industry. There were a lot of foreign films being screened, but not as large of a representation from the international media as I had hoped.

What are the perks, if any?
Watching as many films as I can stay awake for.

What’s the best euphemism you’ve heard for your job title?
Workin’ for The Man.

What is your favorite worktime pick-me-up?
Emergen-C (1,000 mg of Vitamin C plus 32 mineral complexes and B vitamins) and sparkling mineral water.

What’s it like to be part of this cultural institution known for generating a lot of buzz and excitement?
Absolutely inspiring. Imagine what it’s like to follow a first-time filmmaker (David LaChapelle) who premiered at Sundance in 2004 with a short film (“Krumped”) and returned in 2005 with a feature-length version of the film (“RIZE”), which made its world premiere and where the cast and crew watched the film for the first time with 400-plus ticketholders, and then sold for half a million dollars?