Curry Barker to Receive IndieWire's Inaugural Filmmaking Award — SkimNews
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- Curry Barker will receive IndieWire's inaugural Future of Filmmaking Award at the publication's Future of Filmmaking Summit on October 17 at Penske Media's Lumen West LA headquarters.
- "Obsession" grossed over $500 million worldwide — the highest-grossing release in Focus Features history — and ranks as the sixth-highest-grossing horror film of all time and the most profitable original film of the 2020s.
- "Obsession" premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, earned IndieWire's Critic's Pick designation before securing distribution, and was written, directed, and edited solely by Barker.
- "Anything But Ghosts" reunites Barker with Focus Features and Blumhouse Atomic Monster; Barker directs, edits, stars, and co-wrote the script with longtime collaborator Cooper Tomlinson, alongside Aaron Paul, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Violet McGraw.
- IndieWire's Future of Filmmaking Summit will feature a keynote by "Project Hail Mary" directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, with additional programming to be announced.
Why it matters: Curry Barker's solo creative control — writing, directing, and editing 'Obsession' himself — delivered Focus Features' biggest box-office hit in history and the most profitable original film of the 2020s, and IndieWire's first-ever Future of Filmmaking Award now institutionalizes that model as a blueprint studios may chase when packaging emerging horror talent.
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