Ellen M. Harrington
“Globally-experienced leadership in the arts and culture, specializing in start-ups and institutional transformation.”
Ellen M. Harrington is a forward-thinking and dynamic institutional leader, cultural connector, strategic innovator, original concept and content generator, and curator. She is experienced and tested as a global arts professional, organization builder and thought leader in the international museum and film heritage sector, highly adaptable and adept at working across cultures. Her professional roles have included those of museum director, film institution CEO, exhibitions curator, film programmer and special event producer, with large institutional planning and management experience in her portfolio.
As Director and CEO of the DFF – Deutsches (German) Filminstitut & Filmmuseum in Frankfurt, Germany for seven years, Harrington led a major national and internationally renowned film cultural heritage institution with a dynamic team of 200, seven separate public or research accessible facilities for film and collections management (with 80 million euros in art and artifacts), exhibitions, digital projects, research and publishing. From 2018 through 2024, she directed both the operational and creative sides of the institution, including museum transformation and operations, re-branding and communications, exhibitions, film education (K-12 and University Masters programs), international touring and outreach initiatives, innovative digital projects, film festivals, film distribution an annual schedule of 900 public film screenings.
Previously, Harrington served as the Director of Exhibitions and Collections, and as the first Museum Collections Curator, for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California from 2013 to 2017. As part of that project, she was responsible for acquisitions, conceptual development and management of the Collections, public exhibition content and institutional partnerships for the planned $400 million cultural institution, which opened in late 2021. She developed a multi-million-dollar content-based project budget and creative exhibition content across numerous traditional and digital presentation platforms. Harrington also planned for extensive staff and architectural infrastructure, institutional protocols, and long-term department growth and sustainability.
Earlier, as Director of Exhibitions and Special Film Programs for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, California, she curated or oversaw the installations for over eighty exhibitions of motion picture artworks, artifacts and thematic installations, at the Academy Galleries and at museums and galleries worldwide. As a film programmer, Harrington has curated and produced approximately 500 public film events to date at Academy venues, festivals and partner institutions around the world. In addition, she co-founded the Academy’s High School Media Literacy program.
Harrington has extensive global film heritage experience in addition to her recent work in Europe; beginning in 2006 through 2013, she was the Founding Director of the Academy’s International Outreach Program, to build a sustainable and impactful international mentoring, capacity building and cultural diplomacy initiative for the Academy. She created partnerships with host institutions in various countries, and with U.S.-based organizations to host visiting international delegations.
Earlier in her career, Harrington worked for Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in Los Angeles as a Story Analyst, in feature film development for Warner Bros. under Dustin Hoffman’s Punch Productions banner in New York City, and for the cinema program of the New York Shakespeare Festival’s Public Theater. She holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College in Art History and Comparative Literature, and an M.A. from New York University in Comparative Literature and Cinema Studies, where she completed additional coursework and exams toward the PhD. She has worked on projects and with partner institutions around the world in five languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian and German.
BOARD MEMBERSHIPS AND COMMITTEE SERVICE (Selected):
• Executive Committee Member – FIAF, Fédération internationale des archives du film/International Film Archives Federation. 2023-2024
• Executive Committee Member, ACE – Association des Cinémathèques Européennes/European Cinematheques Association.2018-2024
• Principal Member, Kinematheksverbund (German Cinematheques Association), representing DFFon a national level. 2018-2024
• Advisory Board Member, Goethe Institut: Beirat (Advisory Committee) Film Fernsehen Hörfunk (Film, Television and Radio). 2020-2024
• Board Member, DDB – Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (German Digital Library), responsible for Film Collections, 2018-2024
• Elected Member, Museum Leadership House, 2023-Present
• Spokesperson and Jury Member, Frankfurt Book Fair Film Award, 2018-2023
• Voting Board Member, Goerg und Franziska Speyer’sch Hochschulstiftung Vorstand (Speyer University Foundation), Voting Board Member, 2019-Present
• Board Member, Friends of the Food Coalition, Los Angeles,2015-2018
• Member, Technology History Subcommittee, AMPAS Science and Technology Council, 2013-2017
• Board of Advisors, Dartmouth Alumni in Entertainment & Media Association (DAEMA), 2012-Present
• Member, Pacific Council on International Policy, 2010-Present
• Honorary Member, Society of Motion Picture Still Photographers (SMPSP), 2005-Present
• Member, American Association of Museums, 2004-Present
• Board of Advisors, The Art Institute of California – Hollywood: Professional Advisory Committee, Set & Exhibit Design Program, 2009-2017
• Board of Advisors, Dartmouth College: Diversity and Low Income Recruitment Initiative, 2008-2018
• Board Member, Mary Pickford Institute for Film Education, 2006-2009
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION (Selected):
Elected to Executive Committee of the FIAF – International Film Archives Federation, 2023
Hessischer Film Prize to DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum, 2019
Elected to Executive Committee of the ACE – Association of European Cinematheques, 2018 (re-elected for a fourth term in 2024)
FAZ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), Top 10 in Culture for 2018
Business Council for Peace Volunteer Excellence Award, for film-related work in Afghanistan and Rwanda, 2013
International Visitors Council of Los Angeles, Outstanding Resource Award, 2012
Los Angeles, Italia Film Festival Silver Seahorse Award for contributions to the promotion of Italian film culture, 2010
Profiled in Architectural Digest, April 2000
Graduate Fellowship, New York University, Department of Comparative Literature and Cinema Studies, 1987-1991
Thesis with Honors, Dartmouth College, Comparative Literature, Art History and Romance Languages, 1986
EDUCATION:
New York University, New York, New York M.A., Comparative Literature and Cinema Studies, 1991
Coursework and exams completed toward Ph.D.
Graduate Fellowship, New York University, Department of Comparative Literature and Cinema Studies, 1987-1991
Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire B.A. with Honors in Comparative Literature and Art History, 1986
Thesis with Honors, Dartmouth College, Comparative Literature, Art History and Romance Languages, 1986
Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts
LANGUAGES:
• English: Native speaker.
• German: Acquired since 2018 in the context of professional responsibilities; able to present public speeches at press conferences, exhibition and film festival openings. Capable of serving on numerous committees, participate in professional meetings and colloquia which are held entirely in German.
• Spanish, French, and Italian: Able to speak fluidly and collaborate with native speakers at a high level in a professional context.
• Have given press conferences and conducted public speaking engagements in Spanish and Italian, as well given broadcast interviews in each of these three languages.
• Foreign study in Morelia, Mexico; Lyon, France; Sienna, Italy; Florence, Italy.
CONFERENCES, SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS and FILM FESTIVALS (Selected):
• Featured Speaker: Fratopia Festival, Alte Oper, Frankfurt, Germany, September 2024
• Faculty Member: BAVASS : FIAF (Fédération internationale des archives du film) and Film Heritage Foundation 3rd Biennial Audio-Visual Archival Summer School, October 2023, New Delhi, India
• Presenter/Co-Organizer: Jewish Museum Frankfurt, Press Opening and Conference Speaker in connection with DFF co-presented exhibition “In and Out of Focus: A Jewish Film History of West Germany,” July 2023 – January 2024
• Invited Member: Museum Leadership House; Conference, Cannes, France, September 2023
• Presenter: Cannes Classics, introduction of DFF restoration of “ES”, Cannes Film Festival, May 2023
• Conference Organizer, Presenter and Moderator : ACE (Association des Cinémathèques Européennes) annual workshops at Il Cinema Ritrovato, Bologna, Italy, June 2022, 2023& 2024
• Presenter, Zugang Gestalten! (Sharing Knowledge) Conference, Hamburg, October 2022.
• Panelist, EYE International Conference, Amsterdam, May 2022.
• Presenter, Archival Assembly/After the Archives Conference, Berlin, September 2021 & May 2023
• Juror, Nippon Connection Japanese Film Festival, Frankfurt. Main Competition, June 2021.
• Juror, Zurich International Film Festival. Main Competition, October 2020.
•Presenter, Budapest Classic Film Marathon, Professional Program and film restoration introductions, 2019, 2022, 2024
• Keynote Speaker, Zugang Gestalten! (Sharing Knowledge) Conference, Exkurs: The View from Here – European Cinema and the Future of ‘Hollywood’, Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin. October, 2018.
• Panelist, Conference and Broadcast Program, DW (Deutsche Welle) Global Media Forum, Bonn, Germany, June 2018
• Keynote Speaker, Lichter Film Festival, Kongress ‘Zukunft Deutscher Film‘ (The Future of German Film), April, 2018
• Juror, COLCOA: City of Lights/City of Angels French Film Festival. Short Film Competition, April, 2017.
• Moderator, “The Art of Silent Storytelling” at the DTLA Film Festival, co-presented by the Set Decorator’s Society of America, September 2016
• Juror, Camerimage 22nd Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography, Poland. Polish Film Competition, November 2014
• Panelist, Dubai International Film Festival, December 2013
• Panelist, Moderator, Sarajevo Talent Campus, Sarajevo Film Festival, August 2013
• Moderator, Nashville Film Festival, "Taking Risks: Filmmaking against the backdrop of war," panel with Iraqi Kurdish, Syrian and Rwandan filmmakers and cultural officials. April 2013
• Panelist, International Film Festival Summit: "Beyond the Oscars: Opportunities, Alliances and Expertise." Austin, TX, December 2, 2012
• Film Curator, UCLA Confucius Institute China Onscreen Biennial, October 2012
• Panelist, Sixth Biennial Cinema Symposium, “Shifting Scenes," presented by the UCLA Vietnamese Language and Culture (VNLC) organization and the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA), April 2012
• Juror, Abu Dhabi Film Festival, Short Film and Middle Eastern Competitions for live action, animated and documentary films, October 2011
• Panelist, USC Arts & Humanities Initiative Festival of Contemporary Middle Eastern Cinema, “Lifting the Veil Through Media: Futbol, Dating and Revolution in Iran,” March 2011
• Organizer, “Moguls, Millionaires & Movie Stars: Hollywood Between the Wars, 1920 to 1940.” Presented in association with the Huntington Library and the USC Institute on California and the West. May 2008
• Presenter, “Mezzo Secolo di Dolce Vita,” Fellini Foundation, Rimini, Italy. November 2008
• Organizer, International Documentary Congress, presented in association with the International Documentary Association (IDA). October 1995 & October 1998.
• Member, Los Angeles Committee for the Centenary of Film, 1994-1996