Clay Epstein,
President,
Film Mode Entertainment
Clay Epstein began his career working as a Production Manager for local television before graduating from California State University, Northridge. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts, majoring in Film Production and minoring in Italian Language.
He landed his first job in Distribution with Kushner-Locke and worked his way from Production Assistant to Worldwide Sales Coordinator. In 2001, he was hired as Sales Director at Overseas Filmgroup. While there, he helped transition the sales division from Overseas Filmgroup to First Look Studios. He was promoted to Director of Operations and then Sales Executive where he oversaw the sales of 300 titles. In 2006, Clay joined the newly created sales and production company, The Little Film Company as VP Sales & Acquisitions. He helped grow the company into a leading boutique sales agency representing such prestigious titles as TSOTSI (2006, Academy Award Winner for Best Foreign Language), THE LAST STATION (2010, Academy Award Nominee for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role) and EYE OF THE STORM (2012, AACTA Winner for Best Lead Actress) In 2012, Clay joined Arclight Films, as Senior Vice President Sales & Acquisitions responsible for all aspects of Marketing and Distribution. While there, he represented such feature films as Paul Schrader ’s DOG EAT DOG starring Nicolas Cage, PAPER PLANES starring Sam Worthington, PREDESTINATION starring Ethan Hawke and LAST KNIGHTS starring Clive Owen and Morgan Freeman. Clay launched Film Mode Entertainment in 2016, a fully independent worldwide sales agent and production entity. Clay has been an instructor at the New York Film Academy, and is a frequent guest speaker at film festivals and Film Schools.
He currently sits on the Executive Committee of the Independent Film and Television Alliance (IFTA) Board of Directors and is a member or BAFTA LA and the Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts (AACTA). He lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and son.
