Rebecca Kearey is executive vice president/head of international and business operations for Searchlight Pictures. She has spent nearly two decades in leadership at the studio, supervising the international marketing and distribution functions of all its releases including four Academy Award Best Picture winners.  During Kearey’s tenure, Searchlight’s titles have grossed over $2.5 billion at the international box office and garnered over 40 BAFTA Awards. 

Before joining Searchlight, Kearey was senior vice president of marketing at United Artists, overseeing the domestic marketing campaign for the Academy Award-nominated indie hit Hotel Rwanda.  She also served as head of marketing and distribution at The Sales Company in London, where she was responsible for the international campaigns for films including Bend It Like Beckham, Whale Rider, and Academy Award winner No Man’s Land. 

Kearey holds a Master’s degree from USC Annenberg and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of London.  She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and has served on the Membership Committee for the publicity branch.  She is also a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a regular presenter for the Inside Pictures international industry body, and has volunteered as a Disney career mentor.

Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures, Searchlight Pictures is a global specialty film company that finances and acquires motion pictures for both worldwide theatrical and streaming releases through Hulu and Disney+. It has its own marketing and distribution operations and is part of The Walt Disney Studios, a division of The Walt Disney Company.  The company’s titles have amassed 48 Academy Awards including Best Picture Winners: Slumdog Millionaire, 12 Years a Slave, Birdman, The Shape of Water, and Nomadland; scored three of the last five Best Actress Oscar winners; and garnered 10 Grammy Awards.

Recent theatrical releases include Martin McDonagh’s Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-winning The Banshees of Inisherin and Mark Mylod’s global hit The Menu. Searchlight Pictures’ streaming originals include Eva Longoria’s Flamin’ Hot, which became the first original film to debut simultaneously on both Hulu and Disney+ and the Sundance sensation Fresh, starring Sebastian Stan and Daisy Edgar Jones. Upcoming theatrical releases include Taika Waititi’s heartfelt underdog comedy Next Goal Wins and Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, his eagerly awaited follow-up to The Favourite, starring and produced by Emma Stone.

RSVP