The Ira Deutchman Papers were donated to the University of Michigan Special Collections Library Screen Arts Mavericks and Makers Collection in 2015. The collection encompasses Ira Deutchman's 40 year career in independent film making as a producer, production company executive, and educator.
The Ira Deutchman Papers are arranged into sixteen series: Personal, Production Companies, Film and Project Files, Film Organizations, Film Miscellaneous, Film Scripts, Film Conferences and Seminars, Film Festivals, Books, Film Catalogs, Theatre, Artifacts/Memorabilia Oversized, Audio and Moving Image, Digital Media, and Posters
Ira Deutchman was born in 1953 in Cherry Point, North Carolina, and is best known for his work as a producer, marketer, and distributer of independent films. He was one of the founders of Cinecom and of Fine Line Features, the specialty films division of New Line Cinema. He has also worked as an independent producer and consultant in marketing and distribution of independent films. Deutchman became involved in the film industry while attending Northwestern University, and graduated in 1975 with a major in film. His first positions were at Cinema 5 Ltd. Films, where he was director of marketing and director of acquisitions from 1975-1978. He then worked as director of advertising and publicity at United Artists Classics. Deutchman co-founded Cinecom Entertainment Group in 1982 and served as its president of Marketing and Distribution until 1988. While at Cinecom, he was involved with several notable films, including A Room With a View, El Norte, The Brother from Another Planet, and the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense. After leaving Cinecom, Deutchman worked for two years as a producers representative and marketing consultant before founding Fine Line Features. During Deutchman's five-year tenure as president, the company released a variety of independent features including Robert Altman's The Player and Short Cuts, Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho, Alan Rudolph's Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, and the award-winning documentary Hoop Dreams. Deutchman also co-founded Emerging Pictures, a digital production and exhibition network. In addition to his work in the film distribution, Deutchman has produced or coproduced over 25 films. He is currently an independent producer and consultant in marketing and distribution of independent films. Deutchman began teaching at Columbia University in 1987 and became an associate professor in 2000. He is a Professor of Professional Practice in the School of the Arts, where he was the Chair of the Film Program from 2011-2015.
