As an indie stalwart in the publicity and marketing space, Cinetic Marketing has long enjoyed making an outsized impact on the movies that make waves out of festivals and during awards season. Like many outfits, that’s the product of change.
In 2025, founder Ryan Werner left the outfit to run distribution at Neon. Under the leadership of Werner and Cinetic Media CEO John Sloss, the publicity and marketing outfit occupied a rare space in an increasingly small orbit. Werner is a gifted cinephile with extraordinary instincts for what smart arthouse audiences would embrace. For every major festival, he would curate a list of movies that every journalist on the beat knew to pay attention to. Werner has taste, and he shepherded many films to unexpected success, from “Flow” to “Drive My Car.” But he was also a workhorse.
So when he left Cinetic for Neon last year, the indie community wondered if the team he left behind, led by Courtney Ott, could carry forward at the same level. After a year on the job, Ott has left the gig, with long-time principals Charlie Olsky and Emilie Spiegel being elevated to run the prestige agency as Co-Heads.
“After 10+ incredible years at Cinetic Marketing,” Ott wrote in an email, “I have decided it is the right time to explore other opportunities and leave things in the very capable hands of the incredible team here.”
Many believe that the dynamic duo taking over the reins have the energy and training to take the company into the future. The two previously served as Senior Vice Presidents and have been principals at Cinetic Media’s marketing and publicity division since its inception in 2014.
“As close friends and colleagues of many years, we could not be more thrilled to be leading this brilliant team together. Since its inception, we’ve both been honored to be part of Cinetic Marketing and the unwavering passion for film it represents,” Olsky and Spiegel said in a statement.
The agency’s enviable list of clients currently includes A24, Amazon Studios, Apple TV +, Focus Features, HBO Documentary Films, Hulu, IFC Films, Magnolia, MUBI, Neon, Netflix, PBS, and Searchlight Pictures.
Cinetic Marketing also has a large international footprint, and has represented an extensive range of films from around the world, including eight Palme d’Or winners from Cannes, 20 Grand Jury Prize winners from Sundance, five Golden Lion winners from Venice, and seven Golden Bear winners from Berlin.
The team has worked on Oscar campaigns for “The Brutalist,” “Parasite,” “Conclave,” “Hamnet,” “Marriage Story,” “Moonlight,” “Poor Things,” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” as well as nine out of the 10 past Best Documentary winners.
Olsky and Spiegel will continue to work alongside their longtime senior team, including VPs Julie Chappell, Layla Hancock-Piper, and IW alum Brian Brooks.
Added Sloss, “I can’t imagine a more seamless and inevitable transition at the helm of Cinetic Marketing than Charlie and Emilie. The future remains secure for quality films everywhere!”