Amazon Studios Launches Virtual Reality, Hires Former Tribeca Film Festival Director Genna Terranova

Amazon Studios is expanding into virtual reality content, hiring former director of the Tribeca Film Festival, Genna Terranova, THR reports. Terranova resigned from Tribeca in November, announcing that she was moving to Los Angeles with her family. At Amazon, she will report to Joe Lewis, the head of original programming for comedy and drama.

READ MORE: Tribeca Film Festival Director Genna Terranova Steps Down — Exclusive

Amazon’s specific plans in the VR realm are unclear, though the company will both license VR content and develop original projects. A job opening posted in August on LinkedIn said the company had “an opening for an experienced content development executive to help develop innovative mixed reality experiences for distribution on Amazon Video. The ideal candidate has overseen premium television, film or game production and has some experience with virtual reality technology.”

Terranova joined Tribeca as a senior programmer in 2007 and rose in the ranks to become festival director in 2014. She was previously a VP of acquisitions at The Weinstein Company and manager of acquisitions at Miramax.

During her time at Tribeca, the festival expanded into VR and immersive storytelling. The 2017 festival will include the world premiere of Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow’s first VR project, “The Protectors: Walk in the Ranger’s Shoes” about African rangers protecting elephants from ivory poachers.

READ MORE: Tribeca Film Festival Hires Jeff Deutchman as Programmer at Large

In March, UploadVR reported that Amazon was building a VR platform, spotting a job posting on Glassdoor in search of a senior software development manager to lead a “Virtual Reality team.”

Stay on top of the latest film news! Sign up for our e-mail newsletter here.