Brian Brooks/indieWIRE

Bingham Ray

Monday brings sad and shocking news from the San Francisco Film Society: its new executive director, Bingham Ray, passed away after suffering a series of strokes while attending the Sundance Film Festival. He was 57.

Ray's appointment in November came after the death of longtime director Graham Leggat, who died of cancer.

The announcement arrived via email from the SFFS.

"The board of directors and staff of the Film Society are stunned and deeply saddened by the untimely death of our executive director Bingham Ray. We at the Film Society and the entire film community have lost far too early an energetic and visionary impact player who has helped shape the independent film industry for decades in so many important and valuable ways," said Pat McBaine, SFFS board president. "He shall be dearly missed."

Ray came to the Bay Area from New York City, where he had established himself as a nationally known champion of independent film. He co-founded October Films, served as president of United Artists, worked at Lincoln Center and then with online distributor SnagFilms.

In an interview with The Bay Citizen in late October, Ray described himself as "always curious" and deeply excited about his move to San Francisco.

"It's a completely unique situation," explained Ray, "It would be more convenient for me if the previous regime had been a disaster, but things are chugging along well. So in the short term I'll be looking to enhance and add to the Film Society's success."

Ray's career as a distributor and sometime producer was strikingly successful. The company he co-founded, October Films, put out some of the best independent films of the '90s —including Mike Leigh's "Secrets and Lies," David Lynch's "Lost Highway" and Robert Duvall's directorial debut, "The Apostle." They were bought by Universal in 1997 and eventually turned into Focus Features.

As head of United Artists, Ray famously acquired and then fought his own studio for Michael Moore's controversial documentary, "Bowling for Columbine." It went on to win an Oscar.

According to longtime friend and business associate Gary Meyer, owner of the Balboa Theater and co-director of the Telluride Film Festival, Ray was utterly passionate about film and his new home, diving into life in San Francisco. He had, for instance, signed up to teach a class at SF City College this fall.

"In some ways, (the Film Society position) was very different than anything he had done," said Meyer, "We had dinner three weeks ago and he was so full of ideas and energy on one hand, and on the other hand, in awe of what Graham had done."

"He was trying not fill those shoes but make his own shoes."

Ray is survived by his wife Nancy King, their children Nick, Annabel and Becca, and his sisters Susan Clair and Deb Pope.

Updated, 3:23 p.m. Reactions from around the web are rolling in. On Ain't It Cool News, Beaks remembered Ray's "impeccable taste."

"He loved all types of films, and fought to share these unique visions with the world. And for a brief moment, challenging movies like BREAKING THE WAVES and SECRETS AND LIES flickered across screens in places they would never, ever screen today," he wrote.

On The Wrap, James Schamus, head of Focus films, said in an email that "all of us at Focus are blessed to know that Bingham -- the very definition of an independent spirit -- is part our DNA; if anyone could claim paternity of us, it would be he.

"I wish, on behalf of all my colleagues here, I had something meaningful and resonant to say, but the loss is too sudden and too great - I simply refuse, at least for this one day, to speak of Bingham in the past tense," he wrote.

Some took to Twitter (where Ray is currently trending in the Bay Area.) Indiewire has a roundup, as well.

From Michael Moore:

From film critic Jim Emerson:

And local film writer Omar Moore:

Film Forum in NYC:

Writer/director James Gunn:

Toronto Film Festival's Cameron Bailey: