As Co-President and Co-Founder of Sony Pictures Classics, Michael Barker (with Tom Bernard) has distributed some of the finest independent movies. Previously, he was an executive at United Artists (1980-1983) and went on to co-found Orion Classics (1983-1991) and Sony Pictures Classics. Over the span of his career, Barker has released films that have won 42 Academy Awards® (38 of those at SPC) and have garnered 190 Academy Award® nominations (164 at SPC), including Best Picture nominations for I’M STILL HERE, THE FATHER, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, WHIPLASH, and CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, among others.

Barker and Bernard have received numerous prestigious recognitions, including the privilege of being honored by the Directors Guild of America at their 3rd Annual DGA Honors. They were also recognized with the esteemed French Legion of Honor from the French government, the Spirit of Independence Award from Film Independent at the LA Film Festival and The Women in Film Beacon Award from Women in Film Los Angeles. Barker currently serves as Co-Chairman on the Museum of the Moving Image Board of Directors, on the Entertainment Media and Technology Dean’s Advisory Board at the NYU Stern School of Business, and has previously served as Adjunct Professor at the Columbia University School of the Arts Graduate Film Program and on the Visiting Committee to the Division of the Humanities at the University of Chicago. He was inducted in the Texas Film Hall of Fame and has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas.