Curry Barker to Receive IndieWire’s Inaugural Future of Filmmaking Award

The "Obsession" writer/director will accept the award at IndieWire's Future of Filmmaking Summit on October 17 in Los Angeles.

Curry Barker’s “Obsession” from Focus Features is both one of the great movies of 2026 and the ultimate example of where the film industry is heading. After thrilling audiences at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (and earning a Critic’s Pick from IndieWire before it landed distribution with Focus), the film, which Barker wrote, directed, and edited, sold in a very competitive situation before taking the box office by storm this spring. The rest is history: “Obsession” went on to gross over $500 million worldwide (the highest in the specialty studio’s history), and become the sixth-highest-grossing horror film of all time and the most profitable original film of the 2020s, turning Barker into one of Hollywood’s most in-demand directors.

Following the success of “Obsession,” Barker is reteaming with Focus Features and Blumhouse Atomic Monster on “Anything But Ghosts,” a feature he directs, edits, stars in, and co-wrote with longtime creative partner Cooper Tomlinson, who also stars, alongside Aaron Paul, Bryce Dallas Howard and Violet McGraw.

The success of all things “Obsession,” as well as the road ahead for Barker, makes him a singular choice to for IndieWire’s inaugural Future of Filmmaking Award, which will be presented at our Future of Filmmaking Summit on October 17. Barker will accept the award and share insights from “Obsession” and his career-making year that followed its release.

Tickets for the event can be purchased here.

IndieWire’s Future of Filmmaking Summit will take place at Penske Media’s headquarters at Lumen West LA. The all-day event will feature a wide-range of panels and networking opportunities centered around the ideas, people, technology, and skills that shape storytelling today. Additional programming will be announced over the coming weeks.

Tickets for the event, which will also feature a keynote presentation by “Project Hail Mary” directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, are on sale now.