Peter Baxter (filmmaker)

Peter Baxter
Born	England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Filmmaker
Known for	President and co-founder of Slamdance

Peter Baxter is President and co-founder of Slamdance and a filmmaker.

In 1995 Baxter co-founded Slamdance Film Festival as an independent alternative to Sundance Film Festival in Utah. Since its inception, Baxter has been responsible for developing Slamdance into a showcase for the discovery of new talent. Filmmakers who first gained notice at the festival include Christopher Nolan, Oren Peli, Marc Forester, Jared Hess, Lena Dunham, Behn Zeitlin, Anthony and Joe Russo, Andrew Huang, Seth Gordon, Matt Johnson and Lynn Shelton.

When the festival began it received 48 submissions. Slamdance now receives over 7,500 submissions every year. Baxter created Slamdance's mantra "by filmmakers, for filmmakers" based on the fact the organization is fully programmed by filmmakers. After helping launch the festival, Baxter then started a screenplay competition for new writers. He then guided Slamdance into a year-round support system for emerging artists with national theatrical exhibition of independent film and a film distribution venture called Slamdance Studios. Speaking about the organization Baxter has said "Slamdance is an ongoing experiment that has proven year after year really that when it comes to recognizing talent and launching careers, the independent and grass-roots film communities can really do it themselves."

Baxter's film work includes Wild In The Streets, a documentary feature about an ancient football game and I Want To Be an American, an experimental documentary feature film based on the surrealist parlor game Exquisite Corpse and DIY, a documentary about the do-it-yourself filmmaking movement. Baxter is currently making Spirit Game, a documentary feature about lacrosse and the Haudenosaunee.

Baxter was born in England and grew up in Gloucestershire. He now lives in California with his wife and two daughters.

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