Mara Manus Named New Executive Director of Film Society of Lincoln Center Mara Manus, the Public Theater's top financial executive for the last six years, will take over as executive director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the society said Wednesday. "We think it's a really phenomenal match," said Daniel H. Stern, president of the Film Society. Ms. Manus, who will start work in mid-September, is taking the helm as the Film Society undergoes a $38 million expansion as part of Lincoln Center's ambitious redevelopment plan. "This is definitely a moment of rebirth for the organization," Ms. Manus said in an interview. The opportunity to lead that transformation, combined with my passion for film and filmmakers, makes it ideal. Ms. Manus, a former film studio executive who in April announced her decision to step down from the Public, is widely credited with helping to guide the theater to financial stability. She worked with George C. Wolfe, who led the artistic side, and then with Oskar Eustis, who succeeded Mr. Wolfe in 2005. The task at the Film Society is less clear cut. With its new center on West 65th Street - which will add two theaters and an amphitheater across from its current home at the Walter Reade Theater and is currently under construction - the society will considerably increase its programming. "In many ways it's an exponential leap for us," Mr. Stern said. The society also clearly hopes to raise its profile. While renowned for the annual New York Film Festival and financially sound, the organization rarely draws much public attention. At the same time it has a loyal constituency of about 4,000 members and patrons who over the years have attended the society's various programs, including recent series on new Italian cinema and Romanian cinema, and the annual New Directors/New Films festival presented with the Museum of Modern Art, which features the work of emerging filmmakers. It is currently presenting a series on Slovenian cinema at the Walter Reade. Later this summer programming is to include series on Lindsay Anderson and Charlton Heston. The new film center will be named after Elinor Bunin Munroe, a trustee. The center - being built in what was formerly mechanical space and part of a garage - includes two theaters, one with 150 seats that has yet to be named and another 90-seat space, to be named after the Howard Gilman Foundation, a charitable organization. The society also hopes to add an amphitheater and an interactive space, both also naming opportunities. The Walter Reade, which has 268 seats, will continue to be the society's flagship space. "With the new theaters, we will be expanding programming," Mr. Stern said. Ms. Manus's mandate "is to take us from the incredible base we have had for 45 years to the next level." Ms. Manus said the reputation that the Film Society enjoys for the film festival should extend to the organization's full roster of activities. "It needs to build a much broader base of community within the city and beyond," Ms. Manus said. There is a huge opportunity to rebrand, to re-establish its identity. The society's operating budget of about $8 million is expected to increase to about $12 million. About $31 million of the renovation's $38 million budget has been raised, Mr. Stern said. Work is expected to be completed by late 2010. The board has recently considered changing the name of the society to Film at Lincoln Center, in part in response to research done by McKinsey & Company, a consulting firm. Mr. Stern said he would not comment on any possible name change. Ms. Manus said, "It's part of a whole re-branding strategy and it has to be thought of in that context." The society is also changing the terms of its membership fees. The annual gala, for example, which this year honored the actress Meryl Streep, will no longer be a free perk; members will have to pay to attend. Mr. Stern said this is consistent with other nonprofit arts organizations that use galas to raise money. Ms. Manus will be the third executive director of the Film Society, succeeding Joanne Koch, who held the position for 37 years and then Claudia Bonn, who served for 15 years. Ms. Manus will serve out the term of her contract at the Public, which ends in August. There were tensions between Mr. Eustis and Ms. Manus at the Public, but Ms. Manus said she decided to leave because she had accomplished much of what she set out to do. This included plans for the theater's renovation and putting the Public on a more secure financial footing. Before joining the Public Ms. Manus was a program officer at the Ford Foundation. Before that she spent four years as president and executive director of Chrysalis, a nonprofit organization that helps poor people enter and re-enter the work force. She has also been a production executive at MCA Universal, at Roger Corman's New World Pictures and at Trans-Pacific Films. The Film Society of Lincoln Center was founded in 1969 to focus on American and international cinema, new directors and public awareness of film.