Courtney Sexton has been named executive vp of documentary films at Participant, rejoining the company where she previously spent nearly a decade as an executive.
Sexton rejoins Participant from CNN Films, where she was overseeing a slate that included more than 50 original projects like recent releases Navalny, The Last Movie Stars, and Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.
Food, Inc. and Page One: Inside The New York Times are among the titles she worked on during her time at Participant.
“Courtney is an exceptionally talented, compassionate executive with a track record of top-quality, purpose-driven content that connects with audiences around the world. We will forever be indebted to Diane for her tremendous films and impact, and Courtney’s return to oversee our documentary team ensures our commitment to continue that work,” said Participant CEO David Linde in a statement.
Sexton added, “I’ve had the good fortune to work with the brilliant team at CNN Films, and I am incredibly proud of the projects we produced together over the last nine years. The chance to return to Participant and contribute to my mentor Diane’s legacy is a profound honor – I look forward to embarking on this new chapter.”
Sexton will be overseeing the slate previously run by Diane Weyermann, who joined Participant in 2004 and developed its doc strategy, leading to Oscar-winning titles like CITIZENFOUR, The Cove, American Factory and An Inconvenient Truth. (Weyermann died in 2021 at the age of 66.)
Participant’s upcoming documentary feature releases include All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, which earned the top prize at the Venice Film Festival, and Descendant, which earned the top doc prize at the Sundance Film Festival.