Eddie Cockrell, Former Variety Critic and Film Programmer, Dies at 67

Eddie Cockrell, who reviewed films for Variety for many years and programmed for several film series, died of liver failure Dec. 29 in Sydney, Australia, according to his sister Ann. He was 67.

Cockrell reviewed dozens of films for Variety from the Berlin, Karlovy Vary, Montreal and Toronto festivals. He also reviewed for Indiewire, Nitrate Online and several television outlets.

After relocating to Australia in 2005, he focused mostly films from Australia and New Zealand. Since 2010, Cockrell had served as a TV columnist, feature writer and film reviewer for the Sydney newspaper The Australian.

He served as associate director of film programming for the American Film Institute National Exhibitions at the Kennedy Center, and for more than two decades was a guest presenter at Harlan Jacobson’s “Talk Cinema” screening and lecture series.

Jacobson said, “Eddie was a favorite with Talk Cinema audiences, who loved his energy, humor and inside baseball insight. He appeared at Talk Cinema for nearly two decades from its inception in Washington, D.C. in 1994, and in Philadelphia and New York at The Walter Reade at Lincoln Center, where he regularly returned on pilgrimages from Australia to see his family. He also joined us on Talk Cinema film festival tours all over the world. His quick-witted dissection of films showed off his cosmopolitan, world-travelled film festival experience, ranging from ‘Memento’ and ‘Sideways,’ to ‘Fish Tank,’ ‘The Girl With The Pearl Earring,’ ‘The Son’s Room’ and ‘Waking Ned Devine.’”

Among the other institutions where he programmed films and wrote about cinema were the Washington D.C. International Film Festival, the Goethe-Institut Washington’s Film Neu series, the Kino! film series in Munich, the Centre for Continuing Education in Sydney and Telefilm Canada’s Canadian Front program at MOMA. He was a programming consultant and writer for the Sydney Film Festival as well as an instructor in Film History for American University in Washington, D.C.

Cockrell wrote about his critical philosophy on his LinkedIn page, saying, “Well-considered views, presented clearly, succinct and grammatically correct — that’s the ticket and the proper approach to film criticism, responsible analysis of any discipline, and of course writing in general. Should an opinion be called for, it will be informed and critical, perhaps with a dash of humor, yet respectful and tolerant. If technical writing is required, it will be rigorously researched and presented.”

Born in Washington, D.C., he graduated American University

In addition to his sister, he is survived by his children Clementine and Gus, his partner Donna D’Ascenzo, brother-in-law Mike Denikos, niece Alyssa Denikos.