'''First Run Features''' is an [[independent film]] distribution company based in New York City.<ref>[http://realscreen.com/2010/07/29/firstrunfeatures-20100729/ Kelly Anderson, ''Distributor profile: First Run Features, Real Screen, ''July 29, 2010'']</ref> First Run was founded in 1979 by a group of filmmakers in order to advance the distribution of independent film. Today First Run is one of the largest theatrical and home video distributors in the United States, releasing 12 to 15 films a year in theatres nationwide and 50 to 60 videos and DVDs annually. First Run distributes a large number of documentaries in addition to foreign films, including many films about [[LGBT]] issues, Jewish experience, and political and human rights issues.
First Run is the American distributor for films by [[Monika Treut]], [[Michael Sporn]], and [[Radley Metzger]], in addition to many others. Among the films First Run distributes in the US are the ''[[Up Series]]'', ''[[For the Bible Tells Me So]]'', ''[[A Jihad for Love]]'', ''[[Alice (1988 film)|Alice]]'', ''Moving Midway'', and ''[[Save Me (2007 film)|Save Me]]''. Many of the films First Run Features has distributed have been endorsed by [[Human Rights Watch]]. First Run works in collaboration with HRW to bring films dealing with human rights issues to a wider audience. First Run also has a distribution partnership with the [[Global Film Initiative]] for the North American market, and distributes a number of GFI's [[Global Film Initiative#GFI Programs|Global Lens Series]] films in North America annually. First Run is also an American distributor for several [[Deutsche-Film Aktiengesellschaft]] titles. The DEFA titles First Run distributes include several East German [[Revisionist Western#Red Western|Red Westerns]], including ''[[The Sons of Great Bear]]'', several science fiction titles, and dramas set in [[East Germany]].
