Six years afterJohn Vanco and Noah Cowan launched the New York-based independent distributorCowboy Pictures, Vanco is to close the company down. The closure comes despitethe arrival of Lot 47 CEO Greg Williams to join Vanco as partner in Cowboy inMay this year. Cowan had already left to pursue other interests in 2002.

Companypresident Vanco said he would announce new plans in the coming weeks. In astatement he added: "We've had a great run and I'm extremely proud of thewonderful films we've brought to audiences across North America.

"Cowboycould have never grown into a full fledged company without the efforts of manytalented people, and I wish to take this opportunity to salute my formerpartner Noah Cowan and the talented and passionate employees who worked withus, especially Julie Fontaine, Emily Gannett and Sarah

Finklea."

Cowboy hasreleased more than 40 theatrical titles, curated and organised retrospectivetours and programmed and marketed a film calendar at New York's The ScreeningRoom.

Its theatricalreleases included Morvern Callar, Benjamin Smoke, George Washington, FatGirl, the Academy Awardnominee Promises andtheatrical reissues of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and Jean Cocteau's Beauty And TheBeast.