NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - You've probably heard of Miramax's notorious boss, Harvey Weinstein, but chances are you've never heard of his Newmarket counterpart, Bob Berney. Come Oscar night, that may change.

Berney, the marketing guru behind 2002's runaway hit "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," was also the man who helped champion the Oscar-nominated films "Monster" and "Whale Rider."

Bob Berney, president of privately held Newmarket Films, hopes to see his distribution company grows into a production company but still remain financially independent.

Newmarket Films, the 16-month-old film distributor founded by Berney and partners Will Tyrer and Chris Ball, scored a pair of Best Actress nominations -- not only for Charlize Theron's highly-celebrated role in "Monster," but also for 13-year-old New Zealand newcomer Keisha Castle-Hughes' role in "Whale Rider."

Berney credited this accomplishment to the film's creators and to the two actresses, but many in the industry said Berney's passion and intuitive taste is what has set the two low-budget indies apart.

"He is extremely passionate about his projects," said Micah Green, film distribution and finance consultant for Cinetic Media. "He is also a creative and savvy film distributor and credited with a lot of famous independent film success stories."

During his two-year tenure as the head of distribution and marketing for IFC Films, Berney helped translate the hit Mexican film, "Y Tu Mama Tambien," into a U.S. box office success. He also managed to turn "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" into the highest-grossing independent film of all time. "Greek" earned more than $350 million in worldwide box office.

The 50-year-old Berney said different films need different introductions.

"We work with the filmmakers to find out what inspires the films they make and how we should market them," he said. "We try to tailor each marketing campaign to the specific film, rather than take a broader marketing approach with Plan A or Plan B, like what most big distributors would do."

New Zealand actress Keisha Castle-Hughes becomes the youngest Best Actress nominee in history.

For example, "Whale Rider," a film about a New Zealand girl who struggles to be the leader of her Maori tribe, was initially perceived as being a film that, due to its subject matter, would primarily appeal to an art house crowd.

However, "when we screened the film at the Toronto Film Festival, people were sobbing in the theater and really responded to the theme," Berney said. The film went on to win the audience award at the festival.

That experience helped reinforce Newmarket's belief that the film had the capacity to transcend the art house circuit.

Newmarket initially opened "Whale Rider" in a few art house theaters in New York and Los Angeles, but gradually shifted its focus to market the film to a broader audience.

One of the tactics Berney used was to market the film as being family-friendly.

"We changed the poster to have Keisha's face on it," Berney said. "Parents would get inspired by the film first and then start bringing their daughters to see the movie."

The confident but soft-spoken Berney said he is humbled by the fact that some people are comparing him to Miramax's Harvey Weinstein, the man who helped produce best-picture winners such as "Chicago," "Shakespeare in Love" and "The English Patient."

But after years of being a major contender at the Oscars, Miramax and its feisty, abrasive co-chairman failed to earn a best-picture nod this year, despite aggressive campaigning for the Civil War drama "Cold Mountain." This marks the first time the art film division of Walt Disney (DIS: Research, Estimates) was left out of the best picture category since the early-to-mid 1990's.

Actress Charlize Theron plays a prostitute serial killer in the American independent film "Monster."

Berney, on the other hand, is seen by many as the new Oscar marketing wizard. Some even see Newmarket as the new Miramax.

"He's [Berney] very well-respected. He's got an excellent reputation," said Rachael Horovitz, producer of last year's indie hit, "About Schmidt."

"I admire his work, and if I had a film picked up by his company and knew he was going to market and distribute it, I would be psyched," she added.

As for Miramax comparisons, "if they [smaller film distributors] are smart, they'll follow Miramax," Horovitz added, noting that Miramax set the standard for the hard-hitting marketing blitz that has now become the norm for studios during awards season.

"Monster" saw a big spike in ticket sales after the one-two punch of Charlize Theron's Golden Globe win for Best Actress in a drama and subsequent Academy Award nomination two days later.

"Whale Rider," which cost less than $1 million for Newmarket to acquire, has earned its distributor over $20 million in box office receipts.

Actor Jim Caviezel, left, portrays Jesus in Mel Gibson's controversial film "The Passion of the Christ."

But the movie that will likely push Newmarket to the next level is Mel Gibson's controversial "The Passion of the Christ," a movie based on Gospel accounts but also on the visions of a 19th century mystical nun, that is set to open Feb. 25, Ash Wednesday.

Many critics are outraged by the depiction of events in the film and have expressed fear that it may inflame anti-Semitism and set back the Jewish-Catholic dialogue.

But controversy may not be such a bad thing for a fledgling distributor. It's certainly what set Miramax apart from other indie film houses back in the 1990's.

Miramax released a number of films that prompted threats of boycotts and other retaliatory actions.

The 1995 release of "Priest," which chronicles the struggles of a gay cleric, prompted a number of religious groups to boycott parent company Disney.

Cinetic's Green said controversy is what saves many small distributors money on marketing and distribution.

"It works," Green said. "There are enough controversial films that you can fill a slate with."

"A good example of that is the documentary "Capturing the Friedmans," which got a tidal wave of free publicity because major publications, major newspapers, couldn't stop writing about it. It was so provocative that in that case, it was self-distributed."

Privately held Newmarket, unlike Miramax, won't have a corporate parent to report to when the controversy heats up.

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Berney said he hopes to see Newmarket grow into a production company but still remain financially independent.

"I think by being an independent theatrical distributor, we're risk-takers by nature, because this business is so risky in general," Berney said. "We hope to keep finding new films and acknowledging new talents."

"Miramax started out as a film distributor and they were really smart in their acquisitions in the early years," Berney added. "I would hope that's what they're comparing us to."