Less expensive and more accessible productions methods have caused the marketplace to experience a flood of films, requiring new channels for delivering content to consumers. At the same time, consumers’ preferences for experiencing media are rapidly changing.
This paradigm shift in the industry continues to be cause for severe unrest, motivating institutions such as the Sundance Institute and others to devote more time and resources to supporting filmmaker through the distribution phases of their projects.
The LSIFF furthers this trend by creating a forum for thought leaders in an effort to establish best practices for filmmakers working primarily within new models of distribution and marketing.
The 2011 LSIFF Distribution Forum will serve as a pilot program for what will be an ongoing effort to foster stability and sustainability in independent film. The inaugural forum will consist of one-on-one mentorship for filmmakers accepted into the LSIFF Feature Film Competition program, group discussion and networking opportunities. The LSIFF will also generate an annual report of the forum’s activities and observations.
Please visit the website www.lonestarfilmsociety.com for information on how to attend the public sessions of the forum.
2011 forum participants are:
Joshua Green, VP, Distribution, Emerging Pictures (EP) – EP has a network of arts institutions, media arts centers and independent art house theaters tied together through digital technology that enables them all to cost effectively exhibit art films, independent cinema and cultural programming. Green is responsible for securing new exhibition venues for Emerging’s digital cinema network and managing marketing efforts for the network. He also associate produced Sona Jain’s For Real and Ann Hu’s Beauty Remains. He recently executive produced Kief Davidson’s acclaimed IFC Films documentary Kassim the Dream released in 2009 and is currently executive producing documentaries on the rock band Journey, rap pioneers, the Sugarhill Gang, and filmmaking icon Sidney Lumet, all set to release in 2012. He holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and an undergraduate degree from Cornell University.
Dana Harris, Editor-in-Chief and general manager, indieWIRE (iW) – Prior to joining iW, Harris spent nearly 11 years at Variety in roles that included film reporter, creating lifestyle section Variety Weekend, serving as editor of Variety.com and developing new products for the publication’s website. She was also the managing editor for the Independent Film and Video Monthly and a film reporter at the Hollywood Reporter. She has covered virtually all of the world’s major film festivals, contributed to publications that include the Los Angeles Times Magazine, the Star-Ledger, the UTNE Reader, FILMMAKER and Premiere and has participated as a moderator and panelist at festivals and conferences including the Toronto International Film Festival, New York Film Festival, SXSW and the International Documentary Association, among others.
Eugene Hernandez, Director of Digital Strategy, Film Society of Lincoln Center (FSLC) - Hernandez is tasked with bringing the 48 year old FSLC into the digital age. Before joining the FSLC, Hernandez served as Editor-in-Chief of indieWIRE which he co-founded in 1995. indieWIRE would become the web’s leading news, information and networking site for independent-minded filmmakers, the film industry and moviegoers.
Ted Hope, 21 Grams, American Splendor, Happiness, The Ice Storm, In The Bedroom — Ted Hope, co-founder of Good Machine, This is that and, most recently, Double Hope Films, has produced over sixty films, including three Sundance Grand Prize winners and the first features of Alan Ball, Michel Gondry, Hal Hartley, Nicole Holofcener, and Ang Lee,among others. He co-founded the Indie Film review site HammerToNail.com, and his blog, Hope For Film, is on IndieWIRE, making Hope the only working filmmaker with a daily column in one of the “Trades”. Ted’s most recent production, Collaborator, written and directed by Martin Donovan won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2011 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Martha Marcy May Marlene, written and directed by Sean Durkin won the Directing Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and was featured in Un Certain Regard at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.Ted’s most recent release, Super, written and directed by James Gunn, was the first sale of this year’s Toronto Film Festival and is one of IFC’s most successful VOD titles. His most recent production, Dark Horse, written and directed by Todd Solondz, premiered at the Venice & Toronto Film Festivals. Ted teaches “The Future Of Film” at NYU Graduate Film School, in conjunction with the think tank he helped found there, The Cinema Research Institute.
Amanda Micallef, Producer – Micallef has been working in the film business since 1995. Her first feature film as a producer, Grand Champion boasts an all-star cast that includes Emma Roberts and Joey Lauren Adams, as well as cameo appearances by Bruce Willis and Julia Roberts. In April 2009, under their mutual production banner The Fort, Amanda and fellow Fort Worth native Chad Feehan completed principal photography on Beneath the Dark, a psychological thriller starring Josh Stewart and Jamie-Lynn Sigler. Beneath the Dark premiered at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival. Shortly thereafter, IFC Films acquired North American rights. Most recently, the team acquired rights to William Gay’s novel, Twilight, which Stephen King named #1 on his top books of 2007 in Entertainment Weekly. The project has been set up at Vendome Pictures, the production and financing entity behind Source Code and is eyeing a 2012 start date. Amanda is a member of the Director’s Guild of America and the Producer’s Guild of America.
Orly Ravid, Founder, The Film Collaborative (TFC) – TFC is the first non-profit organization devoted to the distribution-education and distribution of art house and documentary cinema. Since its launch TFC has consulted for films that include the Sundance winner GasLand and SXSW winner Weekend. TFC created the first ever Digital Distribution Guide™ utilized by filmmakers and industry alike. TFC also released a book entitled Selling Your Film Without Selling Your Soul that is now available in multiple digital platforms and paperback. Ravid has more than 12 years experience in the film industry working with companies such as Maxmedia and Senator Entertaiment. Orly received a B.A. in English Literature and Film Studies at Columbia University and graduated with honors.
Jonathan Reiss, Filmmaker, Author, Consultant – Named one of “10 Digital Directors to Watch” by Daily Variety, Reiss is filmmaker (Bomb It, Better Living Through Circuitry), author (Think Outside the Box Office) and consultant whose most recent book is Selling Your Film Without Selling Your Soul which he co-wrote with The Film Collaborative and Sheri Candler. Reiss has worked with IFP, the Sundance Institute, Screen Australia, Film Independent, Creative Scotland, The South Australian Film Corporation and numerous film schools and festivals to devise ways to educate and help independent filmmakers in the new economic landscape. He is also a regular contributor to Indiewire, Tribeca Future of Film, Sundance Artists Services, Hope for Film and other publications.
Basil Tsiokos, Filmmaker and Film Festival Consultant – In addition to Consulting for filmmakers & film festivals, Tsiokos is also a Documentary Programming Associate for the Sundance Film Festival. He is a regular contributor to indieWIRE and curates Hulu’s documentaries page. As a visiting professor at Pratt, he oversees the student organizers of the Wallabout student short film festival. He is the Co-Producer of Cameron Yates’ feature documentary The Canal Street Madam (World Premiere, SXSW Competition 2010). Between 1996-2008, Basil was the Artistic & Executive Director of NewFest: The NY LGBT Film Festival. He has served on numerous US and international film festival juries and panels. He holds a Masters degree from New York University in Cinema Studies and completed his undergraduate degrees at Stanford University.
The Distribution Forum will take place at 4:30 PM at TCU in room 164 of the Moudy South building.