Best in Fest

Max Muscato is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer and philanthropist. As a rock artist he brings electrifying performances to every show. Over the last several years Max has gained an extensive following and has toured and opened for: Citizen Cope, Theory of a Deadman, Aaron Carter, Finger Eleven, Eric Gales, Ripe, The Allman Betts Bandn and more. He is currently working on his next singles Valarie and Toxic & Poison due out in 2022.

In addition to his music career, Max is also the founder of Rock Autism Music Festival and the creator/writer of the new TV show “Setlist.” The show is the truest depiction of their family dynamic while revealing the grind it takes to make it in the music industry. Max's powerful songs written about his brother's struggle with Autism and addiction is a deep-rooted catalyst that drives his passion and career. Proceeds from his festival fund Rock Autism programs for individuals with Autism, connecting them to a career in music and film.

Alan D'Escragnolle is a Brazilian-American, currently building the future of film distribution for producers, sales agents and distributors. Prior to this, I've spent time wearing many hats building product, growth, and operations teams across many different verticals and stages of companies. From turnaround to high-growth companies, there's always a great learning experience.

With her extraordinarily deep and varied background in managing and marketing film and cultural ventures on both sides of the Atlantic, Eleonora brings a global network of artistic and business alliances to her endeavors as a producer, film festival programmer, and international PR, marketing and distribution consultant.

As an Executive:
As a film production and acquisitions executive, Eleonora has worked as Vice President and head of the film co- productions and acquisitions division at Turner Pictures. ( then Time Warner Turner) She served as Senior Vice President at Pandora Films, running their U.S. office and was responsible for worldwide USA film productions and acquisitions. Eleonora She began her career with RCS Films and Television in Italy, where she held various acquisitions, distribution and marketing positions and eventually oversaw the company’s worldwide acquisitions
buying in excess of one thousand films and various film library from Los Angeles.

Sadhvi Siddhali Shree is the first North American Jain monk, a US Army Iraq-war combat veteran, a TEDx speaker, an activist, and an award-winning filmmaker.

Driven by her deep-seated devotion to humanity, she uses her talents and skills to raise awareness about non-violence, personal and spiritual transformation, and social issues. Since 2008, she has served as the Spiritual Director of Siddhayatan Tirth & Spiritual Retreat, a 250-acre retreat, ashram, monastery, and meditation park based near Dallas, Texas.

Determined to bring about positive change and to help those who have suffered, she directed and produced two award-winning documentaries Stopping Traffic and Surviving Sex Trafficking. Surviving Sex Trafficking, which was released in early 2022, was picked up by a major streaming company, had a 20 theater nationwide release in partnership with anti-trafficking non-profits, and met the Academy qualification requirements for Oscar consideration. Her current film, For The Animals nearly complete.

Sadhvi Siddhali Shree and her work have been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, TMZ, Newsweek, the Associated Press, Deadline Hollywood, The Daily Beast, Los Angeles Times, and the NY Post.

Despite being a filmmaker, she considers herself a simple monk trying to do good in the world.

Join Leslie for this very special episode directly from LaFemme International Film Festival.  Moderated by Debeorah Gilels from LA Media Consultants this is part 2 of a panel titled  Independent Financing: From Bridge to Gap to Raising Capital.

Join Leslie for this very special episode directly from LaFemme International Film Festival.  Moderated by Debeorah Gilels from LA Media Consultants this is part 1 of a panel titled  Independent Financing: From Bridge to Gap to Raising Capital.

Sadie is an actress, writer, producer and documentarian with an award named in her honor (AMDOC'S Sadie Katz Award for Hustle.) She spent the last two decades balancing being a single mom and a scream queen genre actress and recently opened her own production company "See You Next Tuesday Films" with the goal of telling female focused stories that don't involve sexed-up super villains or girls running through the woods.

In this astonishing episode, Leslie breaks down the steps it takes to design your life as a filmmaker.  This is the perfect episode if you want to start off 2023 in a major way.

Bob Nickman is a comedian, actor, writer and producer who has worked on some of the most iconic sit-coms like Mad About You and Rosanne.  In this episode Leslie talks with Bob about what it's like to work on these shows and how to transition from one to the other.  

Bob Nickman is an American comedian, actor, television producer, and television writer.

As a television producer/writer, his credits include Mad About You, Freaks and Geeks, Danny, According to Jim, Big Day, Rita Rocks and Roseanne.

As an actor, he appeared in four episodes of Roseanne from 1994 to 1995, as well as guest starring in an episode of Designing Women in 1990, his acting debut. He also appeared in the films Shakes the Clown (1991) and Crossing the Bridge (1992).

He is a native of Cleveland, Ohio and performed stand-up comedy for much of the 1980s.[1]

Human trafficking is one of the most frightening and misunderstood realities of the world... and this blight is right here in the US.  In this episode, Leslie speaks with actor and filmmaker Christina Zorich. about her new Docummentary the New Abolitionists.