Experienced producers and Tribeca Film Festival programmer discuss strategies for independent filmmakers to promote and market their films as they begin the process of entering the film festival circuit.

DAN KARLOK - Dan Karlok is a two-time Emmy award winning and Grammy nominated director and cinematographer. Crappy Mother's Day is his first full length feature film.

His other work includes directing an episode of the acclaimed Law and Order series.

Dan’s other notable accomplishments include shooting Ride with Bob, a documentary featuring Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Dwight Yoakam and the Dixie Chicks, and the comedy feature film The Last Request, featuring Danny Aiello, Joe Piscopo and Barbara Feldon. His documentary, Antone’s Home of the Blues, premiered at the SXSW Film Festival as the Opening Night Film.

SARAH DAWSON - Sarah is currently an Associate Programmer of Feature Films and the Senior Industry Coordinator for the Tribeca Film Festival. Additionally, she offers distribution and marketing consultation services for independent filmmakers. Prior to Tribeca, she ran digital marketing and distribution strategy at Giant Pictures, a boutique digital distribution company based in NYC, acquiring independent narrative and documentary films. Sarah began her career at Lionsgate-owned streaming service Tribeca Shortlist, working in acquisitions and creative programming. She received her BFA from Chapman University and master's from NYU.

RAQUEL BRUNO - Raquel Bruno is the founder of Drive Entertainment Group. Bruno has book and produced numerous events for companies including Spike TV, MTV Movie Awards, IFC, and was nominated for an Emmy Award for the ABC/Disney Special: Disney Parks' Magical Christmas Celebration.

Information for filmmakers on obtaining all necessary Rights, Clearances and Legal Agreements when making and distributing an independent film, including music rights, archival footage, book adaptation rights, bio pic life rights, copyrights and more...

Rosalind Richter (Entertainment Attorney and Producer, credits include "My Depression, the Up and Down and Up of It", starring the voices of Sigourney Weaver, Steve Buscemi and Fred Armisen, "Welcome to Marwen" with Robert Zemekis directing and starring Steve Carrell, Emmy award winning documentary, "I Am Evidence," produced by Mariska Hargitay with HBO, feature documentary Academy Award nominee "My Architect"

Gabriella Ludlow (CinePointe Advisors, has over 25 years of business affairs and project management experience in the entertainment industry. She has provided consulting services, as well as business affairs and production legal services on more than 150 feature and documentary film projects, including Motherless Brooklyn, Lady Bird, The Disaster Artist, The Meyerowitz Stories, The Grudge, etc.)

Jonathan Lipp (MODERATOR, Big Apple Film Festival Director)

The Filmmaking Process: Screenwriting, Casting, and Pre-Production

November 20th, 2019

Cinepolis Theater, NYC

Sal Scamardo (VP FilmRise, company credits include Oscar® nominee MEMENTO, directed by Christopher Nolan; MONSTER, which won a Best Actress Academy Award® for Charlize Theron; the Oscar®-nominated THE ILLUSIONIST, starring Edward Norton; Best Picture Academy Award® winner SPOTLIGHT; and HBO’s Emmy Award®-winning GOING CLEAR: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE PRISON OF BELIEF.

Televsion titles include such classics as 3rd ROCK FROM THE SUN and ROSEANNE; chef Gordon Ramsay’s immensely popular cooking shows, including HELL’S KITCHEN and KITCHEN NIGHTMARES.

Jeffrey Roda (screenwriter/director, Jeff Roda has written screenplays for DreamWorks, Universal, Paramount Pictures, New Regency, TriStar, and television pilots for HBO, CBS, and Warner Bros. Additionally, he was a producer on the Sony Pictures Classics feature, Love Liza, starring Academy Award winning actors Philip Seymour Hoffman and Kathy Bates.

Lillian LaSalle (President of Sweet 180 Management, Peabody Award Winning Talent Mgmt and Production company, representing actors, writers and directors. Lillian's producing credits include Southern Belles starring Anna Faris, Just Like the Son starring Mark Webber, American Cannibal - Tribeca Film Festival Jury Award nominee. Lillian's directorial debut, My Name is Pedro, had its NYC premiere at the Big Apple Film Festival)

Sara Alexander (Alexander Creatives, represents artists for film, television, commercials, branded entertainment and new media. Sara represents directors, producers, writers, DPs, production designers, costume designers, editors. She also represents literary content including screenplays, books to film, and television series).

Donal Lardner Ward (actor, writer, director, producer whose credits include Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums and Julie Delpy's Looking For Jimmy. He was a staff writer for the HBO series How to Make it in America, produced by Mark Wahlberg and recently directed We Only Know So Much, co-written with Elizabeth Crane. The film, starring Jeanne Tripplehorn, Damian Young, and Loudon Wainwright III, had its NYC premiere at the Big Apple Film Festival.)

A conversation with film distribution professionals on current trends and strategies for independent filmmakers as they begin the process of distributing their films

Recorded November 18th, 2019 

Cinepolis Theater, NYC  

FEATURING:

Graham Fine (The Film Sales Company, sold over 200 films for domestic and international distribution and has raised financing for numerous fiction and documentary projects. Credits include "My Architect", Academy Award nominee for Best Feature Documentary, "E-Team", Sundance Film Festival Cinematography Award, "Waitress", written and directed by Adrienne Shelly, starring Kerri Russell, Sundance Film Festival premiere, Independent Spirit Award nominee)   

Nick Savva (Giant Pictures Distribution, credits include "Love, Antosha" Sundance Film Festival premiere, featuring Chris Pine, Kristen Stewart, and Jennifer Lawrence, "Mr. Roosevelt", SXSW Audience Award, "King of Peking", Tribeca Film Festival, "Turn it Around: The Story of East Bay Punk" featuring Iggy Pop, Billie Joe Armstrong, Miranda July, produced by Green Day)  

 Christina Raia (Writer/Director and the Founder of CongestedCat Productions, her work has received coverage in press outlets such as Indiewire and BuzzFeed. She works for Seed&Spark as the head of education, teaching and empowering creators to build their audience and crowdfund their work. She also runs IndieWorks, a monthly screening and community-building series. Christina has been a guest speaker at IFP, Tribeca Market, DOC NYC, ITVFest, Writers Guild of America, NYU and more...)   

Art Skopinsky (Monarch Films, domestic and international entertainment content sales agency that distributes Feature Films, single documentaries, TV Series and Webisodes on to TV, DVD, and Digital Platforms worldwide. Distribution partners include Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, iTunes, Google Play and more...)   Jonathan Lipp (MODERATOR, Big Apple Film Festival Director)

An interview with Aaron Fisher, writer/director/star/editor of "Inside the Rain", opening night film of the Big Apple Film Festival. 

AARON FISHER is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City.  He has written and directed the short films Love Out of Mind, and The Hospital Visit. Of his film The Hospital Visit, two-time Academy Award-winning director Barbara Kopple said, “With a powerful vision on the effects of mental illness, Aaron Fisher directs ‘The Hospital Visit’ with utter authenticity, providing an intimate look at the brutal fragility of those suffering emotional disorders. Beautifully acted.” Aaron’s short film, Love Out of Mind, has been an official selection of numerous festivals, including the Big Apple Film Festival and the Max Ophuls Prize Film Festival in Germany.  Aaron’s first feature film is the recently completed INSIDE THE RAIN, co-starring Academy Award nominees Rosie Perez and Eric Roberts.

2019 BAFF Summer Edition Conference "Casting Your Indie Film" August 27th, Cinepolis Theater, NYC

Celine Held and Logan George(Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces of Independent Film")

Daniel Schechter(writer/director, "Life of Crime" starring Jennifer Aniston, "Safe Spaces" starring Justin Long and Fran Drescher)

Adrienne Stern(casting director, ​credits include Adrift in Manhattan" starring Heather Graham, Victor Rasuk, William Baldwin, "The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle" starring Natasha Lyonne, "The Believer" starring Ryan Gosling, "Thirteen Conversations About One Thing" starring Matthew McConaughey and John Turturro. Television credits include the New York casting for That 70’s Show, Producing credits include "This Revolution" starring Rosario Dawson and "Twist" starring Nick Stahl.)

A conversation with filmmaker, screenwriter and professor Claude Kerven on the current state and future of the screenwriting and filmmaking industry. Claude Kerven’s career began with the debut of his short film "Candy Store," which won an Academy Award for Best Dramatic Student Film. In 1982, he directed a series of Afterschool Specials for ABC-TV, including the Emmy Award winning "Starstruck" and the Director's Guild of America-nominated "High School Narc." Kerven also directed over 25 short films for Saturday Night Live, including the much celebrated "Synchronized Swimmers." His most recent directorial work, "They Never Found Her," starred Elisabeth Moss and Fargo's Peter Storemare. Kerven also co-authored "Mortal Thoughts," for Columbia Pictures, starring Bruce Willis, Harvey Keitel and Demi Moore. As Chair of the 1-Year and 2-Year Filmmaking Programs at the New York Film Academy, a role he has held since 1994, Kerven has developed and implemented innovative course objectives to engage and effectively teach students in the areas of directing, screenwriting, acting for film, cinematography, editing, production workshops and producing.

A conversation with screenwriter and story analyst Staton Rabin. Ms. Rabin has worked as a script reader for Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, and the former William Morris Agency, and has taught screenwriting for Cunard aboard the Queen Mary 2. Staton has been a frequent guest speaker at New York University. Her unique approach to script analysis and screenplay marketing has also found a voice at "Script" Magazine, where she is a Senior Writer and has her own blog: "BREAKING IN" (www.scriptmag.com). Some of her clients have seen their movies get made, and several others have won screenwriting contests. Her own film projects have included "Betsy and the Emperor", a movie that was optioned and in development based on her novel from Simon & Schuster, with Al Pacino attached to star, as reported in "Variety".

A discussion on strategies for online indie film distribution with former Vimeo GM of Entertainment, Peter Gerard.