AFM Finance Conference

The yearly Finance Conference brings together CEOs, financiers, and filmmakers in two back-to-back sessions where you will learn about the current state of independent film financing. The high-powered panels will discuss emerging trends and financing options.

• Moderator:
• John Burke, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP
  
  
• Panelists:
• Laura Fazio, Managing Director Capital Markets Origination Media, Communications & Entertainment, Dresdner Kleinwort
• Tom Pollock, Principal, The Montecito Picture Company
• Roy Salter, Principal, Salter Group
• Bob Yari, Principal, Yari Film Group

• Moderator:
• Penny Mavridis Sales, Principal, International Corporate Tax, KPMG LLP
  
  
• Panelists:
• Vicki Cherkas, Partner, Head of Business Affairs, Business Development and New Ventures, Greenestreet Films, Inc.
• Joseph D. Chianese, VP of Business Development & Tax Incentives, Entertainment Partners Los Angeles
• Hal Sadoff, Head of International & Independent Film, ICM
• Diane Stidham, Managing Director, Newbridge Film Capital

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Hong Kong as an Asian Co-production Centre
Programmed by: Hong Kong Trade Development Council

Known for its exceptional productions and creative talents, Hong Kong has evolved from an Asian leader for filmmaking to an incomparable hub for co-production in the hot region. Learn from our expert panelists about partnering with Hong Kong companies and hit the expressway to the China market via Hong Kong.

• Moderator:
• Nansun Shi, Executive Director, Film Workshop Co. Ltd.
  
  
• Panelists:
• Lee Beasley, Head, Media and Entertainment, Creative Industries, Client Relationships, Wholesale Banking
• Charmaine Koo, Partner, Deacons
• Han Sanping, General Manager, China Film Group Corporation

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Pitch Me!
Programmed by: Independent Film & Television Alliance

Whether you have a meeting with a studio head or you bump into an actor in an elevator, you need to be able to pitch your film well. Learn the art of the pitch in this intensive session where a dozen filmmakers pitch their project to a panel of industry experts - agents, producers, and production execs - who will give their unvarnished feedback on each pitch, saying what worked, what didn't, and why. Space is limited - advance registration is recommended.

• Moderator:
• Stephanie Palmer, President, Good in a Room
  
  
• Panelists:
• Peggy Rajski, Executive Producer, Bee Season; Producer, Home for the Holidays, Little Man Tate; Director, ER (TV Series)
• Sebastian Twardosz, VP, Craftsman Films

Location Expo^®
Sponsored by:

Film Commissioners and representatives from around the world discuss incentives and "soft money." Learn how to get 30% or more of your budget covered! Space is limited - advance registration is recommended.

• Moderator:
• Steve Fayne, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP
  
  
• Panelists from:
• Dan Chugg, Alberta Film Commissioner
• Jamie Cope, Location Services Manager, West Virginia Film Office
• Jamie Delatte, Film Commissioner, Louisiana Capital Area Film Commission
• Tonya S. Holly, President, Alabama Filmmakers Association
• Luis A. Riefkohl, Executive Director and Film Commissioner, Puerto Rico Film Commission
• Christopher Stelly, Economic Development Manager, Louisiana Film Office

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• Moderator:
• Mark Hutchison, Principal, Rothstein Kass
  
  
• Panelists from:
• Jamal Alsharif, Manager, Dubai Studio City
• Owen Bethel, President, Bahamas Invest International
• Taniela (Dan) Bolea, CEO, Fiji Audio Visual Commission
• Patrick Mao Huang, Taiwan
• Carlene Tan, Manager, Industry Development (Media Services), Media Development Authority of Singapore
• David Zitzerman, Partner, Goodmans LLP, Canada

Who Backs Movies and Why
Programmed by: Film Independent

Have you ever wondered what made an investor say yes? Is a great script enough, or can a killer idea be thwarted by a poorly thought-out business plan or budget? Players in packaging and film financing reveal why they say "No" most of the time, and what producers need to assemble to hear that elusive "Yes." Learn about current sources of financing; finding the right fit for your project; attracting interest from talent; and the do's and don'ts of approaching an investor.

• Moderator:
• Michael Donaldson, Partner, Donaldson and Hart
  
  
• Panelists:
• Holly Becker, Senior Vice President, Production, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment
• Cassian Elwes, Senior Vice President, William Morris Agency
• Bo Hyde, CEO/Co-Founder, Cherry Road Films
• Diane Weyermann, Executive Vice President of Documentary Production, Participant Productions

Practical Production Incentives: What You Think You'll Get, What You Actually Get, and How to Make it Better
Programmed by:

• Moderator:
• Jeff Begun, Axium International; author Guide to U.S. Production Incentives
  
  
• Panelists:
• Dama Chasle, Independent Producer; formerly Tax VP, 20th Century Fox
• Jeff Geoffrey, Partner, Blue Rider
• Peter Hoffman, President of Seven Arts Productions, former CEO of Carolco Pictures
• Jennie Yamaki, Mandate Pictures

Writing for the Marketplace: How Trends are Determining Content
Programmed by: Writers Guild of America, west

It's a killer script but will the film be marketable? Are non-theatrical markets - TV, Internet, iPods, DVDs - limiting or expanding creative content? Screenwriters discuss how marketing and distribution trends affect (or don't) the topics they choose and the way their ideas are expressed.

• Moderator:
• Billy Ray, Co-Writer/Director, Breach; Co-Writer, Flightplan; Writer/Director, Shattered Glass
  
  
• Panelists:
• Doug Atchison, Writer/Director, Akeelah and the Bee; Writer/Director, Outspoken; Co-Writer, Spinning Into Butter
• Jessica Bendinger, Writer/Director, Stick It; Writer/Co-Producer, Bring It On; Co-Writer, First Daughter, Aquamarine; Writer, Sex and the City
• Ted Elliott, Co-Writer, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest; Co-Writer/Co-Producer, Shrek
• Tyger Williams, Writer/Co-Producer, Menace II Society

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House of Cards: Perspectives on Collapsing the Exhibition Windows
Programmed by: Directors Guild of America

Directors, exhibitors, and distributors discuss the aesthetic and financial implications of shifting business models and the pervasive trend toward narrowing exhibition windows.

• Moderator:
• G. Bryan Unger, Western Executive Director, DGA
  
  
• Panelists:
• John Fithian, President, National Association of Theater Owners
• Keith Fleer, Partner, Loeb & Loeb
• Marcy Magiera, Editor, Video Business

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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Film Festivals!
Programmed by: The International Committee of Women In Film

Getting your independent feature or short film into a festival can often be the first step to distribution. Top executives and senior programmers will tell us what they are looking for... how and when to apply... and how to maximize your experience if you are accepted.

• Moderator:
• June Shelley, Chair, Women in Film International
  
  
• Panelists:
• Nancy Collet, Director of Programming, AFI FEST presented by Audi
• Matt Dentler, Film Festival Producer, South By Southwest Conferences and Festivals
• Eleonora Granata, USA Representative/Programmer, Venice International Film Festival
• Caroline Libresco, Senior Programmer, Sundance Film Festival
• Jeremy Platt, Artistic Manager/Head Programmer, Santa Barbara International Film Festival
• Rachel Rosen, Director of Programming, Film Independent's Los Angeles Film Festival
• David Straus, Co-Founder/CEO, Withoutabox.com

Totems & Taboos: The Rules and Myths of the International Marketplace
Programmed by: The British Academy of Film & Television Arts, Los Angeles

What genres work internationally? What genres are taboo? Romantic comedies? Westerns? Baseball movies? Erotic thrillers? What are the "rules" and what are the "myths" of the foreign marketplace? How can you make your movie the exception? An insider's guide for the perplexed.

• Moderator:
• John Alan Simon, producer, The Getaway; former staff writer New Orleans Times Picayune
  
  
• Panelists:
• Chris Auty, Managing Director, The Works Media Group
• Kirk D'Amico, President, CEO, Myriad Pictures
• Stuart Ford, President, First Look International
• Ian Jessel, President, Ambassador Media Partners; founding president, Miramax International
• Peter Wetherall, President, Magus Entertainment

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Artful Movies on Shoestring Budgets
Programmed by: American Society of Cinematographers

ASC cinematographers discuss how new film, digital and hybrid tools are affecting the art and craft of cinematography.

• Moderators:
• George Spiro Dibie, ASC; Chair, ASC PR Committee; Member, Board of Governors
• Bob Fisher, Cine Journalist
  
  
• Panelists:
• Mat Beck, ASC, Visual Effects Supervisor, Miami Vice (2006), The Aviator, Spider-Man 2, Smallville
• James L. Carter, ASC, Huff, Ladder 49, Tuck Everlasting, One False Move
• Richard Crudo, ASC, American Pie, Down to Earth, American Buffalo
• Michael Goi, ASC, Invasion, The Kids Who Saved Summer, Judas
• Shane Hurlbut, ASC, We Are Marshall, The Greatest Game Ever Played, The Rat Pack
• Denis Lenoir, ASC, The Clearing, Uprising, Carrington
• Stephen Lighthill, ASC, Nash Bridges, Coming out Under Fire, Open Season
• Don M. Morgan, ASC, Walkout, Out of the Ashes, The Siege at Ruby Ridge
• Daryn Okada, ASC, Just Like Heaven, Mean Girls, Cradle 2 the Grave
• Robert Primes, ASC, Money Talks, Bird on a Wire, thirtysomething
• Nancy Schreiber, ASC, November, Lover Boy, The Celluloid Closet
• Christian Sebaldt, ASC, Desperation, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, FeardotCom

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