The New Hampshire Film Festival is proud to present professional development and educational opportunities on relevant subjects pertinent to the current state of independent filmmaking. Our panel discussions are interactive, casual and entertaining.
2013 NHFF Panels
ALL PANELS AND WORKSHOPS AT THE RULE | BOSTON CAMERA HEADQUARTERS ON THE OLDE PORT PROPERTIES STAGE:
Discover Portsmouth Center
10 Middle Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18
INDEPENDENT FILM FINANCE
10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
If independent filmmaking wasn’t tricky enough, navigating the money trail can be even more complicated. Should I try crowdfunding? Do I need a business plan? Where can I find new revenue for my project, and what do I need to think about when I start spending what I’ve raised? This panel discussion will focus upon the various methods, tools and pitfalls of independent film financing as well as the things filmmakers should be thinking about when it comes to their project budgets.
Panelists:
Erica Anderson
Seed&Spark
Erica is the Chief Marketing Director for Seed&Spark and currently heads up the Studio or Crowdfunding side of the site. She is an actress and producer in NY’s commercial advertising worlds. In 2011, she had the privilege of working on her first feature film with a remarkable group of women. The spirit, the community and the challenges of that project, Like the Water, inspired Seed&Spark. Erica hails from colorful Colorado and graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts. Erica’s deep commitment to her family, the arts, and her community has lead her to assist in the start-up of a “‘Mom and Pop” bakery business. Through her guidance as the Development and Marketing Director, My Mom’s Pie is evolving into a national Pie enterprise. She is now thrilled to be in the development phase with Seed&Spark and hopes to bring an easier and more inspiring avenue for independent filmmakers and audiences alike.
Sara Archambault
LEF Foundation
Sara Archambault (Producer) is the Program Director at the LEF Foundation, and Programmer/Co-founder of the award-winning documentary film series The DocYard. Sara has an extensive professional history in production, programming, and foundation work. She was Executive Director of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, Managing Producer for Ebb Pod Productions on the Emmy-nominated documentary Traces of the Trade: A Story From the Deep North, and worked as a producer with Christopher Lydon on his radio show Open Source. Sara is producing the feature documentary Street Fighting Man which has received support from IFP Week’s Spotlight on Documentary, Hot Docs International Pitch Forum, and the Sundance Documentary Fund. She is frequently an advisor, juror, moderator, and panelist with a number of film festivals. Sara is a 2013 Sundance Creative Producers Lab Fellow and was sited as “One to Watch” in 2013 by The Independent.
Laura Azevedo
Filmmakers Collaborative
Laura Azevedo is the Associate Director of the Filmmakers Collaborative, a nationally recognized nonprofit that has serves independent filmmakers through fiscal sponsorship and programming that provides opportunities for networking and education. She has over twenty years experience as a production manager and supervising producer, with credits national series such as NOVA, American Experience and FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman. In her tenure at FC she has positioned the organization as one of the few non-profit fiscal sponsors able to handle both traditional and crowd-sourced funding in an easy and streamlined fashion — a huge asset to FC filmmakers as they increasingly turn online for project funding.
Joan Debow
ART Payroll
Joan Debow is an expert in the SAG and AFTRA Contracts, an experienced consultant on Performer contract compliance, talent payroll budgeting and a talent payment coordinating. Joan started in this field at ART Payroll in 1989 where she handled the talent payment of national commercial campaigns and Industrial production for the large computer software and hardware industries of Massachusetts. In 1992 she was hired by the New England branch of AFTRA and Screen Actors Guild as the Director of Freelance Contracts, administrating the contracts for employment in Radio & TV Commercials, Industrials, Theatrical, and TV Programs including Cable, Public Television (E.g. WGBH), Commercial and Public Radio Programming. Her years at SAG-AFTRA gave her a deeper knowledge of many of the Actors’ contracts and a broader understanding of the Collective Bargaining process. In 2001 she returned to ART Payroll and has established herself as a nationally known expert in her field. In addition to a thorough understanding of the inner-workings of the Unions, Joan is known for working well with the commercial-production, and the newly expanding film-production communities by encouraging and developing harmonious working relationships between actors and their employers. With this accumulated knowledge and experience she can guide you successfully from pre-production (clearing talent, estimates, cost effective scheduling, understanding the applications of the contracts) to completion (accurate payroll, project finalization).
Jerry Monkman
EcoPhotography LLC
Jerry Monkman is a conservation photographer and filmmaker based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire whose images and short films have helped raise awareness and funds to conserve several hundred thousand acres of New England’s wild places during the last two decades. He is also the author of ten books about the region and the recipient of a 2012 National Outdoor Book Award. His documentary, The Power of Place, is currently in post-production and was funded in May 2013 via a Kickstarter campaign.
Amanda Trokan
Seed&Spark
Amanda is Seed&Spark’s Director of Content, heading up the Cinema (streaming) side of the platform. After growing up on a lot of John Cleese, Amanda graduated from Binghamton University and studied in Spain where a cinema course nurtured her love of foreign film. Since earning an MBA in Media & Entertainment, she has worked at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, HBO, and with independent producer Frida Torresblanco. Amanda is also a screener for the Hamptons International Film Festival, and once played doubles ping-pong with Parker Posey, Josh Hamilton, and some other guy. If given two free hours, she is likely sobbing in front of a documentary. Amanda is excited to bring her writing, programming strategy, and festival experience to the next phase of Seed&Spark.
Moderator:
Matt Newton
New Hampshire Film & Television Office
Matthew Newton is the director of the New Hampshire Film and Television Office in Concord, promoting the state as a destination for film, television, and other media projects and works to support New Hampshire’s in-state film and video industry. Newton is a 1997 graduate of the Film Production program at Keene State College in Keene, NH, where he returned to teach production in 2003 and 2004. He has also been a Production Coordinator and Editor at C.2K Entertainment,
a commercial production company in Los Angeles, CA and has worked in a variety of capacities on feature film and television projects on the West Coast. Newton is co-founder of the New Hampshire High School Short Film Festival and has served as chair on the board of directors for Concord Community Television.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19
ANNUAL COMEDY PANEL
11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Join a handful of entertaining people for a fun gathering that has quickly become an annual favorite of the festival, our comedy chat. With a format that is one part Inside the Actors Studio and one part talk show, come prepared to listen, laugh and pose questions to our guests as they share stories and anecdotes from their experiences about any and all things comedy.
Featured Guests include:
Tom Bergeron
Host, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, America’s Funniest Home Videos
Two-time Emmy Award-winning host, Tom Bergeron always guarantees his audience a fun and memorable evening with his wit and humor. Tom hosts ABC’s hit Dancing with the Stars and America’s Funniest Video, and in 2009 he had more prime time hours on TV than any other host. Vying for honors as the busiest man in TV, Tom released his first book I’m Hosting as Fast as I Can! Zen and the Art of Staying Sane in Hollywood to rave reviews. Bergeron began his broadcasting career in 1972 in his hometown of Haverhill, Massachusetts. He spent over a decade with WBZ-TV in Boston, hosting a number of popular shows. In 1994 he became host of Breakfast Time on FX, which morphed into Fox After Breakfast when it moved to the FOX network. He became a fill-in anchor on Good Morning America in 1997 before he segued to Hollywood Squares in 1998. While hosting Hollywood Squares, Bergeron kept busy as a fill-in anchor on CBS’ The Early Show and hosted Supper Club for Planet Green. He can now be seen hosting ABC’s America’s Funniest Home Videos and ABC’s #1 hit Dancing with the Stars. He has been chosen as one of the first class of inductees to the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame at Massasoit College. In between projects, Bergeron has hosted everything from The 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards and Miss America Pageant, to The 33rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation’s 28th College Television Awards Gala. Bergeron spends a lot of his free time volunteering his services for several charity events and was awarded the March of Dimes Special President’s Award for Volunteer excellence. Bergeron is a confessed gym rat, working out 4-5 days a week with a trainer. He also enjoys running and riding his bike on the beach. He splits his time between Connecticut and California and lives with his wife and two daughters.
Greg Kretschmar
Host, Greg and the Morning Buzz
Greg Kretschmar is the host of popular morning radio show Greg and the Morning Buzz, heard on 100.3 WHEB, Rock 101-WGIR FM, The Hawk- 104.9FM, WWOD-93.9FM and KOOL 96.3FM during weekdays from 5:30 AM – 10 AM. In his own words, “I’m a normal guy, in an abnormal job. I’m a NH guy, born and raised. I have a wife (Valerie) and two kids (Caitlin and Tyler) – and because of them, I’m the luckiest guy in the world. UNH Graduate (84) and proud of it. I was the audio/visual aide in high school – so if you’re overhead projector needed fixin’ – I got the call over the p.a. (Mad props to all my A/V geeks out there!) I’ve been doing mornings since 1987 – and believe it or not – I still really enjoy it. It’s great getting to come in to work everyday- work with the people I do, and talking to and with all of you tuning in! We try to make the show like you were entering into your living room, and all of your friends are there. Its casual, fluid, and sometimes famous people drop in.”
Juston McKinney
Actor, Comedian
Juston grew up living on the border of New Hampshire and Maine. After earning an associates degree from the very prestigious Southern Maine Community College, he was hired as a deputy Sheriff patrolling the same border in which he grew up. But in 1997 Juston turned in his gun and badge and left the dangerous streets of rural Maine and moved to the quiet community of Queens, New York. While living in NYC he worked his way into the weekend line-up at Comic Strip Live, Stand-up New York, Dangerfield’s, Gotham, and Caroline’s on Broadway. He has had sitcom development deals with Warner Brothers, CBS Productions and Comedy Central. And in 2000 the New York Times called him “destined for stardom”. Juston has appeared on a half dozen Comedy Central shows including his half hour Comedy Central Presents and most recently his 1-hour special Juston McKinney-A Middle-Class Hole, which was released by Warner Bros. on DVD/CD. He has appeared numerous times on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and appeared on the Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. He was chosen to be part of the Blue Collar Comedy Next Generation Tour, with Bill Engval, which aired on TBS and had his own weekly show on Sirius/XM radio, Live From the Woods with Juston McKinney. His TV credits include; The King of Queens, the Sidney Lumet drama 100 Centre Street. His movie credits include The Zoo Keeper and Here Comes the Boom. He is currently developing a show with Apostle (Denis Leary’s production company) and IFC about a volunteer fire department from the fictitious town of Effingwoods NH. He currently lives in New Hampshire with his wife, kids and dogs.
DELTA BRAVO URBAN EXPLORATION TEAM
4 – 5:30 p.m.
Join a compelling visual panel presentation with the Delta Bravo Urban Exploration Team, a group of urban explorers based in Los Angeles, with smaller sister chapters in Chicago, Brooklyn, and Paris, as they take you on a tour of culturally and socially significant film locations. Urban exploration (often shortened as Urbex or UE) is the examination of the normally unseen or off-limits parts of urban areas or industrial facilities. Urban Exploration is also commonly referred to as infiltration, although some people consider infiltration to be more closely associated with the exploration of active or inhabited sites. It may also be referred to as draining (when exploring drains), urban spelunking, urban rock climbing, urban caving, or building hacking. Delta Bravo Team’s definition of Urban Exploration is also to include the visiting and documentation of what they consider culturally relevant sites such as film, television, music and true crime locations, or any other iconic landmark locations they feel are worthy of exploration.
About the Team:
Founded in 2012 by Danny Boy O’Connor from the Hip-Hop group House of Pain and La Coka Nostra, and police detective Jim “Knocko Nolan” McSorley, Delta Bravo Team’s focus is primarily on tracking down hidden pop culture locations and then freely publishing that information in hopes of inspiring other people to go out and visit these locations for themselves. Their adventures are usually based on iconic film, music, classic television, and anything else deemed culturally or historically significant. They take the basic concept of “Urbex”, which traditionally consists of exploring man-made structures such as abandoned buildings, tunnels, bridges, etc. and have integrated it with their passion for pop culture. They call it “The Delicate Art of Set Crashing.” in this ever changing world of constant redevelopment their goal is to discover as many locations as possible before they are gone forever. You can see them on their weekly podcast on tradiov.com on Fridays from 7-9 pm PST and reach them at facebook.com/DeltaBravoUrbexTeam.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20
INDIE FILM ACQUISITION AND DISTRIBUTION
12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Join in on this discussion about independent film acquisition and distribution with representatives and producers from some of today’s most successful companies in the biz.
Panelists:
Justin DiPietro
IFC Films
Justin DiPietro is the Manager of Theatrical Sales for IFC Films three distribution labels, IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight. In addition to this position, he is also the head of Non-Theatrical Sales for IFC Films, where he supplies films to colleges, universities and museums nationwide. Over the past six years with IFC, he has had the privilege to work on films that include Palme d’Or Winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Gomorrah, Sleepwalk With Me and the recently Academy Award ® nominated, How to Survive a Plague. Prior to working at IFC Films, he worked in sales with Walt Disney’s Distribution Company, Buena Vista Pictures, which included work on films such as The Sixth Sense, High Fidelity, and Unbreakable. He spent time studying between SUNY Purchase and SUNY New Paltz. He currently resides in Sea Cliff, NY.
Darren Goldberg
Atlantic Pictures
Darren Goldberg is a founding partner of Atlantic Pictures. Atlantic most recently produced The Brass Teapot, starring Juno Temple and Michael Angarano, which premiered in the 2012 Toronto film festival and sold to Magnolia Pictures. Previously, Atlantic produced The Art Of Getting By (formerly Homework) starring Freddie Highmore and Emma Roberts which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and sold to Fox Searchlight. Additional credits include Brant Sersen’s Splinterheads, starring Rachael Taylor and Thomas Middleditch, Tom O’Brien’s Fairhaven, starring Chris Messina, Sarah Paulson and Rich Sommer and Lex Sidon’s Grand Street starring Charlotte Riley and Tom Byam Shaw. Prior to starting Atlantic Pictures, Darren produced numerous independent films including MANITO (Sundance 2002), CRY FUNNY HAPPY (Sundance 2003), ROOM (Sundance 2005, Cannes 2005), GARDENER OF EDEN (Tribeca 2007) directed by Kevin Connolly and THE CAKE EATERS (Tribeca 2007) directed by Mary Stuart Masterson. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his work on ROOM. Atlantic is currently in post-production on The Longest Week, starring Jason Bateman, Olivia Wilde and Billy Crudup and recently finished principal photography on Oliver’s Deal, starring Stephen Dorff, David Strathairn, Alberto Ammann and Carlos Bardem.
David Laub
Oscilloscope Laboratories
David Laub is Co-President of Oscilloscope, where he oversees acquisitions, marketing and distribution. O-scope is a distribution and production company that releases narrative films and documentaries theatrically and across all home video and digital platforms. Oscilloscope’s prior releases have included Lynne Ramsay’s We Need to Talk About Kevin, Oren Moverman’s The Messenger, Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy and Meek’s Cutoff, Anders Ostergaard’s Burma VJ, Evan Glodell’s Bellflower, Jamari Helander’s Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s Howl, Yael Hersonski’s A Film Unfinished, Todd Louiso’s Hello I Must Be Going, Matteo Garrone’s Reality, and Ron Fricke’s and Mark Magidson’s Samsara. The company currently has in release three acclaimed films from this year’s Sundance film festival–Andrew Dosunmu’s Mother of George, Hannah Fidell’s A Teacher, and Lana Wilson and Martha Shane’s After Tiller. Upcoming titles include Omar Mullick’s and Bassam Tariq’s These Birds Walk, Lotfy Nathan’s 12 O’Clock Boys, Matt Wolf’s Teenage, and two prize-winners from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Sam Fleischner’s Stand Clear of the Closing Doors and Dan Krauss’ Kill Team.
Michael Lawson
Film Buff
As Content Tracking Manager of FilmBuff, Michael tracks the world for the best documentaries and narrative films for digital distribution across broadband and cable VOD partners, including subscription and ad-supported video-on-demand, electronic sell-through, cable TV and IPTV. Previously, Michael held the position of Video Encoding Operator at FilmBuff. Michael began his career in the entertainment industry at Paramount Courier Inc., America’s most reliable courier service for the entertainment, music, and fashion industries, where he worked as a Film Courier delivering prints for films distributed by New Line Cinema, Sony Pictures Classics, and Warner Bros. From 2008 to 2009, Michael worked in the Sales Communications Department at Marvel Comics where he worked as an Editor on the “Young Guns Sketch Book ’09” and the “New Exiles Sketchbook ’09”. Michael received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Hofstra University.
Moderator:
Erin Trahan
Editor, The Independent’s Guide to Film Distribution
Erin Trahan’s background in film includes producing, programming, and multi-platform film journalism. As a journalist, she has contributed to WBUR, The Boston Globe, New Hampshire Public Radio, The Wire, NewEnglandFilm.com and elsewhere. She currently edits and publishes The Independent, an online magazine about film, and its books on filmmaking, including The Independent’s Guide to Film Distribution, Second Edition, forthcoming in January 2014. She has
moderated several seasons of the all-documentary series, The DocYard, as well as panels and discussions for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Boston Public Library, as well as Salem Film Fest, New Hampshire Film Festival, and The Newburyport Documentary Film Festival, where she has also served on juries. She helped produce the documentary, Love and Other Anxieties, and frequently serves as a documentary story consultant. A past president of Women in Film & Video/New England, she now serves on the board of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists. This fall she finished her fourth Frommer’s Guide to Montreal and Quebec City.