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Dear Filmmakers, Welcome you to the 8th annual Filmmaker Summit part of the 14th annual Berkshire International Film Festival! We have designed the Summit to get you closer to the experience and skills of many top industry professionals. We hope the next two days will expand your understanding of the industry and provide an environment where you can collaborate, present your work, and interact with your fellow filmmakers and with film audiences. Cheers,
Kelley R. Vickery
BIFF FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR
Carolyn Lancaster
CL PRODUCTIONS NYC FILMMAKERS SUMMIT PRODUCER
Congratulations to the 2019 Filmmakers!
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11:30am Meet in the front of the Red Lion Inn 12:00pm Bus departs from the Red Lion Inn to Douglas Trumbull Studio 12:30pm - 1:30pm Filmmaker Summit Welcome Lunch 1:30pm - 3:00pm Douglas Trumbull Studio Visit & Presentation 3:00pm - 3:15pm Coffee Break 3:15pm - 4:00pm Sustaining a Successful Film Career A Conversation with Two Time Academy Award Winning Director, Barbara Kopple
4:00pm Bus departs Trumbull Studio for the Red Lion Inn 6:45pm Hotel pick up, to the Summit Cocktail Dinner Party at Yale Hill 7:00pm - 10:00pm Filmmaker Summit Cocktail Dinner Party at Yale Hill, home of Mary Mott & Gordon Simmering 10:00pm Shuttle departs from Yale Hill, to the Red Lion Inn & Fairfield Inn
Moderator: Douglas Tirola Transportation: John Clarke, 413-644-6228 Red Lion Inn: 30 Main Street, Stockbridge, MA Yale Hill: 28 Yale Hill Road, Stockbridge MA Berkshire International Film Festival, biffma.org
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9:00am Hotel pick up from the Red Lion Inn and Fairfield Inn 9:15am - 10:00am Summit Breakfast at Yale Hill Barn 10:00am - 11:00am Doc Film Funding Marjon Javadi (Doc Society) & Elizabeth Sheldon (Juno Films) 11:00am - 12:00pm Producing Independent Film Darren Dean (Producer, Writer, Director) & Stacey Reiss (Producer) 12:00pm - 1:00pm Lunch under the tent at Yale Hill Barn 1:00pm - 1:30pm Securing The Right Editor To Craft Your Film Gabriel Rhodes (Editor)
1:30pm - 2:30pm Gaining the Gatekeepers Attention Matt Grady (Factory 25), Christine Kecher (A&E) & Michael Bremer (Cannes) 2:30pm - 3:30pm Film Distribution Josh Braun (Submarine Entertainment) & Ryan Harrington (National Geographic) 3:30pm Champagne Toast to the Filmmaker Summit & Opening night of BIFF 3:45pm Shuttle departs from Yale Hill, to the Red Lion Inn & Fairfield Inn 5:15pm Hotel pick up from the Red Lion Inn & Fairfield Inn for BIFF’s Opening Night 6:00pm Opening Night of BIFF begins in Great Barrington
Moderator: Douglas Tirola Transportation:John Clarke, 413-644-6228 Yale Hill: 28 Yale Hill Road, Stockbridge MA Berkshire International Film Festival, biffma.org
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3:45pm Hotel pick up, to Great Barrington, for The Actor’s Panel & The Filmmaker Summit Wrap Party 4:15pm - 5:15pm Open to the Public: The Actor’s Corner, from COLD BROOK William Fichtner (Writer, Director Actor, Producer) & Kim Coates (Actor, Producer) Both Sides of the Lens: A Filmmaking 360 Iris Gallery, 25 Railroad Street, Great Barrington, MA 5:30pm - 7:30pm Filmmaker Summit Cocktail Wrap Party Under The Tent, 11 Castle St, Great Barrington, MA 01230
Moderator: Darren Dean Transportation: John Clarke 413-644-6228 Berkshire International Film Festival, biffma.org
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10:30am Hotel pick ups from the Red Lion Inn & Fairfield Inn, to Great Barrington 11:00am Filmmaker Juried Prize Brunch Number Ten Restaurant 10 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230 *Bring all luggage to brunch, if returning by train
Thank you for taking time out of your busy lives to be part of the Summit & BIFF weekend! We hope you have a wonderful experience! Filmmaker Summit Producer: Carolyn Lancaster Transportation: John Clarke 413-644-6228 Berkshire International Film Festival, biffma.org
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DOUGLAS TIROLA
WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER Douglas Tirola is an award-winning director and producer whose documentaries have premiered at Sundance, Tribeca, Berlin, HotDocs, IDFA, and SXSW. He is the president of 4th Row Films. Douglas’ latest film, BLOODROOT, tells the story of two housewives who became feminists in the 1970s, inspiring them to leave their suburban lifestyle and open a groundbreaking vegetarian restaurant and feminist bookstore against the backdrop of the women’s movement. The film premiered at the San Francisco Film Festival in April 2019. Douglas’ previous directing credits include DRUNK STONED BRILLIANT DEAD: THE STORY OF THE NATIONAL LAMPOON (Magnolia Pictures, A&E Indie Film), BREWMASTER (The Orchard, Amazon Prime), James Beard Award nominated HEY BARTENDER (Netflix), and Grand Jury Award Winning ALL IN—THE POKER MOVIE (Showtime). His first documentary as a director, AN OMAR BROADWAY FILM, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival where it was acquired by
HBO. Douglas’ producing credits include: BISBEE ’17 (Sundance, NY Times Ten Best Films of 2018, premiering on POV July 2019), KATE PLAYS CHRISTINE (Sundance Award Winner), Gotham Award nominated ACTRESS (DOCNYC) and MAKING THE BOYS (Berlin) which is about the groundbreaking play/movie The Boys in the Band. Currently he is working on a documentary about Leonard Bernstein and his 1989 Ode to Freedom concert which took place in East Berlin on Christmas Day right after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Douglas has also worked as a screenwriter for Paramount, Universal, Fox, Warner Brothers, Sony and New Line. Earlier in his career, he worked in production on films directed by Robert Benton, Penny Marshall, Mike Nichols and Steve Zallian. His first job in the film business was as a production assistant on the movie WHEN HARRY MET SALLY. He is represented by William Morris Endeavor.
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BARBARA KOPPLE NEW HOMELAND
Barbara Kopple is a two-time Academy Award winning filmmaker. A director and producer of narrative films, documentaries and commercial spots, her most recent project is the documentary NEW HOMELAND, which premiered at the 2018 DOC NYC Film Festival. Barbara produced and directed HARLAN COUNTY USA and AMERICAN DREAM, both winners of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Her other films include A MURDER IN MANSFIELD, THIS IS EVERYTHING: GIGI GORGEOUS, MISS SHARON JONES!, RUNNING FROM CRAZY, THE HOUSE OF STEINBRENNER, WOODSTOCK: NOW AND THEN, SHUT UP AND SING, HAVOC, A CONVERSATION WITH GREGORY PECK, MY GENERATION, WILD MAN BLUES, FALLEN CHAMP: THE UNTOLD STORY OF MIKE TYSON, for which she won a DGA Award for Outstanding Direction, and many more. Barbara
directed the narrative feature HAVOC, starring Anne Hathaway and written by Stephen Gaghan, about a group of wealthy teenagers coming of age and searching for an identity in Los Angeles. She also directs episodic television and commercial spots. Her television work includes episodes of OZ on HBO and Homicide, for which she won a DGA Award for Outstanding Direction. Barbara has directed spots for companies such as Sprint, Applebee’s, Dove, Target, The Tiger Woods Foundation, Pearl Vision and the Children’s Defense Fund. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Director’s Guild of America, New York Women in Film and Television’s Honorary Board, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and actively participates in organizations that address social issues and support independent filmmaking.
PANELISTS
DOUGLAS TRUMBULL
ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING, SPECIAL EFFECTS ICON AND VISIONARY Academy Award-winning, special effects icon and visionary Legendary filmmaker and visual effects pioneer, Douglas Trumbull, was one of the Special Photographic Effects Supervisors for 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968). He went on to become the Visual Effects Supervisor for such classics as CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977), STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979), and BLADE RUNNER (1982), each of which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects. Mr. Trumbull directed SILENT RUNNING (1972), BRAINSTORM (1983), BACK TO THE FUTURE… THE RIDE (1991) and numerous other special format films. He is the recent recipient of an Academy Award in the area of Scientific and Technical Achievement as well as the International Monitor Award and American Society of Cinematographers’ Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions in the field of involved in the evolution of visual effects using virtual digital sets and electronic cinematography.
MARJON JAVADI DOC SOCIETY
Marjon Javadi joined Doc Society in late 2016 and is based in New York office. She works across all international film funds and supports the film teams participating in the Good Pitch program. Her experience is in development, production, and acquisitions for both fiction and non-fiction features. Prior to Doc Society, she worked in the documentary division at Netflix Originals on series and films. She previously worked as the development executive for Scott Rudin Productions and in CAA’s Media Finance division. More recently she was an associate producer on the short documentary WAITING FOR HASSANA (Sundance 2017) and producer on the short documentary CROSSING THE DIVIDE for WGBH and Groundtruth Productions. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from NYU and is a 2018 Impact Partners Producers Fellow.
ELIZABETH SHELDON JUNO FILMS
Elizabeth Sheldon is the founding partner and CEO of Juno Films. She implements a collaborative approach with filmmakers and producers to develop and execute bespoke all-rights releases. Current film releases include BARBARA RUBIN AND THE EXPLODING NY UNDERGROUND, ENDZEIT/EVER AFTER, ARCADIA AND SHIRAZ: A ROMANCE OF INDIA. Prior to launching Juno, Elizabeth helmed BOND/360 where she oversaw the release of such films as THE SETTLERS, STRIKE A POSE, KARL MARX CITY and THE WAR SHOW. Prior she was the Senior Vice President at Kino Lorber, Inc, a leading North American independent distributor of critically acclaimed films such as A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT, JAFAR PANAHI’S TAXI, and 5 BROKEN CAMERAS. She has been recognized as one of the ‘50 Most Powerful People’ in the documentary world by POV, is the recipient of three NEH Grants for film development and is a frequent industry panelist and guest speaker. Elizabeth spends her spare time as a competitive master rower. She earned her MA from Princeton University in German Studies, her BA from Mills College in Philosophy, and was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship.
DARREN DEAN
PRODUCER, WRITER, DIRECTOR Darren Dean is an American producer, writer and director. A three-time Independent Spirit Award nominee, Dean is responsible for producing the award-winning features PRINCE OF BROADWAY (which he co-wrote), KINYARWANDA, H.O.M.E., TANGERINE, and 2017’s THE FLORIDA PROJECT. He also produced the Clio Award-Winning short SNOWBIRD, as well as PIONEER HIGH. He has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award (KINYARWANDA) and has won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Feature (TANGERINE). In 2016, his body of work was recognized with a nomination for the Independent Spirit Piaget Producer’s Award. For 2019, he’s most recently produced The SHORT HISTORY OF THE LONG ROAD, PREMATURE and the Sundance-Winning feature, THE INFILTRATORS. This year, he is producing MO AND SINGULAR. Dean is also directing his first feature in 2018, NO SUGAR TONIGHT, as he continues to develop his adaptation of Will Eisner’s legendary graphic novel A Contract with God for the big screen.
PANELISTS
STACEY REISS
PRODUCER
Stacey Reiss is an Emmy award-winning filmmaker who produces documentary and narrative films. She is the producer of THE PERFECTION starring Allison Williams (GIRLS, GET OUT) and Logan Browning (DEAR WHITE PEOPLE) which will premiere on Netflix May 2019; and TOKYO PROJECT starring Elisabeth Moss and Ebon Moss Bachrach which premiered on HBO October 2018. Reiss produced the award-winning documentary THE EAGLE HUNTRESS which follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female eagle hunter in twelve generations of her Kazakh family. The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2016 and played at festivals around the world including Telluride, Toronto, London, Rome and IDFA. Released by Sony Pictures Classics, THE EAGLE HUNTRESS was shortlisted for an Academy Award and nominated for a PGA, DGA and BAFTA award. It was awarded a Cinema Eye and named one of the top films of 2016 by the National Board of Review. Additional documentary credits, all acquired by HBO, include IT’S A HARD TRUTH AIN’T IT co-directed by 13 incarcerated men (Tribeca 2018;) SUITED, a modern look at gender through the conduit of clothing (Sundance 2016;) THE DIPLOMAT, about the life and legacy of the late Ambassador Richard Holbrooke (Tribeca 2015;) IT’S ME, HILARY, a portrait of the artist behind the iconic “Eloise” books (Sundance 2015;) and I KNEW IT WAS YOU, about the late actor John Cazale best known as “Fredo” in “The Godfather” (Sundance 2009.)
GABRIEL RHODES EDITOR
Gabriel Rhodes’ feature documentary credits INCLUDEMATANGI/ MAYA/M.I.A. (Special Jury Prize Sundance 2018), NEWTOWN, THE WITNESS, 1971, THE TILLMAN STORY, WITHOUT SHEPHERDS, QUEST FOR HONOR as well as the forthcoming AND WE GO GREEN. His work has premiered at Sundance, Cannes, NY Film Festival, Tribeca and many other international festivals. Three of his edited films—THE WITNESS, THE TILLMAN STORY & QUEST FOR HONOR— were shortlisted for an Academy Award. He received his Master’s Degree in Documentary Film from Stanford University in 2000. He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife and two sons.
MATT GRADY FACTORY 25
Matt is the founder of Factory 25, an independent film production and distribution company launched in 2009. Factory 25 is a home for conceptually provocative narratives and documentaries. Grady was recently named “One of the Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture,” and has been called “One of the most important curatorial voices of new, independent American films.” His mission is to expose the world to under-the-radar films, music, and other curiosities theatrically and digitally, as well as on TV, VOD, VHS, and limited edition discs with vinyl LPs and books. Factory 25 titles include CHRISTMAS, AGAIN, ALL THIS PANIC, MA, UNCLE KENT 2, STINKING HEAVEN, Alex Ross Perry’s THE COLOR WHEEL, Dustin Guy Defa’s BAD FEVER and SUN DON’T SHINE, Calvin Lee Reeder’s THE OREGONIAN, the Zellner Brothers’ KID THING and the recently restored Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning film IN THE SOUP by Alexandre Rockwell. Grady also produced Nathan Silver’s THE GREAT PRETENDER, Onur Tukel’s APPLESAUCE AND SUMMER OF BLOOD and Theodore Collatos’ QUEEN OF LAPA and TORMENTING THE HEN. Factory 25’s headquarters are located in Brooklyn, New York.
CHRISTINE KECHER
MANAGER, FEATURE FILMS A&E INDIE FILMS Christine Kecher is Manager of Feature Films at A+E Networks, where her primary role is to serve as the development and production manager for original feature films, event series and shorts produced under the A&E IndieFilms, History Films and Lifetime Films brands. Since joining A+E in 2014, she’s had the opportunity to work on critically-acclaimed projects including MEETING GORBACHEV, THE CLINTON AFFAIR, DIVIDE AND CONQUER: THE STORY OF ROGER AILES, STUDIO 54, CITY OF GHOSTS, CARTEL LAND, LIFE, ANIMATED, and many more. Prior to joining A+E, she worked in finance and received her MBA from NYU Stern.
PANELISTS
MICHAEL BREMER
CANNES FILM FESTIVAL/CANNES LIONS
As Director of Student Programs for The American Pavilion at the Cannes International Festival du Film, Michael Bremer is responsible for over 200 students annually who complete any one of the Pavilion’s various student programs. Under his stewardship, students of film, media, business, culinary arts, events and hospitality are able to participate in what is arguably the world’s largest international media event. Prior to The American Pavilion, Bremer enjoyed a long career in film and television production and distribution, most recently as a consultant for Warner Bros. International Television Distribution. He served as Director of International Sales for Lorimar Motion Pictures and Warner Brothers International, and traveled the world for fifteen years as an acquisitions representative for independent distributors such as Shochiku-Fuji (Japan), VCL/ Carolco (Germany), IIF (Italy), and Samsung (Korea). During the first dot-com boom, Bremer served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Internetstudios.com, the online business-tobusiness film and television rights clearing site. Segueing into
production, Bremer arranged financing and distribution for feature and television films, including such titles as LIES AND WHISPERS (aka PRAGUE DUET) starring Gina Gershon and Rade Serbedzija and directed by Academy Award Nominee Roger L. Simon; DO YOU WANNA DANCE? starring Patricia Skeriotis, Robert Costanzo and Robert Krantz, distributed by Largo Entertainment; MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE: THE JOAN BROCK STORY starring Carey Lowell (Law and Order) and Dylan Walsh (Nip/Tuck); and CYBERSEDUCTION starring Kelly Lynch (DRUGSTORE COWBOY) and Jeremy Sumpter (PETER PAN), the latter two for Lifetime Television. During this time, Bremer optioned two self-help books, Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives by Dr. Laura Schlesinger, and What To Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi Murkoff, both of which he sold to CBS prior to the dissolution of CBS’ Original Movie division. Before his international distribution career, Bremer held positions at Telepictures Productions, FentonFeinberg Casting, the Susan Smith talent agency, and in various production capacities on feature films by directors Tony Bill, Abel Ferrara and Joe Ruben. Bremer graduated with honors from UCLA where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Motion Picture and Television Production.
RYAN HARRINGTON JOSH BRAUN
SUBMARINE ENTERTAINMENT Josh Braun is the co-president of Submarine Entertainment, a hybrid sales, production and distribution company. Mr. Braun is an executive producer of the upcoming documentary features APOLLO 11, WHIRLYBIRD, CIRCUS OF BOOKS and TELL ME WHO I AM. Submarine’s recent and upcoming series titles include Evil Genius, The Keepers, Lenox Hill, Untitled Cleveland Project and WILD WILD COUNTRY for which Mr. Braun won the Emmy for best documentary series this year. Recent sales titles include AMERICAN FACTORY, HONEYLAND, ONE CHILD NATION, UNTITLED AMAZON JOHNATHAN DOCUMENTARY, MIDNIGHT FAMILY, SEA OF SHADOWS, THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS, SHIRKERS, THE OSLO DIARIES, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, LEGEND OF COCAINE ISLAND, PICK OF THE LITTER, KUSAMA: INFINITY. Submarine has been responsible for the sale of five out of the last ten Academy award winning documentaries; CITIZENFOUR, 20 FEET FROM STARDOM, MAN ON WIRE, THE COVE and SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN and Submarine has represented the grand jury prize winner at the Sundance Film Festival for the last five years consecutively.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTARY FILMS
Ryan Harrington is the VP of National Geographic Documentary Films where he develops, commissions and acquires theatrical feature docs for all of Nat Geo’s platforms. Previously he served as Executive Producer of Feature Docs at Pulse Films. Harrington helped launch A&E IndieFilms, the theatrical documentary arm of A&E Networks and managed production on some of the most prolific documentaries of the 21st century. In his role as Vice President of Artist Programs for Tribeca Film Institute, he launched the organization’s worldwide granting and filmmaker aide initiatives and supported the careers of hundreds of filmmakers. At Hot Docs, the largest documentary festival and market in North America, Harrington served as Acting Director of Industry Programs and during his tenure at Discovery, he was the Director of Docs and Specials, where he commissioned and acquired feature docs for their numerous platforms. He sits on the advisory boards for the Influence Film Foundation and Camden’s Points North Institute and the board of Women Make Movies. He is an Emmy, PGA and IDA-nominated producer as well as a frequent panelist, speaker, jurist, and go-to expert at industry events around the world.
KIM COATES
SPECIAL SUMMIT GUEST: ACTOR
WILLIAM FICHTNER SPECIAL SUMMIT GUEST: DIRECTOR, WRITER, ACTOR
‘A small-town guy with a big heart,’ William Fichtner has been captivating hearts for decades. Long regarded as an actor’s actor with a trail of great performances in films from HEAT to THE PERFECT STORM and BLACK HAWK DOWN, Fichtner stepped behind the camera to make his directorial debut in COLD BROOK. Fichtner directed, produced, co-wrote and starred in COLD BROOK, with Sons of Anarchy‘s Kim Coates and Lost‘s Harold Perrineau. Shot in Buffalo and Cortland County, New York, he described the drama as “the story of two ordinary guys in a small town who embark on an extraordinary adventure. It’s a story about coming home; something everyone, everywhere has an innate desire to do.”
Kim Coates has been a fixture on film and television screens for more than 30 years, appearing in over 65 films including Oscar winners BLACK HAWK DOWN and PEARL HARBOR. In the past few years, Coates has starred in OFFICER DOWNE, THE LAND, STRANGE WEATHER with Holly Hunter, GOON: LAST OF THE ENFORCERS and GODLESS, the Netflix, Emmy winning western mini-series with Jeff Daniels. Films being released in 2020 include; Coates’s good friend William Fichtner’s directorial debut, COLD BROOK, as well as the Sony horror/thriller, FANTASY ISLAND, where Kim stars opposite Michael Peña. The FX hit series SONS OF ANARCHY propelled Coates into the spotlight for his role as ‘Tig Trager’ during its celebrated seven-year run. Most recently, he wrapped up Seasons 1 & 2 of BAD BLOOD, which Coates also co-produced and starred in as ‘Declan Gardiner’ for Rogers Media Inc/Netflix. Coates took home Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role for Season 2 of Bad Blood at the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards. In 2018, Kim marked his return to the stage in the highly acclaimed Crow’s Theatre production of JERUSALEM in Toronto, which received seven trophies at the 2018 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, including Best Actor for Kim’s daredevil character, Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron. Coates was awarded the 2016 ACTRA Award of Excellence for his body of work, his charity work, and his continued support of the Canadian film industry. Kim currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Diana.
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FILMMAKERS
MARK BOZEK
THE TIMES OF BILL CUNNINGHAM In 1978, at the age of seventeen, Mark Bozek moved from St. Louis, Missouri to Los Angeles and landed a job as an assistant to famed Method acting guru, Lee Strasberg. He would spend the next three years living and working with Strasberg in New York and Los Angeles. His career following Strasberg led him on a completely spontaneous journey that included six years as a marketing executive for designer Willi Smith of WilliWear, a producer at Fox Television and a twenty-plus career in TV shopping at QVC, then as CEO of HSN and EVINE Live. Bradley Cooper would go on to play Bozek in David O. Russell’s film, JOY. In 2016 he and producer Russell Nuce co-founded content and commerce company Live Rocket. THE TIMES OF BILL CUNNINGHAM is Bozek’s first feature-length documentary. He is also adapting the Augusten Burroughs novel, “SelleVision,” as a feature film.
JOHN DREW SAEED
John Drew is an Assistant Professor of film at Adelphi University in NY. His directorial debut, Border Stories, won the Every Human Has Rights Audience Award in 2008. SAEED marks his debut as a narrative screenwriter, which recently won Best Narrative Short at the Global Cinema Film Festival in Boston. John also served as a field producer and second camera on the critically acclaimed documentary about child farmworkers in America, THE HARVEST. All of John’s work revolves around themes of social justice.
PATRICK FRANKLIN WAIT FOR LAUGH
Even if you’ve never met Patrick, chances are you either already love him or hate him. As an advertising creative, he’s been responsible for enough Progressive commercials—you know the ones, they’re ALWAYS on—to divide any room. But that’s just his day job, one of many in a long stretch of curious pursuits over the years, ranging from special needs teacher to construction worker to trombone player. But no matter what he’s up to, he’s always first and foremost a filmmaker. He has been a quarterfinalist for the Academy’s NICHOLL FELLOWSHIP, winner of the Atlanta Film Festival’s PERFECT PITCH CONTEST, and a finalist for the SOUTHEASTERN MEDIA AWARD. His feature film debut PUSHIN’ UP DAISIES—a mockumentary about a documentary about flowers, and zombies—screened in festivals all over the world. Originally from down south, he’s been in Boston for almost a decade, performing improv and sketch comedy, raising a family, and becoming a part of the vibrant arts community that made possible his first short film WAIT FOR LAUGH. Having premiered at Palm Springs International ShortFest, Patrick is very proud to bring this film back home to the Berkshire International Film Festival.
ROB GARVER
WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL Rob is a New York-based filmmaker who has written, produced, and directed several short films that have been screened in local New York cinemas, and aired on cable television. Films include: COMIC BELIEF, a documentary profile of cartoonist Dan Piraro; THE MAN IN THE YELLOW CAP; and TWO ROADS FROM BELFAST, MAINE, a short narrative that has aired on the Classic Arts Showcase cable network. He graduated from Northwestern University.
FILMMAKERS
BONNIE HAWTHORNE DREAMING OF A VETTER WORLD
Bonnie Hawthorne is the director, cinematographer, editor, writer and narrator of DREAMING OF A VETTER WORLD. As a film student at NYU in the 1980s, her documentary teacher said there would come a day when one woman could go AWOL from her day job cutting television shows, take off in a tiny camper and make a film with cameras small enough to fit in a purse. That day finally arrived. This film—her first—is the result. Her neighbors back in those NYU days were Jo Andres and Steve Buscemi. They are Executive Producers on this film, along with Bobby Houston, who gave Bonnie her first film job.
PETTER SOLBERG HEUM FROZEN MEMORIES
Petter Solberg Heum is a passionate filmmaker from Oslo, Norway. Having studied filmmaking in both Norway and Australia, Petter spends his working hours on television drama, as well as directing music videos and promotional content. He tries to tell stories that inspires and raises awareness—regardless of format. FROZEN MEMORIES is his debut short film.
JESSIE JOLLES TECHNICALLY IN LOVE
Jessie Jolles is a comedian and writer living in Queens, NY. She grew up in Virginia and considers herself a southern belle. She was named 1 of 100 creators from around the world in Youtube’s “women in comedy” program. She’s been featured on TIME, The Huffington Post, HelloGiggles, Cosmopolitan, Funny or Die, Above Average, Backstage, Elite Daily, Indiewire, and more. You can also catch her in a weekly digital series for Just For Laughs called “It’s a Date.” Jessie performs at the Upright Citizens Brigade and is single and tries not to mention it as much as she does.
MATT KRAVITSKY THE CHRYSALIS
Matt Kravitsky is a Massachusetts-born writer/director who graduated from Quinnipiac University where he studied film, and he aims to pursue filmmaking in Los Angeles. By day Matt is a freelancer in the film industry and by night he works on his passion projects. He hopes to adapt his short thriller THE CHRYSALIS into a feature film along with five other stories he wants to share. When Matt isn’t making movies he is watching them from his massive DVD collection of 1,057 films (but who’s counting?) Chipotle burritos, Reuben sandwiches, and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream are his kryptonite.
FILMMAKERS
KIRK LARSEN
DIG YOUR OWN GRAVE Kirk Larsen is a writer director who lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter. He likes to tell visually driven human stories that make people laugh and feel stuff and think. He’s developed TV shows for Channel 4, VEVO, TruTV, and Nickelodeon; made commercials for tons of brands like Sony, GMC, Acura, and Salesforce; and directed narrative shows for Seeso, TruTV, and Go90. When he’s not working or watching movies he likes to go to America’s National Parks with his family and go rock climbing with his friends. He is currently writing his next project. It’s a secret but he’ll probably tell you if you ask nicely.
STEVEN LAWRENCE THE CAT RESCUERS
Steven Lawrence is a producer-director whose documentaries have appeared on PBS, MTV and A&E. He’s produced three films for director Michael Apted including MARRIED IN AMERICA, an ongoing documentary about 9 marriages. His other productions, which have often focused on the arts and human rights, include THE FURIOUS FORCE OF RHYMES, a global look at hip-hop as protest music, and SARABAH, about Senegalese rapper Sister Fa’s campaign to end female genital cutting. His work has received an IDA Documentary Achievement award, 3 Cine Golden Eagles, the Special Jury Award from the Locarno Film Festival and the Golden Butterfly from Movies That Matter.
JULIA LINDON LADY LIBERTY
Julia Lindon is a writer, comedian, actor, and producer. Lady Liberty is inspired by her own coming out journey and ongoing attempt to find her comedic voice. Acting in Comedy Central’s “Detroiters” and working on the production team of Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart motivated Julia to co-create “Kill Me Now”, a goofy comedic web series, and co-host “Happy Campers”, the ultimate summer camp-themed podcast. But it was launching her career as an NBC page, then learning the ropes of the industry as Jason Sudeikis’ assistant, that inspired Julia to create the show she wished had existed—a comedic and heartfelt exploration of coming out in one’s midtwenties, navigating assistant life, and celebrating the fact that life is just one dang learning experience after another.
NICHOLAS MA SUITE NO. 1, PRELUDE
Nicholas Ma is a writer, director and producer based in NYC. Most recently, he received the Independent Spirit Award and Producers Guild Award for WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? a documentary on Fred Rogers, which became the alltime highest grossing bio-documentary. He is currently in development on several other documentary projects, including a series on diplomacy, and is a finalist for the Sloane Prize for a scripted feature.
FILMMAKERS
JENIFER MCSHANE ERNIE AND JOE
EMILIE MCDONALD CHURROS
Emilie McDonald (Director/Writer) is an award-winning NYCbased film director, writer, and producer who graduated from Vassar College with a BA in film and drama. Emilie’s shorts include MUCK (Best Narrative Short, IndieMemphis; BAMcinemaFest), CROSSING THE RIVER (Best Ensemble Cast, NYC Downtown Short Film Festival; Best Short, NUHO Online Film Festival), OTHER PEOPLE’S HOUSES, and MY ELENA. She’s currently developing several features including CHURROS, PUNCH CITY (IFP No Borders participant 2017), BUCKLE MY SOUL (semifinalist TAA, Creative Capital; participant Indie Film Clinic); and FLORESCENT MESA. Emilie worked in development at Milk & Honey Films. She has served on festival juries and spoken on panels about crowdfunding, social issue films and more. Emilie is a proud member of Film Fatales.
Jenifer McShane, director, is an independent filmmaker committed to using film to bridge understanding in situations where organizational, cultural or religious divisions typically keep people apart. ERNIE & JOE is her third feature documentary. She spent years visiting the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility to make her previous documentary, MOTHERS OF BEDFORD (Hot Docs Film Festival), which reveals the impact of incarceration on jailed mothers and their children. Winner of the 2013 Director’s Award at the Social Justice Film Festival, selected by the U.S. Department’s 2014 American Film Showcase to tour internationally, and broadcast on PBS stations nationwide as part of the America ReFramed documentary series, it has gone on to promote thoughtful dialogue about the importance of family connection—despite jail—through community and campus screenings nationwide. Jenifer’s first film, A LEAP OF FAITH (Sundance Film Festival), which follows a group of parents in Belfast, Northern Ireland as they open an integrated school for Catholic and Protestant children was broadcast on PBS, and screened broadly on European television. Jenifer lives in Guilford, Connecticut with her family.
NIKHIL MELNECHUK DON’T BE NICE
Nikhil Melnechuk is an award-winning filmmaker in NYC, and a graduate of Wesleyan University. He was Executive Director of New York City’s historic arts club, Bowery Poetry, from 2013-2018, and founded its film division Bowery Poetry Studios. Melnechuk co-founded and now runs Mystic Entertainment with Melissa Jackson. He has produced five short film which have all proved festival hits: actress Bebe Neuwirth’s and Chris Calkins’ directorial debut, JEROME’S BOUQUET, Mesh Flinders’ FURTHER LANE, his own SOMETHING HAPPENED and JACK AND JILL, and Randall Dottin’s FEVAH. He has produced two acclaimed feature documentaries, George Eli’s groundbreaking study of the American Gypsy, SEARCHING FOR THE 4TH NAIL, and Max Powers’ vérité look at a team of Slam Poets, DON’T BE NICE, which is slated for a Summer 2019 theatrical release from Juno Films. Melnechuk is currently writing and producing the female-led action-adventure film BRIDGE TO ALTA VISTA for Winding Roads, and writing and directing a scripted television adaptation of JACK AND JILL and a romance-thriller SAYONARA for Mystic Entertainment.
PHILANA MIA
WAIT FOR LAUGH
Philana Mia is a writer, producer and actor. She was most recently seen on stage this past month in Boston in The Return at the Calderwood Pavilion. Other theatre credits include Clybourne Park, I Capture the Castle, Matt & Ben, The Pain and the Itch and The Heidi Chronicles. Film: WHALING CITY, SILVER CIRCLE. Her plays have been produced in Boston and at the workshop at Williamstown Theatre Festival. She also co-wrote and produced the pop culture web series “What I Learned From...” which can be found on Vimeo (vimeo.com/ mortonstreetproductions). WAIT FOR LAUGH is the first short film collaboration with Patrick Franklin, although they first met while teaching drama, improv and music to children with special needs. She is a proud member of AEA and SAG AFTRA. www.philanamia.com
FILMMAKERS
FORREST “FROSTY” MYERS THE ART AND TIMES OF FROSTY MYERS
Forrest “Frosty” Myers came to NYC in 1961 from San Francisco and jumped in to the rapidly changing art scene where American artists were ripping away the established European traditions, replacing them with Abstract Expressionism, Pop, Minimalism, Conceptualism, Earth Art, Hard Edge painting and sculpture, and Art and Technology—often meeting at the famed New York City bar, Max’s Kansas City where the counter culture and musicians and artists hung out. An early SOHO pioneer, Frosty’s wide-ranging works include New York City landmark artwork “The Wall” aka the Gateway to SoHo and “The Moon Museum” the first art placed on the Moon, aboard Apollo 12. Setting up his studio in Greenpoint in the 1980s, he helped establish the artist community’s revitalization of Brooklyn. Currently, in collaboration with his wife, Debra Arch Myers he is working to bring together over 50 years of his sculpture and design to their 10 acre “Wild Turkey Sculpture Garden and Museum” in Damascus, Pennsylvania.
DEBRA ARCH MYERS
THE ART AND TIMES OF FROSTY MYERS Debra Arch Myers arrived in NYC in the early 1970s performing with a number of contemporary dance companies, nightclub and off-Broadway theater. Changing careers, she received a Certificate in Landscape Design from The New York Botanical Garden and established her own landscape design business while collaborating with her husband Forrest “Frosty” Myers on their “Wild Turkey Sculpture Garden and Museum” along the Delaware River in northeastern Pennsylvania. A writer of memoires, this is her first time as Producer for the documentary film, THE ART AND TIMES OF FROSTY MYERS.
TAYLOR LEE NAGEL
DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, AND CO-FOUNDER OF RAW MILK FILMS Taylor Lee Nagel is a film director, producer, and co-founder of Raw Milk Films. She produces and directs both fiction and nonfiction content. Along with her collaborators at Raw Milk Films, Nagel is currently in postproduction on a feature documentary, 68 WHISKEY, which tells the story of three combat medics from the 101st Airborne that served in Iraq’s “triangle of death.” Raw Milk Films is currently producing two other longitudinal documentary projects as well as developing narrative shorts and features. Nagel’s previous projects include a documentary web series, RUN CARLOS RUN, which chronicled a Mexican immigrant’s journey across America as well as two narrative shorts: LETHE (directed by Leo Claussen) and THERE ARE NO BROTHERS HERE (directed by Emma Findlen LeBlanc). Nagel is currently an Eric & Wendy Schmidt Fellow at New America. She has a B.A. in political science from Barnard College.
DAVID NEWLAND ART FOR ALL
David Newland is a filmmaker and educator from Western Massachusetts that finds joy in collaborating with cool people on cool projects. His past work has included shooting and editing music videos, documentaries and narrative shorts. In addition to film making David helps to put on the Northampton Film Festival and has the pleasure of raising two children with his wonderful wife, Denis.
FILMMAKERS
TOM QUINN COLEWELL
MAX POWERS DON’T BE NICE
Max Powers is a filmmaker and editor living in NYC. He started his career as an associate editor of the Emmy Award-winning documentary WE COULD BE KING, and has continued to edit feature documentaries such as KEEPERS OF THE GAME, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. In addition to feature work, he has edited short narratives as well as television series such as HELL WEEK for ESPN and SET APART: THE JIM ABBOTT STORY for FOX. DON’T BE NICE is his feature directorial debut. He holds a film degree from Vassar College.
Tom Quinn is a Philadelphia-based writer and director. He is a Gotham and Independent Spirit Award nominee for his debut film, THE NEW YEAR PARADE, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance before screening at festivals and venues including SXSW and MoMA. Tom was listed one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film” by FILMMAKER MAGAZINE and one of the “Ten Young Writer-Directors to Watch” by MOVIEMAKER. He was a visual effects producer at DIVE on films including LAWLESS, SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, and THE CHERNOBYL DIARIES. His current film, COLEWELL, was developed through the Biennale College, Cinema; participated in the Sundance Film Music and Sound Design Lab; and received a grant from the San Francisco Film Society and Kenneth Rainin Foundation. Tom is the program director for Film & Television at Drexel University.
YASMIN RAI
MY MOTHER TOLD ME Yasmin Rai is a Hong Kong born-and-bred writer, producer, and director. A 2018 graduate of film and animation at Birmingham City University, she has also attended masterclasses at Maine Media Workshops + College in 2015. Her experimental shorts include, MY MOTHER TOLD ME, which was selected for screenings at Relentless Melt: Moving Image, in London; Supernova Festival, in Denver, Colorado; as well as the for the 7th China Independent Animation Film Forum (CIAFF). Her animated visual essay, In-Jokes, Explained was selected for the Cream of the Crop exhibition in Hong Kong; it is the first in a series titled TEN JOKES, EXPLAINED, currently in development. Beyond real-life human interaction, the moving image to her is the most powerful form of communication. She always aims to push the conceptual and technical boundaries of her work and to challenge her own biases and assumptions.
POLA RAPAPORT
100/100 ITINERANT PORTRAITIST Pola Rapaport is a writer, director, consulting editor and editor of many award-winning films. She has edited several feature documentaries, including MUSEUM TOWN, portrait of MASS MoCA (SXSW, 2019) and Lilly Rivlin’s multi-award winning docs, HEATHER BOOTH and GRACE PALEY. Other editing credits include the SXSW Winner A WOMAN LIKE ME, and Kathy Leichter’s festival favorite HERE ONE DAY. She specializes in editing and consulting on artistic documentaries, personal films and films that break editorial conventions. From reducing hundreds hours of footage to adding humor and emotion to partially edited cuts, the edit makes the film. Rapaport is a recipient of a Guggenheim and has been invited to Yaddo (Fall 2019). She is a graduate of NYU and a dual citizen of US and France.
FILMMAKERS
SARAH SCHWAB
“A” MY NAME IS
Sarah’s short film ’A’ MY NAME IS is an Official Selection of the 2019 Manchester, Bermuda, Greenwich (CT), Berkshire, and Nice International Film Festivals. She is the Director/Co-Writer of the upcoming feature film LIFE AFTER YOU starring David Zayas and Florencia Lozano. She is a member of the Playwrights/ Directors Unit at Actors Studio. Her play A Stage of Twilight had a three-day workshop and staged reading with the Berkshire Theatre Group in August 2018 with actors Karen Allen and Jeffrey DeMunn, directed by Larry Moss. She was a finalist for the Carson McCullers’ Marguerite and Lamar Smith Fellowship for Writers, and spent a month-long writing residency in Carson’s childhood home in Columbus, Georgia in January, 2018. Her work has been published in Tin House, the Evergreen Review, Writer’s Digest Magazine, The Buffalo News, and on websites NBC, Nerve and Jezebel.
JOAN STEIN SCHIMKE SAEED
An Academy Award-nominated filmmaker, Joan Stein Schimke’s short films (ONE DAY CROSSING and SOLIDARITY) have screened at over 100 festivals worldwide. Joan directed for Law and Order and has worked in various film production positions for Taylor Hackford, Bette Gordon, Eric Mendelsohn, and Woody Allen. THE BURIED LIFE, a feature film script co-written with Averie Storck, was selected for the Hamptons and Sundance Screenwriting Labs, where they received a grant from the Sloan Foundation. The film is currently in development. As an activist, Joan was a founding member of V-DAY with Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues) and volunteered in a refugee camp during the war in the former Yugoslavia. A graduate of Columbia University’s Film Program (MFA), Joan is an Associate Professor of Film at Adelphi University.
TEJ SISODIA ASHES
Born on the outskirts of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh in India, Tej has been working in various capacities in the theatre and film industry in India. Starting out as a production intern in the Delhi theatre circuit in 2013, over the last five odd years, Tej has earned his spurs as a successful actor, and writer through sheer hard work and gumption regardless of how tough the going gets. Tej has been rigorously training himself in various schools of acting including Method acting, physical theatre, Improv, classical theatre, among others. Training in different schools of thought naturally lead to the development of the story teller within him which he further honed over the process of the creation of his debut project. His passion towards the development of his art has nurtured his belief in the constant process of training an artist needs to undergo. For him, training, and thereby learning, never stops. Now in his first venture as a film writer ,producer and codirector, ASHES (RAAKH) has been developed over the last two years. He is currently working on two more original scripts to be made over the next year.
MICHELA M. SMITH TECHNICALLY IN LOVE
Michela M. Smith is a writer-director originally from the freezing tundra of Massachusetts. Nowadays, she lives in the slightlywarmer NYC, where she writes and directs for companies like Funny or Die, Broadway Video, Above Average, the Skimm, and Nerdist. In December 2018, she started contributing to Lorne Michaels’ Creating SNL series. Michela often feels odd listing accolades, but here are two. Splitsider once called her work, “I-have-to-show-my-friends good” and Lin-Manuel Miranda once shared a video of hers. These are, truly, the highest honors she can imagine.
FILMMAKERS
BRUCE SMOLANOFF CHURROS
Bruce Smolanoff (Director/Writer) directed, co-wrote, and produced the short films MUCK (Best Narrative Short, IndieMemphis; Hammer to Nail short film award Winter 2015; BAMcinemaFest) and MY ELENA and has directed productions at HERE, Surf Reality, Collective Unconscious, The Actors Studio, and the Bowery Poetry Club. He was also a consultant on Stephen Lang’s Beyond Glory, which ran on Broadway at the Roundabout. Bruce’s one-man show My New York had a long run in both NYC and Los Angeles, and was an L.A. Weekly Pick of the Week. He has worked as an actor with directors ranging from Robert Wise to Alan Rudolph, and most recently appeared in Nathan Silver’s THE GREAT PRETENDER. He currently works in development at Brooklyn Academy of Music.
GURO ELVIK STRAND FROZEN MEMORIES
Guro Elvik Strand is a producer-director-animator from Oslo, Norway. She has experience from producing several short films, both 3D animation and live action, which includes FROZEN MEMORIES. Guro works full time as a director and animator producing educational films for clients. In her spare time, Guro writes and directs fictional, passion projects, often with her close partner Petter Solberg Heum.
LAURE SULLIVAN
100/100 ITINERANT PORTRAITIST Laure Sullivan has been a documentary editor, director, producer and story consultant of numerous award winning films since 1990. She has worked on feature docs, narratives, and in television. She has directed several shorts and currently a feature doc that is in post production. Her personal work has shown at various venues and has received support from Sundance, IDFA, ITVS, and NYSCA. She has edited with directors David Shapiro, Michael Moore, Josh Fox, Mira Nair, Gaylen Ross and others. Her editing debut was, LISTEN UP! THE LIVES OF QUINCY JONES. Awards include Cine Golden Eagle, Emmy, and Best Editing WIFF. Films edited by her have premiered at Sundance Film Festival, TIFF, NYFF, Cork Film Festival, Galway Film Fleadh, etc.
YUVAL SUSSLER RAG
Born in Argentina and raised in Venezuela and Israel, Yuval started working in films at age 16, hauling sandbags and weights for the grip department of an American production, shot in the Israeli desert. Since then, he has participated in countless productions, taking a hands-on approach to studying the different aspects of filmmaking by working in almost every department a movie-set might have. Taking a break from film in the mid 90s, Yuval worked as a professional stage-actor for almost a decade, in which he has performed, led workshops and collaborated with world renowned artists, in 20 countries. Yuval’s first short film as a writer and director was SPLIT FRAMES, an experimental piece that has received numerous awards and was officially selected by various festivals worldwide.
FILMMAKERS
JENNIFER TRAINER
MUSEUM TOWN
Jennifer Trainer is an award-winning journalist and the author or co-author of 19 books including Beyond Einstein: The Cosmic Quest for the Theory of the Universe, Nuclear Power: Both Sides, Trail of Flame, and Jump Up and Kiss Me. She wrote about MASS MoCA for The New York Times in 1987, and became one of a small cadre of people who built MASS MoCA, working at the museum for 28 years as the first Director of Development. Nominated for three James Beard awards, she has been featured in Martha Stewart Living and Coastal Living magazines, and has written for Yankee, Travel & Leisure, Harvard Magazine, Omni, and other publications. She is currently the Director of Hancock Shaker Village, a living history museum comprised of 20 historic buildings on 750 acres in the Berkshires. This is her first film.
JIALING ZHANG ONE CHILD NATION
Jialing Zhang is an independent Chinese filmmaker based in Massachusetts. She directed and produced feature documentaries COMPLICIT (Human Rights Watch Film Festival in London, 2017) and ONE CHILD NATION (Sundance 2019, Grand Jury Prize Winner).
HEARTFELT THANKS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO OUR GENEROUS UNDERWRITERS, SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS Mary Mott and Gordon Simmering for hosting the Filmmaker Summit, and generously underwriting the Filmmakers Summit Dinner Douglas and Julia Trumbull for opening up their state-of-the-art studio, and hosting the Summit lunch The Red Lion Inn and the Main Street Catering Group for the wonderful hospitality to our Filmmakers, Panelists and Jurors Kate Baldwin Catering for the delicious food and treats she prepared throughout the Summit for our filmmakers Chris Weld and Berkshire Mountain Distillers Tom Leveque, Girardi Distributors and Stella Artois Seth Nash and Blue Q Lisa Newman and Java Me Up! Coffee Snacks The Fairfield Inn and Suites for hosting our wonderful filmmakers Barbara & Doug Newman for kindly donating rooms at The Hart House Berkshire Writing Retreat Borgo Maragliano for kindly donating delicious wine & spirits to the Filmmakers Summit Special thanks to Doug Tirola, Darren Dean, Anne McLaughlin and Julia Mintz for their support. Last, but, not least...a huge thanks to our amazing transportation team & BIFF volunteers!
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