August 20, 2015 .NEWS RELEASE.
WENDY CALHOUN, NURI BILGE CEYLAN, YU DONG, STEPHEN FREARS AND NIIJA KUYKENDALL AMONG 200 INFLUENTIAL SPEAKERS OVER 7 DAYS AT TIFF INDUSTRY CONFERENCE
TORONTO — The TIFF Industry Conference offers delegates invaluable access to the wisdom and experience of creative and business leaders during the 40th Toronto International Film Festival®.
“TIFF Industry is excited to present a lineup of cinematic masters, creative innovators and business visionaries to equip delegates with meaningful tools for success,” said Kathleen Drumm, Director, TIFF Industry Office. “With a diverse range of topics from story development to sales and distribution, we offer an incomparable professional development opportunity for industry members at all levels of experience.”
TIFF connects with major media and technology companies to deliver potent and relevant sessions at the Conference. Attendees are guaranteed a memorable experience from speakers representing companies such as Fox Searchlight, Google, Huayi, ICM Partners, IM Global, iQiyi, Kickstarter, Sundance Productions, Vice Media, Vimeo, and Wanda.
The TIFF Industry Conference covers Creative Process, Financing and Co-Production, Marketing, Sales and Distribution and Future of Content. There will be day-long focused sessions for both the Asian Film Summit and Doc Conference. All events are hosted from September 11 to 17 at the Glenn Gould Studio and CBC Conference Centre.
STATE OF THE INDUSTRY
Kick your TIFF Industry Conference mornings off with an overview of the day’s theme or topic. Each session is led by an industry leader, followed by an extended Q&A. Presenters include: Bianca Goodloe (Goodloe Law) Lorenzo Soria (Hollywood Foreign Press Association) Mike Goodridge (Protagonist Pictures) Danny Gabai (Vice Media)
MOGULS
TIFF Industry’s onstage conversation series features some of the most powerful and influential movers and shakers of the film world. This year’s Moguls include Nicolas Chartier (Voltage Pictures), and Yu Dong (Bona Film Group) who will present in the Asian Film Summit sessions.
MASTER CLASS
Master Class provides the opportunity to explore the creative process of cinematic masters. This year’s sessions include Stephen Frears (The Program), co-presented by Pinewood Studios, and Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Winter Sleep), co-presented with the Directors Guild of Canada. Jia Zhang-ke (Mountains May Depart) kicks off the Asian Film Summit with his Master Class.
INDUSTRY DIALOGUES
Industry Dialogues, supported by the Ontario Media Development Corporation, examine the current creative and business landscape of the film industry and the ever-changing future of cinema. Some of our topics and speakers include:
The Perfect Fit: Casting for Independent Film and TV The panel, co-presented by the Casting Society of America, includes the following leading casting directors: Carmen Cuba (The Martian) Paul Schnee (Barden/Schnee) Richard Hicks (Casting Society of America) Keith Simanton (IMDB) – Moderator
Mo’ Money, More Problems: How Big Budgets Differ Around the World This session explores varying budgets around the world and their effect on distribution and marketing decisions. Panelists include: Jill Gwen Braginets (Fox Searchlight Pictures) John Fithian (National Association of Theatre Owners) Al Munteanu (SquareOne Entertainment) Erik Matti (Honor Thy Father) Kerri Craddock (Toronto International Film Festival) – Moderator
How to Speak Finance-ese This panel of financing specialists includes: John Vandervelde (The Entertainment and Media Finance Group) Emily Best (Seed&Spark) Charles King (MACRO) Tara Parker (Goodmans LLP) Adam Leipzig (CreativeFuture) – Moderator
Financing Talent Discovery Panelists discussing how the financing process can lead to the discovery of new talent, in a panel co-presented with the Directors Guild of Canada, include: Deborah Sathe (Film London Microwave) Doreen Boonekamp (Netherlands Film Fund) Laura Michalchyshyn (Sundance Productions)
From Micro to Medio Panelists discussing the medium-budget bracket from $15M - $40M include: Aaron L. Gilbert (Bron Studios) Gareth Unwin (Kilo Two Bravo) Robert Jones (Fyzz Facility) Mimi Steinbauer (Radiant Films International)
Building a (Successful) Digital Marketing Campaign This panel of digital marketing gurus includes: Zachary Soreff (Sawyer Studios) Bonnie Voland (IM Global) Keyvan Peymani (ICM Partners)
Recouping the Investment Panelists discussing the change in revenue streams include: Lisa Bunnell (Landmark Theatres) Logan Mulvey (Alchemy) Wayne Marc Godfrey (The Fyzz Facility) Kent Sanderson (Bleecker Street) Brad Pelman (The Fremantle Corporation) – Moderator
How to Win at Digital Distribution This panel of digital distribution experts includes: Scilla Andreen (IndieFlix) Michael Murphy (Gravitas Ventures) Yolanda Macias (Cinedigm) Eric Stein (Impact Global) – Moderator
Additional topics in the lineup include Data-Driven Content Development and Show-Running, with presenters including: Isabelle Glachant (Chinese Shadows) Sarah Goodman (Porch Stories) Michael Gottwald (High Maintenance) Anadil Houssein (Dillywood) Matt Johnson (Operation Avalanche) Claudia Landsberger (Baseworx for Film) Sydney Levine (Sydney’s Buzz) Keith Simanton (IMDB) Eric Stein (Impact Global Media) Evette Vargas (Digital Reign)
UPFRONT: GENDER IN MEDIA DISCOURSE
The inaugural series of no-holds-barred conversations around the most current topics in the film industry will discuss the evolving role of gender equilibrium in media. The series includes topics such as Financing Female-Led Films and Uncovering Unconscious Bias. Speakers in the series include: Wendy Calhoun (Empire) Gigi Pritzker (OddLot Entertainment) Rina Fraticelli (Women in View) Niija Kuykendall (Warner Bros Pictures) Lydia Dean Pilcher (Cine Mosaic) Melissa Silverstein (Indiewire) Julie Ann Crommett and Daraiha Greene (Google) - Hosts
ASIAN FILM SUMMIT
Asian Film Summit, supported by Telefilm Canada and co-presented by the China-West Filmmakers Alliance, is a key element of the Festival’s ongoing commitment to building bridges between Asian cinema and the West. This year’s full day of partnership news, trends and interviews focused on China’s film industry includes the following topics and presenters:
China-Hollywood Collaborations: The Future is Now Panelists exploring the tenability and benefits of collaborations between Hollywood studios and Chinese corporations include: Felice Bee (Huayi Brothers International Ltd.) Jerry Ye (Wanda)
Clearing the Hurdles of the Chinese Film Industry This panel of experts discussing censorship, distribution and exposure in the Chinese film industry includes: An Xiaofen (Desen International Media) Andy Li (iQiyi)
DOC CONFERENCE
TIFF Doc Conference, sponsored by A+E Studios, features a full day of presentations and conversations on the current landscape of documentary production, financing and distribution. Topics will explore the evolution of the creative and business aspects of documentary, starting the day with an intimate conversation with lauded documentary director Asif Kapadia (Amy) hosted by Thom Powers (Toronto International Film Festival).
Seven Awesome Tips for Selling Your Film Directly Jeremy Boxer (Vimeo) will discuss democratization of the digital age and distributing film, series, and video directly to an audience.
Do Docs Change Anything? A conversation with Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein The team of Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein (This Changes Everything) discuss the role of documentaries in creating social change with their multi-platform project’s Engagement Lead, Katie McKenna (Working Knowledge).
Dangerous Docs: Documentary vs. Journalism Angelica Das (Game Lab Center for Media & Social Impact at American University) shares wisdom from the groundbreaking study "Dangerous Documentaries: Reducing Risk when Telling Truth to Power” on facing rising challenges from governments and corporations.
The Year Kickstarter Broke $100M for Documentaries Kickstarter's Dan Schoenbrun and George Schmaltz will provide insights, stats, and strategies to illuminate best practices and innovation on the platform.
Finding the Money: A New Study on Documentary and Philanthropy Simon Kilmurry (International Documentary Association) speaks to Maria De Rosa and Marilyn Burgess (Communications MDR) about their new study on Philanthropy and Documentary, commissioned by Documentary Organization of Canada.
Your film can change the world… if the right people see it. Christie Marchese (Picture Motion), examines how to tell stories to create a movement and positively impact the world.
Documentary Now! with Bill Hader Bill Hader (Trainwreck) and director Rhys Thomas (Documentary Now!) talk about working on IFC's new comedic doc series, and share an exclusive preview of the upcoming episode Gentle & Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee.
FILMMAKER LOUNGE
The perfect meeting space for industry professionals with free WiFi and a variety of meeting spaces, the Filmmaker Lounge is open September 10 to 17, from 9:30am to 6:30pm, and is located in the Glenn Gould Studio Lobby at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre, 250 Front St. West, Toronto.
Industry Happy Hours An opportunity to unwind and meet filmmakers, producers, and potential business partners from around the world, Industry Happy Hours are held in the Glenn Gould Studio Lobby at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre, 250 Front St. West, September 11 to 16 from 5:30pm to 6:30pm. The Industry Cocktail, held on September 17 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm will celebrate the close of another year of successful industry events.
ADDITIONAL INDUSTRY PROGRAMMING AND INITIATIVES
Festival 101 An insider’s look on how to maximize your time at the Festival and all the resources available to you, this session is a great way to meet new colleagues and TIFF decision-makers in an informal environment.
CMPA Producer’s Award This award is presented annually to an outstanding Canadian producer with a Canadian feature at the Festival and will take place this year on Thursday, September 10.
Horizontal Case Study: Spring Taking one independent film from last year’s Official Selection, a panel will analyze that film’s creative, financing, marketing and distribution. Speakers examining the award-winning film Spring include: Justin Benson (Spring) Aaron Moorhead (Spring) Luca Legnani (Spring) Nate Bolotin (XYZ Films) Raffaella Delvecchio (Apulia Film Commission) Janet Brown (FilmBuff) Tim League (Drafthouse Films)
Short Cuts Connections Speakers and panelists in this series of presentations, panels and roundtables for short film directors and producers include: Richard Abramowitz (Abramorama) Sharon Badal (Tribeca Film Festival) Matt Johnson (Operation Avalanche) Fred Joubaud (Ouat Media) Sydney Neter (SND films) Ryan Turek (Blumhouse Productions)
Telefilm Canada Talent to Watch Presented by Telefilm Canada, this series highlights the hottest homegrown directors that are the buzz of 2015. Topics include Canada’s Class of 2015: Powered by Creativity; Maximizing Your Audience: Savvy Marketing Insights with Gary Faber (Entertainment Research Marketing); and Alternative Routes: From Art House to Your House.
Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! This opportunity for six filmmaker teams to pitch their feature film idea in six minutes to an industry audience to win $15,000 toward their project takes place on Sunday, September 13. Projects include: Brown Girl In The Ring: The Prequel - Sharon Lewis and Jenn Paul Claire, from the Bus - Andrew Nicholas McCann Smith, Kjartan Hewitt and Jordan Canning Demonolatry - Laura Perlmutter and Daniel Perlmutter E.V.E. - A.J. Bond Mohammed VI - Matthew Hannam and Kaveh Nabatian Passover - Daniel Schachter and Constance Malpel
Indiewire @ the Festival The editorial team from Indiewire brings back their popular Q&A sessions with some of the most notable actors and directors at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The 40th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10 to 20, 2015.
Online industry registration for the Toronto International Film Festival is now open. There are five pass types, each offering access to the Industry Conference and Doc Conference. Online registration closes August 28. To learn more about passes and price points visit: http://tiff.net/industry
TIFF prefers Visa.
Social Media: @TIFF_Industry | #TIFFConference @TIFF_NET | #TIFF15 Facebook.com/TIFF
About TIFF TIFF is a charitable cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world, through film. An international leader in film culture, TIFF projects include the annual Toronto International Film Festival in September; TIFF Bell Lightbox, which features five cinemas, major exhibitions, and learning and entertainment facilities; and innovative national distribution program Film Circuit. The organization generates an annual economic impact of $189 million CAD. TIFF Bell Lightbox is generously supported by contributors including Founding Sponsor Bell, the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto, the Reitman family (Ivan Reitman, Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels), The Daniels Corporation and RBC. For more information, visit tiff.net.
The Toronto International Film Festival is generously supported by Lead Sponsor Bell, Major Sponsors RBC, L’Oréal Paris and Visa, and Major Supporters the Government of Ontario, Telefilm Canada and the City of Toronto.
The TIFF Docs programme and Doc Conference are generously sponsored by A+E Studios.
The Asian Film Summit is co-presented by the China-West Filmmakers Alliance and supported by Presenting Partner Telefilm Canada.
The Filmmakers’ Lounge is generously co-sponsored by Christie®.
Industry Happy Hour on September 11th is generously sponsored by Brandwood Global®.
Industry Happy Hour on September 12th is generously sponsored by IMDbPro and Withoutabox.
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For information, contact the Communications Department at 416.934.3200 or email [email protected]. For images visit the media site at tiff.net/press.