Speakers at the 2010 Festival
Adam Krell of Auteur Productions, Ltd is a producer and videographer, making documentary films for public television and corporate clients. As a producer he worked on the award-winning documentaries, "Three Faiths, One God: Judaism, Christianity and Islam" and "The National Press Club: A Century of Headlines" which are being broadcast nationwide on public television. He is the producer, videographer and editor of corporate and non-profit documentaries for the Willard InterContinental Hotel, the World Affairs Council of Washington, DC, the Educational Film Center and Chemonics International Development Group. His work as videographer was most notably seen in the feature documentary, "Ashes of American Flags: Wilco Live" which filmed in locations across the United States and was broadcast on the Sundance Channel. Currently, he is producer and videographer for Auteur Productions latest documentary, "The Asian & Abrahamic Religions: A Divine Encounter in America," which will be seen on public television nationwide. www.auteurproductions.com. Adam will be speaking at the screening of The Asian and Abrahamic Religions: A Divine Encounter in America. He will also be a panelist at the Movie Making: Dialogue with the Filmmakers Seminar.
Adrienne Grierson was born in New Zealand and moved to the Fiji Islands when she was six. This co-incided with a long boarding school stint in Australia and then a permanent move to the UK when it was over. She studied Photography, gaining a Distinction from the City and Guilds in the UK. She worked with ABC Primetime USA in 2005 and 2006, providing footage for two specials about Brazilian Healer John of God. In 2009 she completed an MA in Screen Documentary at Goldsmiths University, London out of which came her current production, "The Valley of Dawn." She has made four other short films, composed music for two and made numerous videoblogs.She is now in pre-production for an Icelandic project in October 2010 entitled "I want to be Weird." She currently divides her time between London, New York and Brazil. www.valleyofdawn.tv Adrienne will be speaking at the screening of The Valley of Dawn and as a panelist at Movie Making: Dialogue with the Filmmakers Seminar. (34 years in the entertainment/video industry) Common sense and a sense of humor are Tony's greatest attributes, and he's parlayed heaping doses of both into a career that spans 3 decades. There's not a whole lot that Tony hasn't done. He's filled every post imaginable during his tenure in the video industry, including Owner, President, VP and everything on down. As Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Video Releasing Corporation, Tony was on the vanguard of revenue sharing during the 1980's. With Omni Entertainment Services, and then Sunset Hill Productions, his winning streak continued as his industry experience grew exponentially as he acquired and produced various independent projects. It was a desire to work for someone else for a change that led to Tony joining First Look Home Entertainment as one of the first Regional Sales Managers. From 2000-07, Tony anchored the First Look sales team as he handled such national accounts as Movie Gallery, Hollywood Video, Best Buy, and K-Mart. A true Entrepreneur, however, can never stray to far from what they do best, and that probably best explains Tony's founding involvement with Rivercoast Film Distribution. It's here, working with Michael Katchman that they created a film maker friendly distribution company, that caters to Independent Film Makers. No photo is presently available, but Tony assures me he is a handsome Italian!
Tony will be presenting a two hour workshop September 17th, as part of the Filmmakers Day, The Business of Film Distribution.
"Now that I've made this awesome film, how do I get it in front of an audience?" It's a common question among indie filmmakers. Come get the answers at this year's Film Distribution Workshop with Anthony Ventura. This workshop will deal with the do's and don'ts of film distribution, from a business perspective, and common mistakes and challenges faced by independent filmmakers in finding the right distributor for their film. You will be brought up to date on the current distribution landscape and how it affects your sales and marketing efforts of your film. There will be an extended Q&A session during the workshop to answer any specific questions you may have. Filmmakers are encouraged to ask questions, interact and be involved in the entire session. Bring your pen, paper, ideas and friends to this very productive workshop.www.rivercoastfilm.com.
Not only will Tony be presenting The Business of Film Distribution during the Movie Making: Dialogue with the Filmmakers Seminar but he will also be a member of the Coffee with the Filmmakers Panel.
Consuelo Alba and John Speyer are a filmmaking team with extensive experience in journalism, education and cultural activism in Mexico and the United States.Consuelo was born and raised in Mexico, and has dual Mexico/US citizenship. After coming to the US, she worked as a professional journalist for the San Jose Mercury News, where she won the New California Media Award in the Civil Liberties category. She also ran a successful private translation/editing business for more than a decade.
John is a former bilingual high school teacher of world cultures and American history, and specialized in working with Mexican immigrant youth.
Together they created Alma, a tienda/gallery/community center that promoted Latino arts & culture in Santa Cruz, California.
Consuelo and John started Veremos Productions, LLC in 2009. They are graduates of the Digital Media Academy at Stanford University, and currently live in California. El Andalon: Portrait of a Maverick Humanitarian is their first documentary. Veremos Productions, LLC
www.veremosproductions.com
Consuelo Alba y John Speyer forman un equipo de produccion de documentales con extensa experiencia en periodismo, educacion y activismo en California y Mexico. Son graduados de la Academia de Medios Digitales de la Universidad de Stanford.
El Andalon: Retrato de un humanitario en Chiapas es su primer documental.
Consuelo and John will be speaking at the screening of El Andalon. Consuelo is also a member of the Coffee with the Filmmakers Panel.
Dr. David Edward Shaner is the founder (1986) of Shaner & Associates, Inc.: Performance Development Consultants and CONNECT Consulting LLC (2008). Dr. Shaner's latest book focusing upon personal and business development is entitled The Seven Arts of Change and will be released by Sterling Publishing November 2, 2010. See www.DavidShaner.com and www.EasternKiFederation.com. Dr. Shaner has also been a professor at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina (U.S.A.) over the past twenty-nine years. Dr. Shaner Chairs the Department of Philosophy and also holds an Endowed Chair serving as Herring Professor of Asian Studies and Philosophy. He is a former ski racer, an internationally recognized martial artist, an author of three books, series editor of thirty-seven books in his "Philosophy and Biology" Book Series with SUNY Press, and is a respected consultant of cross-cultural business development, organizational productivity, and management training. David will be speaking at the screening of The Asian and Abrahamic Religions: A Divine Encounter in America.