David O. Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook” will kick off the 8th annual Film Independent Forum Friday, Oct. 19, and “Boyz N the Hood” writer-director John Singleton will deliver the event’s keynote speech the following day. The FIND Forum, which focuses on independent filmmaking and producing, runs Oct. 19-21 at the DGA in L.A.
“There’s no better way to start the Forum than with the advice of such a seminal filmmaker as John Singleton,” said Film Independent director of education Maria Bozzi. “Since his breakthrough with the very personal and highly acclaimed ‘Boyz N the Hood,’ Singleton has established a path that many filmmakers have strived to emulate — his advice will be sure to inspire those attending the Forum.”
Presented by Indiewire, the 2012 Film Independent Forum also will present its annual Sloan Producers Grant award, which provides $25,000 in development funds to a producing lab fellow who is developing a narrative film with a scientific, mathematical and/or technological theme. The screening of “Playbook” will be followed by a discussion with producer Jonathan Gordon and editor Jay Cassidy.
A new twist to the forum this year will involve FIND’s inaugural Movie Hackathon, which invites Indiewire readers and forum participants to submit ideas for new promotional apps and tools that a collection of developers will work on throughout the weekend to compete for three cash prizes. YouTube channel ZEFR has partnered with FIND on the special event, which Fast Company’s Co.Create is sponsoring. Full details are here.
Click through for a list of panelists and topics at this year’s forum.
Panelists for the 2012 Film Independent Forum include:
Stephanie Allain, Director, Los Angeles Film Festival; producer, Hustle & Flow
Claire Aguilar, Vice President of Programming, ITVS
Mark Ankner, Agent, Global Finance and Distribution, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment
Jake Avnet, Chief Operating Officer, WIGS
Ram Bergman, producer, Looper, Brick
Neil Berkeley, writer/director/producer,Beauty is Embarrassing
Jason Michael Berman, producer,LUV
Amy Berg, writer/director/producer, West of Memphis, Deliver Us from Evil
Effie T. Brown, producer, In the Cut, Real Women Have Curves
Sheldon Candis, writer/director,LUV
Jay Cassidy, editor, Silver Linings Playbook
Lisa Kleiner Chanoff, Co-Founder, Catapult Film Fund
Karin Chien, producer, Jack and Diane, Circumstance
Howard Cohen, Co-President, Roadside Attractions
Eric d’Arbeloff, Co-President, Roadside Attractions
Joe Davola, AwesomenessTV
Allen DeBevoise, Chairman and CEO, Machinima, Inc
Audrey Delaney, VP of Acquisitions, Business Development & Marketing, Lightning Entertainment
David Dinerstein, President, LD Entertainment
Neal Dodson, producer, Margin Call, All is Lost; Partner, Before the Door Pictures
Kelly Duane de la Vega, producer/director, Better This World
Jay Duplass, writer/director, Jeff, Who Lives at Home, Cyrus
Paola Freccero, Co-Founder, Crowdstarter
Michael Friend, Archivist, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Nolan Gallagher, Founder and CEO, Gravitas Ventures
Rodrigo Garcia, director, Albert Nobbs, Mother and Child
Jonathan Gordon, producer, Silver Linings Playbook
Lisa Gutberlet, Senior VP, Worldwide Distribution, Myriad Films
Dana Harris, Editor-in-Chief, Indiewire
Jay Van Hoy, producer, The Loneliest Planet, Beginners
Lynette Howell, producer, The Place Beyond the Pines, Terri
Kevin Iwashina, producer, Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Rian Johnson, writer/director, Looper, Brick
Rory Kennedy, producer/director, Ethel, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib
Maryam Keshavarz, writer/director, Circumstance
Sydney Levine, Indiewire
Chris Libby, Partner, Ginsberg Libby
Courtney Lischke, Strategy, YouTube at Google
Julie Lynn, producer, Albert Nobbs, The Jane Austen Book Club
Liz Ogilvie, Co-Founder, Crowdstarter
Erick Opeka, VP of Digital Distribution, New Video
Steven Poster, ASC, National President, International Cinematographers Guild (ICG)
Rich Raddon, Co-Founder, ZEFR
Heather Rae, producer, Mosquita y Mari, Frozen River
Kate Roughan, producer, Birth Story
Hal Sadoff, Financial Advisor
Marjan Safinia, President, International Documentary Association
Paula Schmit, Vice President, Film Finances
AJ Schnack, director, Convention, Kurt Cobain About a Son
Lynn Shelton, writer/director, Your Sister’s Sister, Humpday
Mimi Steinbauer, President and CEO, Radiant Films International
Michele Turnure-Salleo, Director, Filmmaker360, San Francisco Film Society
Emily Verellen, Director of Programs and Communications, The Fledgling Fund
Josh Welsh, Co-President, Film Independent
Mary Wigmore, director, Birth Story
Greg Whiteley, director/producer, New York Doll, Resolved
Katherine Fairfax Wright, writer/director, Call Me Kuchu
Caroline Libresco, Senior Programmer, Sundance Film Festival
Topics for this year’s panels are:
Think Big(ger): Exploring the Mid-Range Budget
Documentary Funders Today: Gatekeepers or Partners?
Armed to Sell: A Financing Clinic
Reality Bites: The Perils of the Doc
Just Shoot It: Narrative Case Studies
Developing Story: Documentary Case Studies
Roadside Attractions: A Conversation with Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff
Find New Docs: Works In Progress from Film Independent Fellows
Distribution: A Fork in the Road
Channeling the Web: Online Indie Channels
Crunching the Numbers: VOD Calculations Revealed?
The Global Village: International Market Review
Movie, Meet Audience: A Marketing & Distribution Clinic
Movie Hackathon: Cool Tools in the Making
Do You Know Where Your Film Is? Preserving and Accessing Your Assets In the Digital Age
How They Got There: Career Advice From Young Indiewood
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