A triple-threat talent is rare in Hollywood these days, but Joely Fisher stands out as a star of television, musical theatre, and motion pictures.

Her sexy, comic turn as "Paige," the monstrously ambitious, seductive Hollywood executive on the historic and groundbreaking ABC show, "ELLEN," introduced her to television audiences around the world, and earned her a Golden Globe nomination. She has also starred in hit shows such as Fox's NORMAL, OHIO alongside John Goodman, CBS' Baby Bob, Fox's 'Til Death, and ABC's Last Man Standing, to name a few. Fisher has also starred in features, such as The Mask with Jim Carrey, Mixed Nuts with Steve Martin, and Inspector Gadget alongside Matthew Broderick. When Joely Fisher hits the theater floorboards or her marks on the soundstage you know someone special is about to knock your socks off. Joely made her Broadway debut in Grease! She also went on to star as Sally Bowles in Cabaret.

No matter how much the focus of her career seems to be acting, the underlying accompaniment throughout is her love of singing and performing. The daughter of actress Connie Stevens and singer Eddie Fisher, Joely Fisher grew up on the road, sleeping in orchestra pits during rehearsal. By 12 she was singing all over the world, and she performed with her mother and Bob Hope during the Persian Gulf War, which led to her performance for President and Mrs. George H. W. Bush at the Kennedy Center. Joely has written, directed and performed multiple one-woman shows and recently shared all of her experiences in her new book, Growing Up Fisher: Musings, Memories and Misadventures.

In recent years Ms. Fisher has embarked on a directing career ranging in television shows, “SUNSET FEVER” a black comedy short as commentary on reality television and the Hollywood family, to the socially conscious PSA campaigns for IFAW the International Fund for Animal Welfare and for Welcome.US an organization started by Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg on Immigrant Heritage. Most recently, Joely directed a music video for Mirud by Sonte. She is in a short list of women called upon to direct multi-camera television for the Disney Channel and this year will make her feature directorial debut with "Oliver Storm"Joely hopes to continue on this path and give the world delicious and compelling stories and lead the pack of women who make change in the world.

Joely is married to cinematographer and director Christopher Duddy. They have five children Cameron, Collin, daughter Skylar Grace born in June 2001, True Harlow 10yrs old and in 2008 they adopted Olivia “Luna “

Tricia Leigh Fisher made her acting debut at age fifteen,

opposite Burt Reynolds in the feature film, Stick. SInce

then she has appeared in numerous films, most

recently, “Saving Grace B. Jones” with Tatum O’Neal,

Michael Biehn, and Penelope Ann Miller, and directed

by her mother, Connie Stevens. Other film credits

include, Book of Love, Pretty Smart, Arizona Dream (with

Johnny Depp, Jerry Lewis and Faye Dunaway), Hostile

Intentions (for Showtime) , The Bet, I’ll Do Anything, and

CHUD II. Tricia Leigh’s work on television includes

portraying the Hollywood Madam, Heidi Fleiss, in CBS’

movie The Good Doctor, and many episodics, pilots and

movies such as, The Mentalist, Criminal Minds, Rizzoli

and Isles, No Ordinary Family, Til’ Death, Ellen, 7th

Heaven, Wild Card, The Huntress, These Old Broads, Pearl,

The New Love American Style, Bring Me the Head of Dobie

Gillis, Strange Voices, to name a few. Fisher took time in

between acting jobs to record an album in London. She

subsequently toured the US and Japan with her dance

hit Empty Beach. She and her sister, Joely Fisher,

performed with their mother for many years and

recorded a Christmas album together. Following in her

mother’s footsteps with a great reverance for those who

serve in the military, she has performed on the Bob

Hope USO Tour in the Persian Gulf and around the

world. Tricia Leigh also recorded with her father, Eddie

Fisher. On his final album she collaborated with him on

a duet version of his hit song Oh My Papa along with the

London Philharmonic. Fisher wowed critics and

audiences as Monica Lewinsky in the Los Angeles

stage production of Starrstruck, The Musical at the

Second Stage Theater. Other stage experience

includes; There’s No Place Like Hollywood at the Stella

Adler Theatre, The Young Playwrights Festival at the

Hudson and Falcon Theatres, and a Los Angeles run

and East Coast tour of Bermuda Avenue Triangle as

Angela, with Renee Taylor, Joe Bologna, and Lainie

Kazan at the Brentwood Theatre and also an East coast

tour. Most recently she completed a Kansas City run of

Miracle on South Division Street at The New Theatre.

Tricia always welcomes the opportunity to perform in

support of important causes including charity benefits

for The Dream Foundation and What A Pair! She was

recently honored with the Legacy Award with her

mother and sister at the Thalians’ 51st Anniversary Ball.

She has written avidly since childhood and is currently

working on her first book and has several television

projects in different stages of development. Fisher’s

greatest production by far is her family, which includes

her husband, Byron Thames, and sons Hudson, Holden,

and Wylder.

Lucienne Papon is Executive Vice President, Creative Affairs at ITV Studios America, where she oversees development and current programming in the U.S. market. She joined ITV Studios America in 2015 as Senior Vice President, Development, and was responsible for the continued growth of the studio’s extensive development slate across multiple cable and broadcast networks and OTT services, as well as execution of its current series. Papon previously was Head of Development and Production for Martin Campbell Productions, where she launched the company's television division based at ABC Studios, co-executive produced series Killer Women (ABC). She had previously worked at the company as their VP of Production and Development for film and television. Her film credits include Co-Producer on Edge of Darkness and Co-Producer on Green Lantern. For her work, Papon has been appointed an Exceptional Women Awardee (EWA) by the Exceptional Women Awardees Foundation (May 2018). She was the first recipient of the Producer’s Guild Debra Hill Fellowship (2005) and currently serves as an active member of the fellowship's selection committee. Papon is a teacher for UCLA’s Department of Film, TV and Digital Media Summer Institute as well as an MFA thesis advisor. She graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a Morehead-Cain Scholar and she holds an MFA from the Producer’s Program at UCLA’s School of Film, Television and Digital Media. Papon resides in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and their two boys.

SCOTTY MULLEN is an award-winning screenwriter of 9 feature films (and counting) and casting director of over 40 features and television series – including the hit Syfy Series Z NATION. Last year, Mullen was introduced as the new screenwriter for the Sharknado franchise. Mullen successfully penned “Sharknado 5: Global Swarming” and the upcoming final installment in the series: "The Last Sharknado: It's About Time.”

Originally from small-town Kansas and a graduate of Georgia State University, Scotty lives in Los Angeles.

Ka Wai Ho has extensive experience in growth strategies, business development and project financing in the fields of media, venture capital and strategy consulting.

As a strategy consultant, Ka Wai applied his expertise across a wide spectrum of industries from digital media to consumer goods. He has helped a technical equipment manufacturer launch and reposition a product line to effectively mitigate low-cost competitors. He also worked with managers of an international hotel chain to increase profits across the globe and devised the Pan-European market positioning strategy for a multinational advertising corporation.

With a predilection for projects with wide social impact, Ka Wai was a founding member of a start-up venture capital fund that helped to alleviate community issues, such as poor sanitation, that were caused by mining operations in Peru. He developed the business strategy for the fund, helped raise the initial round of capital and consolidated relationships with entrepreneurs, corporate executives, financiers and the Government.

Within media, Ka Wai assisted financing numerous film and TV projects with budgets up to $80MM. Such projects include Two Guns starring Mark Walberg and Denzel Washington, the Chinese/Canadian co-production Outcast starring Nicholas Cage and Hayden Christensen, and the television series True Justice starring Steven Segal. He previously worked with Lionsgate Entertainment where he helped to oversee one of the company's production & distribution subsidiaries, managing projects with budgets of $30MM+ and revenues of over $370MM. Ka Wai is currently an executive at Sony Pictures Entertainment where he manages the digital originals studio (Sony Crackle).

Being a native of Hong Kong, growing up in the United Kingdom, and having lived in various countries in Europe, Asia, and North and South America gives Ka Wai an incredibly rich cultural background and the knowledge of how to do business worldwide. He is fluent in English, Cantonese, and conversational in Mandarin.

Ka Wai is a graduate of Oxford University and holds a MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. He has published papers on subjects such as technology transfer and the effectiveness of public policies, has been a speaker at various panels/festivals, and even guest lectured to film students on the topic of entertainment financing.

Finally, Ka Wai is an avid adventurer, having summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, trekked in the largest caves in the world (Son Doong, Vietnam), travelled solo across Latin America and backpacked to the four corners of Egypt.

Lionsgate Entertainment – Corporate Development / Finance (Los Angeles, US)

• Lead business development and financial strategy for Lionsgate’s TV distribution and production subsidiary.
• Cross-functional management of projects with budgets of $30MM and revenues of over $370MM per annum.
• Create models to support negotiations as well as assess investment, partnership and operational opportunities.

Pacific Mercantile Bank – Media & Entertainment Division (Los Angeles, US)

• Develop new business by building relationships with producers/directors and other media & entertainment professionals.
• Account management to enhance client value by offering innovative and integrated solutions.
• Analyze and identify attractive projects then negotiate with clients and internal team to lead them through deal process.
• Acquired 2nd largest content production relationship with $0.5MM deposits and a strong pipeline of projects to be financed.
• Responsible for reporting on a portfolio of $80MM+ Production, Tax Credit and Line of Credit financings that generated over 50% year-on-year growth and 10%+ of company revenue in 2013.

THE MILKEN INSTITUTE – Non-Profit Think-Tank (Los Angeles, US)

• Presented complex financial strategies, derived from data mining and other research, to garner support from industry experts.
• Liaised with C-Level executives and top policy makers to determine solutions to issues such as biotech research funding.

ALTIPLANO VENTURES – Private Equity Social Venture Fund (Lima, Perú / Los Angeles, US)

• Devised private placement memorandum and business plan, including sales & marketing strategy, comparables analysis and growth projections to demonstrate the value created by Altiplano Ventures that helped to raise $250M of funding.
• Structured venture fund with external legal and financial advisory teams resulting in extra sources of revenue and tax savings.

SIMON-KUCHER & PARTNERS – Strategy & Marketing Consultants (London, UK / Germany and Hong Kong)

• Executed innovative competitive landscape analysis at a multinational organization enabling a repositioning strategy that revived a diminishing product resulting in sales growth of HK$400M to HK$40MM in 2 years.
• Gained diverse industry project experience e.g. Online Media, Digital/Mobile Platforms, I.T. Services, Tech. and Travel.
• Spearheaded adoption of organization-wide revenue growth training program for senior management of a multinational.

Rachel Goldberg is an award-winning filmmaker who has directed more than 30 productions for stage and screen, garnering over 20 awards for her work. She has been supported by the Sundance/Women in Film Financing Initiative for her feature, TRANSFORMATION AWAITS, based on the short film, NEIGHBORS,starring Kelli Garner (SECRET LIFE OF MARILYN MONROE) and Edi Gathegi (TWILIGHT). NEIGHBORS was created through AFI’s prestigious Directing Workshop for Women. Recently she was recognized by studio executives who included her on The Alice Initiative List, among directors Ava DuVernay and Katheryn Bigelow.

Rachel directed MUTED, a film about media discrepancy when a child of color goes missing, starring Chandra Wilson (GREY’S ANATOMY) and Malcolm-Jamal Warner (THE COSBY SHOW) which sold to HBO. This film was nominated for a Black Reel Award alongside DEAR WHITE PEOPLE and SELMA.

She was selected for the Sony Pictures Television Diverse Directors Program, the We for She Direct Her Program, FOX Global Directors Initiative and the Ryan Murphy HALF Foundation. Through these programs which are designed to promote more women directors in television, Rachel was invited to shadow multi-talented Chandra Wilson on the hit show, THE FOSTERS, and was subsequently selected to shadow on the critically-acclaimed shows, HOMELAND under phenomenal director Tucker Gates, and AMERICAN HORROR STORY under the incomparable Jennifer Lynch.

Named one of “30 Emerging Filmmakers to Watch” by Film Independent, Rachel was selected for Film Independent’s Project: Involve as a Directing/Writing Fellow where she created ROSITA LOPEZ FOR PRESIDENT and was subsequently chosen to participate in the highly competitive Film Independent Screenwriting Lab, where she further developed TRANSFORMATION AWAITS.

As a writer, Rachel has been recognized by the Film Independent Screenwriting Lab, Sundance, the Academy’s Nicholl Fellowship, Cinestory Foundation, Rhode Island International Film Festival and more.

Currently, Rachel is attached to direct the feature films TRANSFORMATION AWAITS which is being produced by Triangle Road Entertainment, and WELCOME TO CAMELOT which is being produced by Sundance/Cannes alumnus, Todd Remis (MAGIC MAGIC) and TIFF veteran, Julie Snyder (TANNER HALL), as well as a thriller through Mar Vista Entertainment and CIRCUS CIRCUS based on the stage play by the same name.

She serves on the Board of the Unusual Suspects Theater Company and is a Board Member Emeritus for the Alliance of Women Directors.

Her work has been described as “poetry in motion” by the LA Weekly and “stunning” by the LA Stage Scene. Rachel earned her MFA in Directing for Film and Theater from the California Institute of the Arts and her BA in Theater and Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Karim Ahmad is the Director of Outreach & Inclusion at the Sundance Institute, where he oversees cross-platform outreach initiatives, and diversity strategy and partnerships across the organization. Previously, he was Senior Digital Strategist for ITVS, where he headed digital content production and creative development for episodic and immersive media. He was the Creator and Senior Producer of Indie Lens Storycast, an Independent Lens branded YouTube channel on PBS’ Digital Studios MCN, and the Creator and Showrunner of the iconic sci-fi series, FUTURESTATES. Karim is also an independent cross-platform writer and producer and can be found on Twitter as @the_karachi_kid.

A Los Angeles native, Hasan is Senior Manager of Inclusion and Discourse at Film Independent’s LA Film Festival where he produces panels and conversations addressing the state of inclusion in entertainment, both on screen and behind the camera.

Hasan began his career in entertainment as the first intern of the United Paramount Network (UPN) while in high school. He went on to pursue a BFA in Film and Television Production from NYU, graduating as a Tisch Scholar. Post-graduation, he continued with television production, working on music documentaries with the BBC in London and several domestic network series in America. Branching into music, Hasan joined the newly formed independent music label Cartel Records as its A&R director in 2008 where he developed and promoted a handful of artists during his tenure.

Before joining Film Independent, Hasan served as production manager of director Joss Whedon’s super PAC, Save The Day, where he worked with a team creating politically conscious content encouraging voter turnout for the 2016 election and later went on to help produce Whedon’s PSA in support of federal funding for Planned Parenthood. Hasan remains passionate about content creation and the need accurate representation of the lived experience for underrepresented groups.

Nic Novicki is an actor, comedian and producer who has performed on six continents.

His television credits include: Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos, AXS Gotham Comedy Live, Jack and Triumph, The Neighbors, Austin and Alley, Private Practice and Drop Dead Diva. He has appeared in several movies, such as Life Happens, November Rule, The Last 5 Years, Boston Girls and Breaking Wind and Dead Ant.

Nic has produced several feature films, television pilots and web series for companies including Sony, CBS, Air China, Maxim and Universal and is an active member in the Producers Guild of America’s Diversity Committee. Nic wrote for the CBS Diversity Showcase and has also written and directed several short films including A Little Broke, which was acquired by the TV station Shorts HD.

As a stand up comedian, Nic has toured all over the world, including several tours for the troops overseas through Armed Forces Entertainment. He has performed stand up on AXS Gotham Comedy Live.

He is the founder and Director of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge and serves as an active Board Member for Easterseals Southern California.

A graduate of USC's animation program, Yang founded her own post-production company, Alpha Studios, in 2013 and has more than 40 credits to her name, including "Robot Chicken" and "Falling Skies."

Pam was hired by CBS Television as an intern and became Assistant to the VP of Casting.

She went on to become Senior VP Talent at ABC Television. She left ABC to become a

Production Vice President for Paramount Pictures. After Paramount, she was VP Series

Development for Lorimar Television.

Several years later, Pam opened her own casting company. During this time, she has cast

numerous features: Zorro, City Slickers, Baby Boom, The Craft, Tremors, Waterdance,

Gosford Park, Angels in the Outfield, Barney’s Version and Goldeneye. She has worked with

Robert Altman and Alan Rudolph.

She is currently casting Song of Names directed by Francois Girard and working with

Martin Campbell and Brandon Cronenberg on their new films. She just recently completed

casting on An Ideal Home directed by Andy Fleming and starring Paul Rudd and Steve

Coogan and Destination Wedding starring Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves.

Pam is a past President of CSA and a member of both the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts &

Sciences and the Television Academy. She is Vice-President of the Western Council of the

Actors Fund and co-chairs The Media Access Awards. She has served as a mentor for the

Easterseals Disability Film Challenge and teaches at UCLA.

Tim Gray is the Awards Editor and Senior Vice President of Variety. He writes about awards contenders (Oscar, Emmy, Tony, et al.) for both print and online, including a twice-weekly Gray’s Gold analysis. Tim started at Variety in 1981 and has held numerous posts over the years. Tim oversaw January 2013’s 80-page special report on entertainment and violence, which featured more than 40 representatives of various fields weighing in on the many aspects of violence. Tim counts this as one of the hardest, and most rewarding, things he’s ever done in his 33 years at Variety.

He also is the author of the new book published by Rizzoli, “Variety: An Illustrated History of the World From the Most Important Magazine in Hollywood,” which looks at world events—ranging from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake through Arab Spring—through the prism of Variety. He is also the author of “Hollywood Dictionary,” which defines such slanguage as boffo, ankle and honcho, and is a co-author of “Cannes: 50 Years of Sun, Sex & Celluloid.” In addition, he was co-producer of the HBO documentary “Boffo.”

Since joining the media organization in 1981, Tim has served in a number of posts and has regularly contributed news stories, reviews, and photos to the paper.

Victoria De Mare is one of Hollywood's reigning "Hottest Horror Scream Queens" for over a decade according to the cover feature editorial article of the January 2017 issue of Hustler Magazine. She has appeared in over 110 Film & TV productions & counting. She is best known for her creation & portrayal of the sexy demon succubus clown, "Batty Boop" from the horror/comedy feature series, 'Killjoy', which is now available as a resin doll statue/action figure courtesy of Full Moon Collectables worldwide November 2017.

Victoria is a graduate of New York University with a B.A. in Theatre Arts and Broadcast Journalism. In addition to being a prolific character actor, she is also a published writer, published poet, professional model, live talk show host & producer, as well as a professional dancer. She is a former member of the Hart Pulse Dance Company, Wilmington Ballet Company, & Joffrey Ballet Company with guest artist performances at the St. Croix Ballet Company in the Virgin Islands. Victoria currently hosts/DJs "Groove Time with Victoria De Mare" on the largest online radio station worldwide in 18 countries - RockRageRadio.com on Friday nights at 6pE/5pC/3pP.

Victoria is also a professional lead, back-up, & harmony vocalist as well as a songwriter, composer, arranger, producer, music publisher(ASCAP), & catalog artist with over 50 songs on the Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing catalogs. Her 2016 pop/rock album, 'CanUNotTell' & latest 2017 singles are available to download or stream on iTunes, AppleMusic, AmazonMP3, Spotify & everywhere online with ringtones available exclusively on the iPhone worldwide.

Denise Acosta has an extensive background in media production, marketing, and design, and is a proud member of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers and Women in Media.

Ms. Acosta began her production career working in TV entertainment as part of the commercial production team for a CBS station, in Arizona. It was at CBS, where she produced, directed, and edited several commercials, as well as assisted in the production of multiple news segments.

After leaving CBS to study film at the Los Angeles Film School, Denise Acosta was quickly recruited to work for the multi-media production and marketing company Smart Media. While at Smart Media, Ms. Acosta produced and edited all training and development videos for a major fortune 500 client before starting her own production company, Turtle Dog Productions.

Denise worked as Co-Producer to help complete production on “Sticky: A (Self) Love Story,” while simultaneously finishing her first feature film “Hell’s Kitty” based on an award winning web-series she produced. The “Hell’s Kitty” feature boasts more horror icons than any movie in history.

Nicholas Tana got his start as a writer, producer, and director working as a P.A. for KAET Channel 8 in Arizona before serving as Associate Director for ESPN International, where he used his abilities to speak Spanish and Italian to direct sports programming. After leaving ESPN in 2001, he started his own production company SMART MEDIA. As a creative, Tana has experience pitching to Disney, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network having created a kids animation show distributed by Bejuba Entertainment in 2006. He is writer/director and star of the supernatural comedy HELL’S KITTY, which stars more horror icons than any movie in history. HELL’S KITTY is currently available on most major platforms including AMAZON PRIME, and has screened internationally around the world. His debut feature STICKY: A (SELF) LOVE STORY was distributed by Vision Films, Inc., a partner of SONY ENTERTAINMENT. STICKY stars Janeane Garofalo, Larry Flynt, and Nina Hartley, and was both a top seller and Amazon award winner in 2016. His films have screened around the world and been sold to television internationally. Tana has spoken on panels at THE SEDONA FILM FESTIVAL, PHOENIX COMICON, HOLLYSHORTS FILM FESTIVAL, and the INDEPENDENT WRITERS ASSOCIATION (I.S.A.). He has served as a consultant for THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, and TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX, and will be a special guest at the San Diego COMICON, HOLLYSHORTS FILM FESTIVAL, and SCARE L.A. this summer.

Carmen Cabana is cinematographer of Afro-Hispanic descent based in Los Angeles and Savannah, USA. An active cinematographer, Carmen has filmed several features in 14 US states and international locations like Mexico, Cuba and Colombia.

Her versatile body of work includes the entire first season of Starz New drama series “VIDA”; TNT short comedy “FRENCH FRIES directed by “CLAWS” NAACP IMAGE AWARDS nominated show runner Janine Sherman Barrois; ten episodes of the Netflix's show "NARCOS S2".

She has shot over 25 independent features including ABFF Award Winning drama "DESTINED"; action films "BULLET" starring Danny and Jonathan Banks and "ASSASSIN X" distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; horror "THE PACT 2" distributed by IFC Midnight; Christopher Guest style comedy "ALL STARS" with Fred Willard and John Goodman; theatrically released War film "RIDE THE THUNDER". She also worked as Additional Cinematographer on the film "YELLOW" directed by Nick Cassavetes (The Other Woman, Notebook).

Her first film "CARTAS A ELENA" had a Wide Theatrical release in Mexico, Spain and Costa Rica, and a Limited Theatrical release in the US. Carmen earned a "Diosa De Plata" nomination for Best Cinematography. Her work has screened at renowned film festivals including; Toronto International Film Festival, ABFF, LA Film Festival, Cleveland International FF, Palm Springs FF, Newport Beach FF, Bel Air FF, Carmel FF, Pan African FF, La Femme FF, Acapulco FF, Guadalajara FF, San Diego Latino FF, NY HBO Latino FF, Asian Pacific FF, Lakino Berlin FF and Comicon among many others.

Carmen is a Film Independent Project Involve Fellow (2010), A Sundance Director's Lab Crew Participant (2008) and a member of the Friends of the ASC educational program. Her unique vision and focus on complementing a director's vision through semiotic methods of visual storytelling has earned her a solid reputation among other filmmakers.

Carmen is also a proficient Davinci Resolve colorist and a VR content creator and cinematographer.

Award winning Producer Steven Adams is a Partner at Buffalo 8 Productions, the Santa Monica based media company, where he is actively developing a slate of film and television projects, developing new business and consulting for Media & Finance companies.

He is a producer on the Netflix Original adaptation of Roger Guenveur Smith’s solo performance piece RODNEY KING, directed by Academy Award nominee Spike Lee.

Recent Buffalo 8 projects include LITTLE MEN, AS YOU ARE, KING COBRA AND 31.

Adams served for 4 years as a VFX Executive Producer with Paris-based VFX house BUF. His credits there include such Academy Award winners as James Cameron’s AVATAR, Ang Lee’s LIFE OF PI, THOR for Marvel Studios, as well as GREEN LANTERN, GREEN HORNET, Stephen Sommers’ ODD THOMAS, and Tim Burton’s DARK SHADOWS.

Steven was also VFX Executive Producer for French VFX house Digital District whose credits include the Academy Award winning features THE ARTIST & THE INTOUCHABLES.

As a partner in Luna Ray Media, Adams produced the Peabody Award winning A HUEY P NEWTON STORY, directed by Spike Lee, the first Starz original Production. Other indie credits include GOD’S WAITING LIST and JUSTICE.

Adams previously served as President of FilmPro Finance, consulting for such film finance based clients as Bloomberg/Cite and its predecessor the Atlas Film & TV Finance Summit, Film Production Capital, and various global film commissions and festivals.

He is a frequent public speaker at Cannes, Sundance, Toronto and a host of other festivals on a wide variety of topics.

Steven began his career at the Paradigm Talent and Literary Agency.

Steven is a member of the Producers Guild of America, the Television Academy, Board Ambassador for the Blackhouse Foundation and the Los Angeles Art Association Advisory Board

SHARON LEE BADAL is vice president of filmmaker relations and shorts programming for Tribeca. She has been with the festival since its inception in 2001 and has produced special projects for Tribeca since 1999. In addition to her responsibilities to the festival, she works closely with Tribeca Studios on its branded content initiatives and Tribeca Enterprises on its partnership relationships.

Her first job at age 14 as an usher in her father’s suburban movie theatre was where she fell in love with “the movies.” Since that rather inauspicious start she has produced numerous live-events, worked in distribution and marketing for three major studios and, since 1994, has been on the faculty at New York University Tisch School of the Arts Kanbar Institute of Film and Television. She teaches NYU’s “Producing in London” summer study abroad program and was integral in creating the producing minor.

Sharon is the author of “Swimming Upstream – A Lifesaving Guide to Short Film Distribution,” published by Focal Press. She has been a panelist/juror at numerous festivals and for industry organizations. Sharon received her B.F.A in film & television production and her M.A. in cinema studies and business both from NYU.

Zahida works as Director of Operations with independent film distributor, Gravitas Ventures, working with Karia Brown and Mark Lyons to help deliver Gravitas films to a variety of internet and cable platforms. An LA native, she received her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Film from UCLA and has since worked behind the scenes on various shorts, indie features and a web series. Zahida’s passion for all things film-related also led her to various roles at Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox before joining the Gravitas team in the fall of 2014.

Zahida helps guide indie filmmakers through the delivery process and helps to ensure the release of these movies on the ever-growing VOD space. She loves meeting new filmmakers and helping them through the final step in the movie making process. She continues to produce short films, watch copious amounts of movies, and expand her knowledge of independent distribution.

Alexia Melocchi is a Producer at Little Studio Films, a multilingual boutique representation, consulting and production company with more than 25 films and series credits and over 20 projects in development. Little Studio Films has an extensive background in worldwide distribution both as a buyer and seller. Their Film and Television properties as well as the works of their clientele are geared toward productions of global appeal and our client list and partners comprise of local and international producers, authors, screenwriters, directors, and more.

Little Studios recently completed the reality series "The Experience" airing on UpLift Television. On the feature side, SUMMER DANCE filmed in New York last Fall, and with a soon to be announced all star cast, a biopic of cyclist Marco Pantani shot in Italy in late Fall. They are currently casting for the upcoming feature, TOXICANT, to be directed by Marco Ristori and Luca Boni, and are preparing the miniseries on the life of young Maria Callas called THE MAKING OF MARIA.

Little Studios production & development includes:

• SHADOWS IN THE DISTANCE
• ANISEX
• AMERICAN FANGO
• STEALING ROSES
• GALLEON
• TOXICANT
• LAZARUS RISING
• BLUE PEARL
• CITIZEN HACKED
• THE DEFENDER
• AS GREEK AS IT GETS
• THE RULE OF LEAD

Alexia is an accomplished entertainment industry professional, with a long and proven track record of success within both the domestic and international arenas. Throughout her career, Alexia’s devotion to undiscovered talent has been indisputable. With more than twenty years in the industry, as both a sales agent and a buyer’s representative for international distributors, Alexia has gained both valuable and diverse exposure to a variety of films and functions in the entertainment industry.

Spencer Robinson has been in the industry for nearly a decade and is a literary and talent manager at Art/Work Entertainment. Spencer began his career in production and moved into talent management at MBST Entertainment. For the past 6 years Spencer has been with Art/Work and continues managers both writers and actors for television and film.

Art/Work is a management company headed by Cindy Ambers and Julie Bloom. Art/Work merged with Verve in 2010 and represents writers and actors throughout the industry. They represent writers like Eric Heisserer, writer of 2016's Oscar-winning film ARRIVAL which grossed $200 million worldwide.

James Kicklighter is a multi-award winning writer/director whose work has been recognized by the world’s press, including The Hollywood Reporter, The Times of India, Film Courage and FilmInk Australia.

His first feature film, Desires of the Heart, was released theatrically across India in November 2015. The film was an official selection of numerous festivals across the United States and around the world, including the Cannes Marché du Film and was the winner of Best Foreign Film at the Los Angeles Femme Film Festival.

In May 2016, James completed Digital Edition, a documentary about the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s transition from print to digital as they operate in a new media environment. Additionally, he is revising his first book, the biography of famed entertainment publicist Bobby Zarem, and shopping the coming-of-age screenplay Escaping Bellview, featured on The Black List, SpecScout, Slated and most recently, named to the Top 50 in the 2016 International Screenwriters’ Association Fast Track Fellowship.

James is developing several films with a southern voice for producers Richard Saperstein (The Mist, Se7en), M. Elizabeth Hughes (Short Term 12, Girlfriend’s Day) and Beau Turpin (Beneath the Leaves, Counterpunch), including The Perpetual State of Georgia from Casey Nelson and Kate Murdoch (The Last Treasure Hunt) and Erk, a biopic about legendary college football coach Erk Russell.

He serves on the Advisory Board for the Department of Communication Arts at Georgia Southern University, his alma mater, where he was recently chosen out of over 30,000 living graduates to be listed on the inaugural “40 Under 40 Alumni” for “impact in business, leadership, community, educational and/or philanthropic endeavors.”

DAY 2: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2017

11:00AM – 12:30PM

Raising Financing for Microbudget Features (Under $100K)