Bahamas International Film Festival Dailies

Mentors

Bruno Chatelin - bruno@m21entertainment.com

Bruno Chatelin’s background: Business School, Ad Agencies Director, Film Distributor, and digital pioneer and entrepreneur. Founder of filmfestivals.com 

Bruno Chatelin, HEC 1977 alumni, began his marketing career with large international Advertising Agencies: Intermarco - Publicis, DMM Masius and JWT. He became a film distributor in 1985 working in France for Sony then for UGC 20 TH Century Fox from 1995  (Marketing Director and Managing Director) he has launched over 200 films. 

He co founded filmfestivals.com web portal and social network listing festivals worldwide anc connecting film to festivals. He runs a consulting boutique Major Buzz Factory specialized in online and festival marketing for film.  Prior to this he ran a Film School and Film Studio in Cherbourg, a TV production company in Tunisia where he produced “Who wants to be a Millionaire”, for ENTV the national TV in Algeria.

Laurie Gordon - laurie@musivision.ca

Laurie was born in Montreal, Canada and is of Hungarian heritage. She holds a fine arts integrative music studies with a focus on film and communication from Concordia University. Laurie is a film producer director, media entrepreneur and president of Musivision Films and director of The Montreal International Animation Film Festival – ANIMAZE.  Laurie became the "accidental" film producer while working with the late animator Oscar nominee Ryan Larkin subject of the Oscar winning film Ryan. The result was Spare Change, Ryan's first film  after 35 years  of drug addiction and homelessness. This experience is the story of Ryan’s Renaissance produced by Musivision Films for CTVBellMedia. Laurie has produced animation and documentary films and has worked with Oscar winner Co Hoedeman and 3x Oscar nominee Gerald Potterton. Laurie is a multi-media artist with a practice as music composer, writer, and film director. Laurie is a regular contributor and videographer forfilmfestivals.com covering festivals such as Berlin, Annecy, Cannes and has worked as a producer and undercover reporter for Canada’s longest running investigative TV show The FIFTH ESTATE. Years as a vocal coach Laurie has mentored professional musicians and actors and ran a recording studio and has more than 246 songs in her catalogue. She is in development with her latest documentary film I Spy My Father and a documentary series The Icons of Animation while writing a treatment for feature film.

Matthew Helderman - matthelderman@me.com

is a media entrepreneur and film producer based in Los Angeles.  Overseeing projects ranging from micro-budgets to multi-million dollar productions, Helderman has produced 100+ hours of feature, television, commercial & music video productions.  Educated at Lake Forest College in film, philosophy, & economics - Helderman brings a wealth of academic, practical and business knowledge to each project.  In 2010, Helderman formed Buffalo 8 Productions to produce his feature film "The Alumni Chapter" which sold it's international rights to a boutique distributor and can be found on sale at Walmart, Target, Amazon and Best Buy.  From there Helderman & Buffalo 8 oversaw feature productions while developing unique distribution strategies directly with sales agents.  During this time Helderman joined Suzanne DeLaurentiis Productions at Paramount Studios as a co-producer while continuing producing a slate of independent films under Buffalo 8.  With a background in finance, technologies and entertainment - Helderman fosters development and perfected productions on a regular basis. Buffalo 8 Productions oversees features, commercials and television productions  —  from development,  financing  & distribution.

Nathaniel Kohn, Ph.D., Panelist and Producer - nate.kohn@gmail.com

 Dr. Nathaniel Kohn is professor at the University of Georgia and Associate Director of the George Foster Peabody Awards, the most prestigious award in electronic media.  He directs the University of Georgia Cannes Festival Study Abroad Program and co-directs the University of Georgia Cannes Lions Advertising Festival Study Abroad Program.

He is also festival director of Roger Ebert's Film Festival, and he was co-founder and director of Robert Osborne’s Classic Film Festival.  Dr. Kohn's credits as Producer include the Academy Award nominated Zulu Dawn starring Burt Lancaster and Peter O’Toole; the independent feature Somebodies, which premiered in competition at Sundance (2006); Rain, starring Nicki Micheaux and CCH Pounder, the Bahamas’ first indigenous feature which premiered at Toronto (2007) and on Showtime (2010); the feature film Bottleworld (2010); he was Executive Producer on the BET television series Somebodies (2008); and he is Producer on the feature length documentary Bayou Maharajah that premiered at the SXSW Festival (2013). He has served on juries and mentored at the Atlanta International Film Festival, the Hawaii International Film Festival, the Kerala International Film Festival and the Bahamas International Film Festival.  He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and of the book Pursuing Hollywood: Seduction, Obsession, Dread (AltaMira Press, 2006).

Luke Taylor - luketaylor@buffalo8.com

A Los Angeles based film producer and co-founder of Buffalo 8 Productions. Taylor began his film career in 2005, at New York based Mannic Media, before moving to Los Angeles to study business, music, and film at the University of Southern California.  Having also spent time in the corporate entertainment industry at Columbia Records and Interscope Records - Taylor brings both a creative and practical approach to business.  In 2010, Taylor focused his energies to the independent film world and joined forces with Matthew Helderman to produce the feature "The Alumni Chapter" under the Buffalo 8 Productions banner, and oversaw the final distribution sale in Los Angeles. Taylor then shifted his focus to physical production as an Assistant Director and Production Manager for independent feature films. This production track enabled him to build a firm platform of practical set knowledge leading to superior management tactics and communication skills.  Taylor's efficient, organized and passionate approach is crucial to building and maintaining innovative business models for Buffalo 8.  Overseeing projects from development through sales, Taylor continues to manage company operations and sales outreach.