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2011 Conference Agenda in Austin, Sunday December 4th, 2011

2:00 pm
Registration and Exhibit Floor Opens

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm
First-time IFFS Attendee Orientation

3:20 pm - 3:30 pm
Welcoming Remarks & Introductions

3:30 pm - 4:45 pm
“Anatomy of a Festival: South by Southwest”

This unique panel discussion will explore a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most successful film festivals. Panelists will discuss critical areas such as talent selection, corporate sponsorship, membership, filmmaker services and more. Attendees will learn how each department effectively works together, providing the best experience for film festivals and audiences alike.

Moderator: Dana Harris, Editor-in-Chief, indieWIRE

Janet Pierson, Festival Producer, SXSW
Jarod Neece, Senior Programmer & Operations Manager, SXSW
Claudette Godfrey, Festival Coordinator / Shorts Programmer, SXSW
Rebecca Feferman, Media Relations & Programmer, SXSW
Sara Barney, Sales & Marketing, SXSW

4:45 pm - 5:10 pm
Introduction to your Living Group 

Back by popular demand you'll have the opportunity to meet with your conference 'Living Group'. Attendees will be grouped together so that starting on day one you have the chance to meet new contacts and maximize your conference experience.

In addition to meeting your Living Group for the first time you will also take part in an interactive discussion and problem solving activity on some of the most pressing issues festivals are currently faced with. Each group will be asked to submit 3 solutions that will be turned in to the IFFS staff and all results will be made available to attendees on the last day of the conference.

Hosted by:

Cevin Cathell
Program Director
Sonoma International Film Festival

5:10 pm - 5:40 pm
Networking Break on Exhibit Floor

5:45 pm - 6:30 pm
Unconference

An unconference is a meeting where the participants drive the activity. There’s no set agenda and no set
presentations, but a discussion that people leave and join as they see fit.

Don’t miss this guided open forum to engage your colleagues and gain insight to the most pressing issues you and your festival are facing. This session will provide attendees an opportunity to both, ask questions and get answers on specific issues facing their film festival.

Come prepared to engage one another and share pearls of wisdom that have been learned over the years. At the close of each day attendees will have the chance to revisit pressing issues and share in this interactive environment.

Topics can include, but are not limited to:
Budgeting, Programming, Sponsorship, PR, Premieres, Staffing and Volunteers, Filmmaker Relations, Social Media, Board Management, and many more….

6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

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Opening Cocktail Reception on the Exhibit Floor

You won’t want to miss this year’s opening cocktail reception where you will have the opportunity to meet new colleagues and catch up with old friends.  You will also have the opportunity to meet with and learn about some of the latest technology and service providers working with the festival community.

Monday December 5th, 2011

8:30 am
Registration Opens       
                                                                                                           

9:30 - 9:45 am
Opening Remarks

Bryan Lhuillier
Founder & Chief Product Officer
Shiftboard, Inc.

9:45 - 10:45 am
Panel “In the Trenches: Festival war stories”

This panel will provide a curated discussion of the best and worst of festival war stories.  Panelists and the audience will share stories from decades of dealing with filmmakers, sponsors, and party crashers. (Names will be changed to protect the guilty and innocent) The spirit of this panel is meant to be a highly interactive and fun discussion of why we all love (and sometimes hate) this industry. Attendees will have the opportunity to submit their stories in advance and be selected as a panelist.

Moderator: Laurie Kirby, Esq., Executive Director, International Film Festival Summit

Nancy Schafer, Executive Director, Tribeca Film Festival
Carl Spence, Artistic Director, Seattle International Film Festival
Robin Bronk, CEO, The Creative Coalition
James Chippendale, Producer, More to Live For

10:45 – 11:30 am

Brought to you by:

Morning Break

11:30 am - 12:15
Keynote Presentation “The Film Festival as Cultural Activist”

What priorities govern the programming choices film festivals make? How do personal taste and personal politics promote certain films over others to media, industry and audiences? In the decisions we make as advocates or even activists, what's at stake?

Cameron Bailey
Co-Director
Toronto International Film Festival

12:15 pm- 12:30 pm
A Tribute to Graham Leggat for Outstanding Leadership in Independent Film and Film Festivals

12:30 pm- 1:45 pm
Break for Lunch

Afternoon Breakout Tracks

1:45 pm - 2:45 pm
Small Fest Track (Under $500k) - Capital Ballroom A

 
Panel “Film Festivals as Producers: How festivals can bring films to the community while bringing the community and sponsors to film”

Learn how the Oxford Film Festival increased attendance, sponsorship and buzz about their festival by making its own film.  

The directors of Oxford Film festival were looking for a way to increase awareness in the community about what it means to make a film – as well as to find a creative new way to involve sponsors. Thus the idea of the community film was born.  

Molly Fergusson
Executive Director
Oxford Film Festival
Micah Ginn
Production Director
Oxford Film Festival

1:45 pm - 2:45 pm
Large Fest Track (Over $500k) - Austin North Meeting Room

Panel "Programming: The Fine Art of Film Selection"

This discussion will address the selection process and the merits and de-merits of programming based on talent. This seasoned group of professionals will share their insights and secrets surrounding the art of programming. Attendees will walk away with a cursory look into the behind-the-scenes decision-making process.

Moderator: Peter Belsito, Co-founder, Film Finders

Laura Henneman, Senior Programmer, Napa Valley Film Festival
Meira Blaunstein, Co-founder& Executive Director, Woodstock Film Festival
Jon Fitzgerald, Founder & CEO, CineCause
Evan Saxon, Partner, D & E Entertainment
Eleonora Granata Jenkinson, Production Executive, FilmMaster

2:45 – 3:45 pm
Small Fest Track (Under $500k) - Capital Ballroom A

2:45 – 3:45 pm
Large Fest Track (Over $500k) - Austin North Meeting Room

3:45 – 4:30 pm

Brought to you by:

Afternoon Networking & Coffee Break on Exhibit Floor

4:30 - 5:30 pm
Small Fest Track (Under $500k) - Capital Ballroom A

:

Fire-side Chat “A Conversation with Matthew Modine:  How to Attract Above-the-line Players to Your Festival”

Join actor and filmmaker Matthew Modine as he screens his new award-winning film, Jesus Was a Commie, and provides an actor's point of view on film festivals and what attracts above-the-line players.

Matthew Modine's roles include Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, the title character in Alan Parker's Birdy, high school wrestler Louden Swain in Vision Quest, and the oversexed Sullivan Groff in Weeds. Most currently he can be seen in HBO's Too Big to Fail and will be appearing in the The Dark Knight Rises directed by Christopher Nolan.

Matthew's new purposefully provocative short film, Jesus Was a Commie won the Founders Prize for Best Short Film at the Traverse City Film Festival. It was also awarded the Oldenburg Star recognizing bravura and compassion in visionary filmmaking at the Oldenburg International Film Festival in Germany. In addition to festivals, the film has screened at the Society of Illustrators, NYC and LA Soho Houses, Yale University and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.  Jesus Was a Commie elegantly and intelligently captures an audience desperate to understand what is happening across our country. Using unambiguous language that openly presents two swamplands America is presently bogged down in; environmental degradation and partisanship.  Modine's words are as plain and simple as a parable from his films title character. Jesus was a Commie is an avant garde dialectial conversation about the world and the prominent issues of modern society. Co-Director/ Editor Terence Ziegler, Producer Adam Rackoff, USA/ 2011. Interested media please contact Workhouse, CEO Adam Nelson directly via email nelson@workhousepr.com or by telephone +1. 646. 205. 2540

Robin Bronk is CEO of The Creative Coalition, the national, nonprofit advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment industry. The Creative Coalition's Spotlight Initiative champions the art and craft of independent filmmaking by providing alternative marketing and public relations resources that allows the film’s message to reach beyond the movie screen through its outreach to leaders in business, entertainment, arts and policy. Robin also is the producer of Barry Levinson's Poliwood, currently airing on Showtime, and the author of Five Minutes With the President (Harper Collins) and the recently released Art & Soul (Hearst Books).

To invite Jesus Was a Commie to screen at your festival, please contact: jesuswasacommiefilm@me.com.

Hosted by: Robin Bronk, CEO, The Creative Coalition

4:30 - 5:30 pm
Large Fest Track (Over $500k) - Austin North Meeting Room

Brought to you by:

Panel Discussion “Festivals & Digital”

Make no mistake. This is a digital world and there is no going back. Since the Cannes Film Festival broadcast “The Last Broadcast” digitally at the Cannes Film Festival in 1999 , this technology, like a freight train, just keeps coming.  As of June, 2010, there were close to 16,000 digital cinema screens

With top Independent Art Houses in the United States including many Landmark Theaters, The Angelikas in New York and Houston, The Charles in Baltimore and many others now using digital technology, festivals have to grapple with yet another format.

And the digital issues aren’t just at the screening. There are digital online submission companies now, festival apps and digital distributors that want to represent your filmmakers. By replacing film prints with hard disks the issue of how to do this and with whom is a big question.

Moderator: Paul Cohen, Director, Torchlight Program, FSU College of Motion Picture Arts

Anne Chaisson, Director of Development, Nantucket Film Festival
Brad Carroll, VP, Sales & Business Development, Cinedigm
Chris Holland, Director of Festival Relations, Festival Genius
Eric Bergez, Director of Sales & Marketing Americas, Qube Cinema, Inc.

5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Brought to you by:

9:00 pm - 12:00 pm

Brought to you by:

IFFS Special Industry Screening

TBA

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

8:45 am
Registration Opens

9:45 am - 10:00 am
Opening Remarks by Conference Chair

10:00 - 11:00 am

Panel “The Festival Mission: Adapting to an Evolving Industry”

This panel discussion examines the emergence of innovative new strategies for marketing as well as digital distribution, and best practices for festivals to control what happens to the films they screen, and the models filmmakers are using for distribution.  With the seemingly continuous evolution of the independent film industry, festivals must continue to evolve and adapt, as well.

We will learn how to create a win-win situation between film festivals and filmmakers, distributors, and content owners.  

Moderator: Brian Newman, Founder, Sub-genre

Peter Belsito, Co-Founder, Film Finders
Mark Fishkin, Executive Director, Mill Valley Film Festival & California Film Institute
Jon Fitzgerald, Founder & CEO, CineCause
Scilla Andreen, CEO, Indieflix

11:00 - 11:45 am
Morning Networking & Coffee Break on Exhibit Floor

11:45 - 12:30 pm

12:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Break for Lunch

Afternoon Breakout Tracks

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

 
Panel “Sponsorship Strategy: Identification, Activation, and Retention”

Wondering how you can ink more sponsorship, sign multi-year deals or just trying to solidify your selling strategy? If you answered yes to any of these questions your festival can’t afford to miss this panel. Hear examples of proven branding and sponsorship strategies to target, pitch, contact, and retain sponsors year after year.

Moderator: Lesa Ukman, Chairman, IEG, LLC

Liana Bender, Development Director, California Film Institute
Rachel Malish , Development Director, Austin Film Festival
Nancy Kennedy, Development Director, Seattle International Film Festival

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

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Panel  “Box Office Technology Solutions: Engaging New Audiences and Expanding your Box Office”

From ticketing, to patron management, to audience engagement, using the latest technology allows you to focus on growth and prosperity for your festival now and in the years ahead. Our expert panelists will address how to choose a system that will enable you to leverage technology and accomplish your goals.

Moderator: Keith Weckstein, VP Tribeca Cinemas & Ticketing, Tribeca Film Festival 

Tim League, Director, Fantastic Fest
Sarah Cathers, Operations Director, San Francisco Film Society
Sita Kaulesar, Film Doer, Brown Paper Tickets
Ty White, Product Manager, Eventbrite

3:00 – 3:30 pm
Afternoon Networking & Coffee Break on Exhibit Floor

3:30 – 4:30pm

 
Panel  “Staff & Volunteer Management: Hiring, Training and Retaining an Elite Festival Team”

Volunteers & seasonal staff are often the life blood that allows a festival to run smoothly year after year. Effective management of this process and these individuals cannot be overlooked. Our panelists will address and dissect the unique and creative ways this can be accomplished.

Attendees will walk away with a number of proven solutions to train, staff, and keep their program going strong.

Moderator: Monica Hinckley, Volunteer, Intern & HR Coordinator, Seattle International Film Festival

Richard Paradise, Festival Director, Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival
Russ Collins, Owner, Michigan Theatre
Sarah Cathers, Operations Director, San Francisco Film Society
Rose Anderson, Executive Director, New York Festivals – International Television & Film Awards

3:30 – 4:30pm

 
Workshop “Work Hard, Play Hard and Laugh Along the Way:  a magic combination to create a great festival event”

Find out how Nashville Film Festival went from almost being cancelled one year to a high-profile and successful event with a 92% return of its seasonal personnel.  (Hint: They don’t do it for the money.)  We will show you how we create processes that impact the organization and flow as they allow for transparency.  (The filmmakers want to know.)  We will tell our success stories and bring our systems. (Steal what you want.)  We will share our festival components and how we communicate. (If you can do it better than us, we applaud you.)

Join Managing Director Ted Crockett and me as we promise to work hard to prepare a great presentation and give you time to ask questions about what’s important to you, play hard while we are in Austin and laugh along the way.

Brian Owens
Artistic Director
Nashville Film Festival
Ted Crockett
Managing Director
Nashville Film Festival

4:30 - 6:00 pm

Closing Reception