French Riviera Film Festival

Photo Courtesy of Kate Rees Davies

Dr. Carmela Baranowksa, Founder of ‘We Are Moving Stories,’ Rounds Out 2019 ‘Production Without Borders’ Event, Scheduled for November 11th at Laemmle Film Center in Santa Monica, CA  

Dr. Baranowska Joins Industry Executives Ali M. Aksu, Christopher Kühne, Larry Namer, and Emily Shah on Panel, Moderated by Kate Rees Davies

Cloud21 International (www.cloud21.com) and Kultura PR International (www.kulturapr.com) are pleased to invite Dr. Carmela Baranowska, founder and editor-in-chief of “We Are Moving Stories” to participate in the second annual "Production Without Borders” special event that will be held on November 11, 2019 at 2 p.m. at the Laemmle Film Center in Santa Monica, CA.

Dr. Carmela Baranowska is the founder and editor-in-chief of  We Are Moving Stories (WAMS), the world’s biggest online community and platform for new voices in film. With over 2,500 contributors we are committed to and have achieved over 50% women’s participation. WAMS covers many genres and subjects including drama, documentary, short films, music video, animation, Web series, Sci-Fi, supernatural, horror, comedy, LGBTQIA+, POC, WOC, Latinx, First Nations, environmental, world cinema, VR, etc.

WAMS is international and its filmmakers call the United States, Australia, Latin America, Africa, Europe, Russia and Southeast Asia their home. Under Dr. Baranowska’s leadership, WAMS is proud to begin a new conversation about change, women and film.

Dr. Baranowska was educated at the Victorian College of the Arts School of Film and Television and the University of Melbourne, where she obtained her PhD. An Australian, she has lived and worked in Burma, East Timor, Afghanistan, Australia, Europe and the US. She is the first Australian to win a Rory Peck Award and the only person to have won both a Rory Peck and a Walkley Award.

“I’m delighted to be participating in the second annual ‘Production Without Borders’ event, alongside such an impressive group of panelists,” she comments. “At the event, I’m also looking forward to sharing some very exciting news about ‘We Are Moving Stories’ and our plans to take the platform, community and brand to the next level.”

The panel will also feature:

Ali M. Aksu, International Filmmaker
Born in Corum, Turkey and of Circassian ethnicity, Ali M. Aksu is an international film producer and entrepreneur. He is the executive producer of the groundbreaking film “Laid in America” the first-ever feature film to cast YouTube celebrities and directors, that was distributed by Universal Studios. He is the founder of Moon Lounge, a millennial content-based podcast dedicated for global grand challenges that was incubated at Singularity University. Aksu recently founded the film finance platform filmmaker.ai, a next-generation movie production company that employs data analytics at an extensive level, while producing content with the latest technologies. He holds a B.A. in Economics, with a minor in film, TV and digital media from UCLA, and earned executive-level degrees from MIT, Wharton and Singularity University.

Christopher Kühne, founder, Storyan

Christopher Kühne is an internationally acclaimed screenwriter and story analyst who co-wrote the award-winning feature film “Yerma: Barren,” directed by renowned Spanish poet/film director Emilio Ruiz Barrachina. As a literary manager, he collaborated with producer Ken Atchity (The Kennedy Detail, The Meg) in the development of film and TV projects. Recently, Kühne has been preparing the launch of his consulting and development company Storyan, which will bring a new take on development to the table. 

Larry Namer,  E! Founder, President/CEO, Metan Global Entertainment Group

Award-winning entertainment industry veteran with over 45 years professional experience in cable television, live events and new media, Larry Namer is the co-founder of E! Entertainment Television. Today he is a founding partner/president/ceo of Metan Global Entertainment Group (MGEG), a venture created to develop and distribute entertainment content and media specifically for Chinese speaking audiences in China and abroad.  In 2018, the company launched the MGEG Film Fund I and serves as managing partner.  He is also the executive producer on the recently announced feature film “EMPRESS.” 

MGEG has also adapted popular Western TV formats for localized versions, including Go Dance! and Elite Model Search, as well as  developed the original sitcom, written by Namer, Return to Da Foo Tsun and the Web series Planet Homebuddies that garnered an online audience of over seven million only one month after its launch. Metan was instrumental in joining together top China production houses Mei Tian and H&R Century TV with Warner Brothers International Television Production and the creators of Gossip Girl to develop a groundbreaking new teen drama series for China, to which Metan also served as a consultant. MGEG’s most recent series is Fashion X, a fashion-themed series for the China market, covering the top fashion weeks around the globe, as well as a new travel, cultural series that will begin filming in Croatia in October  2019.

Emily Shah, Actress, “Jungle Cry”

Emily Shah is the lead actress in the new feature Jungle Cry, directed by Sagar Ballary, the true story of the Jungle Crows team of 12 young tribal Indian boys from extreme tribal regions of India, who played sports barefoot, and went on to win the coveted U14 Rugby World Cup in England. The young actress stars opposite award-winning Indian actor Abhay Deol. The film, which was first announced at Cannes 2019,  is the former Miss New Jersey USA’s second lead in a feature, following her debut in the 2018 thriller “Fortune Defines Death.” 

An ambassador for UNICEF, she has participated in national campaigns for Proactive, Motorola, T3 and Sephora, and assisted the legendary actor/director Clint Eastwood on the film Jersey Boys. Ms. Shah was recently invited to serve on the jury of the prestigious Ariano International Film Festival. She studied acting at the Lee Strasberg in New York and Los Angeles, and graduated in Entertainment Media Management from California State University in 2018. 

Award-winning British filmmaker Kate Rees Davies will moderate the hour-long panel. Six of her shorts have screened at Cannes and her feature film “Altered Perception”  recently was released theatrically in the USA and is now available on DVD, Amazon and iTunes. She was the first independent filmmaker to shoot on 4K with the Sony F65 and as a result, has had her work distributed on the Sony 4K TV. She has several projects in various stages of development and pre-production and is currently exploring the world of VR. Her next project in development is a documentary about women in rock and roll. She also serves on the board of Women In Media, The Alliance of Women Directors and NAMIC, and is a strong advocate for creating more opportunities for women and underrepresented communities within the entertainment industry. She organized and moderated the 2017 AFM panel “The Future is Female,” featuring Geena Davis and also moderated “Production Without Borders” in 2018.

After the panel media and industry executives will have the chance to meet and mingle with the panelists at an exclusive VIP reception, presented by Enjoy European Quality (E.E.Q.). E.E.Q. is a project co-funded by the European Community designed to increase the awareness and recognition of European quality products in the food and wine sectors, promoted by the Consorzio per la Tutela dell’ASTI Docg, Istituto Valorizzazione Salumi Italiani – IVSI (Institute for the valorization of Italian deli meats) and the Consorzio Tutela Provolone Valpadana. http://www.enjoyeuropeanquality.it

Cloud 21 PR International and Kultura PR International have produced numerous successful industry special events, including the annual “Global Film Showcase” in partnership with ROSKINO during the 2018 and 2019 Cannes Film Festival and Marché du Film, the  annual “Indie Film Showcase at Park City” and “A Salute to Akira Kurosawa” with China’s Jinke Entertainment in Cannes in 2017. The companies have co-produced events and worked with top entertainment and technology brands, including E! Entertainment Television, Eurocinema, Metan Global Entertainment Group, 8K Miles Media Group, Maverick Entertainment, Sony Interactive, Oculus, Cinando, Euromed, ECU Film Festival, plus many others.

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