Hosted at the acclaimed Hotel Park City on Jan. 28, 2020, the Independent Filmmakers Day will feature a series of panel discussions, keynote addresses and debates on a wide range of timely topics of interest to independent filmmakers and content creators.

All panels are moderated by Corky Kessler, voted “Best Entertainment Lawyer in the United States.” Produced by Eric Vollweiler.

Register Here to Attend.

Schedule of Events:

9:00 am – Registration/Check in

9:35 am – Introduction to Independent Filmmaker Day

9:55 am – Introduction to Artists United

10:05 am – Introduction to Hayden Film Institute

10:10 am – Fireside Chat with Angela Lawson Ph.D from Northwestern Medical Group on the Topic of Challenges of Women in the context of the “Me Too” Movement.

10:15 am – Women in Film Panel (Discussing Current Issues Affecting Women in Film)

Featuring:

1. Carol Anne Shine – Award-winning producer who has produced over 50 titles for film and television. Highlights from her long list of credits include “Blackbird” starring Academy Award® winner Mo’Nique, I Am Legend starring Academy Award® nominee, Will Smith, the groundbreaking LOGO television series, “Noah’s Arc,” a Student Academy Award® national finalist, Waking Mele, Dirty Lies also produced by Catherine Hardwicke, and “Pastor Brown”, a critical and commercial hit on Lifetime.
2. Angela Northington – Angela most recently served as Senior Vice President, Content Acquisitions & Programming for UMC – Urban Movie Channel, a division of RLJ Entertainment, overseeing the company’s acquisitions, programming and development for the proprietary subscription VOD platform UMC (www.UMC.tv), launched by RLJE Chairman and BET founder Robert L. Johnson.
3. Nancy Puetz – Vice President of Women in Film & Television, International (WIFTI) and President of Tennessee Women in Film & Media (TWIFM). She is also the Founder/Executive Director of Franklin International Indie Film Festival (FIIFF).
4. Lilliana Kawase – Co-founder of an independent film production company Titanio Films, investor and influencer. Her last production is Kids & Glory, a Chinese co-production 55’ documentary.
5. Kym Jackson – Kym recently wrapped shooting the series regular role of Queen Neela in ABC Networks 2019 pilot ‘Triangle’ alongside Mike Vogel and Mallory Jansen. She has also played roles on American Crime Story, NCIS, This Is Us, ABC’s Ten Days in The Valley, and BET show, Rebel. Her latest feature film ‘Wishman’ recently screened at both Cannes and Toronto film festivals.

11:10 am – Screenplay and Beyond Panel (How to Get Your Film on the Big Screen)

Featuring:

1. Todd Hein, CPA – Senior Tax Manager at Stockman Kast Ryan +Company LLP. Todd works with clients in the entertainment industry, including film and television production, and television commercial production. He speaks frequently to film industry groups, specifically regarding the application of Internal Revenue Code Section 181 and 168.
2. Tina Treadwell – As president of Treadwell Entertainment Group, Ms Treadwell develops and manages the careers of groundbreaking talent. She also oversaw series casting for Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens and The
   Famous Jett Jackson with director Shawn Levy (through which she helped launch the careers of Shia LaBeouf, Hillary Duff and Lee Thompson Young).
3. Honnie Korngold – Producer and founder of CineVantage Productions, a film and television Production Company. With locations in Southern California, South Georgia and Colorado, CineVantage specializes in narrative films with true story origins combined with iconic directors such as Bruce Beresford and Andy Tennant.
4. Adam Fisher – Armed with a background in production and finance, Adam runs the day-to-day operations of Complete Production Group’s West Coast office in Los Angeles where he currently serves as the companies President & Managing Partner.
5. Andrew Steel – On screen Andrew has wowed audiences in the cult hit show’s “Home & Away,” “Wonderland” and his award-winning portrayal of Batman in two seasons of the wickedly sardonic hit comedy “The Justice Lease.” Upon moving to Los Angeles Steel landed his first leading role in the nationally released US feature film “Wish Man,” now available on Netflix.

12:00 pm – Expert Roundtables (includes Catered Lunch)

Join interactive lunch discussions, moderated by an expert or thought leader, held at roundtables of up to 10 participants. These are freeform discussions, so bring your own challenges, questions, and ideas to talk through and get to know your fellow conference participants.

Experts include:

1. David Rubenstein – Business and Entertainment Attorney. Producer’s Consultant on Human Capital, starring Marisa Tomei, Liev Schreiber and Maya Hawke and recently premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.
2. Corky Kessler – Voted “Best Entertainment Lawyer in the United States”. Executive Producer on more than 20 films including Certifiably Jonathan starring Robin Williams and Jonathan Winters.
3. Marc Gold – An in-demand entertainment executive and producer of Fresh Cats Productions and currently oversees development, marketing, and finance for high quality independent films ranging from 500k to 15 million dollars.
4. Gil Aglaure – Gil Aglaure is the founder of Koan, an industry leader in the distribution of quality films and television programs worldwide, and Executive Producer of a number of feature films. Over the years, Koan has grown an impressive catalogue of films with casts such as Mila Kunis, Danny Glover, James Earl Jones, Christopher Reeve, Jon Heder, Denise Richards and many others.

1:00 pm – Pitch Competition

Your chance to pitch your idea to a panel of industry professionals – they are the people who matter. They are the ones who decide which films get made and which films get shown in cinema and on TV.

You have 2 minutes to convince the panel to read your script or fund your film. Limited Availability of only 15 Pitches. Winner receives over $20,000 in In-Kind Services for 2020.

Pitch Judges include:

1. Corky Kessler – Voted “Best Entertainment Lawyer in the United States”
2. Marc Gold – An in-demand entertainment executive and producer of Fresh Cats Productions and currently oversees development, marketing, and finance for high quality independent films ranging from 500k to 15 million dollars.
3. Josh Friedman – CEO of Crew Me Up, Inc. The first on-demand marketplace connecting the people making the movies. Gain direct access to Film Crews and Film Creators to form lasting partnerships through the Crew Me Up Network.
4. Jennifer Balliet – Jennifer served as Financial Advisor for First Line Films, via Writer/Director Coerte Voorhees (The First Line – Now on Netflix), and in production of his next film,Canyon Del Muerto.
5. Tom Hillery – Producer and writer, known for Ouija House (2018), Project Solitude (2009) and Bikini Kitchen: Best of Stormy (2011).

2:10 pm – Branding, Distribution, and Funding Panel (How to Market Your Film)

Featuring:

1. Ash Greyson – Digital Marketing specialist for over 65 films, including Oscar nominated Deepwater Horizon starring Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell, and Wonder starring Julia Roberts.
2. Tamara Bell – As Vice President of Koan, Tamara Bell oversees the acquisition and development of feature films, documentaries, series, and animation in genres ranging from sci-fi and action to romantic comedy and faith-based for an ever-growing worldwide audience.
3. Suzy Lenet – Branding Principal at Lightbulb, LLC. Formerly a Branding Director at Levy, a 2 Billion Hospitality and Catering Company in Chicago, Suzy is a branding guru with over 30 years of experience working with Fortune 500 companies such as Disney, Microsoft, and ExxonMobil.
4. Dave Conlon – CFO and founding partner of EggPlant Collective and it’s group of companies. EggPlant was formed in 2001 and has two media facilities in downtown Toronto capable of handling all aspects of post production, from dailies to final deliveries. Through his extensive experience with Canadain tax credits and co-treaties, Conlon has executively produced and produced numerous projects.
5. Joe Ventura – With over 35 years of experience as a Registered Investment Advisor, Joe Ventura has helped his clients in all walks of life. His forte is helping individuals raise capital in both conventional and unconventional methods. Joe has mentored over 100 financial professionals to manage and raise capital.

3:00 pm – After-Party Sponsored by Artists United

6:00 pm – End

SEED Us Society is a concept of Being Investments, a global advisory board supporting impact funding initiatives. They believe each person plays a strategic role in developing ideas into action.

Located in the heart of historic Main Street, the SEED Us activation will be hosted in the  WELLHAUS Lounge at the brand-new Old Town Cellars (OTC, 408 Main Street) on January 25th 3:00 – 6:00pm during the festivals’ kick-off weekend.

SATURDAY, January 25:

3:00pm-4:00pm: SEED Mind/Body/Soul Empowered Storytelling– “Play is the New Currency!”

Be a part of the show with storyteller’s Master of Ceremony, Host, and Founder of SEED Brandi Veil and World Renown Vocologist Mister CoRey educating the audience on why “play is the new currency.”

4:00pm-4:30pm: Healing Sound Alchemy Sound Bath Activation : “Sound is Medicine” “Healing Sound Alchemy Is at the forefront of bridging the future of therapy music into the mainstream with Shamanic and Celestial Sounds.”

4:30pm-5:30pm: “Not Panel” Learn About Impact Funding and How Member Groups Can Support Your Projects

Amanda Manares Founder, MindAstronaut, Venture Partnerships, and SEED Advisory

5:30pm-6:00pm: muSIC House Live Music Performance & Networking Social. MusicHouse a Social Intelligent Collective presents performers Monique Benabou, NBC’s The Voice alum & Angus Wilson, Executive Producer & MH Co-founder.

For information on how to nominate your project, co-host to support the current project email: seedussociety@gmail.com

 692 Main Street, Park City (at 7th Street)

Friday, January 24 – Sunday, January 26: 10:30am – 4:00pm & Monday, January 27: 10:00am – 3:00pm

*Speakeasy will close promptly at 4:00pm (Jan. 24-26) for RSVP-only private events

Daily Public Programming:

9:00 – 10:00am: Sound Bath with Sara Auster (RSVP required at audible.com/sundance2020)

Afternoon: Audible In Conversation and Los Angeles Times Panels (Jan. 24-26)

FRIDAY, JANUARY 24

2:30 – 3:30pm:               “How We Made It” Panel, hosted by the Los Angeles Times 

                                        Moderator: Alison Brower, Los Angeles Times Deputy Editor, Arts & Entertainment

Panelists: Heidi Ewing, filmmaker (I Carry You With Me, Love Fraud), Rebecca Hall, actor (The Night House), Ron Howard, filmmaker (Rebuilding Paradise), Sasheer Zamata, actor (Spree) and Amy Ziering, filmmaker (Untitled Russell Simmons documentary)

Los Angeles Times deputy editor Alison Brower will lead a conversation about practical and artistic challenges across genres, how documentary and narrative storytellers respond to character and production hurdles, and the themes that unite great stories.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 25

1:15 – 1:45pm:                In Conversation With Rufus Wainwright

                                        Moderator: Kate Navin, Audible Artistic Producer

Legendary Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and composer Rufus Wainwright will join Audible’s Artistic Producer Kate Navin in a spirited conversation about the creative process in which powerful music and stories are born. Wainwright will explore his upcoming original project “Road Trip Elegies: Montreal to New York” which covers a journey he took many times with his beloved late mother, Canadian folk singer, Kate McGarrigle, from Montreal to New York City. The route represents both a physical and metaphorical life journey for him, one that oscillates between the emotional poles of his divorced mother and father living in Canada and New York, respectively.

2:00 – 3:00pm:               “Music and Storytelling” Panel, hosted by the Los Angeles Times

                                        Moderator: Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Panelists: Eugene Ashe, writer-director (Sylvie’s Love), Alison Ellwood, filmmaker (The Go-Go’s), Belinda Carlisle, musician (The Go-Go’s), and additional participants to be announced

Los Angeles Times writer Amy Kaufman will lead a conversation about the intersection of music and storytelling — how to capture the magic of great performers and performances, how music drives narrative, and the art of creating songs that tell stories and stories that amplify musicians’ craft.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 26  

2:30 – 3:30pm:               “Transcendence of Narrative” Panel, hosted by the Los Angeles Times

Moderator: Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Participants: Tessa Thompson, actor (Sylvie’s Love), Nnamdi Asomugha, actor and producer (Sylvie’s Love), Colman Domingo, actor (Zola) and Justin Simien, writer-director (Bad Hair)

Los Angeles Times writer Mark Olsen will lead a conversation about how great narratives can be told and retold, exploring how different storytelling formats inspire and inflect creation and provide new opportunities and challenges.

Biodigital Theatre

All Kinds of Limbo
The National Theatre of Great Britain’s communal musical journey reflecting the influence of West Indian culture on the UK’s music scene across the genres of reggae, grime, classical, and calypso. Immersive technologies, the ceremony of live performance, and the craft of theatrical staging bring audiences into a VR performance space.

Anti-Gone
In a post-climate-change world, environmental catastrophe has become normalized. Cities are sunken, yet the vestiges of late-capitalist culture live on, clinging like barnacles to the ruins of civilization. Spyda and Lynxa are a couple navigating this world, gliding frictionlessly from shopping to movies to psychedelic drugs.

Atomu
Go inside the cyclical center of a Kikuyu tribal myth from Kenya, where man may become woman and woman may become man. Through virtual reality, dance, and music, a sacred space is created to explore many versions of yourself.

BLKNWS

Tickets are required; eWaitlist access is also available.

Kahlil Joseph’s mesmerizing news-creation machine is a soulful and rousing intervention into the current epidemic news addiction powered by the “news-industrial complex.” Rejuvenating what news can be, BLKNWS combines appropriated news and social media with originally produced anchored segments to create a continuously updated broadcast that is as much a news service as it is a portal to an elevated state of awareness. “A fugitive newscast,” BLKNWS is only accessible at specific terrestrial sites.

Ongoing broadcast installations can be seen at Filmmaker Lodge and the Festival Co-op.

New Frontier In The Wild

All the world’s a stage! Find these works woven into the digital landscape of the Festival campus.

Dance Trail
A dance piece in augmented reality enabling users to invite virtual dancers into our world. Site-specific and mobile, the app allows audiences to see dance sequences outdoors and indoors during the Festival. Users can place dancers anywhere in the world and share snapshots and videos.
Details on how to experience this exhibition will be announced soon.

Guisado on Sunset
Missed-connection regret at that one late-night spot—the kind you keep playing back in your head but not quite ever remembering right, until it starts to look like something else.
Details on how to experience this exhibition will be announced soon.

Spaced Out
An underwater VR experience transports you aboard a voyage from the Earth to the moon, as well as within, led by the audio conversations of the Apollo 11 mission. Using special underwater VR goggles and a snorkel, the experience becomes a space simulation immersing all of the senses.
Open to credential holders Sat. 1/25–Thu. 1/30, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. at Festival Headquarters (Sheraton Park City, 1895 Sidewinder Dr.)
Bring your swimsuit; towels available on-site.

VR Cinema Program 1

The Box at The Ray
1768 Park Ave., Park City

Tickets are required; eWaitlist access is also available.

Azibuye—The Occupation
When Masello and Evan, two homeless black artists/activists, break into an abandoned mansion in an affluent part of Johannesburg, they proclaim their occupation to be an artistic and political act in defiance of inequalities in land ownership in South Africa.

Bembé
Bembé is a Cuban tradition that encompasses elements of both Christianity and the African Yoruba, where the souls of dead slaves come to Earth and family, friends, and neighbors take part in a celebration lasting up to seven days.

After the Fallout
In March 2011, an earthquake caused a tsunami and a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The devastating consequences filled the communities in Fukushima with fear of the intangible and split Japan in a distinct before and after.

VR Free
Exploring the nature of incarceration spaces by portraying slices of life inside a prison in Turin, Italy. The film also captures the reactions of several inmates during brief encounters with immersive videos of life outside of prison.

CATEGORY New Frontier Exhibitions

RUN TIME 50 min

VR Cinema Program 2

About

The Box at The Ray
1768 Park Ave., Park City

Tickets are required; eWaitlist access is also available.

Flowers & a Switchblade
An everyday scene—a real-life conversation in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park—collaged together from hundreds of videos to form a fractured, hyperstimulating, 360-degree cubist world.

tx-reverse 360°
What is behind the cinema screen? What if the auditorium dissolves and with it the familiar laws of cinema itself? As reality and cinema collide, viewers are drawn into a vortex where the familiar order of space and time seems to be suspended.

Go
Searching for stability in his life, Peter Thaler sets out on a hike in the Swiss mountains from which he will never return. An unprecedented symbiosis of literature and virtual reality, telling a story of everyday and final farewells and opening the door to eternity a tiny crack.

Hominidae
Against a landscape of X-ray imagery and wild anatomical reimagination, a mother and her children struggle for survival. This experience follows an “arachnid hominid,” an intelligent creature with human and spider physiology, from the birth of her children to her premature death in the teeth of her prey.

CATEGORY New Frontier Exhibitions

RUN TIME 46 min

PERSUASION MACHINES

Artists Karim Amer and Güvenç Özel use a virtual smart living room, and an HTC VIVE headset, to allow the user to visually confront the invisible process of data collection and question the nature of the digital machines that are supposed to be making our lives better.

WarnerMedia Lodge: Elevating Storytelling with AT&T programming includes:

• Variety Studio presented by AT&T – January 24-27: WarnerMedia together with AT&T will host Variety Studio, featuring interviews and portraits with the festival’s top A-list actors and filmmakers.
• Jon & Vinny’s Pop Up – January 24-27: AT&T and WarnerMedia will partner with Jon & Vinny’s Italian Restaurant for a pop-up culinary experience from the famed Los Angeles restaurant from James Beard Award-winning chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo.

Adjacent to the main space is Lateral, a new chic, underground hotspot hosted by WarnerMedia featuring panel discussions, receptions, live entertainment and late-night programming. Activations at Lateral, located at 600 Main St., include:

• TNT Presents Snowpiercer Featuring Sneak Peek Footage and a Conversation with Stars – January 25: A panel with Daveed Diggs, Lena Hall, and Showrunner Graeme Manson, moderated by JD Heyman (Editor-in-Chief, Entertainment Weekly).
• TBS Presents Miracle Workers: Dark Ages Screening & Panel with Cast and Creators – January 25: Screening followed by a panel with Steve Buscemi, Geraldine Viswanathan, Karan Soni and the show’s creator Simon Rich, moderated by Rachel Handler (Vulture). 
• Career Conversations hosted by WarnerMedia’s Talent Acquisition Diversity Outreach – January 25: As part of the company’s ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion, WarnerMedia invites festival participants to stop by the lounge to view content, better understand our work culture and discuss current or future professional aspirations. View https://www.warnermediagroup.com/careers for a list of potential opportunities.
• “The Impact of Innovation on Today’s Connected Consumer” Panel – January 25: from 5-7pm at LATERAL. Cross-industry leaders in content, technology and innovation will detail the ever-growing demand to connect on multiple platforms and devices, and how companies of any size can scale innovation efforts while measuring success, sentiment and smiles, during an era of ongoing change. Moderated by Jesse Redniss (EVP Data Strategy, WarnerMedia & GM, WarnerMedia Innovation Lab), panelists will include Tony Driscoll (SVP, Emerging Technology & Innovation Strategy at Warner Bros.), Jacee Scoular (Director, Brand Marketing Strategy at Hollister Co.) and Sarah Vick (Executive Producer, Intel Studios).
• Particular Crowd Celebrates Latin America at Sundance Lunch – January 26: A few days after its official launch at NATPE, Particular Crowd, Turner Latin America’s film division, will participate for the first time at Sundance with a lunch to celebrate Latin America. This is following the premiere of one of its movies POSSESSOR the night before.
• HBO Presents Welcome to Chechnya – A Conversation with Filmmaker David France and Film Subjects – January 27: In the present-day Russian republic of Chechnya, gay and transgender citizens are targeted as part of a deadly “cleansing” campaign. This searing documentary shadows a group of brave LGBTQ activists risking their lives to confront the ongoing persecution, working undercover to rescue the victims of this aggression. HBO will host a panel with Filmmaker David France, Alphonso David, President of the Human Rights Campaign, subjects featured in the film and moderated by Rashad Robinson, President of Color of Change.