2008 CONFERENCE AGENDA
SUNDAY DECEMBER 7, 2008

11:00am Registration Opens

1:45pm- 2:00pm Welcoming Remarks & Introductions

2:00pm- 2:45pm Opening Keynote Presentation

Rick Allen
Chief Executive Officer
SnagFilms

2:45pm- 4:00pm Festivals: Distribution Revolution or Evolution?

Current distribution models are evolving faster than ever as studio business models evolve and new organizations crop up. As the independent film ‘distribution revolution’ marches forward where do we go from here? This panel will shed light on where film festivals fit in today and in the years to come. Walk away with insight on how current challenges mean new opportunities.

Moderator: Peter Belsito, EVP, Film Finders

Ira Deutchman, President & CEO, Emerging Pictures
Richard Lorber, President & Founder, Koch Lorber Films
Tom Hall, Director of Programming, Sarasota Film Festival

4:00pm- 7:00pm Living Group Introductions & Opening Cocktail Reception on the Exhibit Floor

You won't want to miss this year's opening cocktail reception. For the first time ever this year you'll have the opportunity to meet with your conference 'Living Group'. Groups will be lead by an IFFS Alumni and grouped together so that starting on day one you have the chance to meet new contacts and maximize your conference experience.

MONDAY DECEMBER 8, 2008

8:30am - Registration Opens

9:15am Opening Remarks by Conference Chair

9:30am- 10:15am Fireside Chat: The Art and Philosophy of Curating a Film Festival

This session will present a rare opportunity to hear from some of the world's most accomplished festival directors. Hear first hand how they approach curating a festival the most important considerations you should know.

Moderator: Anne Thompson, Deputy Editor, Variety

Invited Speakers:

Trevor Groth
Artistic Director
CineVegas

Gary Meyer
Co-Director
Telluride Film Festival

10:15am- 10:45am Morning Networking Break

10:45am- 11:45am Filmmaker Professional Development and the Festival Experience

Developing programs to set your festival apart and educate the filmmaker can be a key component to any festival. What can and should you do to properly enhance the filmmaker experience? Hear from established fests how year after year they continue to create an exceptional filmmaker experience.

Moderator: Mike Jones, Managing Editor, Film Festivals, Variety

Catherine Pfitzer, Executive Director, Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival
Chris Gore, President & Founder, FilmThreat
Michael Cain, Artistic Director & CEO, AFI Dallas International Film Festival

11:45am- 1:45pm Break for Lunch

3 x Afternoon Breakout Tracks

Track 1

1:45pm- 2:45pm Year Round Festival Programs

Brit Withey, Artistic Director, Starz Denver Film Festival
Mark Fishkin, Founder & Director, Mill Valley Film Festival

2:45pm- 3:45pm Marketing Strategies that Work!

Marketing your film festival is one of the greatest challenges film festivals face. You can program the greatest festival but if audiences, filmmakers and other interested parties don’t know about it this could be your last! Hear from this experienced group of professionals and engage in Q&A shedding light on successful marketing and PR strategies that work.

Bonnie Voland, International Marketing & Publicity, IM Global
Richard Raddon, Festival Director, Los Angeles Film Festival
Andrea Galante, Founder & Director, Milano International Film Festival

3:45pm- 4:30pm Board Development for Your Festival

This presentation will outline proven strategies that you can immediately put to work building your board of directors. The session will address finding, recruiting, retaining and managing good board members.

Shelly Weiner
Foundation & Grants Collection Supervisor

Track 2

1:45pm- 2:45pm Workshop

Filmmakers, Film Festivals, Withoutabox and IMDb Join IMDb's Andrej Gregov for a glimpse into the evolution of IMDb, and get an insiders view of the day-to-day workings of the most-trafficked film and television site on the planet. Widely reported in January, IMDb (itself a division of Amazon.com) announced its acquisition of Withoutabox. So what does this mean for film festivals and just as importantly, how does this new alliance impact the burgeoning internet distribution options offered to today's filmmakers?

Andrej Gregov
Director
IMDb

2:45pm- 3:45pm Creating Value for Festival Sponsors

Wondering how you can ink more sponsorships, 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 proven strategies to target, pitch, contact and retain sponsors year after year.

Moderator: Jeff Abramson, Vice President Film, Gen Art

Laurie Kirby, Esq., SVP of Acquisitions & Business Affairs, WomensFilmNet
Barb Morgan, Executive Director, Austin Film Festival
Stephen Shelanski, EVP of Programming, Starz Entertainment

3:45pm- 4:30pm Building a Culture of Community Outreach

Community involvement is a vital component of any successful film festival. Partnering with other local organizations, working with schools, education outreach programs are just a few of the ways that festivals can engage and support its community. This accomplished group of panelists will discuss how their festivals give back to community resulting in better attendance and increased support.

Mark Steele, Director of Operations, Tribeca Film Festival
Lee Ann Kim, Executive Director, San Diego Asian Film Festival
George Marshall, Founder & Producing Director, Rhode Island Int'l Film Festival
Ranny Levy, Director, KIDS FIRST! Film Festival

Track 3

1:45pm- 2:45pm Festival Standards and Formats

Film formats, projection standards and other considerations that will affect your filmmakers and screening experience are important factors not to be overlooked. Hear from leading industry experts on the issues they face when looking to submit a film for festival consideration and how audiences will experience the finished product.

Moderator: Gabe Wardell, Executive Director, Atlanta Film Festival

Jeff Maynard, SVP Post-Production, The Weinstein Company

2:45pm- 3:45pm Advanced Sponsorship Workshop

Sponsorship is an ongoing game of activation, retention and proper delivery. Wondering how you can take your sponsorship strategy to the next level or appeal to large corporate partners? This panel is designed for festivals who have a robust and evolved sponsorship strategy in place. Come prepared to take notes and share.

Paula Martinez, Managing Director, Atlanta Film Festival
Charles Brown, CEO, Festival Media Corporation

3:45pm- 4:30pm Success Metrics: Where to Set the Bar

There are so many different definitions of success and “bigness.” There are film festivals that attract hundreds of thousands of people, and yet are not on the mainstream radar, and festivals which show only a few dozen films that are world famous. This session will address considerations and metrics for success including: number of films, number of acquisitions, celebrities, size of audience, longevity, number of impressions and reach? Most notably, these different metrics have differing relevance to the constituents served by festivals – audiences, filmmakers, sponsors, media, film industry etc. Hear from different festivals on how they approach benchmarking and defining success.

Michael Cain, Artistic Director & CEO, AFI Dallas International Film Festival
Graham Leggat, Executive Director, San Francisco International Film Festival

4:30pm- 7:00pm Reception on the Exhibit Floor and presentation of the IFFS Excellence Awards

TUESDAY DECEMBER 9, 2008

8:30am Registration Opens

9:15am Opening Remarks by Conference Chair

Christian Gaines
Director of Festivals
Withoutabox

9:30am- 10:15am Keynote Presentation

Dawn Hudson
Executive Director
Film Independent

10:15am- 10:45am Morning Networking Break on the Exhibit Floor

10:45am- 11:45pm indie 2.0

While 2008 has included much debate surrounding the health of independent film distribution and a possible bleak prognosis there have also been many positive trends that can’t be overlooked. Over the past 24 months we have seen an onslaught of very prominent investors and corporations enter the independent film community. With new start-up’s to recent M&A activity introducing new business models, can all of this interest mean that independent film is beginning to mature? Hear this accomplished group of panelists address this issue and what it may mean for your film festival.

Eugene Hernandez, Editor-in-Chief & Co-Founder, indieWIRE

11:45pm- 1:45pm Break for Lunch

3 x Afternoon Breakout Tracks

Track 1

1:45pm- 2:45pm A New Media Experience

Social networking and digital media: what tools are out there and how can your festival leverage these assets? Don't miss this cutting edge panel discussion addressing the latest tools that can help propel your festival forward.

Jon Gann, Founder & Director, DC Shorts Film Festival

2:45pm- 3:45pm Connecting the Dots: Distributors and Festivals

Wondering how your festival can more effectively attract distributors and work with industry film executives? Hear from seasoned festivals and distributors addressing how to work more closely with industry buyers and sellers.

Bonnie Voland, International Marketing & Publicity, IM Global

3:45pm- 4:45pm Budgeting Workshop

Barbara Morgan
Executive Director
Austin Film Festival

Track 2

1:45pm- 2:45pm Your Most Valuable Asset

Volunteer programs: what works and doesn’t work? This panel will address new and proven methods to create a base of support, recruiting, retaining, scheduling and acknowledging for festival volunteers.

2:45pm- 3:45pm Dynamic Programming Issues

Year round programming, migrating content to the web and extending audience reach are all critical programming issues. Once your festival has the content how can you get it out there in a way that compliments your existing program? Discover key considerations and factors to consider when expanding your program.

Rose Kuo, Artistic Director, AFI Fest Presented by Audi
Brit Withey, Artistic Director, Starz Denver Film Festival
Tanya Kersey, Founder & Executive Director, Hollywood Black Film Festival

3:45pm- 4:45pm Group Discussion

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.

Track 3

1:45pm- 2:45pm Unlock Your Festivals Ticketing Potential

This panel will provide a comparison of ticketing and pass models addressing pros and cons along with companies to consider working with. Hear what models are appropriate for your festival, printing issues, day of sale issues and more.

Keith Weckstein, Director of Ticketing, Tribeca Film Festival
Erik Jambor, Executive Director, Indie Memphis

2:45pm- 3:45pm Greening Your Fest

Going green means leveraging whatever the resources are of any given event (budget, sponsor's, venue space, etc.) to minimize that events environmental impact. ANY event can be green, or more specifically, green-er. Among the first areas to be examined with an event are printing, signage, food/beverage, carbon offset and working with/educating the venue's event staff to ensure that the "behind the scenes" green effort is being followed.

Walk away with proven information resources to get started with no additional costs, innovative ideas on using the media to both be green AND to get the appropriate acknowledgement and recognition for doing so.

Scott McKinlay
President
Hollywood Green Team

5:00pm- 6:00pm Closing Reception