BREAKTHROUGH PITCHFEST

ONLINE

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 13, 3-5Pm ET/ 2-4pm CT/12-2PM PT - NARRATIVE
Sunday November 14, 3-5Pm ET/ 2-4pm CT/12-2PM PT - DOCUMENTARY

A two-day event featuring panel discussions and a pitchfest; one day focused on narrative/fiction projects, one focused on documentaries

Breakthrough Pitchfest puts a new spin on Filmshop’s Breakthrough Series, our industry showcase of member work. Breakthrough Pitchfest provides a forum for filmmakers to pitch their work and engage in discussions centered around development and distribution.

This will be a virtual event, taking place on Zoom, with both a narrative/fiction and a documentary component:

• Saturday afternoon (Nov. 13, 3-5pm ET/2-4pm CT/12-2pm PT) will focus on narrative/fiction projects

• Sunday (Nov. 14, 3-5pm ET/2-4pm CT/12-2pm PT) will focus on documentaries

Programming each day kicks off with a conversation among our panelists/jurors about a topic pertinent to the independent filmmaking landscape, related to financing, development, and distribution. This is followed by a pitchfest in which 10 participants (chosen from among Filmshop's membership) pitch to and receive feedback from our panel.

THE FILMMAKERS

Documentary

Varvara Degtiarenko
Sonya (feature)

Daniel Feighery
Agent Orange Gagetown (feature)

Emma Fidel
Queen of New York (feature)

Emily Harrold
In the Bubble with Jaime (short)

Yasmin Mistry
Together (feature)

Paul Odgren
Archguitar Doc (working title) (feature)

Brittany Prater
9 Days to Caucus (feature)

Hannah Roodman
40 Days of Teshuvah (short)

Kevin Satterfield
We, the Collective (short)

Nancy Siesel
Escape Artists: The Tale of Mike and Freddie (short)

NARRATIVE Panelists

Emily Best (FOUNDER & CEO of Seed&SPark)

Emily Best is a creator first, and built Seed&Spark to make entertainment more diverse, inclusive, connected, and essential. She has produced feature films, web-series, shorts, and VR; raised millions in investment and crowdfunding; secured large brand partnerships; and built a world-class team for Seed&Spark.

Sola Fasehun (Founder at The Distribution Collective, Partner at Hooligan Dreamers)

Sola Fasehun worked with Academy Award-winning producer Michael Phillips (The Sting, Taxi Driver) at Lighthouse Productions and was a sales / distribution consultant at Submarine Entertainment/Deluxe (Winter’s Bone, Searching for Sugarman). She also worked on the leadership team for UTA’s diversity initiative and was an MP lit agent / inclusion board chair at Buchwald. Sola is a Lit Manager / Founder at The Distribution Collective, a Partner at Hooligan Dreamers founded by Jaime King (Sin City, Black Summer), and a Consultant at ScreenCraft's Film Fund Program. She is one of the producers of Slayers starring Abigail Breslin, Malin Akerman, and Thomas Jane.

YVETTE URBINA (ViCe President, warner media equity & inclusion, content & pipeline)

In her current role, Yvette acts as the bridge between the programs and content at the core of the company’s mission to build a more inclusive and innovative industry. Her focus is identifying talent opportunities across the enterprise through cross-divisional relationships and collaboration that result in greater equity and inclusion for all content. Yvette is a proven programming leader with a producer background, the right mix of creativity and business.

Moderated by Filmshop’s Executive Director, Albert Beniada.

DOCUMENTARY PANELISTS

JAAD ASANTE (Filmmaker Engagement Manager at Chicken & Egg pictures)

Before joining the Chicken & Egg Pictures’ program team as Filmmaker Engagement Manager, Jaad worked at Cinetic Media, where she identified and assessed strong fiction and nonfiction projects for financing, management and sales opportunities. Always aiming to elevate and expose the work of exciting storytellers, Jaad has worked on Doc Society’s Good Pitch Local and has served on review panels for Creative Capital, Black Public Media, True/False Film Fest, and more. She is fascinated by the evolution of the documentary form and is excited to be at an organization that encourages and supports adventurous and impactful nonfiction filmmaking.

Robert Y. Chang (Coordinating Producer, America ReFramed)

Robert Y. Chang is an Emmy-nominated producer and the Coordinating Producer of America ReFramed. America ReFramed is committed to presenting stories that illuminate complex social issues. The curated series pose an array of experiences through which viewers can contemplate our past, understand our present, and challenge the reimagining of America’s future. He has served as a juror for the IDA Awards, the RTDNA Murrow Awards, and the News & Documentary Emmys. He has served as screener, programmer, panelist, and reviewer for a range of film festivals and arts funders. He is a member of the Producers Guild of America.

Jennifer Gerber (Executive Director, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival)

Jen Gerber built her film career in Chicago before completing an MFA from Columbia University in New York. In 2018 she released her debut feature film The Revival and received a jury special mention at NewFest for “outstanding performances.” The Hollywood Reporter called the film “riveting”. Jennifer is the Executive Director of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and is currently in development with her next directing projects which include Has Been Beauty Queen and Shelter (starring Academy Award Winner Melissa Leo, Zazie Beetz, and David Rysdahl.)

Ranell Shubert (What’s Up with Docs PRODUCER & Documentary consultant)

Ranell Shubert is the Producer of the What’s Up with Docs podcast, a documentary podcast that centers the voices of Disabled, Women, POC, Indigenous, and LGBTQIA filmmakers and industry professionals. She is also a fierce co-conspirator with the disabled filmmaking community and advises nonprofits and other film organizations on how to be more accessible. Ranell has 8 years of experience in artist support programs, education, and advocacy and provides consultation to documentary filmmakers in all phases of production. She is the former Educational Programs Manager and IDA Awards Competition Manager at the International Documentary Association. She was also the lead programmer for the IDA’s biennial Getting Real Documentary Conference. She received her BA in Film and Video at Columbia College Chicago with a focus in documentary film production.