IFFS 2014 Conference Agenda

11:00am–12:00pm

Registration & Solution Center (Exhibit Floor) Opens

Visit every booth and be eligible for amazing giveaways. Discover solutions for your festival that you didn’t know existed. Visit our complimentary massage chair and experience instant bliss. Our prize giveaway is scheduled for Tuesday at the Solution Center. Don’t miss out…you must be present to win.

11:00am–12:00pm

Zilker Ballroom 1&2

SAG-AFTRA Opening Reception

Hosted by Tito’s Handmade Vodka and PublicVine

Register, grab a Bloody Mary courtesy of Tito’s Vodka and check out the Solutions Center! Be sure to listen to the soulful voice of singer/songwriter Jade Hendrix on our stage.

12:00pm–12:15pm

Texas Ballroom 4-7

Orientation

12:30pm – 1:30pm

Texas Ballroom 4-7

Anatomy of a Successful Collaboration

In a rapidly expanding festival market, where community members, audiences and sponsors are being pulled in multiple directions and oftentimes spread thin, this panel of experts will provide tools to help you stand out and succeed with your film distributors, sponsors, and community through successful collaborations.

Moderator: Benjamin Oberman, President/CEO, Film Festival Flix

Panelist: Stephanie Northen, Director of Publicity, Roadside Attractions

Panelist: Tim League, Founder & CEO, Alamo Drafthouse (Fantastic Fest)

Panelist: Laura Kincaid, Senior Marketing Coordinator, Texas Film Commission

Panelist: Kari Pearlstein, Account Director, Global Corporate Sales,Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Panelist: Keith Bennie, Manager, Adult Learning, TIFF Bell Lightbox

1:30pm  – 2:30pm

Texas Ballroom 4-7

It’s been a hard day’s night! 2014 Recap-State of the Industry

You spend all year preparing, executing & cleaning up after your festival. Lest you forgot to look up and see where the marketplace is heading, we’ve got you covered. Let us take the guess work out of the year as we review 2014 and hear our industry’s top experts provide the picks & pans of the year’s top trends. Even better? We’l’l take an inside look at what  they forecast for 2015 as you begin to plan your event.

Moderator: Laurie Kirby, President, IFFS-IMFCON

Panelist: Barbara Morgan, Executive Director, Austin Film Festival -Invited

Panelist: Bonnie Voland, Head of International Marketing & Publicity, IM GLOBAL  -Invited

Panelist: Rose Kuo, CEO,  Qingdao International Film Festival

Panelist: Noah Cowan, Executive Director, SFFS

2:30pm–2:45pm

Dedicated Solution Center Networking & Coffee Break

Courtesy of Luna Bar and Boxed Water is Better

2:45pm – 4:00pm

Texas Ballroom 4-7

Unconference

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

You will take part in two 45 minute sessions of interactive discussions and problem solving activities on some of the most pressing issues festivals are currently faced with.

Facilitator: Paul Cohen, Director, FSU College of Motion Picture Arts “Torchlight Program”

4:00pm – 5:00pm

Texas Ballroom 4-7

The Songs in the KEY (of Life) Note 

Richard Glasser, Executive in Charge of Music Film/TV, The Weinstein Company Interviewed by Paula Bernstein of Indiewire 

As we program our festivals, we know that music, sound and soundtracks play a vital role in the feel and emotional tone of the films we select. It manipulates us, and our audiences, in ways we can’t even imagine. What films got it right? Think CRASH, The Illusionist, Silver Linings Playbook, August:Osage County and The Tillman Story. Who got it right? Our keynote, Richard Glasser, who music supervised CRASH & The Illusionist and produced film soundtrack albums for Silver Linings Playbook, August Osage County and The Tillman Story. Hear him tell us how he connects with music and musicians for films and why the paradigm is shifting in the world of film and music.

5:00pm – 7:00pm

Cocktail Reception Hosted by PublicVine

Dedicated Solution Center Networking, Cocktails & Hors d’oeuvres on the Exhibit Floor

Join us on the exhibit floor and you can enjoy a cocktail in a space just right for making connections and establishing new partnerships while you learn about the latest solutions for your event.

9:00pm – 12:00am

FireChat After Party

Don’t miss out on drinks, dancing and more at the FireChat After Party with DJ Taz. DJ Taz Rashid brings a high vibration to any event with his gift of mixing beats ranging from world rhythms, devotional mantras, remixes and the best electronic grooves.

6:30am

Morning Group Fun Run powered by Virtual Event Bags®

Join your friends and colleagues attending IFFS/IMFCON for a morning run! We worked with our friends at Run Austin and MapMyRun to help kickoff the morning right with a fun, friendly 4-mile run around Lady Bird Lake. Start & Finish on the trail behind the Hyatt Regency.

Register for the event here!

8:30am

Opening Remarks, Registration & Exhibit Floor Opens

9:00am – 10:00am

Texas Ballroom 1

Tech:

Sell Out Your Festival with Big Data

Panelists will discuss how festivals can leverage the vast amount of data on concerts, bands, managers and other sources to maximize attendance. Learn the tools and strategies that festivals are using to leverage Big Data to drive ticket sales and marketing.

Moderator: Biasha Mitchell, Manager, Music & Festivals, Eventbrite

Panelist: Uri Bogler, VP Marketing, Front Gate Tickets

Panelist: Keith Goldberg, VP of Marketing and Product, Vendini

Panelist: Sean O’Connell, Festival Director, Hangout Music Festival

9:00am – 10:00am

Texas Ballroom 4-7

Film

Sponsorship 101: Creating a Winning Deck

Stuck in a rut? Does your deck need a makeover? Learn from our panel how to brainstorm yours and create a buzz-worthy sponsorship package that excites your sponsors & maximizes your branding. Bring yours and we may highlight you! Let’s Brainstorm with our brain trust.

Moderator: Liana Bender, Development Director, California Film Institute

Panelist: Michal Wiesbrock, Director of Development, Santa Barbara Film Festival

Panelist: Beau Blanchard, Development Manager, California Film Institute

Panelist: Kyle Conway, Owner, The Sponsor Bureau (Grapefest, Mayfest, Plano Balloonfest, Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival, Gaylord Hotels, Geico, Lexus, Ford, Chevrolet)

 Panelist: Holly Tighe, Marketing Werks

10:15am–11:00am

Texas Ballroom 4-7

Filmmakers and Festival Directors:Why can’t we be friends?

It’s always a dustup when Indiewire publishes another article about what filmmakers don’t like about festivals and visa versa. But it is a symbiotic relationship that should be fostered with communication & understanding. Getting to the heart of the matter, let’s explore how festivals and filmmakers can better communicate to avoid the logjam of complaints.

Moderator: Paula Bernstein, Filmmaker Toolkit/Technology Editor, IndieWire

Panelist: Chris Lowell, Writer/Actor/Director (Besides Still Waters, The Help, Veronica Mars)

Panelist: Deirdre Haj, Director, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

Panelist: Noah Miller , Director/ Producer, Sweet Water (2013) & Touching Home (2008)

Panelist: Logan Miller, Director/ Producer, Sweet Water (2013) & Touching Home (2008)

11:00am–11:30am

Dedicated Solution Center Networking & Coffee Break

Sponsored by EarAngels

11:30am–12:30pm

Texas Ballroom 4-7

Film

The Greatest Show on Earth-Programming the Film Festival

Premieres, stars, competing festivals, submissions vs. curated, studio vs indie, audience vs auteur. Let’s get to the bottom of it all, if we can…

Moderator:Liz Ogilvie, Director of Market Programs, Fandor

Panelist: Anna Germanidi, Festival Director, Slamdance Film Festival

Panelist: Rose Kuo, CEO,  Qingdao International Film Festival

Panelist: Erin Hallagan, Creative Director, Austin Film Festival

12:45pm–1:30pm

Texas Ballroom 1

Tech:

Optimizing the Three D’s of Digital – Data, Distribution & Development of Social Strategy

Festivals often have difficulty harnessing the new digital platforms and tools that will inevitably help grow fan base, ticket sales, and overall engagement between consumers and the festival brand. Speaking with industry experts, you’ll learn how social media, digital distribution and customer data can be utilized,analyzed and collected to keep the current audience engaged year round, but also grow the audience exponentially.

Moderator: Eric B. Stein, Founder, Impact Global Media

Panelist: Jonathan Chaupin, Co-founder, Syndctd Ent & Agency 2.0

Panelist: Michael Barnett, INGO

Panelist: Makonnen, Reggae Film Festival

Panelist: Tara Wood

12:45pm–1:30pm

Texas Ballroom 4-7

Film

Marketing Your Film Festival

Banner ads, street teams, experiential marketing, word of mouth, traditional advertising, digital branding, social media, tweeting, FB liking,  radio, tv, publicists…..exhausted yet? Can you measure what’s working or are you throwing it all up against the wall in hopes that something sticks? Let’s break down the tools and figure out how to optimize each one to benefit your organization.

Moderator: Dave Margulies, Executive Director, Ashland Independent Film Festival

Panelist: David Glanzer, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Comic-Con

Panelist: David R. Bell, Xinmei Zhang and Yongge Dai Professor/ Professor of Marketing, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Panelist: Dale Strack, Chairman/CEO, San Diego Film Festival

1:30pm–2:15pm

Dedicated Solution Center Networking

2:00pm–4:00pm

Hill Country A & B

Sponsor Drop In

Facilitator: Kyle Conway, Owner, The Sponsor Bureau (Grapefest, Mayfest, Plano Balloonfest, Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival, Gaylord Hotels, Geico, Lexus, Ford, Chevrolet)

2:15pm–3:30pm

Texas Ballroom 4-7

Drill Downs (two 45 minute sessions)

Prepare to ask questions as our Drill Down facilitators address industry topics on a more intimate level providing insight, advice and feedback to your questions you can’t get answered anywhere else!

1. Festival Careers & Starting a festival
2. Sponsorship & Marketing
3. Social Media & Media Relations
4. Programming
5. Celebrity Talent- Jennifer Blum, Integrated Marketing, Events, and Talent Relations Professional, JB Group
6. Fundraising, Budgets & Grant writing
7. Digital Strategies & Distribution-Benjamin Oberman, President/CEO, Film Festival Flix
8. Board Development & Nonprofits- Dale Strack, Chairman, San Diego Film Festival
9. Operations- Beth Caldarello, Operations Manager, Telluride Film Festival

3:30pm–4:15pm

Texas Ballroom 4-7

Film

Distribution-What A Tangled Web We Weave

The days of opening with a studio film, sandwiching a few mini-majors in, programming with a few Sundance hits & featuring local filmmakers is over. The studios are largely irrelevant, mini-majors highly selective & submissions largely a thankless task. All of that being said, there are still great films being made & distributed (they always show up at the Oscars & Spirit Awards), so the challenge is,  where do we find them and how do we get to program them?  And once picked up, how are distributors selecting the festivals that get to show them? And how do festivals get to participate in exhibiting great films without being a known name festival? Let’s hear from the big guns as we consider the state of cinema in the 2010’s.

Moderator: Eric B. Stein, Founder, Impact Global Media

Panelist: Alex Nohe, Partner, Circus Road Films

Panelist: Joseph Beyer, Director of Digital Initiatives, Sundance Institute

4:15pm–5:00pm

Texas Ballroom 4-7

Centerpiece: Festivals as Film Funders

As production budgets decrease, film organizations can take a more active role in financing and shepherding artistically meaningful productions through development, production and release. The example of San Francisco Film Society’s collaboration with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, providing $1m per year in filmmaker support services and grants, could serve as a funding model for other film organizations and festivals.

Panelists: Noah Cowan, ED, SFFS

Panelist: Jen Rainin, CEO, Kenneth Rainin Foundation

Panelist: Kat Candler, Filmmaker, Candler Productions

4:15pm–5:00pm

Texas Ballroom 2&3

Crossover

Presented by Lineup Magazine:  The Media is your Message

Everyone complains about the media but nobody does anything about it. Yet where would festivals be without it? And what is the media now with bloggers taking the place of journalists and digital magazines as ubiquitous as teenagers on cell phones. We’ve assembled the observers and now you can put them in the hot seat..please keep gloves on.

Moderator: Waco Hoover, Publisher, Lineup Magazine

Panelist: Bonnie Voland, Head of International Marketing & Publicity, IM GLOBAL

Panelist: John Shinal, Tech Columnist, USA Today

Panelist: Gregg Goldstein, Writer, Variety

 Panelist: Jennifer Blum, Integrated Marketing, Events, and Talent Relations Professional, JB Group

5:00pm–7:00pm

A Salute to Wonderful Women Hosted by WordPress.com

Dedicated Solution Center Networking, Cocktails & Hors d’oeuvres on the Exhibit Floor

Join us on the exhibit floor and you can enjoy a cocktail in a space just right for making connections and establishing new partnerships while you learn about the latest solutions for your event.

8:45am

Opening Remarks, Registration & Exhibit Floor Opens

9:00am – 10:00am

Zilker Ballroom 3&4

Crossover:

I’m Every Woman- Women in Film and Music

Introduced by Michelle Lee of Delta Air Lines

We all know it can be lonely at the top, lonely at the bottom…and even in the middle. We’ll explore how women can support each other and bring unity, clarity & a complementary voice to the festival experience & workplace. In fact, our panel of experts have done it quite nicely, thank you. No grumbling allowed. And we play nice with boys too! Bring your business cards.

Moderator: Christine Devine, News anchor/ Author/ Foster care/Adoption advocate

Panelist: Nora Dunn, Comedian/ Actress/ Writer

Panelist: Nia Peeples, Actress/ Singer/ Producer -Invited

Panelist: Inga Dyer, Esq. , Revolt TV

9:00am – 10:00am

Texas Ballroom 4-7

Film

Get Schooled- Education and The Festival

Festivals function in the educational sphere on a number of levels. The relationship  between educational institutions & film festivals is symbiotic & serves two masters and many students… Learn from a case study festival how they harnessed the resources of a university and became the little festival that could.

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

Panelist: Christina Schultz, Vice President, Institutional Advancement, Dixie State University (DOCUTAH)

10:15am–11:00am

Track 1

Tech:

Finding the Right Balance Between Digital & Physical Festival Experiences

For user engagement, do digital tactics inspire more emotional connections to a brand than its physical counterpart? This session shares live comparisons of digital and physical experiences, exposes when and why a physical experience is better than digital—as well as how you can improve both to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts..

Moderator: Ted Cohen, Managing partner, Tag Strategic

Panelist: Sean Hoess, Co-founder, Wanderlust

Panelist: Rehan Choudhry, Co-founder, Life is Beautiful

Panelist: Daniel Sol, Co-Founder, Co Director HollyShorts Film Festival

Panelist: Parag Bhandari – Founder/CEO: UG Strategies

10:15am–11:00am

Track 2

Film

Formats, Festivals & Financial Considerations, from Submissions to Screenings

Designed with non-technical Executive Directors and Programmers in mind, this panel will take a look at what it takes to manage your festival’s film assets from filmmaker submission all the way through to final exhibition. We’ll discuss print-traffic challenges introduced by the multitude of digital formats, frame-rates and codecs, the differences between DCP and other file based digital playback methods, and how you can reduce costs and minimize headaches while ensuring a seamless and stress-free environment at each of your screenings.

Moderator: Aaron Owen, Founder/ Executive Producer, Cinematiq

Panelist: Bears Fonte, Executive Director / Programmer, Other Worlds Austin SciFi Film Festival

Panelist: Barbara Blake Hannah – Reggae Film Festival

Panelist: Nina Streich, Executive Director, Global Peace Film Festival

Panelist: Melinda Booth, Executive Director / Programmer, Wild and Scenic Film Festival

11:00am–12:00pm

Last Call: Solution Center & Drawing for Prizes

Scavenger Hunt powered by BrainItch Solutions

12:00pm – 1:00pm

Track 1

Tech:

Sharing Events: How to get them Talkin’

With today’s events, it’s imperative to create “social chatter.” Yes, festivals must give audiences, bands and sponsors the ability to share content, but more importantly, you must create content they want to share. Get insights on what shareable content is, and what it’s not. Bonus! – get a rundown of tips for creating festival content and engagement everyone will be talking about.

Moderator: Ted Cohen, Managing partner, Tag Strategic

Panelist: Christophe Daligault, CMO, FireChat by Open Garden

Panelist: Michael Pliha, Sales Executive, CrowdTorch by Cvent

Panelist: Melissa Golding, Digital Content Manager, SXSW Conferences and Festivals

Panelist: Mike Walbert, General Manager, A3C Hip Hop Festival

12:00pm – 1:00pm

Track 2

Film

Special Challenges of Large Film Festivals ($500k + budget)

How do festivals deal with the battle over premieres? What policies should be in place regarding protection from piracy of the film that balances the needs of the distributor vs. the audience? Should festivals function as a distributor? Does a simultaneous day and date hurt a filmmaker’ s chance with distributors?

There are a myriad of issues that larger festivals must contend with that include premiere status, piracy, distribution and simultaneous streaming during the festival. Let’s dig in and find some ways to solve them with our panel of experts.

Moderator: Bruno Chatelin, COO, filmfestivals.com & fest21.com

Panelist: Joshua Nordin, Business Development Director, NEPS Worldwide

Panelist:  Beth Caldarello, Operations Manager, Telluride Film Festival

Panelist: Barbara Morgan, Executive Director, Austin Film Festival

12:00pm – 1:00pm

Track 3

Film

Niche, Small and New Festival Track -We want more, more, more….

Where do we start? Show me the money is ground zero. Understanding your identity, budgeting, nonprofit vs for-profit status, community involvement, grants, local sponsorship & using local media & talent to grow your regional festival for pennies on the dollar will be the starter menu..

Moderator: Danette Wolpert, Executive Director, ILLUMINATE

Panelist: Michael Fox, Executive Director, Mendocino Film Festival

Panelist: Michael Coty, Executive Director, Julien Dubuque International Film Festival (CANNED Film Competition, GET REEL Student Film Competition)

Panelist: Chris McDonald, President, Hot Docs

Panelist: Barbara Blake Hannah Reggae Film Festival

1:00pm – 2:00pm

Track 1

Crossover Panel

Music & Film Festival  Legal 101- The Firm

The three dreaded words from every festival organizers lips- Call our lawyer. Off the clock but on the ball, our team of lawyers have represented festivals large & small. They are here to walk you through the issues you should be thinking about (contracts, entity organization,  Intellectual property, liability concerns to name a few) & answer your questions (without a meter running).

Moderator: Stephanie Furgang Adwar, Partner, Furgang & Adwar, L.L.P.

Panelist: Christiane Kinney, Attorney, LeClairRyan

Panelist: Tomy McDonald, Entertainment and Media Attorney, TomyLaw

Panelist: Jonathan Blaufarb, Partner, San Francisco Law Firm Counsel LLP.

Panelist: Neeta Ragoowansi, Attorney, Law Office of Neeta Ragoowansi

1:00pm – 2:00pm

Track 2

Crossover Panel

Help! Staffing and Software Solutions

Every festival relies on volunteers and staff to manage their operations (Film or music). What are the pitfalls and benefits that each organization should examine before, during & after engaging staff. What software can facilitate the ease of this complicated management process? Use a professional company or recruit from within? With the law in a state of flux over the use of volunteers and interns, our panel of experts will discuss the legal, operational and budgetary implications of each.

Moderator:  Howard Sapper,CEO, Harmony Festival and Executive Director of Everybody Is A Star Foundation

Panelist:  Beth Caldarello, Operations Manager, Telluride Film Festival

Panelist: Bryan Lhuillier,  CEO, Shiftboard

Panelist: Brett Mossiman, Owner, Pipeline productions (Wakarussa)

Panelist: Chris Hammond, Founder / President, Wine Amplified Festival

2:15pm – 3:30pm

Closing Keynote

3:45pm – 5:00pm

Closing Reception

Hosted by Lagunitas Brewing Co.
Join us at the Texas Foyer and enjoy a cocktail in a space just right for making connections and establishing new partnerships.