Join us for a discussion with the creative minds that brought the vision to life and the executives who supported that vision.

Peter Hedges’ touching, funny low-budget DV feature was an audience favorite at Sundance, and sparked a bidding war ultimately won by United Artists.  In celebration of the East Coast premiere of the film, New York Women in Film & Television honors the extraordinary above-and below-the-line talent that brought the film to the screen. 

Moderator:
Pat Sweeney Kaufman (Deputy Commissionaire and Director for New York State Governor’s Office of Motion Picture and Television Development)

Panelists:

Peter Hedges (“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “About a Boy,” as screenwriter. “Pieces of April,” as screenwriter, director)

Alexis Alexanian (Producer, “Pieces of April,” “Personal Velocity,” “Tape”)

Lucy Barzun  (Producer, “Pieces of April”)

John S. Lyons  (Producer, “Pieces of April,” “Austin Powers; Goldmember,”  “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” “Boogie Nights”)

Linda Cohen (Music Supervisor, “Pieces of April,” “Swimfan,” “Personal Velocity,”  “Summer of Sam”)

Bingham Ray  (president, United Artists)

Dan Hedaya has played a wide variety of characters on the stage, screen, and television. He has appeared in over eighty features including "New Suit," "Mulholland Drive," "Dick," "Clueless," "A Civil Action," "The Adams Family," "Blood Simple," and much more. TV fans will remember him as ‘barmaid Carla's grease bag husband Nick Tortelli’on "Cheers."

A film review may not affect the summer sequel or tentpole film made at a studio. But film reviews are increasingly vital to independent films, struggling to find a place in a cut-throat marketplace. One bad review by one of the top outlets (New York Times, New Yorker, Variety, etc) can kill a film’s chances; one strong one can create a “Big Fat Greek Wedding” or a  “Memento.” Panelists will discuss the symbiotic relationship between critics and filmmakers, focusing on the world of limited release films.

Moderator:
David Rooney (New York Film Reporter and Reviewer, Variety)

Panelists:
Jonathan Foreman (film critic, New York Post, and recent correspondent to Iraq)

Owen Gleiberman (film critic, Entertainment Weekly)

The past year saw many surprise victories for independent films - several documentaries and many features broke out of the art houses and found mainstream audiences in multiplexes and theaters outside top urban markets. In this panel, top distribution executives discuss the year’s successes, and share their strategies for bringing independent films to a larger share of the diverse, sometimes unpredictable American audience.

Moderator:
Eugene Hernandez (Indiewire)

Panelists:
Bingham Ray (president, United Artists, “Bowling for Columbine”)

Eamonn Bowles (president, Magnolia Pictures, “Capturing the Friedmans”)

Mark Urman (president, ThinkFilm, “Spellbound,” “Bus 174,” “The Agronomist”)

Current Trends in Independent Filmmaking

As audience tastes expand and evolve, and funding sources dry up or emerge, independent filmmakers forge new partnerships, unearth new stories, and utilize new technologies to continue bringing bold, entertaining films to the otherwise dismal marketplace. In this panel, filmmakers discuss the latest trends that keep independent film going strong.

Moderator:
David Rooney (New York Film Reporter and Reviewer, Variety)

Panelists: 

	Tim Blake Nelson (director, “The Grey Zone,” “O”. Actor,  “The Good Girl,” “O Brother, Where Art Thou”)
	Peter Saraf  (executive producer, “Adaptation,” “The Truth About Charlie,” “Ulee’s Gold.”)
	Larry Fessenden (writer/director, "No Telling", "Habit", Wendigo." Actor, "Bringing Out the Dead", "Margarita Happy Hour")
	Ira Deutchman (producer, “Interstate 60”, “Ball in the House”, “Center of the World”, “54”)

Panelists:
Tracy McKnight (Music Supervisor, “The United States of Leland”, “Raising Victor Vargas”, “Human Nature”, “Julie Johnson”, “The Tao of Steve”, “High Art”)

Ron Mann (Documentary filmmaker, “Grass”, “Go Further”, “Comic Book Confidential”)

David Torn (Composer, "The Order,” “Adaptation,” "Narc,” "Heist,” "The Rookie,” "Traffic" -- Recording, David Bowie, Tori Amos, Jeff beck, Tim Berne, Big Satan, Meshel Ndegeocello)

Shown after the panel are BMI's Linda Livingston; Ron Mann, Director of the documentary "Go Further"; BMI's Doreen Ringer Ross; Woodstock Film Festival Founder Meira Blaustein; and Tracy McKnight, Music Supervisor for "The United States of Leland." (Photo courtesy of BMI)

Current events, stories overheard on subways, dreams, fortune-tellers, personal experiences, the shrink’s couch. Where do the seeds come from that writers grow into great film stories?  A panel of screenwriters and directors discuss the early stages of developing story ideas into narratives.

Moderator:
Annie Nocenti (former editor, Scenario magazine)

Panelists:
 

	Author/screenwriter Donald Westlake (“The Grifters,” “Point Blank”)
	Screenwirter/producer Ron Nyswaner (“Mrs. Soffel,” “Philadelphia Story,”  “A Soldier’s Girl”)
	Writer/jouranlist Mike Jones (“EvenHand,” “Miller,” “Filmmaker Magazine”)
	Writer/ Director Michael Almereyda (“This So Called Disaster,” “Happy Here and Now,” “Hamlet,” “Nadja,” “Twister”)

 Sponsored by Writer’s Guild of America, East

Day At The Roundtables

Produced by Jeremiah Newton, NYU industry liaison, and co-produced by Dana Weidman Dorrity, Dutchess County Community College.

Questions?  Are you considering a career in film or television?...Where are the opportunities? Who does what and can you please explain more about these skilled positions?...What are some emerging industries? Is there room for me?

Answer:  If you are currently a high school or college student, you are cordially invited to join us on September 20th at 11am at the Woodstock Elementary School for informal discussions with a dozen of the top industry professionals in the film business who will discuss what they do and answer your questions. These informal discussions are geared for YOU, so please join us.

In 2002 A Day at the Roundtables allowed high schoolers from the region to learn about filmmaking in a one-on-one open exchange, from leading industry members. Participants included United Artists' president Bingham Ray, Academy Award winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler; Academy Award winning documentary filmmaker Leon Gast; Academy Award winning screenwriter Zachary Sklar, and others representatives from diverse fields including casting, editing, producing, and more. This is an outstanding, once on a lifetime opportunity for students interested in the field of film and media.

Participants:

Ron Nyswaner (Academy Award winning screenwriter, ("Mrs. Soffel", "Philadelphia Story", "A Soldier's Girl")

Miriam Stern (entertainment attorney)

Ellen Chenoweth (casting director, “O Brother Where Art Thou”, “Analyze That”, “Meet the Parents”, “The Horse Whisperer”, “Wag the Dog”, “Lolita”)

Leon Gast (Academy Award winning documentary filmmaker,  “When We Were Kings”)

Elmer Bernstein (Composer, "Far From Heaven," "Bringing Out the Dead," "Being John Malkovich,” "Cape Fear," "My Left Foot," "Ghost Busters," "Trading Places," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "The Magnificent Seven," "The Ten Commandments")