A pitch deck is possibly one of the most important tools in presenting your script or proof of concept to a studio, producer, agent, manager or potential investor. The goal of an effective pitch deck is to clearly communicate the creative elements, such as your story, key plot points, and character development, as well as the aspects of the project that will be most important to investors, such as a potential cast, marketing plan, PR campaign and budget. In this session veteran producer and manager Elissa Friedman will identify the elements that make a successful pitch deck, how to structure ..read more

Aspiring creators often have unique and innovative concepts for new TV/streaming series, including scripted series, reality shows, or docuseries. However, the challenge is how to find the right financiers, TV/streaming networks, showrunners, producers, or studios who would be willing to take a chance on a new show. In this session, producer and director Whitney Ransick provides strategies, advice and feedback on how to organize their concept into a complete package, how to find producers, networks and agencies that might have an interest in your material, how to successfully package your conce ..read more

Professional screenwriters share their career journey, and provide valuable advice to aspiring writers, at the Big Apple Film Festival Screenwriters Conference. Hosted by Big Apple Film Festival moderator, Craig Price.   JOSE RIVERA  José Rivera's screenplay The Motorcycle Diaries was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar— making him the first Puerto Rican writer ever nominated for an Academy Award—as well as a BAFTA and Writers Guild Award and received top screenwriting awards in Argentina and Spain. Other films include On the Road, Trade and The 33. Rivera co-created and prod ..read more

Agent Danny Alexander (APA Agency) provides career advice to aspiring filmmakers, screenwriter and series creators, at the Big Apple Film Festival Agents and Managers Conference. Danny Alexander works in the TV literary department at APA, working directly with writers such as John Carpenter (Halloween), Derek Kolstad (John Wick) and Mike Le (upcoming Patient Zero with Natalie Dormer and Stanley Tucci). Prior to working at APA, Danny was at Kaplan Perrone Entertainment where he worked with a wide array of comedy and drama writers.  Agency for the Performing Arts (APA) is the fourth larges ..read more

In this discussion, veteran producer and production manager Kwame Parker joins the Big Apple Film Festival Producers Conference to discuss the process of selling your film, series or script to Netflix and other major streaming platforms.  Kwame Parker is an accomplished producer and production manager, currently developing various projects for Netflix. He received an Academy Award as executive producer for GREEN BOOK (Best Picture Winner, 2018). Kwame's additional producing and production management credits include: AFTER EARTH (directed by M. Night Shymalan, starring Will Smith, Jaden Sm ..read more

Big Apple Film Festival Distribution Summit SPEAKERS: SAL SCAMARDO, FILMRISE, VICE PRESIDENT OF DISTRIBUTION AND MARKETING,  JOSH NADLER, SONY PICTURES/AFFIRM FILMS, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AND ACQUISITIONS and GARY RUBIN (SALES AGENT) Jonathan Lipp (Moderator, Big Apple Film Festival Founder/Director) ​  SAL SCAMARDO is Vice President of Distribution and Marketing at FILMRISE, an industry-leading film and television distribution company and streaming network. FilmRise content can be found in theaters, FilmRise proprietary channels and on many popular streaming platforms including Am ..read more

(Moderator, Jonathan Lipp, Big Apple Film Festival Founder/Director)   In this session, visual effects coordinator and supervisor Matthew Gratzner provides strategies on how to give your film the highest quality cinematic look, and some predictions on how the future of visual effects in film will look in the coming years.  MATTHEW GRATZNER is seasoned film industry professional, who has flourished as an art director, visual effects supervisor and co-founder of the Academy Award winning, New Deal Studios, Inc. (http://shannon-gans-i8ui.squarespace.com). Between VFX projects Matthew di ..read more

BIG APPLE FILM FESTIVAL AGENTS AND MANAGERS CONFERENCE  Agent, Co-Founder, CULTURE CREATIVE ENTERTAINMENT Paul Weitzman Topics Include: Pitching Your Film, Script or Series to Agents, Producers, Showrunners and Streamers, Legal Rights and Clearances   Paul Weitzman has been a literary agent for more than 20 years representing writers, directors and producers across all literary platforms which include prime time network, cable, streaming services, animation and feature films. He began his career at the entertainment law firm, Christie & Berle, then a stockbroker and corporate exe ..read more

BIG APPLE FILM FESTIVAL AGENTS AND MANAGERS CONFERENCE   Martin To (Agent, A3 Artists Agency)   Big Apple Film Festival Moderator, Dianne Wieler ​  Topics Include: Maximizing Exposure For Your Film, Script or Series, Legal Rights and Clearances   Martin To is currently an agent at A3 Artists Agency. He got his start at United Talent Agency, where he worked for six years. He then went on to be a manager with Paul Alan Smith when Paul left ICM. Martin was at Paradigm Talent Agency before joining A3, along with half of Paradigm's Lit Department. Martin is a native Texan, atten ..read more

Big Apple Film Festival Industry Summit   Moderator Jonathan Lipp (Big Apple Film Festival Founder/Director)   Reinaldo Marcus Green is a writer, director, and producer. His first feature, Monsters and Men had its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. The film received a Special Jury Prize for Outstanding First Feature. Reinaldo directed the first three episodes of the Netflix series, Top Boy, executive produced by Drake and SpringHill Entertainment. He has since completed his sophomore feature Joe Bell, starring Mark Wahlberg which premiered at TIFF 2020 and will be dis ..read more