Our special guest today is Karla Murthy, an Emmy-nominated producer who has been working on news documentaries for over 15 years. She began her career working for the veteran journalist Bill Moyers and has been a producer, cinematographer, and correspondent for several news programs on PBS. Her award-winning work was described in the Columbia Journalism Review as “compelling, informative, and compassionate.” Her directorial debut, the feature documentary The Place That Makes Us screened at numerous film festivals and had its national broadcast premiere on America ReFramed. She i ..read more

Adam Heyes is a multidisciplinary creative and business developer, working primarily with filmmakers, artists, authors, transformational teachers, and non-profit organizations. Adam has worked with From the Heart Productions for over a decade, helping the organization and its clients with pitch decks, design, editing, film and event production, website development, marketing, course design, and fundraising. He worked extensively with two award-winning From the Heart documentaries, Ground Operations about sustainable farming for veterans, and Take Back Your Power about the d ..read more

Our special guest today is director and producer Nancy Svendsen. A passionate storyteller since her childhood in rural Iowa, Nancy recently turned from the healthcare field to filmmaking. Her first feature documentary, "Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest," tells the story of the indigenous trailblazer Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, who battled racism, gender discrimination, and political opposition in her quest to become the first Nepali woman to summit Mt. Everest. Nancy is related to Pasang by marriage. Her film played at numerous festivals worldwide and received many accolades including winning the Cha ..read more

Our special guest today is Eleanor Church, a UK based award-winning filmmaker and photographer who has been making films and using photography to tell stories for the past 20 years. She has worked on a wide range of projects, both documentary and commercial, with a particular emphasis on stories that focus on society, environment, women, human rights, migration and supply chains. Among her accomplishments, Eleanor is pleased that her filmmaking work has led to policy change. Today we’ll discuss her first feature film, X Trillion. It’s a documentary about an all-female team including sailo ..read more

This program is for creators of color in documentary filmmaking or nonfiction new media who identify as living with a disability. We seek to bring visibility to creators who are oftentimes overlooked through our 10 yearly grants of $5000.00 each.   To learn more about Carole Dean and From the Heart Productions please visit www.FromtheHeartProductions.com.  ..read more

The information that Largo provides is an invaluable tool for pitching your film to investors and distributors, hiring crew, and making casting decisions. A recent case study found that having a Largo report can improve salability of a project by up to 300%. We believe that major streaming platforms are increasingly prioritizing projects that have strong analysis based financial forecasts and other key metrics the system provides.  The information in the report lets a potential distributor or investor know exactly what the project might be worth to them and how to most successfully packag ..read more

Remi Kessler began documenting homelessness in Los Angeles in 2015. He produced and directed THE ADVOCATES, a full-length feature documentary providing a sweeping look at the history and causes of LA’s homeless crisis and an intimate view of the tireless work of advocates striving to create better lives for their homeless clients. The film premiered at the 2018 Los Angeles Film Festival, followed by a successful festival run, multiple community screenings frequently moderated by Remi, and worldwide distribution and streaming. Since THE ADVOCATES, Remi produced and directed a series of six film ..read more

Our special guest today is John Onderdonk, the Co-Founder and CEO of Flume TV, an innovative ad-supported streaming service dedicated to independent content. Prior to founding Flume TV, John accumulated five years of media strategy experience at Comcast NBCUniversal. During this tenure, he held roles in Corporate Development, Corporate Strategy, Cable FP&A, and NBCU Corporate Strategy and Business Development, with a focus on forming the company's direct-to-consumer streaming strategy. Currently based in Palo Alto, California, John is originally from Dallas, Texas. John holds a Bachelor of ..read more

Christie Marchese is the founder and CEO of Kinema. Kinema revolutionizes how films are distributed, opening new opportunities for filmmakers and studios to reach their audiences and maximizing revenue through screening tours, virtual events, and TVOD. Christie has won several industry recognitions, including being named one of Fortune’s Rising Female Founders in 2023 and Fast Company’s Most Creative People in 2021. Currently she is managing Kinema and has just released the Distribution Playbook for filmmakers.  https://thedistributionplaybook.notion.site To learn more about Carole Dean a ..read more

Jonathon M. Smith, is an actor/writer/producer who has been involved in the film industry for over 15 years Recently he produced, starred, and wrote an independent feature that is part of the Amazon Prime catalog called "Broken City." At this time, Jonathon is currently producing and starring in a vertical series called "Collapse of America." He hopes to discover new trends with the series and show the industry a fresh way to deliver content and great stories to modern audiences. It will be released in all major social media platforms next month.  Free Class: Jona ..read more