42nd IFP Week virtual programming includes Damien Chazelle, Veena Sud, Phillip Youmans and more

IFP Week to take place virtually September 20^th – 25^th  

Guest Speakers include Anthony Bregman, Antonio Campos, Damien Chazelle, Gina Duncan, Channing Godfrey Peoples, Ted Hope, Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss, Dawn Porter, Kristine Stolakis, Kim A. Snyder, Veena Sud, Phillip Youmans and more

“Spotlight” Conversation Series with Radha Blank, Kirsten Johnson and more

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), announced today the virtual public programming for the 42^nd IFP Week, taking place virtually Sunday, September 20^th to Friday, September 25^th.  The first four days of the week will be film and TV related programming with the final two days dedicated to audio programming to support creators working in the audio space through the introduction of the first-ever IFP Week Audio Hub. Additional details on audio programming will be shared in the coming weeks. 

Kicking off Sunday, September 20^th, IFP Week will feature a series of panel conversations exploring the future of the entertainment industry and how storytellers can continue to create and showcase their work, including:

• “Blurring the Lines of Storytelling: How Do I Get My Story Out” – a conversation moderated by Soledad O’Brien with Dawn Porter, director of The Way I See It and other storytellers discussing the ways in which impactful stories can be told to audiences. 
• “Disruptions within the Creative Industry and the Emergence of New Business Models” (Presented by Paus) – a conversation with Paus, Himalaya, FilmChain and filmmaker Jackson Tisi around the challenges faced with traditional business models and the emergence of new models to keep the creative industry alive.
• “Hold My Seat: The Future of Cinemas in New York City” – Gina Duncan of Brooklyn Academy of Music and Aliza Ma of Metrograph moderated by Caryn Coleman of Nitehawk Cinemas will discuss how they’re continuing to create viewing experiences for audiences. 
• “Future Forward: Festivals & Filmmakers (In Partnership with Film Festival Alliance) – Festival programmers, filmmakers and those who straddle both worlds come together to discuss what’s next for the film festival industry. 

The day will culminate in a conversation with filmmaker Radha Blank (The Forty-Year-Old-Version) moderated by Terence Nance in the first of three evenings of “Spotlight” conversations. The other “Spotlight” programming includes a producers roundtable with Anthony Bregman, Stefanie Azpiazu, and Bob Salerno for filmmaker Charlie Kaufman’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things and a conversation with filmmaker Kirsten Johnson (Dick Johnson is Dead). 

Additional programming includes daily “weekday strands” around fiction features, non-fiction features and series panels with filmmakers and industry leaders. Some include:

• “An Independent Black Filmmaker’s Story: The Journey to Reach Audiences” –  A conversation with Huriyyah Muhammad (Farewell Amor), Phillip Youmans (Burning Cane), and Channing Godfrey Peoples and Neil Creque Williams (Miss Juneteenth) as they discuss their journeys to get their films seen by audiences with stories that reflect distinct communities and are often not widely distributed. 
• “Thrilling on the Page and on the Screen: The Devil All The Time” – Director/writer Antonio Campos, writer Paulo Campos and author Donald Ray Pollock discuss the adaptation process of Netflix’s upcoming The Devil All The Time.  
• “Documenting Generations of Changemakers” – A conversation with directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss (Boys State), directors James Lebrecht and Nicole Newnham (Crip Camp), director Kim Snyder (Us Kids), and director Hillary Bachelder (Represent) about their process of documenting young activists looking to change societal issues as well as the various points of view in which these stories come to life.
• “Creative Collaboration, Storytelling, and Culture Change in Pray Away”-director Kristine Stolakis, editor Carla Gutierrez and producer Anya Rous discuss the power and importance of collaboration through the creative process and social impact campaign for Pray Away. 
• “Cinematic Music in Little Fires Everywhere and The Eddy” – Moderated by Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)’s Doreen Ringer-Ross with the music teams behind Little Fires Everywhere, composer Mark Isham and music supervisor Mary Ramos as well as The Eddy, director/executive producer Damien Chazelle and composer/actor Randy Kerber, discuss the ways in which they’ve created a cinematic musical experience for serialized content. 
• “Run That Show: Women Owning the Writers Room” – A conversation with Veena Sud (The Stranger), Karin Gist (Mixed-ish, Star), Elle Johnson (Self Made),  Janine Sherman Barrois (Self Made), and Nicole Jefferson Asher (Self Made) as they discuss their journey as writers and showrunners and what they hope for writers in the future.

This year IFP will offer a variety of free programming including panels in partnership with organizations such as Black Film Space, NALIP, ImagineNATIVE, New Negress Film Society and more around topics such as “Blackness and Browness in film,” “Self-Reflection and Power Dynamics in the Documentary Filmmaking Process,” and “The Power to Own It” presented by IFP’s Womxn Owning It program. Additionally, the event will provide IFP members with virtual speed networking opportunities with organizations such as Ghetto Film School and Black TV & Film Collective. Lastly, IFP will share pre-recorded conversations with film offices and organizations such as the Australian International Screen Forum, Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, FilmLA, Missouri Film Office and more around topics related the future of production around the globe. 

IFP Week will also host their signature Direct Access program, which are work-shop style sessions exploring specific areas of the industry lead by decision makers and insiders. This year’s sessions will include in depth conversations and Q&As with the Documentary Producer’s Alliance (DPA) around the documentary waterfall guidelines, Ted Hope discussing his illustrious career and what filmmakers can learn from it and an IFP Episodic Labs intensive session with Neerja Narayanan, Ryan O’Nan and Alex Schwarm. 

This year’s public programming will also expand to include two days of audio programming, which will highlight talent and executives from industry thought leaders at Audible, Spotify, Wondery, Penguin Random House, and more.  Programming themes will cover topics such as audio production flow, business modeling, and will culminate in a keynote on the future of storytelling in audio. In addition to panels and direct access events, audio programming will feature two nights of previews with exclusive content from a host of exciting new projects. A full release of audio programming, events, and featured speakers to follow.

“As the need for storytelling remains a priority and necessity, we open the 42^nd annual IFP Week in remarkable, challenging and changed times,” said Jeffrey Sharp, Executive Director of IFP. “Yet our reach with virtual meetings, panels, and conversations has never been greater in terms of access and collaboration and we are excited to explore these opportunities with our growing community of storytellers.”

For additional detailed information on IFP Week and programming, as well to purchase tickets please visit our website at: https://ifpweek.com/conference/

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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