Panels, Master Classes and Conversations (including Catherine Hardwicke) at the 38th Mill Valley Film Festival

Erik Anderson September 23, 2015

SAN RAFAEL, CA. (September 10, 2015) –The California Film Institute is pleased to present the following panels, master classes and conversations as part of the BEHIND THE SCREENS program at the 38th Mill Valley Film Festival.
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Master Class | BOBBY ROTH: A DIRECTOR PREPARES
BOBBY ROTH has directed more than 80 episodes of television (Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Revenge), 25 television movies and 13 feature films, and has been teaching film seminars around the world for the last ten years. This master class demystifies the craft of directing, handing over the tools to aspiring filmmakers so they feel comfortable walking on a set and calling “action!”
Saturday, October 10 at 10AM at Sweetwater Music Hall; Sunday, October 11 at 10AM at Sweetwater Music Hall
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Active Cinema Hike | NETWORKING IN NATURE
Filmmakers and festival guests can join the MVFF staff on this free hike, exchanging ideas while getting fresh air on the Tennessee Valley Trail.
Saturday, October 10 at 10AM at Tennessee Valley Trail
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Panel + Reception | GIVE US A BREAK!
Sponsored by LUNAFEST, this panel aims to answer the questions many women face in the film business. How do you find opportunity in the film industry? Is there such a thing as a “lucky break”? How do women make and sustain viable careers in film? The following panelists will share their experiences, answering these questions and many others.

JUDY BECKER, production designer (Carol, American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook)
JENA MALONE, actress (Angelica, The Hunger Games, Into The Wild)
STACY L. SMITH, PhD Associate Professor at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, director of research-driven initiative on Media, Diversity, and Social Change
VALERIE WEISS, director (A Light Beneath Their Feet, Losing Control, Dance by Design)
Moderator: MELISSA SILVERSTEIN, writer; speaker; founder, Women and Hollywood

Saturday, October 10 at 11AM at Throckmorton Theater
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Active Cinema Film Screening + Panel | OPEN YOUR EYES
Join the Mill Valley Film Festival for the world premiere of the short documentaryOpen Your Eyes, about an elderly Nepalese couple who receive life-changing cataract surgery, followed by a post-film discussion on what it takes to make films that rock the world. Can documentaries elevate the social agenda? Join a group of game-changers whose commitment to the power of storytelling in film is helping to open hearts and minds and raise awareness on the compelling issues of the day. Screening and panel followed by Sing Out for Sight, a benefit concert for Seva Foundation at the Sweetwater Music Hall. Invited guests include:

IRENE TAYLOR-BRODSKY, Director, Open Your Eyes
SARA BERNSTEIN, senior vice president, HBO Documentary Films (Bernstein oversees the production and development of documentary and non-fiction films for HBO, including award winning films like The Case Against 8 and The Crash Reel.)
SANDY HERZ, Director of Global Partnerships, Skoll Foundation
Moderator: LARRY BRILLIANT, MD, MPH, Chairman, Skoll Global Threats Fund; Co-Founder, Seva Foundation; producer (Open Your Eyes)

Saturday, October 10 at 5:30PM at CinéArts Sequoia
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Master Class | A CONVERSATION WITH CATHERINE HARDWICKE
MVFF38 Tributee CATHERINE HARDWICKE will discuss her career from her roots as a production designer to her films including Twilight, Thirteen and Tank Girl.Hardwicke has proven over the course of her career that it is possible to sustain a viable creative life in the film industry. Writer, speaker and founder of Women and Hollywood, MELISSA SILVERSTEIN will join Hardwicke on stage.
Sunday, October 11 at 12:30PM at Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center
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Master Class | THE HEROINE’S JOURNEY: WRITING AND SELLING THE FEMALE DRIVEN SCREENPLAY
Screenwriter PAMELA GRAY (A Walk on the Moon, Music of the Heart, Conviction) and story consultant TOM SCHLESINGER (Prom Night in Mississippi, Nowhere in Africa, A Small Act) will guide audiences through the process of writing authentic female characters and the difference between the character arcs of female and male protagonists.
Saturday, October 17 at 11AM at Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center
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Panel + Reception | MVFF STATE OF THE INDUSTRY CONVERSATION
As new technologies and DIY distribution models continue to emerge, filmmakers are left with a series of questions including: how can you connect with your audience in an increasingly crowded entertainment landscape and how do these new technologies affect independent filmmakers? The annual MVFF STATE OF THE INDUSTRY CONVERSATION will look to answer these questions and explore new sustainable business models that enable filmmakers to thrive. Invited guests include:

RUSS COLLINS, director, State & Michigan Theaters, Ann Arbor, MI; founder/director, Art House Convergence; artistic director/founder, Cinetopia Festival Detroit
IRA DEUTCHMAN, president, Deutchman Company Inc.; marketing and distribution consultant; producer (Kiss Me, Guido, 54)
BOUS DE JONG, producer, Daniel Film (How To Change the World, BBC’s Classic Albums Series)
KOMAL MINHAS, producer, writer, investor (Dream, Girl; Without Love It Ain’t Much)
Moderator: MARK FISHKIN, founder/director, Mill Valley Film Festival

Saturday, October 17 at 1PM at Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center; Reception at Vin Antico to follow
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Variety Contenders Conversation | THE MAKERS OF SUFFRAGETTE
The powerhouse trio behind the MVFF38 Closing Night film, Suffragette, discusses its genesis, creation, and journey to the screen. This Variety Contenders’ Conversation is a case study where the director, screenwriter and producer will offer insights into the process behind the production. Invited guests include:

SARAH GARVON, director (Suffragette, Brick Lane, Village at the End of the World)
ABI MORGAN, screenwriter (Suffragette, The Hour, The Iron Lady, Shame(with Steve McQueen), Brick Lane)
FAYE WARD, producer (Suffragette, Jane Eyre, Toast, The Other Boleyn Girl)
Moderator: Variety representative, to be announced

Saturday, October 17 at 2PM at Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center
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Film Screening + Panel | CODE: DEBUGGING THE GENDER GAP
Following the October 17 screening of CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap, teens, and their friends and family are encouraged to join a discussion about gender and diversity gaps in the tech industry. This event is sponsored by Glassdoor. Invited guests include:

CEDRIC BROWN, chief of community engagement, The Kapor Center
TRACY CHOU, software engineer, Pinterest
DANIELLE FEINBERG, director of photography for lighting, Pixar
MARC HEDLUND, advisor and former VP of Engineering, Stripe; director, Code: 2040
JULIE ANN HORVATH, founder, Passions Projects
ROBIN HAUSER REYNOLDS, director (CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap, Running for Jim)
BLAKE IRVING, CEO, GoDaddy
Moderator: MARCO R. DELLA CAVA, technology and culture writer, USA Today

Saturday, October 17 at 2PM at Throckmorton Theater
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Panel | THE FUTURE OF FILM AND TECHNOLOGY
Join the festival for a lively discussion using history, film, and technology to address questions such as: What have we lost in the transition from celluloid film to digital, and where do we go from here? Sponsored by InVisage Technologies, panelists will discuss how innovations in technology are opening up new paths for the art of film. Invited guests include:

CHRISTOPHER COPPOLA, director (Sacred Blood, Creature of the Sunnyside Up Trailer Park); founder/chairman, Project Accessible Hollywood (PAH)
JESS LEE, president/CEO, InVisage Technologies
EMMANUEL LUBEZKI, cinematographer (Birdman, Gravity)
TIFFANY SHLAIN, founder, Webby Awards; co-founder, International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, filmmaker (Connected: An Autobiography About Love, Death & Technology)
Moderator: TBD

Sunday, October 18 at 2PM at Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center
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About the 38th Mill Valley Film Festival
Presented by the California Film Institute, the 38th Mill Valley Film Festival runs October 8-18, 2015 at the CinéArts Sequoia (25 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley), Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center (1118 Fourth Street, San Rafael), and other venues throughout the Bay Area. With a reputation for launching new films and creating awards season buzz, MVFF has earned a reputation as a “filmmakers’ festival” by celebrating the best in American independent and world cinema, alongside high profile and prestigious award contenders. MVFF welcomes more than 200 filmmakers representing more than 50 countries.

About the California Film Institute
The non-profit California Film Institute celebrates and promotes film as art and education through the presentation of the Mill Valley Film Festival and year-round exhibitions at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, film distribution by CFI Releasing, and building the next generation of filmmakers and audiences through the CFI Education program. For more information visit www.cafilm.org or call (415) 383-5256.

Thursday, October 8 through Sunday, October 18, 2015

On-Sale Date
For CFI Members: Starts Sunday, September 13, 2015 (dates vary by level)
For the General Public: Saturday, September 19, 2015

www.MVFF.com, www.CAFilm.org

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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.