Carole Dean is the president of From The Heart Productions, a nonprofit company that works for filmmakers as a fiscal sponsor and is now partnered with Indiegogo for crowdfunding. Through this platform Carole awards three film grants a year valued at more than $100,000, with past grants totaling more than $2 million. Each year, Carole appraises and consults on over 1,000 films and trailers to help prepare them for funding. During her career Carole has helped filmmakers raise over $10 million for their documentaries, features, and short films. She is also the author of “The Art of Film Funding: Alternative Financing Concepts”.
Alex Neustaedter stars in "Ithaca", in the lead role of Homer, alongside Oscar winner Tom Hanks and Golden Globe nominated Meg Ryan. He also stars as Bella Thorne’s love interest in the upcoming film "Shovel Buddies", and USA network's new TV series, "Colony," from the Emmy award winning executive producer and writer of “Lost” - Carlton Cuse.
Doug Jones is a veteran of film acting with roles in major box office hits such as “Hocus Pocus”, “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer”, “Hellboy” and its Oscar nominated sequel “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”, and Oscar winning “Pan's Labyrinth”, as well as the Emmy nominated TV series “Falling Skies”, and the Golden Globe nominated TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. He is renowned for his roles in the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres, often wearing heavy makeup to play nonhuman characters.
Meg DeAngelis is an actress and social media superstar with over 4.3 million YouTube subscribers and 1.6 million Instagram followers. Meg has starred in the series “Royal Crush” and movies “The Giant King” and “Summer Forever” with Alyson Stoner, as well as the upcoming Dreamworks release “Trolls” in which she stars alongside Oscar nominated Anna Kendrick, Golden Globe nominated Justin Timberlake, Russell Brand and Gwen Stefani. Her latest film “Dance Camp”, was produced by John Chu as one of the first features to premiere on YouTube’s new subscription service YouTube Red.
Christopher Kenworthy is a screenwriter, director and producer of countless commercial projects and music videos, numerous short films, and a feature called “The Sculptor's Ritual”. He's the best-selling author of the renowned film book series “Master Shots” which includes Volume 1, 2 and 3, “Master Shots: Story”, “Master Shots: Suspense”, and “Master Shots: Action”. He's also the author of two well-reviewed novels and numerous critically acclaimed short stories. His latest film books are “Shoot Like Tarantino”, “Shoot Like Spielberg” and “Shoot Like Scorsese”.
John Trigonis is the author of “Crowdfunding for Filmmakers”. He has mentored thousands of filmmakers, storytellers, and other content creators worldwide to help them craft compelling crowdfunding experiences that not only reach, but also exceed their financial goals. After spending a few years as a private crowdfunding consultant for a number of creative projects, John was brought on board Indiegogo’s film team as its Film Campaign Strategist and now works behind-the-scenes on some the most successful film and video campaigns, including “Con Man”, “VGHS Season 3”, “Iron Sky: The Coming Race”, and countless other top-dollar projects, all while continuing to nurture his own creative multimedia endeavors. In addition to this John recently spoke at TEDx.
Richard Botto is a screenwriter, producer, actor and filmmaker, and the creator and CEO of social network Stage 32. Since the launch of Stage 32 in September 2011 this filmmaking community has grown to more than 500,000 members from all across the globe. Forbes has described Stage 32 as "Lynda.com Meets LinkedIn For Film, Television And Theater Creatives." Richard’s screenplays have been semi-finalists and finalists at a variety of competitions including The Page, Nicholl, and Creative World Awards. He was an associate producer on Sam Levinson's “Another Happy Day”, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011 and featured Golden Globe nominated Ellen Barkin, Golden Globe nominated Demi Moore, Oscar nominated Thomas Hayden Church, Kate Bosworth, and Oscar winner Ellen Burnstyn.
Cyrus Nowrasteh is a writer, producer, and director. Starting out as a television writer, Cyrus received the Pen USA West Literary Award for Best Teleplay twice, and is the only writer in the history of the Pen awards to win two years in a row in the same category. He wrote the pilot for the USA Network show “La Femme Nikita”, as well as numerous episodes of “Falcon Crest”. He also wrote and produced the Emmy award winning ABC miniseries “The Path to 9/11”, which starred Oscar winner Harvey Keitel. Cyrus’ film work has been equally illustrious. He wrote and directed “The Day Reagan was Shot”, which starred Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss and was executive produced by Oscar winner Oliver Stone. He then went on to co-write and direct the film “The Stoning of Soraya M.”, which starred Jim Caviezel and won runner-up for the Audience Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, amongst numerous other award wins. “The Stoning of Soraya M.” was condemned and banned by the Iranian government but thousands of copies were bootlegged into the country and it became an underground hit in Iran - forcing the government to put a temporary suspension on stoning as a punishment. Cyrus’ latest release “The Young Messiah”, which he directed and co-wrote, is based on an Anne Rice novel, and stars Sean Bean. It will be released in theaters nationwide on March 11.
Howard Klausner is a writer, director and producer of films such as “Space Cowboys”, starring Oscar winner Clint Eastwood, “The Identical” starring Golden Globe nominated Ray Liotta, “Hoovey” starring Alyson Stoner, “The Last Ride”, “The Secret Handshake” and “The Grace Card”.
Roque Baños has scored over fifty films and television series, including “The Machinist”, Oscar nominated Spike Lee’s “Oldboy”, Oscar winner Ron Howard’s “In The Heart of The Sea” and Oscar nominated “Sexy Beast”. To date, Roque boasts an impressive fourteen award wins and twenty nine award nominations, recently earning a 2015 Gaudi Award – the Spanish equivalent of the Oscar – for "Best Original Score" to “El Nino”. His latest movie, “Risen”, starring Joseph Fiennes, will open in theaters nationwide on February 19th.
Cody Longo has starred in movies such as “Fame”, “Bring It On: Fight to the Finish”, “Piranha 3D”, “Not Today”, “High School”, “The Silent Thief” and “For the Love of Money”. His television work includes “CSI: NY”, “Hollywood Heights”, “Brothers and Sisters”, “Make It or Break It”, “Three Rivers”, “Medium” and “Nashville”. Cody is also a musician and in 2013 he broke into the Billboard top 100 with his song "She Said" which also charted #3 on the iTunes top 100, along with his debut album.
Rickey Boyd is a world-class puppeteer. Rickey’s long and distinguished career includes performing Grandma Cookie Monster for Sesame Workshop's “Sesame Beginnings”, Scooter and Crazy Harry in “Muppet's Wizard of Oz”, and Waffle in “Animal Jam”. Other projects include “Muppets From Space”, “Dinosaurs The Series”, “Muppetvision 3D”, “Muppets at Disney World”, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “Song of the Cloud Forest”, as well as numerous videos and commercial projects. Rickey continues to perform for The Jim Henson Company, as well as working as an animator and director for the multiple Emmy award winning Magnetic Dreams Studio. There, he designs and directs animations for clients such as Sesame Street, amongst others.
Katie Garfield has starred in movies such “Project Almanac” and “The Perfect Summer”. Her television work includes “The Vampire Diaries”, “Under The Dome”, “One Tree Hill”, “Army Wives” and “Nashville”. Katie co-stars with Armie Hammer and Nate Parker in “The Birth of a Nation”, which recently garnered the largest Sundance deal in history.
Mike Halsey is the President of the multiple Emmy award-winning VFX house Magnetic Dreams. Magnetic Dreams past projects include “Yellow Day”, “After”, “SpongeBob Moves In”, “Let The Lion Roar”, “Elmo The Musical”, “Thor and Loki – Blood Brothers”, “Iron Man Extremis”, and “V.I. Princess”, as well as projects for Taylor Swift, Roy Orbison, EA Games, and Sesame Street.
Reinhard Denke is the writer of “Captive” starring Emmy nominated Kate Mara and Golden Globe nominated David Oyelowo. Prior to this his spec script “Sex, Greed, Money, Murder and Chicken Fried Steak” was optioned by Oscar nominated Johnny Depp, and made the 2009 Hollywood Blacklist. A graduate of USC Film School, Reinhard has completed writing assignments for BN Films, Echolight Studios, Rock Island Films, and One Good Man Productions, amongst others.
Chris Bell is the co-writer and director of the hit documentary “Bigger Stronger Faster”, which was nominated for the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize. The film earned him accolades from Oscar winner Michael Moore and Oscar nominated Morgan Spurlock, and was acquired by Magnolia Pictures. He is also the director of “Trophy Kids” which was executive produced by Emmy nominated Peter Berg and aired on HBO. His latest documentary “Prescription Thugs” is executive produced by Vince Vaughn and Emmy nominated Peter Billingsley, with a score from Oscar nominated Joel Goodman.
Michael Wiese is a media manifestation machine having worked for 35 years in film, video, and television, both at the executive level and as an indie producer/director. His company – Michael Wiese Productions - is the world's leading publisher of books on filmmaking and screenwriting, with over 230 titles distributed internationally. Five years ago, with his wife, he launched Divine Arts, an imprint devoted to transformation and plant medicine books. His recent 'personal journey' films including "The Sacred Sites of the Dalai Lamas", "Living with Spirits" and "Talking with Spirits". Upcoming books for 2016 include "The Toad of Dawn" and "The God Molecule".
Christina Lee Storm is an independent producer who has collaborated with filmmakers from around the world. While living in Hong Kong she was Head of Creative Development for legendary Hong Kong director Johnnie To working with local screenwriters and directors. Some of Christina's recent producing credits include “The Least of These”, “To Save A Life, Flesh: Bought & Sold in the U.S.”, and most recently the short documentary “Life After Pi” that went viral on YouTube. Christina was Production Supervisor for the 2012 Oscar winning film “The Artist”. She has also been Manager of Digital Production at Rhythm & Hues Studios where she worked on over a dozen feature films including “The Hunger Games”, Oscar nominated “Snow White and the Huntsman” and Oscar winner “Life of Pi”. She has served on the Producers Guild of America's National Board of Directors and AP Council Delegate for 6 years. Christina received the PGA's AP Council Commitment Award in 2013. She is Co-Chair/Mentor for the PGA's Diversity Workshop, a member of the Women's Impact Initiative, Digital VIP Committee, International Committee, and was most recently elected Treasurer of the Producers Guild of America.
Richard LaMotte has over 40 years experience of filmmaking on both studio and independent features. His work as a costume and technical advisor includes films such as the Oscar nominated “The Mask of Zorro”, and Oscar winners “The Last of the Mohicans” and “Pearl Harbor”. And his work as costume designer includes movies such as “Rambo III”, “The Goonies”, “The Island of Dr. Moreau”, “Gods and Generals”, and the Oscar nominated “The Wind and the Lion”. He is also the author of “Costume Design 101” a comprehensive guide to creating costumes for film and television.
Cath Le Couteur is the founder of Shooting People, an online independent film network with over 38,000 members and over 200 films crewed and cast using their services every week. Patrons of Shooting People include Mike Figgis, Michael Winterbottom, Sally Potter, Kevin Smith, and Danny Boyle. Cath was the recipient of the Sundance/Alfred P. Sloan Commissioning Grant in 2010. Her short films have won numerous awards including the Best British Short at the Edinburg International Film Festival, Best Short Film at the Barcelona Film Festival, and nominations such as Best Short Film at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Kathie Fong Yoneda is the author of “The Script Selling Game: A Hollywood Insider's Look At Getting Your Script Sold and Produced”. With over 30 years of industry experience, Kathie has worked for such prestigious studios as Paramount, Columbia, MGM, Universal, 20th Century Fox, and Disney, specializing in story analysis and development of live action and animated projects. Her career includes executive positions with Walt Disney Studios, Touchstone, Island Pictures, and Walt Disney TV Animation. During her career she has evaluated more than 20,000 submissions in the areas of film, television, novels, plays, and web series.
Pen Densham is the twice Oscar nominated writer/producer/director of movies such as “Moll Flanders”, starring Morgan Freeman and Robin Wright, “Houdini” starring Mark Ruffalo and Emile Hirsch, and the box office smash hit “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”, which was the second-highest grossing film of 1991. In addition he is renowned for his television revivals of “The Outer Limits” and “The Twilight Zone”, for which he earned the unique distinction of being named number eight in Cinefantastique’s list of The 50 Most Powerful People in Science Fiction. And Pen’s production company Trilogy Entertainment Group has produced more than 400 hours of network and prime time programming. Its combined gross between film and television product is more than $1 billion. His documentaries, which include “Life Times Nine”, have garnered over 70 international awards, in addition to a medal from the Queen of England for his contribution to the Arts of Canada. And Pen is the author of the book “Riding The Alligator: Strategies for a Career in Screenplay Writing (And Not Getting Eaten)”, which includes supportive essays by screenwriters such as Shane Black, Oscar nominated Nia Vardalos, and Oscar winner Eric Roth, and which received positive reviews from Oscar winners Paul Haggis, Ron Howard, Jeff Bridges, and Morgan Freeman.
Bob Hutchins is the founder of Buzzplant, a digital marketing company that specializes in faith-based product and movie releases. Buzzplant’s past and present campaigns include “Soul Surfer”, “The Passion of the Christ”, “Blue Like Jazz”, “The Remaining”, “Alone Yet Not Alone”, “The Identical”, and “The Masked Saint”. Bob is also the author of the book “Faith-Based Marketing: The Guide to Reaching 140 Million Christian Customers.”
Dr Ted Baehr is the founder and publisher of MovieGuide and the Chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission, the only active liaison between studio executives and the general public for issues of family entertainment and faith. He is also a noted critic, educator, lecturer, author, and media pundit. Dr Baehr was president of the organization that produced “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” for CBS, boasting 37 million viewers and winning an Emmy Award. In addition Dr Baehr has also produced hundreds of programs for PBS. Armed with over 40 years of research on the media and culture, Dr Baehr has lectured at the European Parliament, the House of Lords in the U.K., the Parliament of Norway, the Bombay Communication Institute, Yale University, Dartmouth College, the University of Virginia, and U.C.L.A. Dr Baehr is also the Publisher of MovieGuide magazine, which offers in-depth analyses of current movies from a biblical perspective, he writes a syndicated column for publications nationwide, and he is the author of more than ten books on the subject of faith and film. Dr Baehr additionally presents the "Report to the Entertainment Industry", an annual analysis of the past year's movies and is the founder of the internationally broadcasted MovieGuide Awards.
Matt Osterman is a writer/director/producer best known for his feature film “Ghost From The Machine”, his award-winning short films, and his work on the documentary “Sportsfan” with Jon Stewart.
Matt has also collaborated closely with Emmy Award winner Dan Buettner, helping him found his anthropological research project Quest Network and the subsequent New York Times bestselling book “The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest.”
In addition, Matt has worked extensively in the creative/branding industries, helping create over 25 brands that can be seen in Target, Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and numerous other nationwide stores.
His latest movie, “400 Days” stars Dane Cook, Brandon Routh, Emmy nominated Ben Feldman, and Golden Globe nominated Tom Cavanagh.