The Palm Springs International ShortFest (June 21-27) is best known for its award-winning short films, but each year the Festival also welcomes a long guest list of filmmakers and industry attendees for the ShortFest Forums of panels and roundtables. New this year, the Forums will kick off with a Tech Day, in partnership with UC-Riverside, focusing on VR, online streaming, video game development and more. Prominent industry figures from Anonymous Content, Associated Press, Borgus Film, CAA, Cloud Imperium, The Hollywood Reporter, Indiegogo, Indiewire, kweliTV, Little Teeth Pictures, Los Angeles Film Festival, Los Angeles Times, Preferred Content, Pysop, Seed & Spark, Southland Productions, Tribeca Film Festival, Twitter, UCLA, Variety, Warner Bros. and other organizations will participate in three days of ShortFest Forums covering a wide range of emerging trends and new practices in the global film community.
“Our panels, roundtables, speed-pitching and masterclasses give hundreds of attending filmmakers unprecedented access to top industry professionals,” said Festival Director Helen du Toit. “In addition, this year, in tandem with our new partners at UCR, we are excited to be launching the Forum with ‘Tech Day,’ a full day of experts downloading the latest intel from the tech world, plus a VR demo lounge – all designed to inspire emerging filmmakers to take their craft to the next level and create unforgettable experiences for audiences.”
The schedule for this year’s ShortFest Forums includes:
Thursday, June 23 (Tech Day)
In partnership with UC-Riverside, ShortFest delivers a curated day of technology-focused content to attending filmmakers. Thought leaders from all corners of the industry will initiate conversations ranging from online streaming platforms and video game development to new equipment technologies, and how these tools are used across the medium of film. There will also be a VR Lounge with three experiences as well as drone demos.
10:00 a.m. Tech Day Keynote Speaker – Peter Samuelson
Description: Producer and pro-social entrepreneur Peter Samuelson served on the founding Board of Participant Media Inc. and is President of ASPIRE, the Academy for Social Purpose in Responsible Education. He has produced a wide range of films, from Revenge of the Nerds to Arlington Road, and, along with Steven Spielberg, co-founded Starbright World, an online social network and virtual playground for ill children around the world.
11:15 a.m. Panel – VR Production, A How to Guide
Description: For audiences looking for new experiences Virtual Reality is the new frontier. The medium allows audiences to not only see the depth and detail of every frame, but to feel like they are at the center of it. This panel explores the accessibility of Virtual Reality and the secrets to making it work.
Guests: Eve Cohen, Cinematographer, The Visitor, Cinematographer at Large and Co-Founder, Seed&Spark; James Kaelen, Director, The Visitor, Editor-in-Chief and Co-founder, Seed&Spark; and Blessing Yen, Chief Creative Officer, Seed&Spark.
Moderator: Sheritalyn Solis, Manager, Story & Creative Platforms, Paramount Pictures
1:00 p.m. Panel – California Streaming, Changing the Way We Watch Content
Description: With the plethora of short-form digital content online, how can filmmakers find the best platform for showcasing their work – and stand out from the masses? These experienced industry professionals navigate through this digital maze.
Guests: Ian Durkin, Curator, Vimeo; DeShuna Spencer, Founder, kweliTV; and Moises Velez, Warner Bros.;
Moderator: Tod Goldberg, Director of the Low Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts at the UCR
3:00 p.m. Panel – The Creative Process of Video Game Development
Description: Video games tell stories through each character, plot twist and environment in which they take place, much like a film. The overlap in the creative development of both films and participant-driven video games may seem forced, but the true and various parallels can be surprising.
Guests: John Schimmel, script development, Cloud Imperium; David Chontos, creator of Kismet/filmmaker; and Micah Wright, WGA Videogame Writer’s Caucus
Moderator: Natalie Zfat, Writer/Social Media Influencer
Friday, June 24
11:00 a.m. Panel – Understanding Crowdfunding
Description: The crowdfunding model is going from strength to strength, and every year we see more crowdsourced films premiering at major festivals and theaters. Whether it’s Charlie Kaufman or a first-time filmmaker, this production model allows filmmakers to not only take control of financing their project, but also to build a supportive community and generate buzz even before production starts.
Guests: Emily Best, CEO & Founder, Seed&Spark; and Marc Hofstatter, Head of Film and Creative, Indiegogo
Moderator: Anne Thompson, Indiewire
1:00 p.m. Panel – Mumblecore and Beyond with Sophia Takal & Larry Levine
Description: Partners in life and business, multi-hyphenate filmmakers Sophia Takal and Lawrence Levine hail from Mumblecore origins and have since expanded that model to fit their amorphic approach to filmmaking. They’ll share experiences about how they maintain creative integrity on a shoestring budget.
Guests: Sophia Takal, Producer and Director, Little Teeth Pictures, Always Shine and Green; Lawrence Levine, Producer and Director, Little Teeth Pictures, Wild Canaries and Gabi on the Roof in July
3:30 p.m. Panel – The Sweet Spot: How Shorts and Webisodes become TV Shows
Description: ABC’s new sitcom “Downward Dog” is about a struggling millennial, Nan (Emmy-nominated Allison Tolman, “Fargo”), from the point of view of her lonely and philosophical dog, Martin. As unconventional as that sounds, the story behind “Downward Dog’s” evolution into a TV show is just as interesting. Series creators Samm Hodges and Michael Killen, recount how “Downward Dog” began life as a web series, and the process that went with it being adapted into a primetime sitcom.
Guests: Samm Hodges and Michael Killen, creators and executive producers
Moderator: Michael Schneider, Executive Editor, Indiewire and Editor-at-Large, Variety
Saturday, June 25
11:00 a.m. Panel – Creating Tension à la Hitchcock
Description: When it comes to manipulating the audience into a state of frenzy, Alfred Hitchcock is the master. Just exactly how did he do it? Hitchcock scholar Jeffrey Michael Bays has made this his life’s study, and will share his top tips, illustrated with clips, for escalating tension and leaving the audience jonesing for more. Not just for genre filmmakers, these tips will enhance everyone’s films.
Guests: Jeffrey Michael Bays, founder the Borgus Network, contributor Moviemaker Magazine
1:00 p.m. Panel – The Short Route to Longform
Description: Once filmmakers have mastered the short-form, moving into long-form drama can be a daunting undertaking. Award-winning director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, will share how to navigate through the many obstacles on the road to a feature debut.
Guest: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, The Town that Dreaded Sundown, American Horror Story, Glee)
3:30 p.m. Panel – Meet the Programmers
Description: Navigating the festival circuit can be challenging, but with a cool head and a strategic plan, filmmakers can maximize their film’s visibility, make amazing connections and drive their career forward. A group of programmers from top U.S. festivals will provide candid insights into the programming process, advice on deciding which festivals are best suited for a project, and making sure you make the most of your festival experience.
Guests: Landon Zakheim, Sundance & Los Angeles Film Festivals; Sharon Badal, Tribeca Film Festival; Clint Bowie, New Orleans Film Festival; Dan Brawley, Cucalorus
Moderator: Laura Theilen, Festival Program Consultant
In addition, on Friday and Saturday, the festival offers roundtables where filmmakers can interact with industry representatives. Topics include crowdfunding for independence, Indiegogo breakout session, press insiders with reporters from The Associated Press, The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times and Variety, scene tectonics, a session with Twitter/Periscope, composing for film with Peter Neff from UCLA, and creating short films in the age of smartphones and Facebook. There will also be a special session on speed pitching in which pre-selected filmmakers can sign up to pitch and receive feedback on their upcoming feature projects from industry experts including Matt De Ross and Luke Rivett (Anonymous Content), Nick Ogiony (CAA), Abby Davis and Marc Bortz (Preferred Content), Moises Velez (Warner Bros.), Morgan O’Neill (Southland Productions), Peter Trinh (ICM) and Sophia Takal (Little Teeth Pictures).
Panel only tickets are available to the public for $13 each. A student pass is available to those currently enrolled in an accredited college/university or high school and grants access to regular film screenings and the ShortFest Forums for $100. All ShortFest Forums are free to accredited filmmakers participating in ShortFest and its concurrent Short Film Market. For more information and tickets, call (760) 778-8979 or (800) 898-7526 or visit the website: www.psfilmfest.org.
