Contact Institute for Int'l Film Financing (IIFF) for event and ticket information.
Thursday, March 15, 2007 from 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM (ET)
The Institute for International Film Financing (IIFF) continues its successful series of Townhall Meetings in New York City with a special event at Manhattan's prestigious School of Visual Arts.
This "grassroots" community meeting is designed to foster productive relationships between filmmakers, entrepreneurs and financiers and to provide unbiased insight and education about the business of film. The event features a powerful roster of highly topical speakers from the worlds of film and finance. We are delighted to again welcome real-world financiers among our guests for the evening.
IIFF's one-of-a-kind mission is to sustainably expand the scope & appeal of film financing, and to do so for the benefit of the public at large. True to IIFF's proven motto, "democratizing film financing," our regular, monthly Townhall Meetings bring together a wide array of professionals from relevant backgrounds in film, finance and beyond for a vibrant evening of insightful presentations and speeches, inspiring discussion and focused networking. Past meetings (e.g.: February '07 Townhall West in San Francisco, CA & February '07 Townhall East in New York City | January '07 Townhall in Santa Cruz, CA | December '06 Townhall East in New York City & December '06 Townhall West in San Francisco, CA | October '06 Townhall in New York City | September '06 Townhall in Oakland, CA | July '06 Townhall in Palo Alto, CA | June '06 Townhall in San José, CA | May '06 Townhall in San Francisco, CA | April '06 Townhall at Stanford business school) have reliably delivered useful insights into the business of film, provided valuable networking opportunities, and managed to draw large and enthusiastic crowds.
Who should attend? Entrepreneurs, technologists, attorneys, bankers, investment managers, venture capitalists and other non-film professionals are cordially invited to learn more about independent film. Are you considering taking an active role in film or would you like to expand your current involvement? Don't miss this opportunity to connect with the like-minded... Established and aspiring filmmakers are, naturally, more than welcome to join us as well!
The evening's five six presentations & panel discussion will address key issues relevant to filmmakers, financiers, and anyone interested in the economics, business mechanics, and financial dynamics of film. They will be followed by Q&A time. Attendees will also have ample opportunity to interact & network with our distinguished presenters and panelists and amongst themselves.
An informal après-meeting celebration will take place at an area restaurant.
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The event will be moderated by Thomas Trenker (bio | profile) who founded the Institute for Int'l Film Financing (IIFF) and runs FilmAngels, the world's first professional angel investor organization for independent film. Besides that and organizing a variety of events and initiatives at the junction of filmmaking, entrepreneurship and venture capital, Mr. Trenker is always on the lookout for worthwhile and intriguing new indie film projects that are seeking investor financing. Don't hesitate to connect with Mr. Trenker via LinkedIn or in person at this or another upcoming IIFF meeting.
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School of Visual Arts
Main Building – Film, Video and Animation Department
209 East 23rd Street (btw. 2nd & 3rd Avenue)
3rd floor, Amphitheater
New York, NY 10010
(212) 592-2000
Map: See a map of 209 E 23rd St. at Ask, Google, MapQuest, Windows Live or Yahoo.
Nearest subway station (ca. 0.2 miles walking distance): 6 Line station at 23rd St. & Park Ave.; see all nearby subway stations here.
Subway & walking directions: Take 6 to 23rd St. and walk two and a half blocks East on 23rd St.; look for the entrance to SVA's Main Building on the left-hand side of 23rd St., on the block between 2nd & 3rd Ave., near the NE corner of 23rd St. & 3rd Ave.
Our Host:
This month's Townhall Meeting is graciously hosted by the School of Visual Arts (SVA), one of the nation's largest independent, regionally accredited art –and film– schools.
SVA, located in the heart of New York City, is an established leader and innovator in the education of artists, offering graduate, undergraduate and continuing education classes. From its inception in 1947 as a trade school with three instructors and 35 students, SVA has grown into a dynamic, multi-disciplinary institution with a faculty of more than 800 and a student body of almost 3,500. Along the way, SVA has instituted numerous educational innovations, including the selection of professionals working in the arts and art-related fields as instructors.
SVA distinguishes itself by its extensive facilities, state-of-the-art equipment, unique program philosophies, and the size, breadth and professional standing of its faculty. Each faculty member is a practicing artist, filmmaker, designer, or photographer committed to the professional art world as well as to teaching the next generation of artists.
Very special thanks go to SVA's Film, Video and Animation Department and its Chairman, Reeves Lehmann. The members of the Film, Video and Animation Department are industry-renowned for turning ideas into cinematic works of art; the faculty even includes Oscar winners. SVA is one of the best-equipped film and animation schools in the country with industry-standard digital facilities that rival many professional studios.
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6:00-6:30 pm ... Registration and introductions
6:30-7:30 pm ... Three featured presentations with Q&A (3x 20 min)
7:30-8:00 pm ... Networking break I (30 min)
8:00-9:00 pm ... Two featured presentations with Q&A (2x 30 min)
9:00-9:15 pm ... Networking break II (15 min)
9:15-10:00 pm ... Moderated panel discussion with Q&A (45 min)
10:00+ pm ... Community time at area restaurant
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1) Successfully Financing Feature Films: Practical Advice from a Leading Independent Producer
— by Steven Haft, Founder & Producer at Haft Entertainment; prolific independent producer of award-winning feature films (e.g., Oscar-winners "Dead Poets Society" & "Emma") & TV programming (e.g., "Pirates of Silicon Valley", "Rear Window", "MAD TV"); Board Member at Sundance Institute
2) Setting Up an Indie Film Fund: Insights from the Frontier of Modern Film Financing
— by Joseph Pierson, Co-founder & Principal at independent film fund Cypress Partners; Co-founder & President at production company Cypress Films (e.g., "Julian Po", "Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron"); fmr. Production Assistant to Woody Allen; Trustee at Rockefeller Brothers Fund
3) Raising Private Equity for Film: Guide to Key Business & Legal Considerations
— by Robert Seigel Esq., Partner at Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP; well-known entertainment attorney representing filmmakers, distributors & foreign sales agents on fiction & non-fiction projects; Legal Counsel or Consultant to many award-winning productions or their filmmakers (e.g., "Forty Shades of Blue", "Milwaukee, Minnesota", "Pieces of April", "Trembling Before G-d")
4) The Virtues of Guerrilla Filmmaking: Financing & Producing Your Movie No Matter What
— by Morgan Pehme, Co-founder, CEO & Producer at Merlion Entertainment (e.g., "Exist", "Nightmare", "Nothing Sacred"); guerrilla filmmaker extraordinaire; Adjunct Professor of Film & Journalism at St. John's University in Queens, NY
5) The Animation Business in Flux: Evolving Trends & Emerging Opportunities for Filmmakers & Financiers
— by Terrence Masson, Founder & President at Digital Fauxtography; Computer Animation Festival Chair at SIGGRAPH 2006; 20-year veteran of animation, visual effects & video game industries (e.g., "Flushed Away", "The Wild", "Fantastic Four", "Star Wars", "Small Soldiers", "Spawn", "Anaconda", "Batman Forever", "Judge Dredd", "True Lies", "Hook", "South Park"); published author ("CG 101") & worldwide lecturer
6) Hollywood Profits: Quantitative Drivers of Motion Picture Profitability
— by Thomas Trenker, Founder & Chairman at Institute for International Film Financing (IIFF); Managing Director at FilmAngels Capital; fmr. investment banker on Wall Street & in Silicon Valley
In his quantitative presentation, Mr. Trenker summarizes the conclusions of his statistical analysis of factors that, alone or combined, predispose movies for profitability. Digging deep into his data, Mr. Trenker makes the case that, on average, independent films are superior not just on their widely touted creative merits, including originality, but – perhaps surprisingly – also on their commercial merits as measured by expected return on investment (ROI). With the economics of filmmaking evolving past Hollywood's traditional "rules of thumb", a new savvy generation of film entrepreneurs and financiers is well positioned to succeed through innovation.
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- Steven Haft, Founder & Producer at Haft Entertainment; prolific independent film & TV producer whose productions were nominated for 7 Oscars & 8 Emmys and won Oscars for Best Screenplay & Musical Score; Producer of many theatrical releases including Peter Weir's "Dead Poets Society" (starring Robin Williams), "The Singing Detective" (Robert Downey Jr.), Joel Schumacher's "Tigerland" (Colin Farrell), "Jakob the Liar" (Robin Williams), "Emma" (Gwyneth Paltrow), "Last Dance" (Sharon Stone), "Hocus Pocus" (Bette Midler), "Mr. North" (Anjelica Huston) & Robert Altman's "Beyond Therapy" (Jeff Goldblum); Executive Producer of made-for-TV movies such as "Strange Justice" (Delroy Lindo), "Pirates of Silicon Valley" (Anthony Michael Hall) & "Rear Window" (Christopher Reeve); fmr. Executive Producer of "MAD TV"; Elected Member of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences & Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; Board Member at Sundance Institute
- Joseph Pierson, Co-founder & Principal at independent film fund Cypress Partners; Co-founder & President at New York-based production company Cypress Films; Producer & Executive Producer credits include "EvenHand" (Bill Sage), "Maze" (Rob Morrow, Laura Linney), "Cherry" (Shalom Harlow), "Julian Po" (Christian Slater, Robin Tunney), "Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron" (Sean Astin, Eugene Levy); fmr. Production Assistant to Woody Allen (on "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy", "Zelig", "Broadway Danny Rose" & "The Purple Rose of Cairo"); Charter Board Member at Historic House Trust of New York City; Trustee at Rockefeller Brothers Fund
- Robert Seigel Esq., Partner at law firm Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP; well-known entertainment attorney representing directors, producers, writers, distributors & foreign sales agents on fiction & non-fiction projects; Legal Counsel or Consultant to numerous highly acclaimed & successful indies – or their filmmakers – including "Forty Shades of Blue", "Brother to Brother", "What Alice Found", "10 & Wolf", "Dummy", "Interview", "Runaway", "Washington Heights", "Blood Ties: The Life And Art Of Sally Mann", "Milwaukee, Minnesota", "Dear Jesse", "Trembling Before G-d", "Telling Nicholas", "Sister Helen", "Shelter Dogs", "The Holy Land", "Pieces of April", "Eye of God", "The Brandon Teena Story", "Rhyme and Reason"; author on business & legal topics for leading trade journals such as Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal, Entertainment Law & Finance, Filmmaker Magazine, Indie Slate, and International Documentary
- Morgan Pehme, Co-founder, CEO & Producer at Merlion Entertainment; independent director/producer/screenwriter & guerrilla filmmaker extraordinaire; Executive Producer of "Exist" (premiered at 2004 Rotterdam Int'l Film Festival), Producer of "Nightmare", Writer/Producer/Director of "Nothing Sacred"; Adjunct Professor of Film & Journalism at St. John's University in Queens, NY; fmr. Managing Editor at weekly newspaper The Queens Courier; fmr. Editor-in-Chief at Manhattan Today newspaper; fmr. National Scholastic Chess Champion (dramatized on-screen in "Searching for Bobby Fischer"); Founder & Chairman at nonprofit Southeast Queens Film Consortium
- Terrence Masson, Founder & President at digital effects & animation company Digital Fauxtography; Chair of Computer Animation Festival at SIGGRAPH 2006; 20-year industry veteran with senior management & production experience in feature & commercial animation, visual effects (VFX), and video games; award-winning Animation Director; feature film work includes "Flushed Away", "The Wild", "Fantastic Four", "Star Wars Episode I", "Small Soldiers", "Spawn", "Anaconda", "Batman Forever", "Judge Dredd", "True Lies", "Interview With The Vampire" & "Hook"; video game credits include "SimCity 4", "Midnight Club II" & "Batman: Dark Tomorrow"; CG innovator who helped create original "Bud Frogs" commercials, single-handedly developed original CG techniques for TV's "South Park", etc.; published author ("CG 101: A Computer Graphics Industry Reference") & sought-after lecturer on history & techniques of CG production
- Thomas Trenker, Founder & Chairman at Institute for Int'l Film Financing (IIFF); Managing Director at FilmAngels Capital; fmr. investment banker on Wall Street & in Silicon Valley
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Online registration is available at http://events.filmfinancing.org/nym/?id=031507 (top of this page)
Early bird registration NLT Friday, March 9th:
IIFF Member ... $25 if registered online no later than March 9th
Non-member ... $40
Regular registration NLT Monday, March 12th:
IIFF Member ... $35 if registered online no later than March 12th
Non-member ... $50
Last minute registration NLT Wednesday, March 14th:
IIFF Member ... $45 if registered online no later than March 14th
Non-member ... $60
On-site registration (at the door):
IIFF Member ... $55
Non-member ... $70
To learn more about membership with IIFF, email our Membership Bureau, or approach an IIFF team member at or after the event.
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Please direct all your questions and inquiries regarding this event to IIFF's online forum at http://forum.filmfinancing.org.
Having trouble with Eventbrite (this site) or PayPal? Please get help in IIFF's online forum. (You can also notify us by email well in advance of the event, and register on-site.)
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The Buzz: The following is a sampling of what others are saying about IIFF meetings... "Wow. Last night was great! I want to thank you again for the inspiring work you do. This is such a big need [...] and you're truly doing the work of angels (literally and figuratively)." — Brant Smith, Producer, "Quality of Life" "I really must say that I found all speakers very interesting, and I was hanging on their every word. IIFF, the mission and content, seems to be a good fit for me, because it is my dream to run a medium size production house. [...] Thank you, BIG THANK YOU [...], for inviting me to this very quality and important event." — John Henry, Owner, John Henry Filmworks "Let me again say I think you did a great job putting yesterday's event together -- great crowd, smart presentation, lots of enthusiasm." — David Rosen, Convener/Executive Producer, Digital Independence "Wow! For such a moderate investment, so much information. So much good networking. I hope you are proud of the magic you've created with IIFF." — Kevin Morrison, Writer/Director/Producer of independent film & TV "I just wanted to say thanks for another great and informative meeting. The speakers were impressive and I made some good contacts." — Jesse Ford, Founder & Executive Director, Group Hug Productions "IIFF and FilmAngels has really impressed me so far with its focus on the independent film community. I've traveled and interacted with film organizations around the world [...]." — Jin Woo Joo, Founder, Cinemasports "Thanks so much for hosting such an interesting program last week. I am always inspired by the creativity, and most recently, by the commitment to 'a better world'. It keeps my cynic's heart at bay! [...] again, my heartfelt thanks for your mission and execution. Well done!" — Teri Cundall, Founder & President, Propville.com "The event was great, very helpful." — Marc Perez, Co-President & Founding Partner, Sirk Productions "[...] I greatly enjoyed attending last night's event and found it very informative - certainly something that's been missing in New York so far." — Michael Gunther, Director/Producer, Triboro Pictures "Great presentation tonight. Lots of energetic discussions and questions." — Campbell Dalglish, Prof. of Screenwriting, MFA in Film & Video at CUNY "Thanks so much for tonight's event. It was really inspiring and incredibly informative." — Elizabeth Foley, Founding Faculty Member, Producing Dep't at NYFA "I enjoyed this evening's townhall presentation and found it very informative." — William Doll, Writer/Director, World Stage Pictures "Your Town Hall mtg was stimulating. You managed to attract the right target audience, and I loved your choice of speakers." — Sandra Schulberg, Founder, Independent Feature Project (IFP) "I attended the New York Town Hall Meeting and just wanted to thank you for setting up such an informative colloquium. It was my first IIFF event and I look forward to attending more in the future." — Blythe Frank, Producer, "Kettle of Fish" (Michael Mailer Films) "Thank you again for a wonderful event last night." — Morgan Pehme, Co-founder & CEO, Merlion Entertainment "I'm just writing [...] pertaining to the IIFF meeting last night, which I found both entertaining and informative and also promising of great things to come from IIFF in the near future!" — Thomas Woodrow, Producer, Furnace Films "I attended the IIFF town hall last week in New York and came away impressed. Thank you for putting together such an excellent panel of speakers. I found [Mr. Trenker's] presentation especially useful. As a former quant at Putnam Investments, I tend to dig into the numbers and [Mr. Trenker's] analysis was illuminating." — Robert Milacci, Founder & Executive Producer, Sinestra Pictures Would you like to speak out? Send us your comments by email! |
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The Institute for International Film Financing (IIFF) is an innovative, independent social-impact organization that endeavors to bridge the gap between the worlds of filmmaking and finance for the benefit of all stakeholders – including the public at large.
IIFF was founded by Thomas Trenker in 2003 and incorporated in California as a not-for-profit, public benefit corporation. Headquartered in San Francisco, IIFF currently has chapters in the SF Bay Area, New York City, New England, Florida, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, London, and the Pacific Northwest.
Help us expand further, or join our online community at http://forum.filmfinancing.org to keep in touch with a growing number of filmmakers and financiers!
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