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IIFF New York City Townhall Meeting (April 2007)
Thursday, April 19, 2007 from 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM (ET)
New York, NY
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Event Details
IIFF/NYC Townhall Meeting at SVA in Manhattan –
Where Film & Finance Meet To Succeed Together
abstract | moderator | venue | schedule | program | bios | registration | help
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.: April '07 Bay Area Townhall in San Francisco, CA | March '07 New England Townhall in Stowe, VT, March '07 Bay Area Townhall in San Rafael, CA & March '07 New York Metro Townhall in Manhattan | 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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Featured Moderator:
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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Meeting Venue:
School of Visual Arts
Main Building – Film, Video and Animation Department
209 East 23rd Street (btw. 2nd & 3rd Avenue)
5th floor, Gene Stavis Theater
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.; all nearby subway stations can be found here.
Subway & walking directions: Take the 6 Line 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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Schedule:
6:00-6:30 pm ... Registration and introductions
6:30-7:45 pm ... Three featured presentations with Q&A (1 x 35 min, 2 x 20 min)
7:45-8:15 pm ... Networking break I (15 min)
8:00-9:00 pm ... Three featured presentations with Q&A (3x 20 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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Program Details:
1) Making the Most of Film Financing Tax Incentives: A Comparative Study in the United States, Canada & the United Kingdom
— by Gary Kaufman, Esq., Tax Attorney & Principal at Kaufman Tax Law; renowned expert in tax planning for movie & TV financing, production & distribution; 20+ year veteran tax counsel in film, TV, music, sports, news & publishing; 25+ years of experience in strategic tax planning to reduce clients' worldwide effective tax rates; fmr. Senior Tax Counsel & Director, Tax Counsel at CBS & Sony
2) Screenwriting for Success: Crafting Screenplays that Appeal to Buyers & Financiers
— by Wendy Sax, Founder & Principal at Moving Stories; fmr. Artistic Director at IFP Market; fmr. VP of Production & Development at indie film company ErgoArts; Co-producer of Sundance winner "Songcatcher"; fmr. development exec for John Badham & Rob Cohen at Universal, Barbara DeFina & Martin Scorsese, Christopher Reeve at Warner Bros., and Jane Alexander at Viacom; fmr. Agent's Assistant at ICM
3) Motion Picture Pre-Sales & Co-Productions: A Crucial Piece of the Film Financing Puzzle Explained
— by Thea Kerman, Esq., Attorney & Principal at Law Offices of Thea J. Kerman; 25+ years of legal experience in entertainment, publishing, merchandising, toys & licensing; highly accomplished legal counsel to producers, writers, directors, actors & below-the-line personnel as well as production execs, talent agencies & sales agents; fmr. Senior Production Counsel at Tri-Star Pictures; fmr. General Counsel at Marvel Comics
4) New Models for Sustainable Cinema (Revisited): Taking Advantage of Emerging Trends in Media Use, Technology & Culture
— by Eli Chapman, Founder & CEO at Mediatronica; participatory media entrepreneur & guerrilla video producer; Co-founder at Unmediated.org & Mobile Monday New York; fmr. Manager of New Market Development at Avid; Creator of reality-TV game show sold to MTV; fmr. Product Manager at VideoFarm.com; Producer, Director, Editor & Shooter/Cinematographer for dozens of indie films & videos
5) The Physics of Film Finance: First-hand Insights from a Successful Filmmaker & Financier
— by P.J. Posner, Co-founder & Producer at TwoPoundBag Productions; critically acclaimed filmmaker & successful film financier; Executive Producer of "Secretary", "The Dying Gaul" & "Rock the Paint"; Screenwriter/Producer/Director of "Last Breath" & "The Next Big Thing"; Writer & Associate Producer of Doug Liman's "Getting In"
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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Speaker Bios:
- Gary Kaufman, Esq., Tax Attorney & Principal at Kaufman Tax Law; renowned expert in entertainment tax planning (including movie & TV financing, production & distribution); 25+ years of executive experience in international & domestic strategic tax planning with focus on reducing worldwide effective tax rates of multinational corporations & individuals; 20+ year veteran tax counsel to film, TV, music, sports, news & publishing industries; fmr. Senior Tax Counsel & Director, Tax Counsel at CBS Corp. & Sony Corp.
- Wendy Sax, Founder & Principal at film, screenplay & film-festival consultancy Moving Stories, Inc.; fmr. Artistic Director at IFP Market (e.g., Oscar winner "Born Into Brothels", "Mad Hot Ballroom"); fmr. VP of Production & Development at New York-based indie film company ErgoArts (division of Rigas Entertainment); Co-producer of Sundance Jury Prize winner "Songcatcher" (starring Janet McTeer, Aidan Quinn); fmr. Director of Development for John Badham & Rob Cohen at Universal (e.g., "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story"); fmr. development executive for Barbara DeFina & Martin Scorsese (e.g., Scorsese's "The Age of Innocence", "Casino" & "Kundun"), Christopher Reeve at Warner Bros., and Jane Alexander at Viacom; fmr. Agent's Assistant at ICM
- Thea Kerman, Esq., Attorney-at-Law & Principal at Law Offices of Thea J. Kerman; 25+ years of legal experience in entertainment, publishing, merchandising, toys & licensing; highly accomplished legal counsel to independent producers, writers, directors (e.g., Akira Kurosawa, Barry Levinson, Sidney Lumet), performers (e.g., Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Al Pacino, Whitney Houston, KISS), cinematographers, film editors & other below the line personnel as well as production executives, talent agencies & foreign sales agents; work on theatrical film productions includes "Donnie Brasco", "The Fisher King", "Hook", "Hairspray", "Warriors of Virtue" & "Bats"; fmr. Senior Production Counsel at Tri-Star Pictures in Los Angeles; fmr. General Counsel at Marvel Comics Group
- Eli Chapman, Founder & CEO at online audio/video/3D production studio startup Mediatronica Inc.; participatory media entrepreneur & guerrilla video producer; Co-founder at Unmediated.org & Mobile Monday New York; fmr. Manager of New Market Development at Avid Technology; Creator, Writer & Executive Producer of location-based reality-TV game show sold to MTV; fmr. Product Manager for Webby Award-winning video community website VideoFarm.com at Javu Technologies; Producer, Director, Editor & Shooter/Cinematographer for dozens of independent films & videos (e.g., Discovery Times' documentary/reality TV series "Staffers")
- P.J. Posner, Co-founder & Producer at independent film & commercial production company TwoPoundBag Productions; critically acclaimed filmmaker & successful film financier; Executive Producer of "Secretary" (Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Spader), "The Dying Gaul" (Patricia Clarkson, Peter Sarsgaard) & "Rock the Paint"; Screenwriter/Producer/Director of "Last Breath" (Luke Perry) & "The Next Big Thing"; Writer & Associate Producer of Doug Liman's "Getting In" (helped launch careers of Matthew Perry, Calista Flockhart & Doug Liman)
- Thomas Trenker, Founder & Chairman at social-entrepreneurship organization Institute for Int'l Film Financing (IIFF); Managing Director at angel investor group FilmAngels Capital; fmr. investment banker on Wall Street & in Silicon Valley
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Registration:
Online registration is available at http://events.filmfinancing.org/nym/?id=041907 (top of this page)
Early bird registration NLT Friday, April 13th:
IIFF Member ... $25 if registered online no later than April 13th
Non-member ... $40
Regular registration NLT Monday, April 16th:
IIFF Member ... $35 if registered online no later than April 16th
Non-member ... $50
Last minute registration NLT Wednesday, April 18th:
IIFF Member ... $45 if registered online no later than April 18th
Non-member ... $60
Same day registration (online) on Thursday, April 19th:
IIFF Member ... $50 if registered online on April 19th
Non-member ... $65
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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Questions?
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 "I very much enjoyed the seminar last Saturday in Stowe, VT. It was a lot of driving in one day (3.25 hrs. each way...), but worth it. [...] Thanks again for a very enlightening day." — Marjorie Short, Oscar-nominated Writer/Producer/Director, Short Productions Would you like to speak out? Send us your comments by email! |
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Copyright © 2007 Institute for Int'l Film Financing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Institute for Int'l Film Financing (IIFF)
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.
Founded by Thomas Trenker in 2003 and headquartered in San Francisco, IIFF has chapters in the Bay Area, New York City, New England, Florida, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, London, the Pacific Northwest and the Lower Midwest.
Help launch or run an IIFF chapter in your area! We make it easy and worthwhile. Email the chapter development team and tell us about yourself. 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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