September 4, 2007 (New York, NY) IFP’s 3rd Annual Filmmaker Conference gets underway in New York City on Sunday, September 16 and runs through Friday, September 21. Produced by IFP, the largest national membership organization of independent filmmakers, the Filmmaker Conference is open to the public – not just the film industry – and provides a convenient destination for those making independent films or simply interested in learning more about the process of how the films are financed, produced and make their way to audiences in theaters, on television and on line.

Held at the Puck Building in SoHo (295 Lafayette at Houston St.), the Conference is comprised of 35 panel discussions. Each of the five days is structured around a specific theme (i.e., Making Your First Feature, Filmmaking 2.0, The Global Marketplace, The Real Deal on Deals, The Truth About Non Fiction, and Fair Use in Documentary). The Conference serves as an annual “state of the union” on independent film and where it’s heading. Roughly 2,000 participants make their way through the Conference over the course of the week. Social networking can be found daily at the Filmmaker’s Lounge. All participants can catch up nightly for more social interaction during DJ sessions at the Liquid Lounge.

Daily “Conversations With” include: indie pioneers John Sayles and Maggie Renzi discussing their Toronto-bound Honeydripper, producer Jon Kilik (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Babel), former Artisan co-founder Bill Block of QED Intl. (an LA-based financing, sales and production company), former tech investor and entrepreneur Tony Liano of Crackle Content (a streaming entertainment network), and Diane Weyermann, Executive VP of Documentary Films at Participant Productions (the double bottom line production outfit behind An Inconvenient Truth). Over the course of the six days, a steady stream of leading voices in indie films will be present, including: Picturehouse President Bob Berney, BBC’s Nick Fraser, composer Moby, Head of US Theatrical Distribution at ThinkFilm Mark Urman, veteran producers Sarah Green, Lydia Dean Pilcher, Ted Hope, Lee Daniels, Peter Saraf, directing vets Tom DiCillo, St Clair Bourne, Alex Gibney, festival programmers from Berlin, Rotterdam, Slamdance, Sundance, SXSW, Sydney, Toronto, Tribeca, and leading DIY filmmakers and execs discussing new distribution models.

The Filmmaker Conference runs concurrently with the IFP Market (the 29th annual), a national program connecting projects with financiers, producers, and programmers before they are completed and on the festival circuit. For more information on the IFP Market go to www.ifp.org. The Presenting Sponsor of the Filmmaker Conference is HBO Documentaries. Gold Sponsors: Heineken, Screen Actors Guild/SAGIndie, Panasonic. Silver Sponsor: PBS. The Conference is also supported by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts, in addition to philanthropic support from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

IFP’s mission is to nurture and celebrate independent film and filmmakers, and to foster a vibrant and sustainable independent filmmaking community. We seek to empower individuals with the language of film, and enrich the world of film with a diversity of voices. We passionately believe that creating opportunities for independent, original and often controversial films to be made and seen is an essential part of a free, open and intellectually curious society.

Our programs provide filmmakers with access to the tools to develop and present their vision, and audiences with an opportunity to discover new work. Our signature programs include the Gotham Awards, the IFP Market, Filmmaker Magazine, IFP’s Filmmaker Conference and IFP’s Independent Film Labs. IFP was founded in 1979. It is a not-for-profit organization headquartered in New York City with members throughout the world; it is the largest membership organization in the United States dedicated to independent film.

Individual panel tickets $30, passes from $65 - $300. To register, www.filmmakerconference.com

3rd ANNUAL FILMMAKER CONFERENCE
FINAL PANELIST CONFIRMATION LIST as of 9.3.07

*Moderators in Blue

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 16th - MAKING YOUR FIRST FEATURE

GETTING STARTED 10:00 -11:00 AM
Will Battersby, Producer, Trumbo
Tory Tunnell, Producer, Trumbo
Steven Beer, Entertainment Attorney, Greenberg Traurig
Rodney Evans, Director, Brother to Brother
Gill Holland, Producer, Loggerheads, Hurricane
Avy Kaufman, Casting Director, Capote, Garden State
Michael Sladek, New York Coordinator, SAGIndie

PRODUCTION & POST PRODUCTION 11:30AM - 12:30PM
Will Battersby, Producer, Trumbo
Tory Tunnell, Producer, Trumbo
Lee Daniels, Producer, Monster's Ball, The Woodsman
Mark Forker, Special Effects Supervisor, DIVE Post Production
Amy Redford, Director, The Guitar
Michael Roiff, Producer, Waitress

MUSIC MAKES THE MOVIE 1:00 - 2:00PM
Doreen Ringer Ross, Vice President of Film & TV Relations, BMI
Tom DiCillo, Writer/Director, Delirious, Living in Oblivion
Tracy McKnight, Music Supervisor & Soundtrack Producer, Hotel Rwanda, Dedication
Moby, Musician
Anton Sanko, Composer, Delirious

FESTIVAL AND MARKETPLACE STRATEGY 2:30 - 3:30PM
Will Battersby, Producer, Trumbo
Tory Tunnell, Producer, Trumbo
Alex Holdridge, Director, In Search of a Midnight Kiss
Ben Stambler, Director of Acquisitions, THINKFilm
Ronna Wallace, Producer, Eastgate Pictures
Jeremy Walker, Principal, Jeremy Walker & Associates
Gabe Wardell, Executive Director, IMAGE/Atlanta Film Festival

FINDING YOUR AUDIENCE 4:00 - 5:00PM
Will Battersby, Producer, Trumbo
Tory Tunnell, Producer, Trumbo
Brent Hoff, Curator & Co-Founder, Wholphin
Karina Longworth, Blogger, Spout
Todd Rohal, Director, The Guatemalan Handshake
Mark Elijah Rosenberg, Founder & Executive Director, Rooftop Films
John Vanco, General Manager, IFC Center

A CONVERSATION WITH…JOHN SAYLES & MAGGIE RENZI 5:30 - 7:00PM
John Sayles, Director, Honeydripper
Maggie Renzi, Producer, Honeydripper

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 17th - FILMMAKING 2.0

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION - TURNING YOUR VIEWERS "ON" 10:00 -11:00AM
Scott Kirsner, Writer/Blogger, CinemaTech
David Dudas, Co-Founder& CTO, Eyespot
Sindy Gordon, Co-Founder, REELot
Slava Rubin, Co-Founder, IndieGoGo.com
M dot Strange, Director, We Are The Strange

A CONVERSATION WITH……TONY LIANO, CRACKLE 11:30AM - 12:30PM
Scott Macaulay, Editor, Filmmaker Magazine
Tony Liano, Vice President of Content, Crackle

THE STATE OF US FILM FESTIVALS 1:00 - 2:00PM
Sharon Swart, Senior Features Editor, Variety
David Courier, Programmer, Sundance Film Festival
Matt Dentler, Film Festival Producer, SXSW
Sarah Diamond, Director of Programming, Slamdance
David Kwok, Senior Programmer, Tribeca Film Festival
David Wilson, Director of Programming, True/False Film Festival

CREATING CONTENT FOR NEW PLATFORMS 2:30 - 3:30PM
Austin Chang, Lead Producer, MTV New Media & Gaming
Jan Crittenden, Product Line Business Manager, Panasonic
Liz Manne, Co-Founder, iThentic
David Straus, Founder & CEO, Without A Box

21ST CENTURY FILM JOURNALISM 4:00 - 5:00PM
Jason Guerrasio, Managing Editor, Filmmaker Magazine
Jody Arlington, Publicist, Weber Merritt PR
James Israel, Writer/ Blogger, IndieWIRE
Dennis Lim, Writer & Contributing Editor, Cinema Scope
Jonathan Marlow, President & CEO, Cabinetic

CONSUMER VIEWING HABITS 5:30 - 7:00PM
Lance Weiler, Director, The Last Broadcast, Head Trauma
Susan Buice & Arin Crumley, Directors, Four Eyed Monsters

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 18th - THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE

SELLING AMERICAN INDEPENDENTS ABROAD 10:00 -11:00AM
Colin Brown, Editor- In-Chief, Screen International
Peter Kujawski, Vice President, International Sales, Focus Features
Charlotte Mickie, Manager of International Sales, Maximum Films International
Peter Saraf, Producer, Little Miss Sunshine

A CONVERSATION WITH…BILL BLOCK 11:30AM - 12:30PM
Scott Macaulay, Editor, Filmmaker Magazine
Bill Block, President, QED International

NAVIGATING INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALS 1:00 - 2:00PM
Arianna Bocco, Vice President, Acquisitions & Production, IFC
Lenny Crooks, Head of New Cinema Fund, UK Film Council
Marit Van Den Elshout, CineMart Manager, International Film Festival Rotterdam
Wieland Speck, Director of Panorama and Member of Selection Committee for the Competition, Berlin Film Festival
Clare Stewart, Executive Director, Sydney Film Festival

PRODUCING FILMS FOR THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE 2:30 - 3:30PM
Gregg Goldstein, Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter
John Battsek, Producer, Black Sun, Lila Says
Karen Chien, Producer, The Motel, Undoing
Ilann Girard, Producer, Goodbye Bafana, Executive Producer, March of the Penguins
Ben Odell , Producer, Padro Nuestro, Ladrón que roba a ladrón

TELEFILM CANADA PANEL 4:00 - 5:00PM

COLLABORATION & CO-FINANCING 5:30 - 7:00PM
Sarah Green, Producer, Frida, The New World
Kacy Andrews, CEO, Bigfoot Entertainment
Noah Harlan, Producer, Red Hook, Avanim
Lydia Dean Pilcher, Producer, The Darjeeling Ltd., The Namesake

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 19th - THE REAL DEAL ON DEALS

PACKAGING YOUR NEXT FILM 10:00 -11:00AM
Sarah Lash, Sales Agent, Cinetic Media
Mark Ankner, Agent, Endeavor Independent
John Contrubis, Co-Founder, REELot
Ted Hope, Producer, The Savages, American Splendor
Robert Seigel, Partner, Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard, LLP
Adrienne Stern, Casting Director, Broken English, The Believer

A CONVERSATION WITH JON KILIK 11:30AM - 12:30PM
Scott Macaulay, Editor, Filmmaker Magazine
Jon Kilik, Producer, Babel, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly

NICHE MARKETING 1:00 - 2:00PM
Ryan Werner, Vice President of Marketing, IFC Films
Mitchell Lichtenstein, Director, Teeth
Wellington Love, Principal, 15 Minutes PR
Nevette Previd, Nevette Previd Inc. PR
Steven Raphael, Sales Agent, Required Viewing
Mark Urman, Head of Theatrical Distribution, THINKFilm

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD 2:30 - 3:30PM
Scott Kirsner, Writer/BloggerCinemaTech
Jana Augsberger, Vice President of Content & Distribution, Filmaka
Peter Broderick, Distribution Strategist, Next Wave Films
Kathleen Powell, Vice President, Worldwide Programming, Jaman
Anita Serwacki, Manager, ReFrame Project

SHOW ME THE MONEY 4:00 - 5:00PM
Andrew Herwitz, Principal, The Film Sales Company
Pete Ballard, COO, Lab 601Post Production
Diana Holtzberg, US Director of Sales & Acquisitions, Films Transit
Andy Ostroy, Founder, The Adrienne Shelly Foundation
Brian Newman, Executive Director, Renew Media

THE STATE OF INDEPENDENTS 5:30 - 7:00PM
Eugene Hernandez, Editor- In-Chief, IndieWIRE
Bob Berney, President, Picturehouse
Charles Burnett, Director, Killer of Sheep, To Sleep With Anger
Peter Goldwyn, Vice President of Acquisitions, Samuel Goldwyn Films
Michael Kang, Director, West 32th, The Motel
Tom Quinn, Senior VP, Acquisitions, Magnolia Pictures

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 20th - THE TRUTH ABOUT NON-FICTION

PUBLIC TV IN THE 21ST CENTURY 10:00 – 11:00AM
Sandra Ruch, Executive Director, International Documentary Association
Claire Aguilar, Director of Programming, ITVS
Nick Fraser, Editor, BBC Storyville
Simon Kilmurry, Executive Director, American Documentary Inc.
Kathy Lo, Director, Independent Lens

A CONVERSATION WITH…. DIANE WEYERMANN 11:30AM - 12:30PM
Thom Powers, International Documentary Film Programmer, Toronto International Film Festival
Diane Weyermann, Executive Vice President, Documentary Films, Participant Productions

STRANGER THAN FICTION: DOC HYBRIDS 1:00 - 2:00PM
Jared Moshe, Principal Partner, Sidetrack Films
Bruni Burres, Senior Consultant, Sundance Documentary Program/ Programmer & Director, Human Rights Watch International Festival
Ariana Garfinkel, Associate Producer, Trumbo
Brett Morgen, Director, Chicago Ten, On The Ropes
Dave Tecson, Partner, Edgeworx
Michael Tucker, Director, The Prisoner: Or How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair, Gunner Palace

THE BUYING AND SELLING OF NON-FICTION 2:30 - 3:30PM
Udy Epstein, Principal, 7th Art Releasing
Josh Braun, Principal, Submarine
Lynne Kirby, Senior Vice President of Original Programming, Sundance Channel
David Nugent, Programmer, Newport Film Festival/Hamptons Film Festival
Liz Ogilvie, Head of Programming, Docurama

DOCUMENTARY ETHICS 4:00 - 5:00PM
Katy Chevigny, Director, Election Day, Deadline
Macky Alston, Director, Hard Road Home, Family Name
St. Clair Bourne, Director, Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks, Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
Dan Klores, Director, Crazy Love , Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story
Paul Rachman, Director, American Hardcore
Jennifer Venditti, Director, Billy The Kid

DRAWING THE LINE WITH HBO DOCUMENTARY FILMS 5:30 - 7:00PM
TBD Filmmakers from Baghdad ER, White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Addiction and others.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 21st - FAIR USE IN DOCUMENTARY FILM

FAIR USE 101 9:00 - 10:30AM
Michael Donaldson, Principal, Donaldson & Hart

E & O & YOU 11:00AM - 12:30PM
Peter Jaszi , Professor, Washington College of Law, American University
Debra Kozee, President, C&S Insurance

FILMMAKER FAIR USE ROUNDTABLE 1:00 - 2:30PM
Anthony Falzone, Executive Director, Stanford University’s Fair Use Project
Kirby Dick, Director, This Film is Not Yet Rated, Sick: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist
Alex Gibney, Director, ENRON: Smartest Guys In The Room, Taxi to the Dark Side
Lesli Klainburg, Director, Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema, Indie Sex: Censored
David Van Taylor, With God On Our Side, Dream Deceivers: The Story Behind James Vance vs. Judas Priest