IFP Announces Public Programming for 41st Annual IFP Week

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) announced its public program for the 41st IFP Week, including a series of over 40 panel conversations, workshops and screenings. IFP Week, one of IFP’s signature annual events, will take place in Brooklyn, New York from Sunday, September 15 through Thursday, September 19.

The week kicks off on September 15th with a series of panel conversations with filmmakers at BRIC, some including:

* Keynote presentation by Tyler Mitchell, head of impact at Imagine Impact

* “An Exciting Time” – a conversation with the creative visionaries behind Time Studios, the recently formed premium content division of Time

* “Politically Charged” – directors Rachel Lears and Alison Klayman discussing the impact of their politically charged documentary films Knock Down the House and The Brink

* “Staying In The Room” -Andrew Chow of Time moderates a conversation on Asian-American representation in Hollywood featuring filmmakers Jon M. Chu, Alice Wu and producer/writer Teresa Hsaio

* “United Artists 100-Year Anniversary” – A panel celebrating the legacy of United Artists featuring special guests to discuss the studio’s esteemed history and lasting impact on the motion picture industry

The day will culminate with a special screening of Amazon Studios’ CIA drama The Report starring Adam Driver, Jon Hamm, Annette Bening, Maura Tierney and Michael C. Hall, followed by a conversation with writer/director Scott Z. Burns.

Additional programming includes newly launched daily “weekday strands,” a series of back-to-back panels with filmmakers, creatives and industry professionals focusing on a common theme each day. Some include:

* “Tête-à-Tête” – Oscar winning documentary filmmakerE. Chai Vasarhelyi (Free Solo) and Emmy winning documentary filmmaker Todd Douglas Miller (Apollo 11) discuss their work, filmmaking instincts and contributions to non-fiction storytelling.

* “Killer Ideas” – Oscar nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger (“Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes,” Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, the Paradise Lost trilogy) and Skye Borgman (“Abducted in Plain Sight”) reflect on the rise of the true crime documentary series.

* “Write, Adapt, Repeat” – Oscar-nominated screenwriter Michael H. Weber (The Disaster Artist, The Fault in Our Stars), producer Riva Marker (Wildlife, Beasts of No Nation) and Marcy Drogin discuss their creative process and literary adaptations.

* “Based On A True Story” – Director Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou) discusses the making of her upcoming biographical film Harriet, moderated by Darrien Michele Gipson, executive director of SAGIndie.

* “A Guide To Recognizing Your Options” – Rachel Deahl of Publishers Weekly leads a conversation on the process of optioning book rights. 

* “Where Do We Go From Here?” -Lionsgate EVP of physical production Kelli Konop and John Hadity of Entertainment Partners discuss domestic tax incentives.

* “Multi Multi Media”– Adam Neuhaus from ESPN and Tony Tackaberry from Lion Television discuss multi-hyphenate media companies, moderated by Ari Mark of Ample Entertainment.

* “Case Study: Frankie” – Writer/director Ira Sachs talks about international collaborations, the making of his film Frankie, and shooting in Portugal. 

In addition, IFP Week will host their popular Direct Access program, where attendees have access to seasoned industry veterans for workshops, seminars and intimate panels, and the Meet the Decision Makers program, where attendees interact with top executives at small roundtable talks. Participating companies and representatives include Paul Bernon of Burn Later Productions, Jérôme Paillard, executive director of Marché du Film, Festival de Cannes, RJ Millard of Obscured Pictures, and Ashley Snyder of Steiner Studios.

“Our goal this year is to break through the noise and present a dynamic, compelling and exciting offering of public programs to celebrate storytelling in all of its forms including film, TV, publishing, theatre, VR/AR and podcasting,” said Jeff Sharp, executive director of IFP. “We are excited to share this vision with our invited storytellers, some of whom are alumni of our program, public audiences and distinguished industry guests at our home in New York City, media capital of the world, where IFP Week began over forty years ago.”

Under the new leadership and curation of Sharp, IFP Week producer Jamie Zelermyer, public programs producer Sam Pezzullo, and associate producer Courtney Cox,  the IFP Week Conference public programming takes place in and around Brooklyn, New York at BRIC, The Amazon Studios HUB, The Center For Fiction, neighborhood screening venues, and IFP’s headquarters The Made in NY Media Center by IFP.

For additional detailed information on IFP Week and programming, as well to purchase tickets please visit https://ifpweek.com/conference/.

News Stories