NYIFF - INDUSTRY PANELS

New York Indian Film Festival 2015: INDUSTRY PANELS
Friday May 8, 2015
11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Theatre 4, Village East Cinema, 2nd Ave @ 12th Street, NYC.

Tickets: $35 general admission; $30 IAAC Members

Morning:
Afternoon:

11:00 am Registration

11:30am - 12:30 noon Film Distribution with Mark Urman

With an abundance of Indian product to choose from, and a potentially vast South Asian audience at their disposal, it would appear that U.S. distributors have enormous opportunities when it comes to releasing Indian films in America. However, while there are very exciting technological developments that make it easier than ever to communicate about these films, there are still a number of cultural barriers and strongly-held traditions that prevent many worthy new Indian films from coming here--or from reaching a sufficiently diverse audience once they do. In this conversation, veteran distributor Mark Urman will discuss how Indian films make their passage to America these days, and will share some of his adventures, misadventures, travails, and triumphs bringing Indian films, of all shapes and sizes, to U.S. Moviegoers.

Urman is currently working with filmmaker raj Amit Kumar on the launch of Dark Frames, a new distribution venture created to release independent Indian films in North America. Their first project, UNFREEDOM, written, produced and directed by Kumar, opens theatrically and on a broad spectrum of digital platforms on May 29, 2015.

1:00 pm - 2.30 pm Lunch

2:00 - 3:00 pm NYIFF Filmmakers Session.

3:15 pm - 4:15 pm Shooting in New York State:

Meet the team from the New York State Governor’s Office of Motion Picture & Television Development for a roundtable discussion of all things productive re: producing in New York State – tax credits, location scouting, finding stages and crew, and more. Whether you’re a first time filmmaker wondering where to start or a veteran producer looking to catch up on the latest, this informal face-to-face Q&A is an invaluable opportunity to Meet Team NY and hear firsthand about all the great things New York State has to offer.

Participants: Jerry Stoeffhaas (Deputy Director), Kathryn Fisher (Project Manager) and Dwight Craver (Locations Department Manager).