INTERNATIONAL FILM FINANCE LIVE

RECORDED LIVE: June 23, 2020
Time: 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM LOS ANGELES TIME

Marché du Film attendees register at special rates!
E-mail your June 2020 registration confirmation to info@winstonbaker.com to receive the discount code.

Deals are getting done in the time of COVID.

From development to finance and distribution, activity continues for some investors, producers, filmmakers and distributors. But how are deals getting vetted and closed? And who are the active players in the market?

More than ever, storytelling across cultures has also become a very important and necessary focus of the film business. We will host keynote conversations with visionaries who are leading in these efforts.

Tune in to Winston Baker’s International Film Finance LIVE webcast in partnership with Marché du Film and hear from industry thought leaders and dealmakers.

FEATURED KEYNOTES:

Julie Taymor’s feature film of Gloria Steinem’s My Life On The Road titled The Glorias, starring Julianne Moore, Alicia Vikander, Janelle Monáe and Bette Midler premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and will be released this coming September 2020. Other film credits include Fool's Fire, Oedipus Rex starring Jessye Norman which received an Emmy Award as well as the International Classical Music Award, Titus, starring Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange; Frida starring Salma Hayek which garnered six Academy Award nominations and won two; Across the Universe which received Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, The Tempest, starring Helen Mirren, and a cinematic version of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, filmed during her critically acclaimed stage production at Theatre for a New Audience and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Her Broadway adaptation of The Lion King debuted in 1997 and received 11 Tony Award nominations, with Julie receiving awards for Best Director and Costume Designer. The show has played over 100 cities in 19 countries, and its worldwide gross exceeds that of any entertainment title in box office history.

Other theater credits include the play Grounded, starring Anne Hathaway, at the Public Theater as well as Broadway’s M Butterfly starring Clive Owen, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, The Green Bird, and Juan Darien: A Carnival Mass, which earned five Tony Award nominations including one for her direction. Operas include Oedipus Rex, with Jessye Norman, The Flying Dutchman, Salome, Die Zauberflote (in repertory at the Met), The Magic Flute (which inaugurated a PBS series entitled “Great Performances at the Met”); and Elliot Goldenthal’s Grendel. 

Taymor is a recipient of the 1991 MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, as well as a 2015 inductee into the Theater Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement in the American Theater, the recipient of the 2015 Shakespeare Theatre Company’s William Shakespeare Award for Classical Theatre, and a 2017 Disney Legends Award honoree.

Effie T. Brown is the CEO of Gamechanger, which launched in 2013 as the first film financing fund by and for women and now under Brown’s leadership includes projects by and about people of color, LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities as well as its expansion into television and digital content. Brown is also an award-winning film, television, and digital producer known for her highly acclaimed, multi-platform repertoire as well as championing inclusion and diversity in Hollywood, both behind and in front of the camera. Brown has produced several critically acclaimed films and award-winning projects including Real Women Have Curves (directed by Patricia Cardosa) Dear White People​ (2015 Independent Spirit Awards Best First Screenplay), HBO’s Project Greenlight (Executive Produced by Matt Damon & Ben Affleck), among several others. Brown also served as an executive producer on Lee Daniels’ ​STAR ​on FOX and Disney Channel’s ​Zombies. Prior to Gamechanger, Brown founded Duly Noted Inc., a company dedicated to ground-breaking narratives that use genre to challenge and advance our culture in a disruptive way. Brown’s dream is to change the world through film and TV – celebrating our differences while bringing us all closer together.

In February 2018 Chairman and CEO Stuart Ford, one of the most experienced and prolific independent film and television producers and financiers in the industry, launched AGC Studios, a new international film and television production and licensing company that develops, produces, finances and globally licenses a diverse portfolio of feature films, scripted, unscripted and factual television, digital, and musical content from its dual headquarters in Los Angeles and London. The studio’s Hollywood output has a wide-ranging multicultural focus, designed for exploitation across an array of global platforms including major studio partnerships, streaming platforms, traditional broadcast and cable television networks, and independent distributors, both in the US and internationally.

AGC Studios has already established a prolific and high profile presence financing feature films from established directors such as VOYAGERS from Neil Burger and BREAKING NEWS IN YUBA COUNTY from Tate Taylor and upcoming films from the likes of Neill Blomkamp and Pierre Morel; big budget TV dramas such as Epix’s War of the Worlds and the upcoming adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s News of a Kidnapping for Amazon; a slate of feature documentary co-productions with industry leader CNN Films including SCANDALOUS and the upcoming JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE; handled international sales and distribution on two $100m+ budgeted films for Roland Emmerich  - U.S. box office #1 Midway and the upcoming Moonfall as well as on LAIKA’s Golden Globe® winning Missing Link and documentary films and episodic series from Oscar® heavyweights Michael Moore and Oliver Stone.

UK-born and Oxford educated, Ford is a former entertainment attorney and studio executive who in 2007 founded IM Global, which over the next ten years he built into one of the industry’s leading independent film and television production, financing and sales platforms. Under Ford’s stewardship IM Global operated from offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Mexico City, Berlin and Beijing. The company produced and financed over 30 feature films of its own as well as handling international sales on more than one hundred first run feature films and handling a library of over 600 titles. The company also owned Mundial, a leading Latino sales and financing company; operated one of the premier international sales platforms for Chinese cinema; and operated Valor Entertainment, a multi-cultural talent management group.  In addition, as a joint venture with Chinese internet giant Tencent, the company operated IM Global Television, a full service scripted and unscripted television production, financing and distribution studio.

In 2015 IM Global and Ford were the recipient of Variety’s Achievement in International Film Award, and Ford has also been listed by the UK’s Guardian newspaper as one of the 50 Most Influential People in Global Cinema. Ford is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

SPEAKING FACULTY:

Mark Hutchison has over 25 years of experience as a tax partner specializing in entertainment industry taxation, real estate and personal financial planning for owners and executives of closely-held businesses. His prior background includes serving in a variety of roles at KPMG, including 18 years as partner. His experience covers a broad range of tax matters, including federal taxation for service, production, distribution, finance and sales agent companies in the entertainment industry. In addition, he has expertise in mergers and acquisitions, multi-state income, and income tax planning for pass-through entities. He also assists high-net-worth individuals with federal, state and local tax issues, as well as estate planning and representation before federal and state tax authorities. A native of California, Mark earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting from California State University at Northridge and received his Master of Science degree in taxation from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. Mark is a member of the Motion Picture and Television Tax Institute, an influential trade group comprised of tax professionals in the entertainment industry. He is also the co-author of a book titled Film Financing and Television Programming: A Taxation Guide. The book describes commonly used film financing structures along with their commercial and tax implications for production and distribution in 28 countries and several states in the U.S.

Jonathan King is Co-Founder of Concordia Studio, an independent film and television company that produces stories of meaning and impact in order to engage audiences worldwide with contemporary social issues.  King oversees all narrative projects for the studio, while his Co-Founder, Academy Award-winning director Davis Guggenheim, oversees the documentary slate.  Concordia Studio is a partnership with Emerson Collective, the social change organization founded by Laurene Powell Jobs. 

King is currently in post-production on the new feature film Stillwater, directed by Academy Award-winner Tom McCarthy and starring Matt Damon.  Prior to Concordia, King was President of Participant Media for 12 years, where he built a diverse slate of almost 50 feature films, including Best Picture-winners Spotlight and Green Book, as well as Roma, Contagion, Lincoln, The Help, Beasts Of No Nation, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Deepwater Horizon, and A Fantastic Woman.  King also produced the Emmy-winning limited series When They See Us, created and directed by Ava DuVernay.  With over 25 years of experience in the film and television business, King has alternated work as a producer with executive positions for companies including for Focus Features and Miramax Films. 

Shirley Li is a staff writer covering culture and Hollywood for The Atlantic. Based in Los Angeles, she reports on the changing landscape of television and film as it intersects with business, politics, and technology. In the past year, she has covered the rise in de-aging visual effects, the shifting direction of Marvel's television arm, as well as the making of award-winning filmed entertainment like Greta Gerwig's Little Women, Lulu Wang's The Farewell, and HBO's Watchmen. Most recently, she wrote about the coronavirus pandemic's impact on the film festival circuit, observed the reopening experience at a drive-in theater, and profiled the viral comedian Sarah Cooper. Before The Atlantic, she worked as a staff writer at Entertainment Weekly, where she reported on the making of Crazy Rich Asians and its ensuing impact on Asian representation on Hollywood, profiled industry-changing stars, and covered the impact of streaming on the era of peak TV. For more of her work, follow her on Twitter at @shirklesxp.

Maggie Monteith first started her career in film working across the media and marketing of Warner Bros Films in the UK and Europe while working at Grey Entertainment and Media. Moving to Columbia TriStar UK and Ireland, she oversaw the marketing for films such as Men in Black, Mask of Zorro, Godzilla, and her personal favourite, Matilda.

Promoted to work at Columbia TriStar in US Domestic, she moved to California, and enjoyed working on films such as Charlie’s Angels, Spider-man and Stuart Little. Her studio-marketing career culminated in working for Lucasfilm on marketing, promotions, media and publicity worldwide for Episode II of Star Wars. Over the next few years Maggie worked in the start-up of Participant Media, and as a consultant to banks and hedge funds for Gerson Lehrman. It was at this time that she decided to move into film financing.

Since 2009 Maggie has been part of the financing for over 30 feature films as a producer, including Noel Clarke’s Brotherhood, Rupert Jones’ Kaleidoscope, Deborah Haywood’s Pin Cushion, Carol Morley’s Out of Blue and Oliver Parker’s Swimming with Men. Last year saw the world premiere of Tom Cullen’s Pink Wall at the SXSW Film Festival where critics called it “Raw, bleeding, and explosively truthful, with knockout performances” (Daily Telegraph) and “Intoxicating. This decade’s Blue Valentine” (Total Film). The Tatiana Maslany and Jay Duplass relationship drama went on to tour the festival circuit and opened in the UK in December. Another first-time filmmaker Monteith was determined to champion is Dolly Wells. Encouraged by Maggie she penned and directed Brooklyn set a coming of age tale, Good Posture, starring Emily Mortimer and Grace Van Patten. Good Posture premiered at the 2019, Tribeca Film Festival and went on to have a high-profile independent release in the UK and releases domestically later this year.

2020 sees Maggie’s second collaboration with Met Films planned to open in cinemas this fall. 23 Walks is a gentle romantic drama which explores the meeting of British pensioners, played by Alison Steadman and Dave Johns. Dave and Sheila form an instant connection but struggle to move things forward when encountering the baggage their pasts bring.

In addition, Maggie has been part of the financing and production for six documentaries under her Documentary Company banner, including the Oscar winning Searching for Sugarman and Ferrari documentary, Race to Immortality.

Vanessa Foltyn Roman is a Partner at Akin Gump. Roman advises a variety of clients in the entertainment industry, including financial institutions, borrowers, distributors and independent production companies. She provides counsel in various aspects of the production, financing and distribution of film and television projects. Vanessa helps clients address issues related to the rapidly-changing landscape of the entertainment industry, including the proliferation of streaming services and the rise of virtual reality. She leverages positive relationships across the sector to facilitate efficiencies in transactions.

Stephen Saltzman is chair of the Asia and Europe Media & Entertainment practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s London office. Mr. Saltzman has extensive experience in domestic and international transactions in the entertainment and media industries. His practice focuses on innovative and complex international distribution, co-production, and co-financing transactions, as well as cross-border transactions involving the creation, production, financing, and/or exploitation of content.

He represents U.S.-, European-, and Asia-based producers, production companies, studios, theme park operators, distribution companies, broadcasters, digital media companies, banks, film funds, directors, talent, and authors. His experience encompasses the legal and business aspects of the development, production, financing, and exploitation of feature film, television, videogame, and digital media
projects, as well as related ancillary products such as print publications, merchandise, new technologies, and the deployment of intellectual property in theme parks and other location-based entertainment venues.

Mr. Saltzman utilizes his language capabilities and in-depth knowledge of both the U.S. and non U.S.–based film and television industries in representing the interests of international companies and individuals in Hollywood.

Mr. Saltzman frequently participates as a featured speaker and panelist in seminars and symposiums in the United States, Europe, and Asia. His German-speaking practice has been profiled in various German publications, and his Greater China practice and expertise have been similarly recognized both in China and the U.S., where Mr. Saltzman regularly appears on The Hollywood Reporter’s “Power Lawyers Top 100” list and on Variety’s “Dealmakers Impact Report” and “Legal Impact Report.”

Rebecca Sun was most recently a senior reporter at The Hollywood Reporter, where she covered the business of entertainment and wrote about inclusion and representation in media. In 2019, the nonprofit collective Gold House named her to the A100 list of the most impactful Asians and AAPIs in culture. Her work has been recognized via GLAAD Media and Southern California Journalism Award nominations, and she has received a National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award. Prior to moving to Los Angeles in January 2013, she spent eight years as a writer and editor at Sports Illustrated in New York. A native of the Bay Area, she earned a master’s degree in journalism from NYU and a bachelor’s degree in biology and English from Duke University.

Casey Sunderland is an Agent in the Media Finance department at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA).  Sunderland works in the Los Angeles office and specializes in packaging, sourcing financing for, and/or selling the distribution rights to independently financed films. Sunderland joined CAA in 2015. Sunderland graduated from Colgate University with a degree in Film & Media Studies, Economics and Architecture.

Marché du Film attendees register at special rates!
E-mail your registration confirmation to info@winstonbaker.com to get the discount code.

INTERNATIONAL FILM FINANCE PROGRAM:

9:00 - 9:45 am
Opening Panel: State of Film Finance

Deals are getting done in the time of COVID. From development to finance and distribution, activity continues for some investors, producers, filmmakers and distributors. But how are deals getting vetted and closed? And who are the active players in the market?

PANELISTS: Jonathan King, Co-Founder, Concordia Studios
Mark Hutchison, CPA, MBT, Partner, Armanino
Maggie Monteith, Producer, Southern Stories and Northern Stories
Casey Sunderland, Agent, Media Finance, CAA
MODERATOR: Vanessa Roman, Partner, Akin Gump

9:45 - 9:50 am
Coffee Break

9:50 - 10:30 am
Leveling the Playing Field: How Effie Brown is Changing the Game

Effie Brown, the producer behind hits such as “Dear White People” and “Real Women Have Curves” was named Chief Executive Officer of Gamechanger Films earlier this year. Gamechanger is a film finance and content development company which empowers creatives from diverse backgrounds, including women, people of color, LGBTQ and the disabled, to become equity owners of content. Her main mandate is to fundamentally widen the circle of financial backers for film and TV content by bringing in investors who also represent a greater array of diverse voices. “Gamechanger does not work unless our investors are as diverse as the content we’re trying to put out,” Brown has stated. As an unstoppable force, Brown has already successfully raised her first round less than six months on the job! We’ll gain insight into how she accomplished a raise through COVID and what’s next for this game-changing visionary.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Effie T. Brown, Chief Executive Officer, Gamechanger Films
MODERATED BY: Rebecca Sun, Media and Entertainment Reporter

10:30 - 10:35 am
Coffee Break

10:35 - 11:20 am
Unconventional Wisdom with Stuart Ford
Stuart Ford founded IM Global in 2007 and in over ten years he built it into one of the industry’s leading independent film and television production, financing and sales platforms with offices around the world. In 2018, Ford launched AGC Studios, a new international film and television production and licensing company that develops, produces, finances and globally licenses a diverse portfolio of feature films, scripted, unscripted and factual television, digital, and musical content from its dual headquarters in Los Angeles and London. During this conversation, Stuart Ford reveals his take on how to build a globally diverse company in the best of times and the worst of times.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Stuart Ford, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, ACG Capital
MODERATED BY: Amy Baker, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Winston Baker

11:20 - 11:30 am
Coffee Break

11:30 am - 12:10 pm
Dealmaking Strategies in a Streaming World with Steve Saltzman
The film business has been experiencing disruptive trends for several years and the pandemic has magnified its underlying vulnerabilities. More than ever, independent filmmakers, financiers and distributors around the world need to be more innovative in the way they structure their deals. During this discussion, we will gain insight into global distribution trends, streaming strategies and the future of content dealmaking.

FIRESIDE CHAT WITH: Stephen L Saltzman Partner & Chair, Asia and Europe Media & Entertainment, Paul Hastings
MODERATED BY: Katherine Winston, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Winston Baker

12:10 - 12:15 pm
Coffee Break

12:15 - 1:00 pm
Breaking Boundaries: Storytelling Across Cultures with Julie Taymor
Art may imitate life -- but Award-Winning Director Julie Taymor knows that neither art nor life move in straight lines. Taymor has never operated within conventional parameters and neither has her latest subject. The road to becoming Gloria Steinem was full of twists and turns, and the best parts of THE GLORIAS are when Taymor takes her various characters on some artful detours. Taymor has always found ways to break boundaries and surprise us on screen and on stage, as she did with her revolutionary films, including FRIDA, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, THE TEMPEST -- and with her Broadway adaptation of THE LION KING, which received 11 Tony Award nominations, including two wins for Taymor. It is the most successful entertainment title in box office history. Gain insight into what inspires Taymor to bring her stories and characters to life in meaningful ways as a trailblazing global filmmaker.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Julie Taymor, Award-Winning Director of Theater, Opera and Film
MODERATED BY: Shirley Li, Staff Writer, The Atlantic

1:00 pm
Conference Concludes

HOSTED BY:

Katherine Winston
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
WINSTON | BAKER

Katherine Winston has been at the forefront of event production, marketing and emerging trends for nearly twenty years. As co-founder and managing partner of WINSTON | BAKER, she oversees business operations, event production, marketing strategies, and new initiatives. In her previous role as Director of Marketing for RealD, she was in charge of creative advertising, supervised public relations, and organized event participation, product launches, and screenings. Prior to RealD, Winston was Senior Marketing Manager for GoTV Networks, where she was responsible for all aspects of marketing strategy and execution, including corporate and consumer marketing, web-to-mobile advertising, print, online, and experiential marketing, public relations, and managing brand partnership deals. Before GoTV, Winston was Conference Producer for Strategic Research Institute where she was responsible for producing high profile investment conferences for various sectors, including e-commerce, nanotech, defense & aerospace, biotech, law, real estate, and entertainment, among others. Winston earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with honors from the University of Washington and is a Phi Beta Kappa and National Association of Professional Women member. As a fervent advocate of entrepreneurialism, Winston is dedicated to connecting innovators with seasoned professionals who can fuel development and growth.

Amy Baker
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
WINSTON | BAKER

As Co-Founder and Managing Partner of WINSTON | BAKER, Amy Baker oversees the company’s global strategic planning, business development and vendor relationships. Amy co-founded the FILM FINANCE FORUM® in 2008, which provides the leading series of events dedicated to bringing finance and entertainment executives together from around the world. Prior to establishing Winston/Baker, she successfully directed B2B and B2C business development efforts for over 10 years by leveraging innovative sponsorship methods to engage business professionals. At ALM, as Vice President of Business Development, she provided finance executives and marketers with targeted channels for reaching decision-makers within the legal, entertainment, healthcare and tech sectors. In her previous position, Director of Business Development at RPMC, she worked with entertainment, music, and sports companies, creating event marketing programs, travel incentive services, sweepstakes, and media promotions. Amy received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with honors from New York University. In 2018 Amy was honored to join the National Board of Advisors for the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.

In support of the independent entertainment community, Winston Baker will be offering webinars for free or at highly discounted rates so that you can continue to acquire strategic knowledge and connect with industry leaders through these challenging times. Space will be limited so we can allow our attendees time for questions after each webinar.