The 4th annual Bel-Air Film Festival presents its highly acclaimed film industry panel this Thursday, October 13 at 7:00 p.m. at the Luxe Summit Hotel and it is not to be missed!
The panel, which is moderated by esteemed entertainment attorney and film legal expert attorney Mitra Ahouraian, will bring together some of Hollywood’s foremost producers, directors and financiers to discuss and celebrate independent film from around the world. In classic journalistic style, Ahouraian, well-known for her panels, seminars and interviews in the entertainment world, will moderate the panel to bring out the wealth of experience and knowledge gained by these experts throughout their years in Hollywood and their rise to the top.
The panel, “Film Distribution in 2011 and Beyond,†will feature inside information told directly from the mouths of those who have achieved enormous success in what is often considered the toughest industry in the world—and which has become even tougher as studios are producing less and less films. The trend has left a wide-open space for independent filmmakers to fill, and has resulted in notable changes in film distribution models.
Confirmed panelists at this year’s event include veteran filmmaker Howard Rosenman who produced Father of the Bride and Family Man, and made his acting debut in the Academy Award-winning Milk, starring Sean Penn and Josh Brolin; Palak Patel, President of Production of Joe Roth’s production company, Roth Films, (Alice In Wonderland for Disney and Knight and Day for Twentieth Century Fox), and is currently producing Oz The Great and Powerful, (starring James Franco and Mila Kunis); Prolific filmmaker Demian Lichtenstein, whose film credits include writing, directing, and producing 3000 Miles to Graceland for Warner Brothers (starring Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell), and most recently, the international documentary Discover the Gift, featuring the Dalai Lama and Jack Canfield (author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul†). Robert Cain, whose 20 year expertise includes international production, finance, strategy and corporate development. Cain’s film experience extends from finance and distribution management to creative duties on more than a dozen successful films, including The Usual Suspects, Breakdown, Bound, Blade 2, Cabin Fever, and the Academy Award nominated foreign film Mongol. Ken Markman, CEO of KKM Global Brand Strategies, whose wide range of expertise includes marketing entertainment, and advertising and licensing consumer products including the marketing of over 450 motion pictures, and generating brand revenue in excess of $2 billion. Markman created the marketing campaigns for many successful films including The Empire Strikes Back, ET, Scarface, and Sophie’s Choice.
The panel discussion will be indispensable to those trying to figure out the best way to gear their work towards monetizing in light of the changes in distribution models and will specifically address trends in foreign vs. domestic distribution, doing business in China, online distribution, 3D films, and what Netflix, Redbox, and Google TV mean for filmmakers.
Mitra Ahouraian is a noted entertainment attorney and legal expert whose firm assists individual and corporate clients worldwide in the feature film, music and publishing arenas. “The Bel-Air Film Festival, often compared to the Hamptons’ Film Festival in New York, highlights everything that is great and relevant about global independent film,†notes Ahouraian. “It not only creates conversation regarding films that deserve to be seen, but also, assists those in the local and national film community to create a voice for themselves in a market where it is very hard to break through.â€
For more information, contact: Mitra Ahourarian at Ahouraian Law at http://www.mitra-law.com or email: mitralaw@gmail.com
For more information about the Bel-Air Film festival please see the official website http://www.belairfilmfestival.com or email: info@belairfilmfestival.com
