Tag Archives: financing

American Film Market

AFM 2021 Online – Day 1 News and Updates

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

Busy first day at the American Film Market (AFM). Starting off with the 9:00 A.M. conferences, The Independent Film Ecosphere – Present & Future, along with the It’s More Fun Filming in the Philippines.

Being able to switch between live events made the early sessions informative and entertaining – it’s a good time for independent filmmakers and it’s equally good to try out filmmaking in the Philippines.

Form here the issue of financing films came to the forefront. Realistic and practical approaches were presented combined with how to get films distributed.

After the sessions, networking and extended Q & A’s with the various panelists were the order of the day at the AFM Networking Pavillion.

Interesting titles included: Film Finance Success: The Producer’s Perspective; Black Filmmakers At The Crossroads To Success; How to Win at Modern Distribution; and, Indie Opportunities During the Streaming Wars.

Tomorrow the AFM continues with offerings such as EUROPE! How to Co-Produce an Indie Film Between the US and Europe, and Changing the Narrative: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Film. Registration is now open. Check out attending the 2021 American Film Market Online here!

#Sundance

Kimberly Steward up for Oscar gold with ‘Manchester’

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

By Kenya Vaughn

When Kimberly Steward was at home in St. Louis, Missouri making media rounds for the film “Manchester by the Sea” just ahead of its nationwide theatrical release this past October, she didn’t want to entertain the Oscar buzz surrounding the film.

The idea of it seemed too farfetched – too much of a fairytale ending for the first-time feature film producer.

“If anything happens with any kind of awards, I will definitely be giving Oprah a shout out,” Steward said.

“Manchester by the Sea” was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award making Steward the second African American woman producer to have a film in the running for the most coveted award of the film season. Oprah Winfrey is the other.

“What she has done as a filmmaker and a producer has opened doors for me and so many others,” Steward said of Winfrey. “If that actually happens, I will actually bow and curtsey to her because she paved the way.”

“This is exciting and surreal,” Steward told The Huffington Post’s Zahara Hill. “I’m just beyond belief.”

With a diverse mix of nominees both in front of and behind the scenes, Steward has the chance to strike Oscar gold with her debut as producer/financier thanks to “Manchester.”

“As an African American woman, it’s important to have that representation off screen too,” Steward said of her role in bringing the film to mass audiences.

Steward and her K. Period Media (which she operates with producing partner Lauren Beck) put forth the necessary financing for the Kenneth Lonegran feature to see the light of day.

“We had nobody except K Period,” Matt Damon said during a “Produced By” panel. A fellow producer along with Steward, the concept of the film was Damon’s idea – and he was originally set to star in the drama. Scheduling conflicts meant that Casey Affleck would assume the role of Lee Chandler, a reclusive New England janitor forced to confront his painful past and mend broken familial ties.

The film – and Affleck’s performance in particular – was praised by critics from its premiere at Sundance last winter.

While at Sundance, Amazon paid $10 million for the film’s distribution rights. Manchester” was believed to be a shoe-in for several honors for the next awards season.

First came the Golden Globes – where “Manchester” earned a total of five nominations. Casey Affleck took home “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama.” Steward was the first person Affleck reached out to embrace when his name was announced at last month’s ceremony.

Hats off to Kimberly Steward.

(Source: St. Louis American)

distribution

“ALWAYS MOVIES LIKE ‘MANCHESTER BY THE SEA’” BUT “THE INDUSTRY HAS TO BE LESS RISK-ADVERSE” ACCORDING TO ALESSANDRO MASI

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Posted by Larry Gleeson

PRESS RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, December 25, 2016 (FlexyMovies) – As Awards season approaches the Oscars, and titles like ‘Manchester by the Sea’ and ‘Hell or High Water’ advance among Academy’s favorites, international sales and distribution professionals like Alessandro Masi declare that luckily “there’s always going to be demand for independent movies, somewhere and somehow”.

A supporter of innovation for the entertainment industry and passionate business developer, Masi started his career in digital strategy and moved on through film and television financing, production, marketing, acquisitions, international sales and distribution between Milan, Rome, London, New York City, and Los Angeles, where he currently lives.

Alessandro has devised sales strategies for television giants Zodiak and FremantleMedia and leading international film sales outlets Sierra/Affinity, Carnaby International, Myriad Pictures, implemented marketing and distribution strategies for domestic distributors Gathr Films and Cohen Media, conducted digital strategy for major entertainment properties and brands at Italia Brand Group, advised on profitable venture capital financing for digital and entertainment at TMT Advisors, turned around into profit Own Air – one of the first VOD businesses in Europe – while providing market access, advising on financing and acquisitions, developing and implementing world wide sales and distribution strategies for quality filmed content engaging audiences with Smart Moviegoing™ experiences with his startup FlexyMovies™.

He has played a critical role monetizing and marketing successfully – attending all the major markets and festivals such as AFM, TIFF, Cannes/Marché, Berlin/EFM, Sundance, AFI Fest, MIPCOM, NATPE, besides events like CinemaCon, CineEurope, NABShow, ComicCon, Licensing Expo –global television successes like ‘Wife Swap’, The Fugitive Chronicles’, ‘American Gods’, ‘The Young Pope’, award-winning and breakthrough box-office hits such as ‘Enter the Void’, ‘Italy: Love It, or Leave It’, ‘Goodbye Solo’, Wendy and Lucy’, ‘Beyond the Mask’, ‘Girl Rising’, ‘Margin Call’, ‘Jeepers Creepers’, ‘Barney Thomson’, ‘Mustang’, ‘Kids in Love’, ‘Rise of the Footsoldier’, and current Oscars contenders like ‘The Salesman’, ‘Hell or High Water’, ‘Captain Fantastic’, ‘Manchester by the Sea’.

According to Masi, “people will want to see movies like ‘Captain Fantastic’ or ‘Manchester by the Sea’ even in 100 years from now, there’s always going to be demand for independent movies, somewhere and somehow. Festivals will continue to play a key role in the game. But the industry has the duty to be less risk-averse, experiment, perhaps fail badly, but get those stories on some kind of – large, small, 5.5-inch, or VR headsets – screen and then find smart ways to reach those audiences. Everything is changing so quickly and flexibility is key. It’s a very exciting time to be in entertainment”.

Masi is also a regular panelist as expert in digital business models and film distribution and a member of the jury assigning the awards at the first and most prominent festival in the world for digital content, the LA Web Fest, as well as at the Rio Web West, Berlin Web Fest, Roma Web Fest, Roma Tre Film Festival, Francofilm.

As a producer overseeing distribution, he was awarded the Italian Golden Globe for best documentary feature in 2013 for ‘Suicide Italy’ and has produced with an award-winning crew a high-concept sci-fi short named ‘Phenomenon’ as transmedia proof-of-concept for feature and series.

Born in Potenza, Italy, he earned a BS in Business Economics from University of Siena with a thesis on movie marketing featuring – thanks to a close collaboration with Sony Pictures – a case study on the marketing strategy for the Spider-Man franchise, an MS in Media Management from Bocconi University with a thesis on business models for web TV which foresees the exponential growth of digital video and SVOD in particular, an MBA from Hult International Business School, and a Certificate in Business of Entertainment from UCLA.

“I think my father is the one to “blame” above anything or anyone else for my attachment to cinema. He is a great connoisseur and lover of the seventh art and owns a huge collection of classic movies that we used to watch at home with my family and we also went often to the movie theatre” says Masi, whose favorite movie is ‘Cinema Paradiso’ because “it was one of the first movies I saw in a theater and I also feel close to its protagonist, Totò, who falls in love with the movies in his childhood and decides to dedicate his life to cinema”.

“I want to keep distributing high quality filmed content and ensure that art makes sense financially. I want to provide people around the world with great entertainment and empower the work of exceptional creatives who are able to make that people have fun, dream, fall in love, and think about society, sometimes, as it happens in ‘Captain Fantastic’, for instance” concludes Masi.

Media Contact
Company Name: FlexyMovies
Contact Person: Marianna Mollica
Email: press@flexymovies.com
Phone: 310-948-6270
Country: United States
Website: http://www.imdb.me/alemasit

(Source: http://www.digitaljournal.com)