BritWeek Film & TV Summit Held In LA On April 29

The BritWeek Film and TV Summit, a co-production between the Los Angeles chapter of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Variety, is committed to exploring how entertainment breaks through and crosses over in the U.K. and U.S. The return of this popular conference series will focus on the latest trends in production, distribution, finance and marketing, as they relate to connecting to today's audiences on both sides of the pond.

Reserve your spot today. Pre-registration ends on Thursday April 28th!
http://email.variety.com/cgi-bin7/DM/t/eBUWE0i4boF0lOB0CHkG0EO

See the agenda below for more information:

8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Registration

9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. Welcome Remarks

9:15 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. The Movers and Shakers of Mainstream
Breakthroughs
Top film producers and distribution executives will talk about what it takes to achieve mainstream success with labor-of-love projects that might have seemed initially tricky to market. This premiere, kick-off session will look at how such films are made, distributed and marketed to wide audiences.

Brit-leaning The King's Speech generated hot box office everywhere - can this be duplicated with future projects? Are their new trends in distribution and promotion to drive success on
both sides of the pond? What are the stories behind marketing these films to broader audiences?
What has been coming out of the film festival circuit that has potential to be breakthrough material? 

Confirmed Moderator:
Steven Gaydos, Executive Editor at Variety

Confirmed Speakers:

Stuart Ford, CEO of IM Global
Lynette Howell, producer from Blue Valentine and Owner/Founder of
Silverwood Films
Rebecca Kearey, SVP International Marketing and Distribution at Fox
Searchlight
Alex Walton, President of International Sales and Distribution at
Exclusive Media
Lisa Wilson, President of International Distribution at GK Films and
Parlay Films
Lloyd Phillipps, Producer

10:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. From the Trenches: Film Finance and
Distribution Tips
The recent dismantling of the U.K. Film Council raises a lot of
questions for how British projects will be developed and produced.
However, there are a number of firms who remain interested in
financing British works, and remain champions overall of quality fare
from U.K., US and elsewhere

Who are the major finance players and what do they need to see before
investing in a project?
What are their demands for film budget, cast and storylines?
With DVD sales falling, what is the best way to assure backers you can
make the right revenues with projects?
Confirmed Moderator:
John Simon, Writer/Director

Confirmed Speakers:

Hal Sadoff, Head of International and Independent Film at ICM
Jay Cohen, Partner and President of Film Finance and Distribution at
Gersh
Celine Rattray, President of Mandalay Vision and Producer of The Kids
Are All Right
Jon Amiel, Director and Writer
Andy Weltman, Executive Vice President, US Production at the British
Film Commission

10:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Networking Break

11:00 a.m. - 11:45 p.m. Branded Entertainment and Boosting TV Revenues
For the first time, the UK is allowing product placement on a limited
basis into its shows on commerical networks.
What are the lessons to be learned from the US, who've been pioneering
and exploiting this area for years?
How do you include brands creatively and seamlessly?
Which shows are getting it right? How do you avoid going overboard and
producing long-form product commercials?

Confirmed Moderator:
Phil Ashcroft, CEO and President of Island Nation Media

Confirmed Speakers:
Hal Burg, VP of Branded Entertainmetn at Platinum Rye
Chantal Rickards, Head of Programming and Branded Content at MEC
Chad Bennett, VP of Branded Development and Production at Reveille
Brett Lyons, President of Match Entertainment

Concurrent Workshop: 11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Film Incentive Session
The British Film Commission US team (formerly UK Film Council US) will
highlight the benefits of production comapanies coming to film in the
UK, including an outline of the film tax relief aling with the
qualifying guidliens, locations support services available and
information on its world-class studio and post-production facilities.

Confirmed Speaker:
Tara Halloran, Senior Executive of Industry Relations at the British
Film Commission
Andy Weltman, Executive Vice President , US Production, British Film
Commission

11:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Keynote with Ian McShane

12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m Lunch

1:45 p.m. - 2:30 p.m What Does it Take to Make International
Cross-Over TV
Truly successful TV needs to attract fans all over the world - what is
critical in making shows that connect with US and UK audiences?

How are companies approaching their latest big budget projects, such
as Camelot, The Borgias and Game of Thrones, in the US and in the UK?
For British imports, such as Showtime's Shameless, what are the
strategies to translate and make and market shows for US audiences?
What is the state of the international distribution marketplace for TV
- which countries are buying what? Are their commonalities in what is
in demand?
What opens doors and raises interest for UK and US cross-over TV?

Confirmed Speakers:
Craig Cegielski, President of GK-TV at GK Films
Noel Hedges, SVP of Sales and Acquisitions, the Americas, at ITV
Global Entertainment
Carrie Stein, Head of International Management & Packaging, 3 Arts
Entertainment

2:30 p.m - 3:15 p.m. Navigating Digital Tools for Production and
Distribution
Traditional theatrical distribution and funding is becoming more
challenging for anything that's not a special effect bonanza. How is
technology helping people thing out-of-the-box on their projects
Is there a way to benefit from new video-on-demand models?
Is there a business yet with distributing movies on VOD?
What content is breaking out digitally - are their secrets to gaining
audiences with these new distribution models?
Confirmed Moderator:
Andrew Wallenstein, TV Editor at Variety

Confirmed Speakers:
Michael Murphy, EVP of Gravitas Ventures
Michael London, Founder of Groundswell Productions
Greg Siegel, SVP Entertainment Development at Break Media
Steve Woolf, VP of Content at Blip.tv
Jeannie Koenigsberg, Manager of West Coast Production at HBO

3:15 p.m - 3:30 p.m. Networking Break

3:30 p.m - 4:15 p.m. The New Reality Show: Attracting Today's Viewers

What are the tricks in keeping long-running reality shows relevant?
'American Idol' has successful made over its formula this season with
new judges - what are other strategies to freshen up a reality
fixture?
How do you launch a new show, such as upcoming 'The X Factor' with so
much clutter and competition? Non-fiction programming is as popular as
ever. But what is the key to a strong debut?
Confirmed Moderator:
Stuart Levine, Assitant Managing Editor at Variety

Confirmed Speakers:
Nick Emmerson, President of Shed Media U.S.
John Hesling, Executive Producer of Top Gear at BBC Worldwide
Productions
Simon Andreae, Senior VP of Development and Production, West Coast at
the Discovery Channel
Joe Swift, Director of Development at TLC
Robin Ashbrook, Head of Non-Scripted Entertainment at Reveille

4:15 p.m - 5:00 p.m. Interview Q&A with Sir Ben Kingsley

5:00 p.m. Networking Reception

 

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