PANEL: THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY - DISTRIBUTORS & PROGRAMMERS DISCUSS THE FILM SCENE

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Meet the senior programmers and artistic directors from some of the top film festivals alongside cutting-edge distributors. Join us for a casual conversation about the importance of engaging with your film communities in order to help the local culture thrive and expand.

This is a FREE event, open to the public, and a great opportunity to learn about the film industry.

MODERATOR:

Heather Buckley: Producer with Black Mansion

PANELISTS:

Liane Cunje: Production & Acquisitions, Vinegar Syndrome Pictures
Mitch Davis: Artistic Director, Fantasia International Film Festival
Jarod Neece: Senior Programmer, Tribeca Enterprises
Kelly Michael Stewart: Festival Director, Blood in the Snow Film Festival
Logan Taylor: Acquisitions and Development, Umbrella Entertainment
Curtis Woloschuk: Director of Programming, Vancouver International Film Festival
Kier-La Janisse: Acquisitions/Producer, Severin Films

BIOGRAPHIES:

Heather Buckely: Producer
Heather Buckley produced Jenn Wexler’s THE RANGER for Glass Eye Pix, which premiered at SXSW. She then produced the feature documentary FLESH AND BLOOD: THE REEL LIFE AND GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON for director David Gregory. THE SACRIFICE GAME marked her second time working with Wexler. Buckley now works under the banner, BLACK MANSION. The company has feature and television projects in various stages of development and packaging. BLACK MANSION's slate has attracted high profile partners and is exemplary of her attraction to unique stories with strong, detailed visual aesthetics and a clear position in the marketplace. Currently she has one film is post by directed/writer Annapurna Sriram and one currently shooting— RIDING SHOTGUN directed by Dionne Copland.

Liane Cunje: Canadian Producer, Film Programmer and Acquisitions
Liane Cunje is a Canadian producer, and film programmer. Coming from a Film Studies and TV development background in Montreal, Liane completed an MA in Producing Film and TV in the UK before working for cult label Arrow Video. A former Festival Programming Manager at TIFF, Programmer for Overlook Film Festival, Assistant Director for Media City Film Festival, and current Programmer for Aspen Shortsfest and TIFF’s Midnight Madness Presents… series, she features on international juries and panels. Working under veteran producer Jennifer Weiss’ new company, Nice Picture, FITTING IN was her first feature as Associate Producer, premiering at SXSW and TIFF 2023. She also works in Production & Acquisitions for Vinegar Syndrome Pictures. Liane’s first produced picture for VSP, Alexander Phillips’ sophomore feature ANYTHING THAT MOVES shot on Super 16mm, is currently in post-production.

Mitch Davis: Artistic Director, Fantasia International Film Festival
Co-Director & Director of International Programming; Fantasia International Film Festival
Mitch Davis has been a Director of International Programming at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal since 1997, and Co-Festival-Director since 2003. As a filmmaker, he directed the shorts DIVIDED INTO ZERO (1999 - winner, Jury Award for Best Narrative Short at the Chicago Underground Film Festival) and GOD’S LITTLE GIRL (2006). Davis produced Karim Hussain’s transgressive feature debut SUBCONSCIOUS CRUELTY (2000) as well as Rick Trembles’ GOOPY SPASMS (2004) and was an associate producer on the anthology feature ABC’S OF DEATH 2 (2014). Davis is currently an associate producer on Pablo Absento’s BLOAT (2023), produced by Timur Bekmambetov. 

Jarod Neece: Senior Programmer, Tribeca Festival
Jarod Neece is a Senior Programmer at the Tribeca Festival. He is the former Chief Creative Officer for CURIA, an Independent film streaming platform focusing on seasonally curated film collections. Before CURIA, he was a Partner, Film Programmer, and Event Producer for the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX. Since 2002, he helped guide the strategic direction and provided team leadership as one of the festival's Senior Film Programmers, with an emphasis on Feature Film and Genre Programming. He has been a juror or panelist at several events, including Cannes, Sundance, and TIFF.  He is the co-author of bestselling books Austin Breakfast Tacos and The Tacos of Texas, published by UT Press, and co-host & producer of the PBS documentary series, THE TACOS OF TEXAS and UNITED TACOS OF AMERICA on Univision’s El Rey Network.

Kelly Michael Stewart: Founder and Festival Director of the Blood in the Snow Film Festival
Kelly Michael Stewart is the founder and Festival Director of the Blood in the Snow Film Festival, now in its 13th year in Toronto.
Kelly began his career as a contributing film writer to Fangoria Magazine and has more than 250 reviews, interviews and articles published online and in print for various websites and publications. As a filmmaker, he wrote and produced the short film ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD and co-wrote and produced the horror anthology feature film LATE NIGHT DOUBLE FEATURE.

Logan Taylor: Acquisitions, Umbrella Entertainment
Logan Taylor is an Austin-based acquisitions manager, consultant, programmer, professor, and producer. She currently acquires content for Umbrella Entertainment after several years with Screen Media Ventures. She also consults on Festival and Marketing strategy for Blood Oath and has worked for numerous festivals in programming and event support including Fantastic Fest, Boston Underground Film Festival, SXSW, and Cinepocalypse. Outside of acquisitions, Logan has mentored projects at various stages of development for the Frontieres Market at Fantasia Film Festival, taught film courses at Austin Community College and written film analysis for publications including Split Tooth Media and Dope Magazine. Logan is never afraid of any movie and always afraid of every spider.

Curtis Woloschuk: Director of Programming, Vancouver International Film Festival
In his role as Director of Programming, Curtis Woloschuk articulates the Vancouver International Film Festival's artistic vision through curation, program development, and community building. He is responsible for the leadership and oversight of the organization's Programming department and implementation of an annual programming plan that delivers VIFF's mandate and ensures curatorial excellence. In addition to directing the selection process and managing multiple competitions at the annual festival, he's responsible for several creative development and education initiatives, including the VIFF Catalyst mentorship program and VIFF Ignite high school screening series.