PANEL: THE SHAPE OF GENRE FILMS TO COME

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Last year was a landmark year for genre cinema. More than ever before, the mainstream has acknowledged and applauded films that have traditionally been on the fringes of culture. With films like TERRIFIER 3 eviscerating the box office, THE SUBSTANCE melting all over the award season and the micro-budget darling HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS bringing laughs to repertory cinemas across the globe; what’s next for genre cinema? Join a panel of the industries best and brightest as they wax poetic about the future of genre cinema, how to stay edgy and relevant in a growingly mainstream industry, how to gain attention from distributors on micro-budget films and how to be subversive in growingly strange times.

This is a FREE event open to the public.

MODERATOR:
JUSTIN LANGLOIS - Programmer, Fantasia International Film Festival

PANELISTS:
TODD BROWN - Head of International Acquisitions for XYZ Films & Founder, and Editor for ScreenAnarchy

JIM BRUNZELL - Director of Festivals and Theatrical for Dark Star Pictures, and Festival Director of Sound Unseen

RICHELLE CHARKOT - Distribution Manager for Game Theory Films, and Film Critic for Rue Morgue Magazine

RYAN OESTREICH - President of Music Box Films

KATIE RIFE - Shorts Programmer at Overlook Film Festival, and Freelance Writer


BIOGRAPHIES:

TODD BROWN is Head of International Acquisitions for XYZ Films. He is the founder and editor of international film website Screen Anarchy (formerly known as TwitchFilm.com). He lives in the northlands of Canada with cats and children and a woman who puts up with him for unknown reasons and curses the winter weather while taking solace in universal healthcare.

JIM BRUNZELL III was born in the '70s, played sports in the '80s, went to school in the '90s, and started working on film festivals in the 2000s. He joined the Twin Cities based music + film festival, Sound Unseen in 2008 as a programmer and became the festival director in 2012. During his tenure the festival has been named "One of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World" (2016 & 2019) by Moviemaker Magazine and "One of the 20 Great First Time Moviemakers Festival" in 2022. In 2023, he joined the LA based film distributor, Dark Star Pictures as Director of Festivals and Theatrical. He has served on numerous film festival juries and is a big sports nerd, especially a die-hard Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Dodgers fan. He is also the father to a seven-year old tabby cat named Bruce.

RICHELLE CHARKOT has worked in various facets of the film industry; including production, programming, journalism and public relations. They were the Programming Director of The Royal Cinema, where their experience with film exhibition led to an interest in distribution. They completed their Canadian Media Producers Association mentorship with the producers of the Canadian Screen Award winning film WILDHOOD, and studied screenwriting at the Toronto Film School where they graduated with distinction. Richelle has provided script coverage for Sundance Labs, Raven Banner Entertainment, Rebel Road Films and Younger Daughter Films, and loves working with writers on story development.

JUSTIN LANGLOIS
Educator, programmer, film scholar and certified picker (aka hoarder), Justin Henry Langlois has worked for the Fantasia International Film Festival for more than a decade. Langlois’ has done every job imaginable at the fest (including security and milk fetcher) but most famously programmed, headed merchandise and driven everyone everywhere. Moonlighting as a high school English/ Cinema teacher he has tirelessly nagged teenagers for fifteen years and consistently shows them a slew of bizzarro films (none of which can be found on Netflix). Langlois lives in a remote town in Quebec with his beautiful wife and dogs, Beatrice and Mabel.

RYAN OESTREICH is a seasoned professional in the film industry, currently serving as the President of Music Box Films since February 2022 and as the General Manager of Music Box Theatre since July 2015. Oestreich's career spans notable positions such as Director of Sie FilmCenter at the Denver Film Society from November 2011 to June 2015, where oversight included financial management and programming. Previous roles include General Manager at St. Anthony Main Theatre and Operations Manager at The Film Society, overseeing film festivals and event planning. Oestreich began the career at AMC Entertainment, focusing on operations and employee development. An academic background includes a BA in Cultural Studies with a focus on Cinema Studies from the University of Minnesota.

KATIE RIFE is a freelance writer, critic, and film programmer based in Chicago. She was a writer for The A.V. Club from 2014 until 2022, and currently writes about film for outlets like Indiewire, Vulture, and RogerEbert.com. She’s served on the juries of Fantastic Fest and the Fantasia Film Festival, and is the shorts programmer for the Overlook Film Festival, a “celebration of all things horror” in New Orleans, LA.