Happy Friday Stage 32!
As you all know, Stage 32 Screenings has taken the industry by storm. Our initiative has been covered by Deadline, Variety, CNN, and more. We are currently screening over 100 features, shorts, and episodic pilots from SXSW, Tribeca, and Telluride Mountainfilm Documentary Festival to our network of producers, financiers, development executives, distributors, and more. We are ecstatic to report that two feature films from our Stage 32 Screenings initiative have already been picked up for distribution as a direct result of screening with us. Two more are in distribution discussions, and countless of our featured shorts are in talks with managers and agents they have connected with through Stage 32 Screenings.
Now, we are beyond thrilled and honored to announce we are adding the prestigious Vail Film Festival to the Stage 32 Screenings lineup. In addition to screening official selection 2020 VFF films on Stage 32 Screenings, we are pleased to officially announce that Stage 32 is the official networking and education partner of the Vail Film Festival.
The 2020 Vail Film Festival will take place online from May 15-17 and will have a special focus on female filmmakers. In addition to film screenings, the festival will include filmmaker Q&A sessions, a filmmaking workshop, and a women in film panel discussion featuring leading female producers, actors, and directors. The 2020 film program will showcase narrative features, documentaries, short films, and student films. This year's lineup includes films starring Simon Pegg, Annette Benning, Juno Temple, Alexandra Daddario, Wendie Malick, Danny Trejo, Maggie Siff, Sabrina Carpenter, Natalie Zea, Jay Mohr, Jason Ritter, Kristen Vangsness, Rose McIver, and more.
Want to Attend the Virtual Vail Film Festival?
The lineup for the 2020 Vail Film Festival is unparalleled, and we encourage Stage 32 members to attend the virtual festival and support their fellow filmmakers. As part of our partnership, Vail Film Festival is offering Stage 32 members an exclusive 25% off discount on all-access passes to the online festival. Stage 32 members can use the code stage32 at checkout. For more info and to purchase a pass to the online Vail Film Festival please visit: www.vailfilmfestival.com
Stage 32 + Vail Film Festival Present: Women In Film: Personal Stories
As part of our partnership, we are incredibly excited to host a FREE virtual panel entitled "Women in Film: Personal Stories" on Saturday, May 16th at 11 am PST. The discussion will focus on the panelist's personal filmmaking journeys. They'll talk about the lessons they've learned and share tips they've picked up from their experience in the film industry. The panel features seven powerhouse female voices of entertainment, including:
- Lesley-Ann Brandt - Actor, Producer (LUCIFER, SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND, SPARTACUS: GODS OF THE ARENA)
- Alexandra Barreto - Producer, Director, Actor (THE FOSTERS, MAYANS MC)
- Robin Bronk - Producer (POLIWOOD, directed by Academy Award-winner Barry Levinson, BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, starring Alec Baldwin, Mandy Patinkin, & Judith Light)
- Leslie Alejandro - Director, Filmmaker, Celebrity/Fashion Photographer, Activist (Leslie's work has been featured in Vanity Fair, GQ, Vogue, Glamour, Men’s Health, The Wrap and more)
- Mali Elfman - Producer (THE PARTY'S JUST BEGINNING, written, directed by, and starring Karen Gillan)
- Ashleigh Snead - Producer (THE RANGER, SCARE PACKAGE, THE PALE DOOR)
- Amanda Toney - Producer & Managing Director, Stage 32 (WHAT LIES AHEAD starring Rumer Willis and Emma Dumont)
Mark your Calendar!
Stage 32 + Vail Film Festival Present: Women In Film: Personal Stories
Saturday, May 16th at 11 am PST
Meet the Panelists of Women in Film: Personal Stories
Lesley-Ann Brandt - Actor, Producer
Actor: Netflix's LUCIFER
South African born actress, activist and supermom Lesley-Ann Brandt stars on Netflix’s global hit series LUCIFER and had a breakout role on the Starz hits, SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND and SPARTACUS: GODS OF THE ARENA. Brandt's other credits include the film DRIFT opposite Sam Worthington, Fox's GOTHAM and the dark comedy, KILLING WINSTON JONES starring opposite Richard Dreyfuss, Danny Glover and Jon Heder.
Alexandra Barreto - Producer, Director, Actor
Filmmaker: LADY HATER (Tribeca Film Festival), TOO LATE (Robert Forster & John Hawkes)
Actor: THE FOSTERS
Alexandra's directorial debut, LADY HATER, premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. The Audible Original Series she produced stars Meg Ryan, Rachel Bloom, and Sam Richardson, and her film TOO LATE starred Oscar nominees John Hawkes and Robert Forster. As an actor, she is best known for her five-year run on THE FOSTERS. She currently can be seen on the FX hit MAYANS MC.
Robin Bronk - Producer
Producer: POLIWOOD (Barry Levinson)
Robin Bronk is the CEO of The Creative Coalition, the leading nonprofit arm of the entertainment industry. Ms. Bronk produced the feature film, POLIWOOD, directed by Academy Award-winner Barry Levinson, and executive produced Before You Know It, starring Alec Baldwin, Mandy Patinkin and Judith Light. Ms. Bronk speaks at colleges and universities as well as the Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, and Tribeca film festivals and serves on the New York Cultural Task Force, as well as the boards of The White House Project and The Close Up Foundation, and is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and Women of Washington.
Leslie Alejandro - Director, Filmmaker, Celebrity/Fashion Photographer, Activist
Filmmaker: SMILE (Dances with Wolves Film Festival)
Leslie premiered her first horror short SMILE at Dances with the Wolves Film Festival in 2019. She was previously partner and executive editor of a fashion magazine. Her work has been featured in Vanity Fair, GQ, Vogue, Glamour, Men’s Health, The Wrap and more. As activist she has been a member of the Human Rights Campaign for more than a decade and actively campaigns for the inclusion and visibility of people of color “above and below the line” in the entertainment industry.
Mali Elfman - Producer
Producer: THE PARTY'S JUST BEGINNING, written, directed by, and starring Karen Gillan (JUMANJI, AVENGERS, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY)
Mali Elfman is a prolific producer of feature, short form, and episodic content. She recently produced THE PARTY'S JUST BEGINNING, written, directed by, and starring Karen Gillan (JUMANJI, AVENGERS, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY).
Ashleigh Snead - Producer
Producer: THE RANGER (SXSW), SCARE PACKAGE, THE PALE DOOR
Ashleigh has years of business and production experience, both in and out of the film industry. With an MBA from NYU and an entrepreneurial spirit she launched two successful children’s clothes companies before making the switch to film. She has worked as a producer on eight feature films, including the 2018 SXSW punk rock horror hit, THE RANGER, Shudder's summer 2020 horror/comedy anthology release, SCARE PACKAGE, and witchy western THE PALE DOOR coming to theaters this Fall.
Your Moderator: Amanda Toney - Producer & Managing Director at Stage 32
As Managing Director for Stage 32, Amanda oversees operations and business development for the global business. She has curated over 1,200 hours of online education created exclusively for Stage 32, and works with hundreds of entertainment industry executives from around the world to serve as educators and mentors. She has spearheaded partnerships with such prestigious organizations as the Cannes Film Festival Marché du Film, American Film Market, SXSW, Austin Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Hollyshorts Film Festival, PGA, WGA and DGA, as well as brands such as AT&T, Peerspace, Pond5, Mandy, Bondit Media Capital and her personal favorite partnership, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, which is the official vodka of Stage 32.
As a producer, Amanda has worked on the psychological thriller What Lies Ahead starring Rumer Willis and Emma Dumont; Chick Fight, starring Malin Akerman, Alec Baldwin and Bella Thorne, Metaphorms, a Hungarian film, which premiered at the Raindance Film Festival and Dolphin Girl, an entire Stage 32 production in conjunction with the St. Petersburg Film Commission. She recently sold an unscripted show to a major US network.
Amanda has spoken all over the world at the Cannes Film Festival (France), Hollyshorts Film Festival (US), Raindance Film Festival (UK), Hamburg Film Fest (Germany), Trinidad & Tobago Film Commission (Trinidad), Fest Festival (Portugal) and Harvard (US) on the business of the entertainment industry.
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