Past Events

Chances are if you’ve been working in and around film production locally you’ve become familiar with Ryan Stowell and Scott Free Productions work. Ryan has been a producer, co-producer, and executive producer on many esteemed dramatic features such as "Manchester by the Sea", "American Woman", "Jungleland", and "Thoroughbreds". Ryan shares his experience as a producer, and his insights from the many films he’s been part of in Massachusetts and beyond.

No matter where you stand in the creative economy, change is the new normal. Chances are you’re challenged with new ways to think about your work, and how you work, on a regular basis. The volume of quality opportunities available, the way people choose to watch content, and shifts in production technology, mean we’re all working harder and faster than ever. Avid CEO Jeff Rosica offers a presentation and will lead a discussion about why rethinking and reinventing how we do what we do together is the best way to thrive in an ever-changing media and entertainment industry. Image: Mass Production Coalition & Pexels.com

Content is moving in all directions, delivered from concept to production and distribution faster and across more platforms than ever before. Keeping up with audiences – where they watch and how they respond creates unique challenges for producers, media strategists and insight specialists to stay ahead in each project. In this discussion we’re breaking down the content. How to deliver great results to satisfy audiences, publishers, and the brands that support them – and what producers are experimenting with across streaming platforms, YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, AR and others to keep up. The panel discusses what it takes to build a great creative and production plan, and deliver content that doesn’t leave you in Fear Of Missing Out! Image: Mass Production Coalitiion & Pexels.com

Media’s role in the democratic process is more essential and influential than ever—from viral think pieces, to films as a key tool in moving policy initiatives, and live streamed town hall debates. How filmmakers, storytellers, and journalists engage to enlighten and inform is vital in a participatory media culture where communications are shared, commented, memed, and weaponized for good and bad intentions. Our accelerated media paradigm has irrevocably changed the political landscape and is influencing voters on divisive and complicated issues. Is it helping, or hurting, the cause of democracy and social good? Are the values of a democratic society being advanced, allowing new voices to emerge, and bringing us together–or are we sliding into a protracted age of divisive rhetoric and inaction driven by micro-targeted technology undermining the possibilities of citizen participation? Image: Mass Production Coalition & Pexels.com

Most recently, Jane Perlez served as the bureau chief for _The New York Times_ in Beijing. As a current fellow at Harvard University's Shorenstein Center, Perlez is writing about how the Chinese and American governments treat each other’s reporters as each side strives to describe, in very different ways, the world’s most important strategic relationship. Video from 1967 China: Clips taken from a short film made by Roger Whitaker, one of Jane's student travelmates 1967 on the trip.

The Boston Harbor Islands contain some of the most intact Native American and historical archaeological sites and landscapes in Boston, and the Harbor’s ancient floor hosts historic shipwrecks and submerged Native sites. Climate change and its associated storms and sea level rise are putting this history at risk. City Archaeologist Joe Bagley discusses the threats to these resources as part of Massachusetts’ Archaeology Month. This talk includes discussion of current and proposed efforts to document archaeological sites in Boston before they are lost.

Here is a look at one of Boston's most beloved, community-based, unique and action-driven neighborhoods, Jamaica Plain. We explore Jamaica Plain through the eyes of the people who help define it. Image: [Pexels.com](http://www.pexels.com/search/boston/)

Starting with a crash course in the history of comics, Maris Wicks takes us panel by panel through the use of cartoons and comics as a way to educate and engage readers of all ages. Journey to the jungles of Africa, inside the human body, Caribbean coral reefs, the bottom of the ocean, Antarctica, and even outer space to see how Wicks uses comics to convey general science concepts and work alongside scientists to help communicate the science behind their research. Image: Maris Wicks

The authors Errick Nunnally, Bracken MacLeod, and Isabel Yap talk about their latest works and the thrills of writing dark speculative fiction at this Halloween-adjacent event. Errick Nunnally is the author of _Lightning Wears a Red Cape_; Bracken MacLeod's most recent novel is _Stranded_; and Isabel Yap's work can be found in _Lightspeed Magazine_ and _Year’s Best Weird Fiction_. Image: [Pexels.com](http://www.pexels.com/photo/backlit-dark-dawn-environment-289367/)

Today's professional athletes have increasingly leveraged their powerful voices and the platforms their mediated profession provides to influnce opinion and affect change. But should they? Join a unique and intimate conversation with some of the nation's most charitable and vocal athletes and representatives from across Boston's business and non-profit community. Image: [Pexels.com](http://www.pexels.com/photo/helmet-on-the-ground-2862718/)