Join in on a pitch session as a diverse group of documentary filmmakers present their ideas to an esteemed panel of experts who give feedback and advice. What do filmmakers need to know to make funders and broadcasters prick up their ears and fund their film projects? How can producers maximize their pitches in short amounts of time? Though filmmaker's descriptions of their work and actual pitches are included, this webcast does not include video clips or other imagery shown during the pitches. This panel discussion is a part of the 2005 Boston Fimmaker's Expo, presented by The Filmmaker's Collaborative.
In addition to her extensive experience as a private investment manager, Kim is co-chair of Hampton's International Film Festival, Films of Conflict & Resolution, where she oversees an international advisory board in the development and production of a juried section of films from conflict zones of the world. She is also involved with the festival's Science in Films section, and works with Children's Media Project to facilitate student participation in the festival. She has also served as a grants maker for the Threshold Foundation, where she designated funds to non-profit organizations that focus on peace and national security issues; as author of numerous policy and position papers, grants proposals and freelance articles; and as a reporter for *East Side Express* and *The Philadelphia Inquirer*.
Eileen Newman has been named Executive Director of the National Board of Review. Previously she has most recently served as the Senior Director of Programming at IFP/NY. Before joining IFP, Eileen served as Executive Director of Film/Video Arts. Ms. Newman was formerly a program officer at New Visions for Public Schools, an educational non-profit where she assisted in the creation of small New York City elementary and secondary schools. She has worked in education and media for over 30 years as an administrator and a teacher working for the Department of Education in New York City and as a professor of film studies at Adelphi University. In addition, Ms. Newman has served on the boards of New York Women in Film as Vice-President of Programming and Membership, the New York Production Alliance, the Film and Video Council, and on the Advisory Board of DocuClub. Her work at Film/Video Arts included working closely with hundreds of filmmakers providing technical support through the fiscal sponsorship program.
Louise Rosen is a media executive with over 25 years experience in the international television and film business, project development, production and distribution. She has worked with a wide range of program genres and formats and set up major international co-productions. Her reputation as a talent-spotter has grown steadily, built upon her association with numerous award-winning projects. Louise was based in Europe for 8 years and has particular interest in the cross-cultural aspects of television/film. She has taken an active role in many productions; overseeing research, editorial and budgeting as well as location- and post-production. Her experience also includes management, operations, marketing and business affairs. She has been honored to have among her projects Oscar, Emmy, Sundance, Prix Italia, International Emmy and other award-winning films.
Judith Vecchione has contributed to many major documentary series, including *Nova*, *American Experience*, *Vietnam: A Television History*, and *Frontline*. She won an Emmy and a Red Ribbon at the American Film Festival for her work on Vietnam, and was Series Senior Producer and Producer of the first two programs of the critically acclaimed documentary series *Eyes on the Prize*. She has been Executive Producer for a number of award-winning national PBS documentary series, including *Americas*, 10 hours of programming on Latin America and the Caribbean; *The China Trilogy* ("China in Revolution," "The Mao Years," and "Born Under the Red Flag"); a three-part international coproduction, *De Gaulle and France*; and a six-part series on women scientists today, *Discovering Women*. She has produced specials, including "Fire Wars," which aired on *Nova*, and "Tug of War: The Story of Taiwan"; and she was Executive Producer for the film biographies *Eleanor Roosevelt* and *Mary Pickford* (for *American Experience*), and for *China in the Red* and *Young & Restless in China* (for *Frontline*.) She was also WGBH's Executive Producer for Martin Scorsese's multi-platform series, *The Blues*. Her programs have won awards from American Women in Radio and Television, the Chicago Film Festival, the Columbus International Film and Video Festival, the USrrr International Film and Video Festival, as well as the George Foster Peabody Award, three Christopher Awards and four CINE Golden Eagles, among others. In addition to her programming responsibilities, Vecchione is Executive Director for the Producers Workshops at WGBH, an initiative of CPB and PBS that has trained more than 150 national and regional producers, from public broadcasting stations and from the independent community, over the past eight years. Workshop participants have come from 40 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico; 48% of the Workshoppers have been minorities. Projects in development include an ITVS-funded special on Latino civil rights after World War II, *The Battle After the War* (working title), and films on Johnny Cash and on public health.