• Goodmans Presents: Meet the Publicists
• Goodmans Presents: Meet the Distributors
• Goodmans Presents: The Business of Filmmaking, CanadianFilmmaker.com
• Goodmans Presents: Doing Business in the U.S.
This long-running, ever-popular networking events series, presented by Goodmans LLP, in an exclusive benefit of WIFT-T Membership!
The increased focus on networking and consistent line-ups of high profile industry guests make this event a must-attend for industry professionals who are serious about advancing their careers.
Goodmans Presents is one of many on-going exclusive benefits of WIFT-T membership. To become a member today, call the WIFT-T office at 416.322.3430 or email wift@wift.com. Please note that WIFT-T Membership is open to women and men.
Goodmans Presents: Meet the Distributors
Wednesday April 19, 2006 at 7:30 pm
Presented by Goodmans LLP
A free networking event exclusively for WIFT-T members
Join fellow WIFT-T members and some of Canada’s film distributors at an exclusive panel session on Wednesday April 19, 2006. This addition to our Goodmans networking series will provide WIFT-T members with an opportunity to expand their knowledge of film distribution. With a panel comprised of a variety of national and international distributors, attendees will receive guidance and advice from industry professionals.
This session will explore:
• The role of a distributor
• When and how to involve a distributor
• How distributors market and position a film
• What is the distribution cycle
Moderator:
Ted East, President - Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters
Panelists:
Tom Alexander, Director of Theatrical Releasing - Mongrel Media
Michael Baker, Director of Development - THINKfilm
Tanya Kelen, Head of Distribution - Breakthrough Entertainment
Diane Schwalm, Senior Vice President, Theatrical Advertising and Publicity - Warner Bros. Canada Inc.
A question-and-answer period will follow the formal panel discussion. The evening will conclude with an informal wine and cheese networking reception.
We invite participants to help make this event relative and informative! Please feel free to submit your questions along with your registration. We will forward your questions along to our Moderator and panelists in an effort to make this event relevant and informative.
Goodmans Presents: Meet the Distributors is a FREE networking event exclusively for WIFT-T Members. Space is limited and pre-registration is mandatory. WIFT-T reserves the right to cancel or reschedule as necessary.
Location: National Film Board, 150 John St. (at Richmond)
Date: Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Registration: NEW TIME 7:00pm-7:30pm
Time: NEW TIME 7:30pm–9:30pm
To register: call (416) 322-3430 x221 or email a completed registration form, along with your resume to wift@wift.com or fax your registration to (416) 322-3703
*Note: There will be limited space for student members. Pre-register today!
Download a Registration Form here.
Ted East is President of the Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters (CAFDE) a trade association that represents the interests of Canadian owned distribution companies. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Television Fund and the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada.
Prior to joining CAFDE Ted East was Senior Vice-President of Production and Development – Feature Films for Alliance Atlantis Communications. In that position Ted was responsible for developing and overseeing the production of feature films. He was also responsible for creating production partnerships with producers in Canada and the United Kingdom. Among the films he has been involved with are Alan Moyle’s New Waterford Girl, Jeremy Podeswa’s The Five Senses and Robert LePage’s Possible Words.
Ted joined Alliance Communications in 1993 as Vice-President of Alliance Releasing. During his years at Alliance Communications and Alliance Atlantis Communications, Ted was heavily involved in industry associations and issues related to public policy and funding. Ted has served on the Board of Directors of The Academy of Canadian Cinema and The National Screen Institute. He worked very closely with, and served on various committees for, The Canadian Film and Television Producers Association as well as The Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters. He was also a frequent speaker at industry events and seminars including the Rogers Industry Centre at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Banff New Media Institute.
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Tom Alexander is Director, Theatrical Releasing at Mongrel Media, where he oversees all theatrical marketing, sales and distribution.
Before joining Mongrel in 2001, he worked in various capacities with Alliance Atlantis Communications, Famous Players, and the Toronto International Film Festival Group, among other organizations.
Mongrel Media is an independent Canadian distributor, specializing in world cinema. Recent releases include Water, Capote, Eve & the Fire Horse, The White Countess, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada and Friends With Money.
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Michael Baker is Director of Acquisitions & Development at ThinkFilm, a major North American independent film distributor, where he is responsible for screening films, negotiating for rights, attending film festivals, creating marketing plans, reading scripts, writing coverage and script notes, and working with writers, directors and producers to develop their scripts for production. He has also served as Producer on the feature film SNAPPED, Executive Producer on the features EVERYTHING’S GONE GREEN and WEIRDSVILLE, and Associate Producer on the film HALLOW’S END. He is currently overseeing the mockumentary FARCE OF THE PENGUINS for ThinkFilm, with writer/director Bob Saget, producer David Permut, and stars Samuel L. Jackson, Lewis Black, and Saget.
Michael holds a BA with Distinction in Cultural Studies from McGill University in Montreal, as well as a Post-Graduate Certificate with Highest Distinction in Corporate Communications from Seneca College in Toronto.
He served as an intern at Scott Free Productions, a Hollywood production company that is home to directors Tony and Ridley Scott (“Top Gun,” “Alien,” “Thelma and Louise”), where he read scripts, wrote coverage, attended pitch meetings and weekend read meetings, and took the boss’s dog for walks.
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Tanya Kelen is a senior-level executive with over 10 years experience in the industry. She has significant relationships with major broadcasters around the world in over 180 territories. As head of distribution, Tanya manages daily operations for worldwide sales and marketing initiatives, and also seeks out co-production and executive producing opportunities for the company. Since joining Breakthrough in 2003, sales have increased by over 500%.
Tanya's career began in Montreal with a summer job working in TELESCENE's development department. Then, as a second-year student at Concordia University, she created, developed and produced "INTO THE NEXT MILLENNIUM", a docusoap series about cutting-edge electronic artists for Montreal's Malofilms (now Behaviour Entertainment). After attending University, she worked in legal & business affairs with CINAR (now Cookie Jar). For the next four years, she honed her sales and development expertise while working with The Multimedia Group of Canada as a senior-level international sales, development and marketing executive. In 2002, Tanya Kelen moved to Toronto and founded KELEN CONTENT, a strategic consulting firm specializing in television program development, production and worldwide sales strategies. KELEN CONTENT has worked with leading domestic producers such S&S Productions, Silverthorn, Kidzup and Breakthrough Entertainment to develop, create and license unique original programming. After one year of consulting for Breakthrough, Tanya was invited to join the team full-time in 2004. Tanya is frequently asked to speak at international and domestic panels and is an active member of WIFT (Women and Film & Television), CWC (Canadian Women in Communications), and The Documentary Organization of Canada.
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Dianne Schwalm, Senior Vice President, Theatrical Advertising and Publicity for Warner Bros. Canada Inc., has spent more than three decades in the Canadian Motion Picture and Entertainment Industry. In her current position, Ms. Schwalm directs the Warner Bros. advertising, publicity and promotional activities for Canada. She also functions as a corporate liaison for Warner Bros. cultural investment activities.
Her motion picture and entertainment industry career began in 1970 where Ms. Schwalm was part of the sales department and advertising & publicity department at Paramount Pictures in Canada. She then joined 20th Century Fox in 1976 to assume the role of Canadian Director of Advertising and Publicity. In 1980, Dianne Schwalm joined Warner Bros. as Director of Marketing and was promoted to Vice President of Theatrical Advertising and Publicity in 1990, the role she held until being appointed to her current position.
Ms. Schwalm’s involvement reaches out to a number of industry-related and community organizations. She is a member of the Advisory Committee as well as a past member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Canadian Film Centre (CFC); a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Picture Pioneers; Co-founder as well as a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of Canada’s Walk of Fame; a founding member of Canadian Women in Communications (CWC); a past chairperson of Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association Public Relations Committee; past president of the Women of the Motion Picture Industry (WOMPI); and a co-founder of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television’s Golden Reel Awards. Ms. Schwalm has recently joined the Board of Directors of Women in Film & Television (WIFT - Toronto) and the McLuhan Multimedia Festival (M3F) a nation-wide high school media festival which helps students combine the older tradition of art with the modern traditions of technology. As well, Ms. Schwalm is a standing member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
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Goodmans Presents is one of numerous, ongoing, exclusive benefits of WIFT-T membership. The increased focus on networking and a consistent line-up of high-profile industry guests make these events a must for industry professionals who are serious about advancing their careers. To become a member today, call the WIFT-T office at 416.322.3430 or email wift@wift.com.
WIFT-T Membership is open to women and men.
