Celebs, pitch fest, Marlon Jackson and Louis Gossett Jr., and more at upcoming Independent Filmmaker Day!

Independent Filmmaker Day will take place live on Zoom - June 23 & 24, 2021

Rubenstein Business Law and Ornstein Schuler State Film Tax Credits present Independent Filmmaker Day, held Live via Zoom on June 23th & 24th, 2021.

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced producer, this event is for you. We help independent creators from around the world develop new projects, connect within the industry, and champion collaborative and impactful storytelling at all stages.

For beginners, you will hear from industry experts providing you with real-world practical advice to help turn your dream idea or screenplay into reality. Rather than paying thousands of dollars to attend film school or lengthy monthly/weekly courses, in only 2 days with IFD you will learn how to pitch your idea, structure your project, find funding, and locate distribution.

For experienced filmmakers, you will hear from Oscar and Emmy Nominated Experts that will teach you how to add value to your projects. You will learn new strategies on how to finance your film/tv project, how to market your film/tv project using social media, how to attract A-List talent, how to maximize tax strategies under IRS Code 181, and how to sell your film/tv project to networks, Netflix and Amazon.

Our event will contain a special focus on music in film/television. You will learn how do you monetize your music, how to place your music in film/tv, and how to promote your music and leverage business opportunities.

June 23, 2021 -

3 pm - 10 pm EST - Film/TV Panel Discussions!

Panel Discussions: Hear from industry experts on a variety of topics in film/tv including: acting, directing, producing, film funding, distribution, social media, product placement, post-production, entertainment law, and more. Each panel lasts one hour and includes Q&A from the audience. When you register on Eventbrite, you will receive an email 3 days before the event to register on Zoom, which will provide the Zoom link.

Confirmed Panelists include:

1. Lou Gossett, Jr. - Louis Gossett Jr. is one of the most respected and beloved actors on stage, screen and television and is also an accomplished writer, producer and director. Off-screen he is a social activist, educator and author dedicated to enriching the lives of others. Gossett was the first African-American to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his unforgettable performance as drill Sergeant Emil Foley in "An Officer and a Gentleman." Among his other awards are an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor for his portrayal of Fiddler in the groundbreaking ABC series "Roots," a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for "The Josephine Baker Story" and a Golden Globe for "An Officer and a Gentleman." He has been nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globes, one Academy Award, five Images Awards, two Daytime Emmy Awards, and in 1992 received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2. Marlon Jackson - American entertainer, singer, and dancer. Jackson was a member of the legendary Jackson Five. On the heels of writing the iconic 80’s song, “Body” with The Jacksons, he released one solo album in 1987 called “Baby Tonight.” His single “Don’t Go” climbed to second place in the US Top R& B charts. Marlon founded the Major Broadcasting Cable (MBC) Network in 1999, in Atlanta with Alvin James, which was the first minority-owned and operated cable network. Marlon and his business partners brought the network to more than 15 million homes in a three-year span. In 2004, the network became known as the Black Family Channel and was sold in 2007.

3. Larry Braggs - World-renowned entertainer, soulful vocalist and songwriter. Larry was the lead singer of Tower of Power from 1999 to 2013 and The Temptations from 2015 to 2019. Now as a solo artist, he is becoming one of the most sought after singers in the business. Touring almost two hundred days out of the year, Larry is a powerful force of talent to see.

4. Celine Rattray - Film producer who co-founded the production company Maven Pictures. In 2010, she won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for The Kids Are All Right. In 2020, Rattray launched Maven Screen Media with Trudie Styler, a multi-platform UK production company. Celine has over 40 independent films under her belt as a producer, including 18 premiering at Sundance and 16 premiering at TIFF.

5)Patrick Jerome - Since launching his career as a producer and director with the real life based drama Deportation in 2001, Jerome has written and directed the feature length films Holla At Me (2007) and Open Vacancy (2012) and the short films Day By Day (2012) and The Last Delivery (2015). He has also served as executive producer on the 2008 film Walls Have Ears and Assassin's Bullet, a 2012 drama thriller starring Christian Slater and Donald Sutherland. Patrick is also the Founder of Boston International Film Festival.

6. Ethan Lader - Successful Music Video Director who has worked with Bruno Mars, Wiz Khalifa, Mariah Carey, Enrique Iglesias, Will.I.Am, Ricky Martin, and various others. His work has been recognized by the MTV Video Music Awards, BET Awards Video, BET Hip Hop Awards, amongst others.

7. Susan Webber Gatto - Following an extremely successful career in Print including 10 years at Conde Nast as an Associate Publisher, Advertising Director, and Executive Beauty Director across multiple titles in the Young Women’s/Contemporary Lifestyle genre, Susan made the move to TV landing at A&E Networks as VP Business Development for Lifetime progressing to VP of Branded Content across the A&E Programming Portfolio. Now an Independent Product/Sponsorship Consultant for Film and TV, Susan's clients include: A+E, AMC, CBS, Crackle, CW, Discovery, Fox, Hallmark, and NBC.

8. Barry Coffing - Barry is an Emmy Nominated Musician, who represents over 17,000 record labels and publishers for film and tv licensing as part of his company Music Supervisor, Inc. He has placed over 200 tracks in movies and TV (including The Blind Side, Pretty Little Liars, and Dexter). He continued to be the voice behind the scenes in movies like Moulin Rouge, The Brady Bunch Movie & Winnie The Pooh's Grand Adventure, He wrote TV themes for California Dreams, The Pyramid (Starring Donny Osmond) & The Heights. His song "How Do You Talk To An Angel" went on to become a number one hit and sell over 500,000 copies worldwide.

9. Darice G - Darice is the CEO and founder of Synapse Publishing & Entertainment, LLC. Darice has been a performer, dancer, innovator, musician, speaker, award winning author and entrepreneur creating multiple international businesses and developing software over the past 35+ years. Synapse Publishing & Entertainment creates and provides original music compositions and lyrics with staff songwriters as well as partners and coordinates with multiple artists, producers, arrangers, and publishing licensors across genres in a boutique fashion to fit the vision of each individual project.

10. Viviana Zarragoitia - Viviana is a Vice President in Three Point Capital's lending division, which finance tax incentives and distribution agreements for film/TV. Viviana has been involved in the financing of over 100 independent films and received over 20 Executive Producer credits. She is an entertainment finance professional with over 14 years of experience in the entertainment industry.

June 24, 2021 -

2:00 pm - 5:30 pm EST - Expert Roundtables.

Your opportunity to ask questions and receive answers from experts in the film and tv industry about your specific project. We will have a total of three different Expert Roundtables with a different expert at each table (limited to one hour and only 15 attendees per expert). When you register on Eventbrite, you will receive an email 3 days before the event to register on Zoom, which will provide the Zoom link.

5:30 pm - 6:30 pm EST - Seminar: Master Your Pitch!

Prepare for the Pitch Competition with this special pitching seminar by Entertainment Lawyer and Producer David Rubenstein . You will learn:

1. What a producer, agent, or manager is really looking for when they hear a pitch.

2. How to succeed at pitching if you're shy!

3. The 3 keys to every successful pitch.

4. How to avoid the 5 most common pitching mistakes.

5. How to find pitchable elements even in a "low concept" or "character driven" project.

6. How to find your hook and make producers salivate without "selling out!"

7. Unique pitching techniques specifically designed for pitch fests.

About David Rubenstein:

David Rubenstein is an Entertainment Lawyer who has been voted a "Super Lawyer Rising Star" for 7 years in a row, an award given to less than 5% of all attorneys. Most recently, David helped raise funding for the acclaimed film, 1917, which won 3 Oscars, and also served as a Producer's Consultant on the highly regarded film, Human Capital, starring Marisa Tomei and Liev Schreiber, which premiered on the red carpet at the Toronto Film Festival.

7:00 pm - 10:00 pm EST - Pitch Competition.

Your opportunity to Pitch your film/tv project for a chance to win over $40,000 in in-kind services to help make your project. Each pitch is limited to 3 minutes in a "shark-tank" style format before a panel of 3 judges. The fourth vote will be comprised of an audience member vote, so bring your family and friends to cheer you on for your best chance to win! (limited to only 25 pitches on a first come first serve basis). You will be able to share your screen during your 3 minute pitch if you want to incorporate video. All film, tv, and documentary projects are eligible to win. When you register on Eventbrite, you will receive an email 3 days before the event to register on Zoom, which will provide the Zoom link. The day of the event we will email you a list of which order you will pitch. The order will be comprised based on the order in which contestants signed up (ie first to sign up will go first). You can use video as part of your pitch.

10:00 pm to 11:30 pm EST - Virtual After Party

Party and Network with your fellow attendees and panelists in a virtual setting using the popular app TapRoom. You will be emailed the download instructions and link to join after buying a ticket.

June 23-24, 2021

3:00 PM - 10:00 PM EST

Live on Zoom

Independent Filmmaker Day is Produced by Eric Vollweiler.

Tickets are on sale now at Eventbrite