Best in Fest

Antti Kaarlela is a Finnish screenwriter, producer and a production company CEO. Antti has studied and lived in many different places around the world, including Rome, Italy and New York City, US. Antti set a production company called Whatevergroup in 2011 together with his namesake Antti Kairakari and a fellow entrepreneur Aleksi Puranen and since then Whatevergroup has produced for example the 2022 Oulu International Children and Youth Film Festival winning feature film Roi and the...

It's all about virtual production in this episode with one of the industry experts, President of Roninfilms Virtual Production Joan Webb. Roninfilm Virtual Production pioneered in Unreal Engine as early adopters with 2 Epic Games/Unreal Engine MegaGrants, becoming evangelists, leading speaking engagements at NAB, AFM, CineGear, VES, Wacom, ASUS, Poppy Jasper Film Festival, and over 35 articles world-wide in American Cinematographer, Variety, Sci-Fi, NAB Show Daily, and other trades written...

Alex Schmider is an Emmy, Peabody, and Critics Choice Award recognized film producer and the Director of Transgender Representation at GLAAD, the nation’s leading LGBTQ media advocacy organization. His producing credits include CHANGING THE GAME (Hulu), DISCLOSURE (Netflix), FRAMING AGNES (Kino Lorber), STAY ON BOARD: THE LEO BAKER STORY (Netflix) and upcoming CHASING CHASING AMY. He is an active member of the Producers Guild of America, the Television Academy, and board member for The 19th...

David Stump brings over 25 years of experience as a Producer, Director, Director of Photography, Visual Effects Director of Photography, Visual Effects Supervisor and Effects Cameraman. He has extensive experience in high definition film and video photography, content creation, CGI and visual effects production. He has won an Emmy Award and an Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Acheivement. He is a full member of the American Society of Cinematographers, where he currently serves as...

Kevin is the founder and CEO of Screen Engine/ASI, a research and data analytics company that prioritizes maximizing market potential while evaluating risk for clients in the media and entertainment sectors. SE/ASI works with entertainment clients to uncover the critical ‘WHY’ behind the choices people make in deciding what, where, when, and how they choose to watch content. Throughout his career, Kevin has produced twelve television movies. He is also the author of Audience-ology a book...

Max Muscato is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer and philanthropist. As a rock artist he brings electrifying performances to every show. Over the last several years Max has gained an extensive following and has toured and opened for: Citizen Cope, Theory of a Deadman, Aaron Carter, Finger Eleven, Eric Gales, Ripe, The Allman Betts Bandn and more. He is currently working on his next singles Valarie and Toxic & Poison due out in 2022. In addition to his music career, Max is...

Alan D'Escragnolle is a Brazilian-American, currently building the future of film distribution for producers, sales agents and distributors. Prior to this, I've spent time wearing many hats building product, growth, and operations teams across many different verticals and stages of companies. From turnaround to high-growth companies, there's always a great learning experience.

With her extraordinarily deep and varied background in managing and marketing film and cultural ventures on both sides of the Atlantic, Eleonora brings a global network of artistic and business alliances to her endeavors as a producer, film festival programmer, and international PR, marketing and distribution consultant. As an Executive: As a film production and acquisitions executive, Eleonora has worked as Vice President and head of the film co- productions and acquisitions division at...

Sadhvi Siddhali Shree is the first North American Jain monk, a US Army Iraq-war combat veteran, a TEDx speaker, an activist, and an award-winning filmmaker. Driven by her deep-seated devotion to humanity, she uses her talents and skills to raise awareness about non-violence, personal and spiritual transformation, and social issues. Since 2008, she has served as the Spiritual Director of Siddhayatan Tirth & Spiritual Retreat, a 250-acre retreat, ashram, monastery, and meditation park based...

Join Leslie for this very special episode directly from LaFemme International Film Festival. Moderated by Debeorah Gilels from LA Media Consultants this is part 2 of a panel titled Independent Financing: From Bridge to Gap to Raising Capital.

Join Leslie for this very special episode directly from LaFemme International Film Festival. Moderated by Debeorah Gilels from LA Media Consultants this is part 1 of a panel titled Independent Financing: From Bridge to Gap to Raising Capital.

Sadie is an actress, writer, producer and documentarian with an award named in her honor (AMDOC'S Sadie Katz Award for Hustle.) She spent the last two decades balancing being a single mom and a scream queen genre actress and recently opened her own production company "See You Next Tuesday Films" with the goal of telling female focused stories that don't involve sexed-up super villains or girls running through the woods.

In this astonishing episode, Leslie breaks down the steps it takes to design your life as a filmmaker. This is the perfect episode if you want to start off 2023 in a major way.

Bob Nickman is a comedian, actor, writer and producer who has worked on some of the most iconic sit-coms like Mad About You and Rosanne. In this episode Leslie talks with Bob about what it's like to work on these shows and how to transition from one to the other. Bob Nickman is an American comedian, actor, television producer, and television writer. As a television producer/writer, his credits include Mad About You, Freaks and Geeks, Danny, According to Jim, Big Day, Rita Rocks and...

Human trafficking is one of the most frightening and misunderstood realities of the world... and this blight is right here in the US. In this episode, Leslie speaks with actor and filmmaker Christina Zorich. about her new Docummentary the New Abolitionists.

Have you ever wished you could get free advice from a Public Relations and Marketing guru to promote your independent film? Leslie sits down with AJ Adelman the Chief Innovation Officer at Infinity Films who drops golden nuggets on how to get your film out into the world. AJ Adelman A.J. Adelman brings more than 30 years of corporate account management, sales/sponsorships, producer/development executive, consultancy, training/teaching and market research experience to the team. His...

Should you start a production company if you're a filmmaker. Almost definitely. In this episode, Leslie talks about why you should think about setting up a corporation and how you should set up your corporation. You'll learn everything from finding the right legal fictitious name to tax benefits and corporate protections. Don't miss this episode.

What are the laws of attraction in the universe and can you learn how to use them to attract everything you've ever wanted? Well, sure! In this episode Leslie talks with J Cynthia Brooks who teaches her techniques to attract what you want in your life. These techniques are fantastic for actors and any other industry professionals who have to pitch their projects.

Do you need to raise money for your film? Maybe you 're looking to attract a production company to your pilot or film script? In this episode Leslie speaks with Literary Agent and Producer John Beach about how to develop projects and what stands out when he's looking for a script John has worked in the entertainment industry for over 20 years – starting as a literary agent at Paradigm and later with ACME Talent & Literary, where he was instrumental in the sale of Oliver Stone’s WORLD TRADE...

Frank Kelly went from working in Corporate America to becoming a self-taught filmmaker and Leslie learns the story and the nuggets of lessons he's learned on the way. Frank Kelly is the founder and creative director of Reel City Films, a film & video production company dedicated to creating content for brands and agencies. Through his company, Frank writes and directs the majority of the work he and his team produce. Current and past clients include Bacardi, Princess Cruise Lines, the...