For our third annual festival, we were honored to host four exceptional panel discussions that covered a variety of topics. Thank you to all of our panel participants and attendees. Special thanks to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. for sponsoring the Women Driving ROI Panel, to First Republic for sponsoring the Live From Connecticut panel. See some photo highlights from these exciting panels below!
Live From Connecticut: A Discussion with Saturday Night Live Writers
Sponsored by First Republic
In-Partnership with the Writer’s Guild of America East
NBC’s Saturday Night Live has become one of the most popular, celebrated, and longest-running programs in television history. It has been a preeminent breeding ground and launching pad for some of the best comedy writers, most talented performers, and biggest stars of the last forty years. GIFF was excited to present SNL head writers Tim Herlihy and Bryan Tucker to discuss the creative process of script to screen at The Avon Theatre on June 1st. Moderated by The New York Times editor Lorne Manly, this discussion had the whole room laughing.
Women Driving ROI in the Film Market Place
Sponsored by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
Movies for women do better than movies focused on any other demographic at the box office, yet funding is harder to come by for female-focused entertainment. The Greenwich International Film Festival was thrilled to present an engaging discussion about this illogical disparity and how Hollywood can grow by investing in female-centric films. The panelists were Suzanne Farwell, Producer (Carrie Pilby, It’s Complicated, The Intern, Something’s Gotta Give) and Susan Cartsonis, Producer (The DUFF, Where the Heart Is, What Woman Want) and was moderated by Ruth Ann Harnisch, Lead Investor at Superlative Films, and Executive Producer (The Hunting Ground, Unrest).
The Film Review: An Inside Look at the Formidable Responsibility of a Film Critic
Co-presented by the Greenwich Arts Council
Ever since the dawn of cinema when the Lumiere Brothers first set up their cameras, there has been a flood of filmmakers who have attempted, in various ways, to capture “objective truth” on celluloid. For almost as long, film criticism has wrestled with the difficulties inherent in the process of analyzing a film objectivity. This enlightening conversation with top film critics discussed the objective criticism and the formidable responsibility these heavy hitters have over the future of a film. The all-star lineup of panelists included Richard Lawson (Vanity Fair), Alison Willmore (Buzzfeed), Marshall Fine (General Manager, NYFCC), and Chris Nashawaty (Entertainment Weekly) and was moderated by Joe Meyers (CT Post).
Click here to watch the whole panel discussion, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly.
Producing Sports
After a screening of ESPN 30 for 30’s new documentary MIKE AND THE MAD DOG – based on two of the greatest sportscasters in history – the dog himself, Chris Russo (Mike and the Mad Dog) joined a discussion on the bright future of sports entertainment with Connor Schell (Co-creator and EP, ESPN’s 30 for 30), Daniel H. Forer (Director, Mike and the Mad Dog), David Levien (Billions co-creator, 30 for 30 Director) and Hannah Storm (Award-winning Journalist, ESPN) and moderated by Ryen Russillo (Radio Host, ESPN).
