Moguls

This series of intimate, one-on-one sessions offered a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the most powerful and influential movers and shakers of the film world.

This year’s sessions included:

Ted Hope
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Synonymous with the various phases and faces of American independent cinema over the past two decades, Ted Hope (Dark Horse, Martha Marcy May Marlene) is consistently re-imagining what it means to make films outside the studio system in North America. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet one of the visionaries of contemporary independent cinema in conversation with Filmmaker Magazine’s Anthony Kaufman.

 

Ted Hope – Double Hope Films

Co-founder of Good Machine, This is That and most recently Double Hope Films, Ted Hope has produced over sixty films, including three Sundance Grand Prize winners and the first features of Alan Ball, Michel Gondry, Hal Hartley, Nicole Holofcener and Ang Lee among others.

He co-founded the Indie Film review site Hammer to Nail (www.hammertonail.com), and his blog Hope For Film (www.hopeforfilm.com) is on indieWIRE - making Hope the only working filmmaker with a daily column in one of the ‘Trades’.

Most recently Ted has produced Collaborator (written and directed by Martin Donovan) which won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2011 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and Super (written and directed by James Gunn), which was the first sale of last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and is one of IFC’s most successful VOD titles.

Playing at the Festival this year are Dark Horse (written and directed by Todd Solondz) and Martha Marcy May Marlene (written and directed by Sean Durkin) which won the Directing Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and was featured in Un Certain Regard at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

 

Anthony Kaufman - Filmmaker Magazine

Anthony Kaufman writes about films and the film industry for Variety, The Wall Street Journal Online, indieWIRE, Utne Reader, and ReelPolitik, a film and politics blog at indiewire.com/anthony. He has also written for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Village Voice and Slate, among others.                                                                           

Stuart Ford
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A leader in film financing, sales and distribution, Stuart Ford founded IM Global in 2007 after successful careers at First Look International and Miramax Films. Boasting a diverse slate of films varying from English-language mainstream hits to foreign-language art house fare, and a recent expansion into India, Ford's company and ambitions know no bounds. Join Variety's Steven Gaydos in conversation with one of Hollywood's top executives.

 

Stuart Ford – IM Global

Stuart Ford founded IM Global in March 2007. After a highly successful three years, Ford sold a majority stake in the company to Reliance Entertainment, the entertainment subsidy of Indian conglomerate Reliance ADA Group. Reliance is also Steven Spielberg’s partner in DreamWorks Pictures. In less than five years, Ford has built IM Global from a standing start into one of the most prolific and high profile feature film financiers, producers and international distributors in Hollywood and the global film industry.

In August 2006 Ford joined First Look Studios as President of First Look International. Prior to this he was a senior executive to Harvey and Bob Weinstein at New York-based Miramax Films from 1997-2004. At Miramax, Ford filled a variety of roles, most prominently as Co-Head of Miramax International, the studio’s powerful international distribution and sales arm. Ford was just 32 when he took the reins at Miramax International and was profiled in 2004 by The Hollywood Reporter as one of Hollywood’s top executives under the age of 40.

Ford began his career as a European-based lawyer specializing in film production, financing and distribution. Ford is a regular speaker and panelist around the world on the subject of international film sales and distribution and independent film financing. In 2010, The Guardian listed him as one of the 50 most influential people in world cinema. More recently, The Hollywood Reporter described Ford as one of the “new reigning royalty of wheeling and dealing” in the international film industry.

Ford was born in Liverpool, England and was educated at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford University where he gained both a BA and MA (Hons) in Law. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two sons.

 

Steven Gaydos - Variety

An editor with Variety since 1994, Gaydos also created and directs the “10 to Watch” program for Variety, spotlighting emerging talent from around the world in the fields of directing, screenwriting, cinematography, producing and acting.

Gaydos created and continues to oversee the “Variety Critics’ Choice: Europe Now” official sidebar at Karlovy Vary Film Festival. This section, in partnership with European Film Promotion, is now in its 10th year and focuses on presenting the best in new European cinema at one of Europe's oldest and most distinguished film festivals.

Gaydos is a member of the Writers Guild of America, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the European Film Academy. Prior to joining Variety, Gaydos worked in Hollywood and Europe as a screenwriter. His produced films include director Monte Hellman’s Better Watch Out and Iguana (directed by Monte Hellman), All Men are Mortal (directed by Ate de Jong) One Month Later (directed by Nouchka Van Brakel).

Gaydos is editor of The Variety Guide to Film Festivals, (Variety/Putnam) and is also co-editor of Movie Talk from the Frontlines (McFarland) and Cannes: 50 Years of Sun, Sex and Celluloid (Miramax/Hyperion).

Michael Werner
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Fortissimo Films, one of the world's leading international film and television sales organizations, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Michael Werner, chairman and partner in the company, discusses its storied history and successful venture into the independent film world and Asian territories with Mike Goodridge of Screen International. Please join us in celebrating one of the great success stories of contemporary independent film business.

 

Michael J. Werner – Fortissimo Films

Los Angeles born Michael J. Werner is a long-time veteran of the film sales business, with more than thirty years experience in international film distribution, sales, production and consulting, specializing in the Asia-Pacific region. He joined Fortissimo Film Sales as an external consultant in 1995 and in 2000 became a partner in the company.

Werner had a prior focus on big commercial films handling such titles as Die Hard 3, Talk Radio and Evita. As a media consultant, his clients included IBM, Polygram and The Sunshine Group/CineAsia. From 1995-1997 he was the Co-Supervisor Asia for 20th Century Fox International and from 1997-2007, he served as the Supervisor, China and Director of Special Projects for Fox.

In recent years as Fortissimo has ventured into the world of film financing and production, Werner has served as Executive Producer or Co-Producer on a number of high profile independent films including Shortbus, The Night Listener, Mysterious Skin, Tokyo Sonata, Invisible Waves, Springtime in a Small Town , Disgrace and Norwegian Wood.

Along with Fortissimo’s late founder Wouter Barendrecht, in 2005 Werner was awarded a Silver Hugo for his contribution to World Cinema by the Chicago Film Festival and in 2006 they were jointly awarded a Golden Kinnaree for their contribution to Asian cinema by the Bangkok Film Festival. In 2007, CineAsia honoured Michael Werner and Wouter Barendrecht with the Award of Excellence for “their significant achievements in promoting and bringing Asian Cinema to the world”.  In 2008, Werner and Barendrecht received the Golden Orange Award at the International EurAsia Film Festival, Antalya, Turkey for their “Contribution to Cinema and Art.”

Fortissimo Films was founded in 2001 in Amsterdam. In 2009 upon the untimely passing of Wouter Barendrecht, Werner assumed the Chairmanship of the Company. Werner has lived in Hong Kong since 1995. In 2006 he became member of the USA’s Oscar Committee/Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Executive Branch).

 

Mike Goodridge – Screen International

Mike Goodridge is editor of Screen International and oversees all the brand’s products including daily news, reviews and box office site Screendaily.com, email weekly Screen Weekly, print monthly Screen International, European production database Screenbase and the print dailies at major festivals like Cannes, Berlin and Toronto.

He assumed the role of editor in October 2009 in London after 12 years in Los Angeles as Screen’s US editor.

He published his first book Directing in 2000 and is currently series editor of a new series of books about the film crafts which will start publishing through Focal Press in the US in 2012.