Lela Meadow-Conner

Ashley O’Shay’s UNAPOLOGETIC at Film Festival Alliance will wrap up FilmEx with Film Festival Day bow on Saturday, January 16

By John Wildman 5 years ago

“Ashley’s film is important, timely and the perfect culmination to a week of honest conversations with over 800 independent film exhibitors at FIlmEx. We’re thrilled to support the filmmakers in presenting UNAPOLOGETIC to audiences across North America, in this new model of distribution, and look forward to hearing her talk about the experience of making the film and how it reflects on what we just saw take place in Georgia and the rest of the country.”

Gray Rodriguez joins Film Festival Alliance; January film fest meetup void with FilmEx, adds more staff

By John Wildman 5 years ago

Film Festival Alliance Executive Director Lela Meadow-Conner, said, “FilmEx will set the tone for the year to come, bringing everyone in the ever-growing film festival and art house cinema communities together in the virtual space we are all currently inhabiting, to share new ideas, methods, and business practices, as our members and others continue to innovate the ways in which we present films, and benefit filmmakers, distributors and audiences. We hope to join the voices of experience and bring new ones to the table, to look at the ways in which we move forward and the opportunities that exist for change.”

Derek Horne curates Film Festival Alliance and Theatrical-At-Home celebrate Pride Month with 3rd Film Festival Day’s RAINBOW RETROSPECTIVE: A DECADE OF QUEER COMEDY

By John Wildman 6 years ago

“Our Film Festival Days have really shown us, our member festivals, and filmmakers alike how we now have the opportunity to shake up what traditional film distribution look like. The last few months have exposed many cracks in the system and now is a time when (if we collaborate and support one another) we can hopefully make changes for the better in support of both independent artists and exhibitors,” said FFA Executive Director Lela Meadow-Conner. “We’re thrilled that Derek curated this line-up of some of the funniest queer short films from the last decade, and look forward to hearing him moderate the Q&A with the filmmakers – just like at a film festival!”

Lela Meadow-Conner, Film Festival Alliance Executive Director: Teaming with Full Spectrum Features to put together first Film Festival Leadership Lab

By John Wildman 6 years ago

“As the Alliance has quickly grown over the last few years, and serves as North America’s only professional affiliation for those who work within the film festival industry, we realized there was a need to cultivate our industry’s future leadership beyond our regular professional development activities.,” said Lela Meadow-Conner, FFA Executive Director. “We’ve been fortunate to engage with wonderful partners including Full Spectrum Features and Stephen Bárczay Sloan, Founder of the Humane Leadership Institute, to execute the program.” 

Angela Pinaglia’s LIFE IN SYNCHRO: Film Festival Alliance and Theatrical-At-Home bring Film Festival Day back for a sequel on May 23 with LIFE IN SYNCHRO

By John Wildman 6 years ago

“The results of our first Film Festival Day surpassed any of our expectations,” said Lela Meadow-Conner, Executive Director of Film Festival Alliance. “To witness the collective power of these community & filmmaker-driven festivals coming together in support of independent storytellers and audiences, embodies the spirit of our members’ organizations. Thus, the idea of doing a sequel seemed natural and LIFE IN SYNCHRO was a perfect film for us to feature. It’s a film that would have played the in-person festival circuit in 2020, and it represents the heart that independent filmmakers often infuse into their projects – exactly the type of storytelling that brings audiences to a film festival. The cherry on top is being able to support the filmmakers, as well.”

Gary Lundgren’s PHOENIX OREGON Screens for Film Festival Alliance with Theatrical-At-Home to screen at first Film Festival Day on April 11

By John Wildman 6 years ago

“We’ve been looking for a way to emulate the iconic Record Store Day idea for years,” said Lela Meadow-Conner, Executive Director of Film Festival Alliance. “It was always a challenge for film festivals since not everyone has access to a theater at the same time. So now, we gladly take this opportunity to bring audiences from across the country together, at home, and celebrate what makes the film festival experience so unique: connecting people communities through cinema.”

Dan Brawley Annc’s Film Festival Alliance Goes Global

By John Wildman 7 years ago

“The Alliance has grown steadily over the past five years, and now there is an increased interest in widening our membership reach,” said FFA Board President & Cucalorus Festival’s Chief Instigating Officer Dan Brawley. “As an organization, we’ve created a collective voice for film festivals and we want to expand that conversation so that we can share stories, resources, and challenges with our peers around the world. We see this as an essential step in order to address the constant shifts in our industry related to technology, consumption, and culture.”

FILMS GONE WILD: 10 Film Festival Programmers to Watch

By John Wildman 7 years ago

In the meantime, now that I have probably exhausted everyone’s patience by blathering on and ranting like an old man carrying a crumpled paper bag and out of date newspaper outside a deli, here is a quick list of ten people that I work with and for that I would suggest filmmakers, film industry types, and people reading the movie industry tea leaves SHOULD be paying attention to:

FILM FESTIVAL NEWS: Heartland Film signs on to the 5050×2020 gender parity pledge for its film festivals

By John Wildman 7 years ago

“A common myth is that women aren’t making films or they’re not submitting to festivals,” said Heartland Film Film Programming Coordinator Julia Ricci. “That is far from the truth. The talent is out there and they have something to say; it is important for film festivals to amplify these voices and provide equal opportunity across the board. Heartland’s track record of recognizing and honoring female filmmakers is growing stronger each year, and I’m thrilled that we are officially committing to this initiative.”

Jamie Patterson’s TUCKED leads awards at The 2018 Naples International Film Festival wraps things up with their Filmmaker Awards and Steve Martin and Martin Short

By John Wildman 7 years ago

The Naples International Film Festival announced the filmmaker award winners for the film festival’s 10th edition during a Closing Night Awards ceremony presented by Richard Lublin on Sunday, October 28 at Hayes Hall (5833 Pelican Bay Blvd.) on Sunday, October 20. The Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature (and a cash prize of $3,000) went to Jamie Patterson’s TUCKED, and the Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature (and $3,000) was given to Dava Whisenant’s BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY. Among the other awards, Dermot Murphy received the Rising Star Award for his performance in Nick Kelly’s THE DRUMMER AND THE KEEPER.