Meet the Insiders: Funding and Special Organizations
Join us for a very special edition of Meet the Insiders. Hosted by Rose Vincelli Gustine of IFP this Meet the Insiders session will allow the audience to interact with eight of the top grantmakers and gatekeepers from the nonprofit film world.
Presenters
Rose Vincelli Gustine
Producer & Program Mgr
IFP
Rose Vincelli Gustine is the Producer & Program Manager for the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers. At IFP, Rose focuses primarily on producing their Independent Filmmaker Labs; a year-long mentorship for first-time documentary & narrative feature directors. At IFP’s Independent Film Week, Rose helps to curate the Project Forum - an opportunity for filmmakers to meet with industry seeking new projects; she also produce the Filmmaker Conference. Rose is currently producing the hybrid documentary short "Man on Mars," directed by Anna Holmer. She was a film programmer for the 2005-07 SILVERDOCS Documentary Festivals. She majored in media studies at Hampshire College. Born in Canada and raised in Richmond, VA, Rose has great passion for food, film and art; all things she’s revels in in Brooklyn, NY.
Juliana Steele
Program Specialist, Fiscal Sponsorship
Fractured Atlas
Juliana Steele provides support for over 3000 fiscally sponsored artists as the Program Specialist for Fiscal Sponsorship at Fractured Atlas. In this capacity, she has traveled throughout the US presenting on fiscal sponsorship, grants and crowdfunding. She has participated in the Arts and Business Council of New York's Arts Leadership Institute and regularly sits on grant panels in the New York City area. Prior to Fractured Atlas, she was the Programming Coordinator at The Tank, a presenter of new and emerging arts in Manhattan. She spent four years managing the historic Byrd Theatre in Richmond, Virginia, a 1400-seat independent movie house. She received her Master's in Arts and Cultural Management from Pratt Institute and also holds a BA in Art History from Boston University.
Iyabo Boyd
Operations & Programs Mgr
Chicken and Egg Pictures
Iyabo Boyd is an independent film producer and Manager of Operations and Programming at Chicken & Egg Pictures, where she oversees its multi-million dollar grants program, organizational operations and events, as well as mentorship to over 200 filmmakers.
Iyabo has previously held positions at the Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Institute, and Independent Feature Project (IFP). She's screened for the Hamptons, Sarasota, and Nantucket Film Festivals, and served on juries for the Cinema Eye Honors, SXSW’s Women Director Award, and Brooklyn Film Festival's Pitching Exchange.
She is currently producing Evan Buxbaum's feature film SUN BELT EXPRESS starring Tate Donovan, and is set to adapt and direct a short film based on the work of poet Ronaldo V. Wilson.
Jim Sommers
SVP of Content
The Independent Television Service (ITVS)
Jim Sommers serves as the Senior Vice President of Content at the Independent Television Service, Inc. (ITVS). He oversees ITVS’s Content Portfolio, maintaining a commitment to quality, diversity and innovation. In addition, he provides leadership and strategic direction to core service areas of the organization: Content Strategy, Programming, Production, Broadcast and Distribution – aligning all aspects of ITVS’s programmatic initiatives from portfolio development and funding through distribution.
Eleanor Whitney
Program Officer, New York Foundation for the Arts, Freelance Writer
Eleanor Callott Whitney is a strategic partnerships manager and creative programmer who is passionate about art, creativity and entrepreneurship. She is an entrepreneur, writer, rock musician, and educator raised in Maine and living in Brooklyn. She is the author of Grow, a practical field guide for starting a creative business, released in 2013 by Microcosm Publishing. For over a decade, Eleanor has worked with world-class museums and creative companies to plan events that connect audiences with art and the company’s mission, identify and manage national strategic partnerships, facilitate professional development workshops for creatives, and devise and implement strategies for content creation and presentation. She is currently a freelance project manager and fund raiser who is learning back-end web development and very inspired by New York City’s vibrant, startup scene.
Lois Vossen
Sr Series Producer
Independent Lens
Lois Vossen is the Founding and Senior Series Producer of Independent Lens. She is responsible for curating the series and works with filmmakers on content, editorial, and broadcast issues. She scripts and directs the Independent Lens host introductions, and works closely with the marketing team on promoting and branding the series.
Independent Lens has received 7 Emmy Awards including 2 Primetime Emmys, 10 Peabody Awards, 5 duPont Awards, 7 Academy Award nominations, and received the 2013 IDA Best Continuing Series Award.
Previously, Vossen was Associate Managing Director of the Sundance Film Festival and the Sundance Labs. She has served on the jury at SXSW, DOC New Zealand, Toronto International Film Festival, and New Orleans Film Festival, among others.
Rahdi Taylor
Film Fund Dir
Sundance Institute
Rahdi Taylor finds, cultivates and finances cinematic documentary films of contemporary relevance worldwide for the Sundance Documentary Fund, awarding between $1million-$2million dollars annually. Taylor provides creative and editorial support for feature documentaries year-round, resulting in many major international film festivals and industry awards. Films supported by the Sundance Documentary Fund have included Trouble the Water; The Interrupters, The Queen of Versailles, Invisible War, The Square, and Dirty Wars. A former film distributor and community organizer, Taylor is a leader on social impact and documentary films. She serves frequently as a juror, nominator, panelist or industry advisor for international film festivals, funding panels, and pitch forums.
Anna Rose Holmer
Filmmaker (Producer)
Anna Rose Holmer is currently producing the feature documentary "Charge" with Cinereach Productions. "Charge" has earned grants from the MacArthur Foundation, the Tribeca Film Institute, the San Francisco Film Society, NYSCA, Paley Center for New Media, and Snag Films. Anna co-produced "A Ballet in Sneakers," a companion documentary to "NY Export: Opus Jazz" that premiered at SXSW 2010 and on PBS’s Great Performances. Anna’s first feature, "Twelve Ways to Sunday," was one of ten films to participate in IFP’s 2009 Documentary Lab and premiered with Rooftop Films 2010.