TheWrap hosted a conversation on Sunday at the Sundance Film Festival among independent film veterans – financiers, producers, directors and distributors – focused on seeking bold solutions to the economic challenges facing independent film.
Panelists Keri Putnam, former CEO of the Sundance Institute; Josh Sapan, founder of Sapan Studios and former CEO of AMC Networks; and filmmaker Bao Nguyen (“The Stringer,” “Greatest Night in Pop”) joined moderator and Wrap editor-in-chief Sharon Waxman to discuss new economic models for distribution.
Co-hosted by Calvin Yee of Egon Zehnder, producer Shruti Ganguly and Christie Marchese, founder and CEO of Kinema, the event was sponsored by Egon Zehnder, a global organizational consulting and leadership advisory firm to many of the world’s leading businesses.
Attendees included KKR advisor and former Disney senior executive Kareem Daniel, former Participant CEO David Linde; former Starz chief Kathryn Busby, producer and Tisch professor Joe Pichirallo; Egon Zehnder entertainment lead Clint Fairweather; Gerry Byrne, Vice Chairman, Penske Media; Washington State film commissioner Amy Lillard; consultant Kathleen McInnis; Fifth Season producer Ariel Richter; producer Maria Zuckerman; investor Vinay Singh; Jeff Sharp, Executive Director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute; Gersh agent Julian Levesque; investor Mike d’Alto; entrepreneur Curtis Chambers.
The event was off-the-record.
Panelists Keri Putnam, Josh Sapan, Bao Nguyen and moderator Sharon Waxman discuss solutions for the challenges facing independent film (Photo by Todd Williamson for TheWrap)Breakfast cohosts Calvin Yee of Egon Zehnder, with producer Shruti Ganguly and Christie Marchese, founder and CEO of Kinema, welcome guests (Photo by Todd Williamson for TheWrap)Putnam lays out conclusions from a study she did on independent film at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard (Photo by Todd Williamson for TheWrap)Josh Sapan, former CEO of AMC Networks and founder of Sapan Studio (Photo by Todd Williamson for TheWrap)Filmmaker Bao Nguyen (“The Stringer,” “Greatest Night in Pop”) (Photo by Todd Williamson for TheWrap)Nguyen and moderator Waxman (Photo by Todd Williamson for TheWrap)Washington State Film Commissioner Amy Lillard makes a point (Photo by Todd Williamson for TheWrap)Waxman with Egon Zehnder’s Clint Fairweather and KKR advisor, former Disney senior executive Kareem Daniel (Photo by Todd Williamson for TheWrap)Former Participant CEO David Linde (Photo by Todd Williamson for TheWrap)Sapan talks to PMC’s Gerry Byrne (Photo by Todd Williamson for TheWrap)Putnam with marketing veteran Paula Silver and former Starz chief Kathryn Busby (Photo by Todd Williamson for TheWrap)An early morning gathering of film VIPs, financiers and producers at TheWrap studio (Photo by Todd Williamson for TheWrap)Linde, Waxman and Sapan (Photo by Todd Williamson for TheWrap)(Photo by Todd Willamson for TheWrap)(Photo by Todd Willamson for TheWrap)(Photo by Todd Williamson for TheWrap)(Photo by Todd Williamson for TheWrap)
