IIFF/NE Townhall Meeting at Palace Production Center in Norwalk, CT –
Where Film & Finance Meet To Succeed Together
abstract | moderator | venue | schedule | program | bios | registration | help

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IIFF is coming to Connecticut's Gold Coast!

After successfully establishing chapters in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, New England and Los Angeles, the Institute for International Film Financing (IIFF) continues its monthly, multi-city gatherings at the junction of film and finance with a special event in Norwalk, CT.

This "grassroots" community meeting is designed to introduce IIFF to Connecticut's filmmakers, entrepreneurs and financiers as well as the public at large. Our goal for this and future gatherings is not only to provide unbiased insight & education about the business of film —and film financing in particular— but also to foster & inform productive relationships between attending professionals. The event features a powerful roster of highly topical speakers from the worlds of film and finance. We are delighted to welcome real-world financiers among our guests for the evening.

IIFF's one-of-a-kind mission is to sustainably expand the scope & appeal of film financing, and to do so for the benefit of the public at large. True to our proven motto of "democratizing film financing," IIFF's regular, monthly Townhall Meetings bring together a wide array of professionals from relevant backgrounds in film, finance and beyond for a vibrant evening of insightful presentations and speeches, inspiring discussion and focused networking. Past meetings (e.g.: August '07 Los Angeles Townhall in Santa Monica, CA & August '07 New York Metro Townhall in Manhattan | July '07 New York Metro Townhall in Manhattan & July '07 Los Angeles Townhall in Santa Monica, CA | June '07 New York Metro Townhall in Manhattan | May '07 New York Metro Townhall in Manhattan & May '07 Bay Area Townhall in Mountain View, CA | April '07 New York Metro Townhall in Manhattan & April '07 Bay Area Townhall in San Francisco, CA | March '07 New England Townhall in Stowe, VT, March '07 Bay Area Townhall in San Rafael, CA & March '07 New York Metro Townhall in Manhattan | February '07 Townhall West in San Francisco, CA & February '07 Townhall East in New York City | January '07 Townhall in Santa Cruz, CA | December '06 Townhall East in New York City & December '06 Townhall West in San Francisco, CA | October '06 Townhall in New York City | September '06 Townhall in Oakland, CA | July '06 Townhall in Palo Alto, CA | June '06 Townhall in San José, CA | May '06 Townhall in San Francisco, CA | April '06 Townhall at Stanford business school) have reliably delivered useful insights into the business of film, provided valuable networking opportunities, and managed to draw large and enthusiastic crowds.

Who should attend? Entrepreneurs, technologists, attorneys, bankers, investment managers, venture capitalists and other non-film professionals are cordially invited to learn more about independent film. Are you considering taking an active role in film or would you like to expand your current involvement? Don't miss this opportunity to connect with the like-minded... Established and aspiring filmmakers are, naturally, more than welcome to join us as well!

The evening's five seven presentations plus panel discussion will address key issues relevant to filmmakers, financiers, and anyone interested in the economics, business mechanics, and financial dynamics of film. They will be followed by Q&A time. Attendees will also have ample opportunity to interact & network with our distinguished presenters and panelists and amongst themselves.

An informal après-meeting celebration will take place at an area restaurant.

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The event will be moderated by Donald Bertrand, a veteran financial-sector corporate attorney turned private-practice lawyer who provides entertainment law services in the Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts areas. Don's law offices in West Haven, CT represent various clients on a host of screenwriter, composer, producer and filmmaker issues. Don is a graduate of Yale Law School. Upon graduation, he joined a prominent Hartford, CT-based insurance & investment firm where he managed the Law Department's Financial Services Practice Group as Vice President and Insurance & Investment Products Counsel. Don has now transitioned to an area of law practice where he can apply his extensive legal knowledge and background to issues involving his lifelong passion for the cultural and creative arts, principally film. In this area, Don seeks to apply fundamental business law principles to the creative endeavors of the talent and entrepreneurs that he meets.

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Palace Production Center & Palace Digital Studios
29 North Main Street
Norwalk, CT 06854
(203) 853-1740

Map: Get a map of 29 N. Main St. from Ask, Google, MapQuest, MSN, Windows Live or Yahoo.

Driving & parking directions: Our meeting venue can be easily reached by car from New York City via nearby Interstate 95 North (I-95 N) and from New Haven, CT (or Boston) via nearby Interstate 95 South (I-95 S). Detailed directions to Palace Production Center are available on our host's website. Personalized driving directions can be obtained from the above-listed online mapping services; just follow the link of your choice and enter your start address where required. For attendee parking, drive south on North Main Street and make a left at the 2nd traffic light onto Marshall Street. Then make a right into the parking lot behind The Norwalk Museum. Palace parking spots are towards the back of the lot and are marked.

Closest train station & walking directions (ca. 0.3 miles or 7 min.): South Norwalk Station is just a short walk from Palace Production Center. Take MTA Metro-North Railroad to South Norwalk Station, then walk east on Monroe Street to Main Street (by Givens Restaurant). Make a left onto Main Street and proceed 2 blocks to Washington Street (cross street) and North Main Street. Go straight under the railroad tressel. Palace is half a block up on the right; look for a theater-style marquee above the entrance.

Our Host:

IIFF's New England Townhall Meeting in Connecticut is graciously hosted by Palace Production Center, a leading provider of the highest-quality video editing, audio recording, and computer graphics animation services to the area's top advertising agencies, broadcast and cable television networks, corporations and independent producers. The company also provides film production support services. The "Palace" name comes from their headquarters building, an old vaudeville theater located in the heart of Connecticut's Gold Coast. While Palace is among the oldest continuously operating independent media production centers in the region, their facility is state-of-the-art.

With an investment of more than $10M in television, multimedia, building and infrastructure, Palace Production Center is one of the most advanced digital media production centers in New England. To create a "virtual studio without walls," Palace has facilities and offices conveniently located throughout the Tri-State Area, including a production office in the Tribeca Film Center building in lower Manhattan.

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6:00-6:30 pm ... Registration and introductions
6:30-7:50 pm ... Four featured presentations with Q&A (4x 20 min)
7:50-8:00 pm ... Networking break I (10 min)
8:00-9:00 pm ... Three featured presentations with Q&A (3x 20 min)
9:00-9:20 pm ... Networking break II (20 min)
9:20-10:00 pm ... Moderated panel discussion with Q&A (40 min)
10:00+ pm ... Community time at area restaurant

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1) The Venture Capital Market in Connecticut: An Overview for Filmmakers & Financiers

— by Mike Roer, Executive Director at pioneering association of venture investment professionals, Connecticut Venture Group (CVG), dedicated to encouraging investment in high-growth & start-up companies; President at association management firm Academy Group (clients include Assoc. for Corp. Growth, Venture Investors Assoc. of New York, Nat'l Assoc. of Corp. Directors & Connecticut Hedge Fund Assoc.) … (more)

2) How to Get a Film Funded: Tips From a Wall Street Pro Turned Film Financier

— by Adam B. Tantleff, Esq., Wall Street pro turned film financier & producer; Founder, President & Executive Producer at film financing & production company Sinestra Pictures; fmr. Trader at global investment bank Bear Stearns & New York Futures Exchange (NYFE)/New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) … (more)

3) The Metamorphosis of Book to Film: Making Literary Adaptations Work

— by Peter Miller, veteran talent manager & Executive Producer with 30+ years experience; President of PMA Literary & Film Management, Inc. and Millennium Lion, Inc.; known as 'The Literary Lion' … (more)

4) Vetting the Film Venture: Think Like a Professional Investor

— by Peter G. Curtis, Owner & Principal at financial management firm WGC Limited, helping individual & corporate clients access capital, mitigate risk, structure deals and resolve workouts … (more)

5) Matching Funding Sources With Film Projects: Use Private Equity, Pre-sales & Other Financing Options to Maximum Advantage

— by Chris Campbell, Chairman & CEO at premier, CT-based, independent production facility Palace Production Center, Inc.; Managing Partner at award-winning publisher of children's & family videos, books & audio recordings, Rabbit Ears Entertainment, LLC; Managing Director at non-fiction television production company Docere Palace Studios … (more)

6) Effectively Using Connecticut's New Tax Credit: A Guide for Producers & Investors

— by Kevin Segalla, Founder & President at Stamford, CT-based film financing & production services company Connecticut Film Center; fmr. NYC-based Producer of independent films (e.g., 5x BAFTA nominee "Taliesin Jones", Sundance award winner "Streets of Legend", Sony Classics release "Whatever") … (more)

7) Big Opportunities on the Small Screen: What's Going on With YouTube, iFilm & Others for Independent Film

— by Guy Ortoleva, Esq., Vice President of Development at Tripeg Studios; entertainment attorney with over 25 years of industry experience; fmr. Director at Connecticut Film Office … (more)

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– Mike Roer: Mike is the Executive Director of the Connecticut Venture Group (CVG), the first association of venture investment professionals. CVG's mission is to stimulate economic growth by encouraging investment in high-growth companies. Through chapters in Hartford, New Haven & Stamford, the organization produces technology-focused seminars & expositions, updates on financing & market trends, university tech transfer conferences, and the annual Crossroads Venture Fair. Companies that have approached CVG for funding have raised over $2 billion in venture capital; $300 million in 2006 alone. A new division of CVG, the Angel Guild, is attempting to fill the funding gap for start-ups by delivering training & administrative support to high-net-worth private investors and connecting them to promising new ventures. Roer is also President of the Academy Group, an association management firm whose clients include the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), the Venture Investors Association of New York (VIANY), the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), and the Connecticut Hedge Fund Association (CTHFA).

– Adam B. Tantleff, Esq.: Wall Street pro turned successful film financier & producer; Founder, President & Executive Producer at film financing & production company Sinestra Pictures (with several high-profile projects funded & in various stages of development or production); fmr. Currency Trader at Bear, Stearns & Co. (one of world's largest global investment banks, securities trading firms & brokerages); fmr. Futures Trader at New York Futures Exchange (NYFE), now division of New York Board of Trade (NYBOT); worked with Market Surveillance group at New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) & Office of Mergers and Acquisitions/Division of Corporation Finance at Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); graduate of Fordham University School of Law; B.A. in Mathematics from University of Pennsylvania.

– Peter Miller: Peter has been an extraordinarily prolific literary & film manager for more than 3 decades and is known as "The Literary Lion". He manages highly accomplished writers & authors as diverse as Kay Allenbaugh, Raymond Benson, Shane Berryhill, Jay R. Bonansinga, Joan Brady, Nell Brien, Vincent T. Bugliosi, Clyde Burleson, Wensley Clarkson, James Dalessandro, Paul & Hollace Davids, Anthony DeStefano, Joan Detz, David Dreman, Michael C. Eberhardt, Peter Edles, Roy Feinson, Christopher Cook Gilmore, John Glatt, Stanley Hilton, William Jenkins, Freddie Lee Johnson III, Lynne Kaufman, Brian Karem, Gary C. King, Tammy Kling, Timothy Knight, Walter Maksym, John McCord, Fred Minnick, Kien Nguyen, Dr. Richard W. Oliver, Holly Payne, M. William Phelps, Chris Rogers, Steve Salerno, Dr. Leah Schwartz, Steven Travers, Joe Watson, Chuck Whitlock, and Angela Winters. As President of PMA Literary & Film Management, Inc. and Millennium Lion, Inc., he and his company have successfully managed more than 1,000 books worldwide, as well as dozens of motion picture and television properties. These works include 11 New York Times Bestsellers, and 11 produced films that Miller has managed or executive produced. Three of those films have been nominated for Emmy Awards: "Goodbye, Miss Fourth of July" (Disney Channel, with 4 nominations), "A Gift of Love" (Showtime, 2 nominations) and "Helter Skelter" (CBS, 1 nomination). In addition, Peter has a number of film and television projects currently in active development, with some nearing production, in association with Warner Bros. Features, Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros. Television, DreamWorks, and many other producers and production companies.

– Peter G. Curtis: Peter is a seasoned finance professional with more than 30 years experience providing financial guidance to individuals, entrepreneurs & corporations -- ranging from the arts and nonprofits to small businesses, growing companies and Fortune 1000s. His special talent for vetting ventures enables him to help his clients access capital, mitigate risk, structure solid deals and resolve workouts. Peter has worked with ventures from Wall Street to Main Street, and is thoroughly versed in the Connecticut Digital Media & Motion Picture Tax Credit. Through the breadth and depth of his network of resources in the tri-state area, he regularly taps into alternate capital sources for his clients. He has had his own Hamden, CT-based financial management firm, WGC Limited, since 1992. In his spare time, Peter models and acts, starting back in his college days and Army years. Recently, he has appeared in a CT Lottery Commission film, the ESPN special "The Bronx is Burning", and an infomercial with Carney Wilson filmed at Tripeg Studios in Hamden.

– Chris Campbell: Chris is an award-winning film & television writer, producer & director, as well as a successful business entrepreneur. Over the past quarter of a century, he has produced an impressive body of work in broadcast & corporate media, as well as children's entertainment, while building a premier independent creative & production facility that has served as one of the anchor businesses in the revitalization of South Norwalk, CT. Today he is Chairman and CEO of Palace Production Center, Inc., one of the more successful mid-size television & electronic media production organizations in the country. Palace owns and operates Connecticut-based Palace Digital Studios and Praxis Media, Inc., and also has offices in the Tribeca Film Center in Manhattan. Additionally, Chris is a Managing Partner in Rabbit Ears Entertainment, LLC, a children's & family publishing company; and Managing Director of Docere Palace Studios, a non-fiction television production house.

– Kevin Segalla: Kevin is the Founder & President of the Connecticut Film Center (CFC), based in Stamford, CT. CFC provides tax credit-based financing & production services for motion pictures, television & advertising. He is currently developing a state-of-the-art production & post production facility in conjunction with key film industry vendors. When completed, the facility will provide a one-stop shop for production in Connecticut. Before founding CFC, Kevin was a successful New York City-based independent film producer. His credits include five-time BAFTA nominee "Taliesin Jones" (a.k.a. "Small Miracles"), Sundance award winner "Streets of Legend" (a.k.a. "Quattro Noza"), and the Sony Pictures Classics release "Whatever". Previously, Kevin operated under the Platonic Films banner. With Platonic, he developed as a prolific producer of short films, including "A Counter Fancy", "An Autumn Wind", "Anthony's Kitchen" & "28th Instance of 1914". These shorts have been broadcast throughout the world and have screened at over 30 international festivals, garnering numerous awards along the way. In 1997, Platonic Films entered a co-production pact with Los Angeles-based Snake River, significantly expanding Platonic's feature film development & production. Kevin has also operated behind the camera as a assistant director on commercials & short films; and as a director on the shorts "The Session", "Thanks Ed!" & "Notes", as well as a documentary on the California AIDS Ride. Prior to his career in short & feature films, Segalla was based in Washington, D.C., where he worked for the Capitol Hill news bureau, Washington Independent News. Before that, he worked as a supervising producer in the corporate video department of Botex, Inc. He relocated to New York as writer & researcher for NBC Network programmer Alvin Cooperman, where he developed a miniseries on polygamy and a TV movie centered around the famous Lufthansa robbery. In 1989, he went freelance and became a producer & associate producer for Nickelodeon, HBO, and A&E, producing on-air promotions and editing full-length programs.

– Guy Ortoleva, Esq.: Guy is Vice President of Development at Tripeg Studios in Hamden, CT. Guy has worked in the TV & media industry for over 25 years, first as an award-winning cameraman/director, then as an entertainment attorney, and most recently as the Director of the Connecticut Film Office. His production credits include numerous documentaries, corporate projects, and high-profile tabloid shows such as "Inside Edition", "Hard Copy" & "American Journal". Guy represented many entertainment clients and negotiated deals for artists, authors, musicians & producers. During his years with the Connecticut Film Office, he led efforts to expand the in-state production industry and attract new films to shoot in Connecticut. Recently, Guy played a role in drafting the 30% production tax credit program and believes the time is right for Connecticut producers to explore a wider range of opportunities and coordinate their efforts to make this state a 'go to' location for digital media productions & world-wide distribution. Guy is a Hamden resident and active in local economic development efforts.

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Online registration is available at http://events.filmfinancing.org/ne6/?id=090607 (top of this page)

Early bird registration NLT Wednesday, August 15:
IIFF Member ... $25 if registered online no later than 8/15
Non-member ... $40

Regular registration NLT Wednesday, August 29:
IIFF Member ... $35 if registered online no later than 8/29
Non-member ... $50

Last minute registration NLT Wednesday, September 5:
IIFF Member ... $45 if registered online no later than 9/5
Non-member ... $60

On-site registration (at the door):
IIFF Member ... $55
Non-member ... $70

To learn more about membership with IIFF, email our Membership Bureau, or approach an IIFF team member at or after the event.

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Please direct all your questions and inquiries regarding this event to IIFF's online forum at http://forum.filmfinancing.org.

Having trouble with Eventbrite (this site) or PayPal? Please get help in IIFF's online forum. (You can also notify us by email well in advance of the event, and register on-site.)

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