2009 Rhode Island Film Forum

August 7, 2009 • 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM

University of Rhode Island Feinstein Campus, 80 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903

2009 Application Form, click here to download

Costs: $45 per day; with Keynote Address by Klaus Badelt

(with special rate available to visiting filmmakers)

WHAT IS THE RHODE ISLAND FILM FORUM?

The Rhode Island Film Forum is a one-day symposium that brings together the movers and shakers of the film industry and the Rhode Island and New England community. Calling out specifically to Artistic Directors, Film Vendors, Civic Organizations, Hotel Managers, Rental Agencies, and Historic and Preservation Groups, the forum provides an informative and entertaining look at the state of filmmaking today.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Rhode Island Cities & Towns
Filmmakers
Film Production Crews
Film Students
Artistic Directors, Film Vendors
Civic Organizations
Historic and Preservation Groups
Property Manager
Recreation Managers
Hotel Managers, Rental Agencies

Be a part of this multi-million dollar industry here in Rhode Island

Here’s your chance to become involved with Rhode Island’s “stars” of the film community. The two-day forum will bring together leaders of the film industry with the decision-making community leaders and historic, natural and commercial property managers of Rhode Island. New technologies, the impact of tax credits, plus so much more will be addressed.

Rhode Island in Film & Television

Here are some of the films made in the Ocean State. To learn more about Rhode Island's film history, click here.

• The Great Gatsby (1974)
• The Scarlet Letter (1975)
• The Betsy (1978)
• Mr. North (1987)
• Mermaids (1990)
• Reversal of Fortune (1990)
• Wind (1992)
• Federal Hill (1993)
• The Buccaneers (1993)
• True Lies (1994)
• Dumb and Dumber (1994)
• Killer ( 1994)
• American Buffalo (1995)
• Code of Ethics (1996)
• Ties to Rachel (1996)
• Strangers in Transit (1996)
• Outside Providence (1997)
• Tax Day (1997)
• Amistad (1997)
• There's Something About Mary (1998)
• Meet Joe Black (1998)
• Me, Myself & Irene (1999)
• NBC 's Providence (1999 -
• The Brotherhood (2005 - )
• Underdog (2007)
• Dan in Real Life (2007)
• 27 Dresses (2008)
• Hachiko: A Dog's Story (2008)

Will you film be next? Will your community host the next film or photo shoot?

The Rhode Island Film Forum is designed to provide a networking platform, spur dialogue and get answers to your questions from those who make decisions.

First held in 1998 at the Aldrich Mansion in Warwick, the 2009 Forum will be bigger, cover more ground and will be capped by a keynote address by composer, Klaus Badelt.

Apply to the RI Film Forum 2009

2009 Application Form, click here to download

For more information on THE RI FILM FORUM '09, call the RIIFF offices at (401) 861-4445.

August 7th 2009 • 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM

This year's location:

University of Rhode Island Feinstein Campus, 80 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903

This Year's Program:

8:00-8:30 a.m.
Registration

Opening Remarks: Special Guest Speaker

8:30-9:15 a.m.
Finance Panel: Can you Really Make a Living as a Filmmaker?

Moderator: Peter Barrett, Partner: Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP

Discussion Panel Featuring: Rob Williams, Filmmaker, (Make the Yuletide Gay); SueEllen Kroll, Grants Director: RICH; Robert Baute, Jr.: Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP Caroline Camougis, Managing Director: Boston Film Partners; Robert D’Andrea, Principal: Kahn, Litwin Rezna & Co., Ron Tippe, Producer.

9:15-9:25 a.m
Break

9:25-10:10 a.m
Breakout Session A

Finance from a Film Maker’s POV
Featuring: Rob Williams, Filmmaker (Make the Yuletide Gay) and Ron Tippe, Producer .

Filmmaker and Producer Ron Tippe and Rob Williams will speak about their experiences acquiring and dealing with film budgets. They will share their successes and mistakes taken from both mainstream and independent experiences.

Breakout Session B

Finance from Finance’s POV
Featuring: Peter Barrett, Partner: Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP; Robert Baute, Jr.: Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP; Caroline Camougis, Managing Director: Boston Film Partners

Learn from professionals Peter Barrett and Caroline Camougis as they go more into depth about what they must accomplish on a day-to-day basis, and what filmmakers usually forget to consider when making their films. Wish to bring up a finance question you had at the forum? Now is the time to ask!

10:10-10:20 a.m.
Break

10:20-11:05 a.m.
Breakout  Session A

Career Adaptation in the Film Industry
Featuring: Dana Neugent, Media Supervisor and Adjunct Professor: URI; and Jake Mahaffy, Associate Professor of Art and Film: Wheaton College

 Both college professors will speak to you about changes the film industry are going through. Many recent college graduates and mid career individuals have found their selves out of work. This academic team will discuss what changes or improvements in your skill set will make you a valuable asset in this current business climate.

Breakout Session B

Non-Profit Business Strategy
Featuring: SueEllen Kroll, Grants Director: RI Council for the Humanities)

Film festivals and businesses have been losing money left and right in this recession. State fund cuts and poor business are just a few of the things that are plaguing the independent film industry. SueEllen will speak about her experience working with non-profits. She will go into depth about how she started her own festival and the advantages a non-profit business strategy brings to the table.

11:05-11:15 a.m.
Break

11:15 a.m. -12:15 p.m.
Keynote

Klaus Badelt
Hollywood Composer (“Pirates of the Caribbean” “The Time Machine,” “Mission Impossible: II”)

Klaus will candidly discuss his start in the film business; how he came to work with the world-renowned film composer Hans Zimmer, and perhaps share a few short stories behind his more famous compositions.  He will explain the methods that have helped him to create the blockbuster soundtracks that delight audiences around the world.

12:15-1:00 p.m.
Networking Period/ Technology Exhibition

This period for all the guests and filmmakers to exchange names and meet in a relaxed manner. Several technology companies will be showcasing their new products in conjunction with this social event.

2009 RI Film Forum August 7th

Costs: Only $45 for the day!

(Special rate for visiting filmmakers; check in during registration)

Apply to the RI Film Forum 2009

2009 Application Form, click here to download

Please print out the application form and fax directly to our office at 401.490.6735

Questions? Call 401-861-4445

or email info@film-festival.org

Who Is Who at the Rhode Island Film Forum in 2009:

KLAUS BADELT

Klaus Badelt began his career in his homeland of Frankfurt, Germany, where he composed and wrote for many successful commercials and films. In 1998, counterpart Hans Zimmer invited Klaus to work at his studio, Media Ventures, in Santa Monica, California, where his career, and music exploded onto the Hollywood scene.

During Klaus’ collaboration with Zimmer, he contributed to the Oscar-nominated scores for The Thin Red Line, and The Prince of Egypt. He also wrote music for many other directors, such as John Woo, Jeffery Katzenberg, Gore Verbinski and Steven Spielberg. In addition, Klaus co-produced the score to the box-office hit Gladiator (directed by Ridley Scott), as well as co-writing parts of the score with singer/composer Lisa Gerrard. In addition to film work, Klaus also composed the music for the closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.

Klaus Badelt's music played a vital role in the success of many films. Due to his musical contributions to Gladiator, Mission: Impossible 2 and X-Men (along with Michael Kamen), the movies were considered the three most successful movies in 2000. Along with these remarkable films, Badelt's score for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, made him, and his music, a household name.

Currently, Klaus Badelt has been working in Macau, China putting the finishing touches on the first-of-its-kind film installation in the world: The Bubble™. This is a 360-degree theater that will serve as the front door to the largest casino in China, The City of Dreams. The animated film is based on an ancient Chinese fairytale entitled “Dragon Tales”. The film has no dialog, and the music will be played in the round. Never has a movie been scored this way, where the sound coming from all sides is different, yet is played simultaneously. 

It's always been said that music is the universal language. There is no musician who better epitomizes that statement more than Klaus Badelt. Badelt's music alone is enough to tell the story of a film, bypassing the need for words, which can sometimes offer more confusion than clarity. Having worked in Europe, the United States and China, Badelt has truly become a global citizen, a characteristic that is greatly valued and admired. Badelt's influence on the film industry has done what so many try to do; which is to change, to question, and to improve upon their field.

PETER J. BARRETT

Pete Barrett is a private equity and M&A lawyer.  He focuses his practice on the communications and media industries, primarily representing private equity funds and strategic operators.  He is also a former co-chair of the firm’s 160+ attorney Business Law Department and as well as a former member of the firm’s Management Leadership Group.  Pete is married and has two sons.  He is also one of seven brothers.

ROBERT E. BAUTE, JR.

Bob Baute joined the Providence Office of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP in 2002 as a member of the Business Law Department.  He practices primarily in the areas of mergers, acquisitions and general corporate law.  Bob has represented a variety of private equity and venture capital funds, public and private companies, and individuals on transactions in North America, South America, Europe and Asia.  He provides advice to clients on matters ranging from leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations and senior and subordinated debt financings to vendor contracts, employment and equity incentive arrangements and other general corporate matters.

CAROLINE A. CAMOUGIS

Caroline Camougis is Founder and Managing Director of Boston Film Partners, a financing group for film and media-related investments. The company works nationally and internationally with the financial and legal communities as well as private clients.

Ms. Camougis has a broad experience in film, television and new media, both domestically and abroad, having worked in many capacities from marketing and strategic growth initiatives to production.  She has served as an executive or associate producer on many films, most recently on The Yes Men Fix the World (2009), which was named Best Documentary at the Berlin Film Festival, and onthe award-winning The American Ruling Class (2007), which set a record for DVD sales in the educational market.

Before founding Boston Film Partners, Ms. Camougis co-founded Delphi Partners, a leader in philanthropic advisory and disposition services for gifts of illiquid assets, such as real estate, art and intellectual property, where she serves on the Board. Prior to that she worked in the Global Consumer Group at Citigroup in various roles, including Vice President, Cross-Sell, a $1 billion business unit, where she was responsible for development and strategy.

Earlier, Ms. Camougis lived in Paris where she served as principal in a Paris-based consulting firm specializing in strategic growth. While in Paris she co-founded France’s first educational cancer support group program, the award-winning Presence France. She launched a racehorse breeding and pre-training center in LeMans and authored At Home in Paris, a 400-page resource book on living in Paris. Before moving to Paris, Ms. Camougis established Newcom Link, the American subsidiary of Nouvel Obs, a leading European media group, to provide financial information online in the United States. She also held senior marketing positions at Lotus Development Corporation and worked in production at WGBH-TV, Channel 2 in Boston.

A graduate of Wellesley College, Ms. Camougis serves on the boards of America the Beautiful Fund, The New England Society in the City of New York, Wellesley College Friends of Art, and on the Stanford University Law School Fair Use Project.

ROBERT A. D’ANDREA, CPA/MST

Robert A. D’Andrea received his B.S. in Business Administration, Summa Cum Laude in 1984 from Bryant University and his Masters of Science in Taxation from Bryant University in 1990.

Mr. D’Andrea joined the firm in 2001 after serving as Senior Tax Manager for 6 years with a local accounting firm.  He has been providing tax advisory services to closely held, medium sized and publicly held businesses for over 25 years.  He began his career in Providence, RI with a local office of Ernst & Young.

Mr. D’Andrea is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants.  In addition, he is a member of the Bryant University Alumni Career Counseling Network Board. He has been an adjunct professor in the Brown University Economics Department for the past 19 years, and a Universal Mentor in Brown University’s Entrepreneurship Program. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Smithfield, RI Girls Basketball League.

In the past, Mr. D’Andrea has served as Treasurer for the Rhode Island Council of Family Mediators, he was a member of the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of Rhode Island, Inc. and served on the organizational executive committee. He was a member of the 1998 Leadership Rhode Island Sigma Class. He is a former member of the Leadership Rhode Island Program Advisory Committee and the Board of Trustees for Brown Student Agencies.

Mr. D’Andrea resides in Greenville, RI with his wife, Donna and their four children, Nina, Maria, Angelica and Toni.

SUE ELLEN KROLL

SueEllen Kroll has been the Program Officer for the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities since 2004. As Program Officer, she coordinates the community radio program Action Speaks as well as RICH's film series with Rhode Island PBS. In addition, SueEllen counsels potential grant applicants and administers RICH's Early Response Mini Grant program. Since moving to Providence over five years ago, SueEllen has helped out on various community projects including founding the annual RI Human Rights Film Festival. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, bicycling, and working on her historic home. SueEllen holds a BA in English Literature from Wheaton College

DANA NEUGENT

Dana Neugent is the Media Supervisor at the URI/Feinstein Providence Campus and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the URI Film Media Studies Program. Dana has been in the film/video business for over 25 years working at ABC, CBS, Colony Communications and various production companies and cable systems throughout New England. He has worked on commercials, marketing videos, educational videos, documentaries, news stories and short and feature length films.

Dana is currently on the Board of Directors for the Rhode Island Film Collaborative. Dana has won numerous national and regional awards for his film and video work. He was recently awarded the 2009 Metcalf Diversity in Media Award by Rhode Island Community for Social Justice.

Dana received a Bachelors of Arts degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1974. Born in Westerly, Rhode Island he currently lives in Ashaway.

CARRIE WEBB OLSON

Carrie Webb Olson is an intellectual property lawyer at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge and is resident in the firm’s Boston office.  Carrie focuses on all aspects of copyright and trademark law, from acquisition and maintenance to exploitation and enforcement.  Carrie regularly represents and counsels clients in a variety of industry areas concerning permissible and impermissible use of copyrighted works and frequently negotiates settlements and licenses in order to resolve related disputes.

Carrie co-teaches “Strategic Decisions in Intellectual Property” at the University of Connecticut School of Law and is listed in Who’s Who Legal USA - Trademarks 2006 as one of the country’s leading practitioners in this field of law

RON TIPPE • about

Producer at IMAGI Animation Studios

Ron Tippe has been in the entertainment business for 37 years. He began
as a stage director and spent the first 9 years of his career directing
stage plays at various companies in New England. In addition, he was a
founding member and artistic director of the Incredibly Far
Off-Broadway Ensemble Theatre, which specialized in new play production
and staged productions set in different environmental locations. Ron
spent the next few years as a director of TV commercials, industrial
and education films, after which he spent years as a writer in Hollywood, CA. In 1994, Ron segued into the Feature Animation business when he produced the first Mickey Mouse short film, RUNAWAY BRAIN, which was nominated for an Oscar. At the same time he was the managing director of the Walt Disney Feature Animation Studio in Paris, France. Ron then went on to produce the hit film, SPACE JAM, at Warner Bros' Feature Animation studio. He subsequently worked at Dreamworks Feature Animation where he produced the pre-production for the hit film, SHREK. The next few years were spent working at George Lucas's ILM for a digital version of FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN, and at Warner Bros' Feature Animation producing a remake of the classic, MR. LIMPET. In 2004, he had the wonderful honor to work with Christopher Reeve on EVERYONE'S HERO, an animated feature for 20th Century Fox. In 2007, he produced the pre-production for Imagi Feature Animation Studios, GATCHAMAN. In 2008, Ron accepted a Visiting Professorship at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI. Ron is also a certified Life Coach specializing in issues of story telling and the creative process. He is also the founder of THE WRITE APPROACH, a RI based screen writing workshop whose debut will be made during the RIIFF 2009 season. Ron is married to Hollywood Costume Designer, Molly Maginnis. They have two children, Annie and Sam, and two pug dogs, Lucky and Lulu.

ROB WILLIAMS 

Rob Williams is an award-winning filmmaker and co-owner of Guest House Films. With an impressive four movies under his belt in three years (including Long-Term Relationship, Back Soon, 3-Day Weekend and most recently, Make The Yuletide Gay), Rob is a determined professional within the gay film industry.

Before launching his filmmaking career, Rob graduated from Texas Christian University with a BBA degree in Finance, and received an MBA in Marketing from the University of Texas. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he worked in public relations for more than a decade, specializing in writing, special event organization and video production.  He started Guest House Films with partner Rodney Johnson in 2005.

Rob has served as writer and director, and one of the producers, on all his films. The movies have been screened at film festivals around the world, winning audience, jury and acting awards — including the Alternative Spirit Grand Prize Award from the Rhode Island International Film Festival in 2007 for Back Soon.  Along with Guest House Films partner Rodney Johnson, Rob was named to Instinct Magazine’s “Leading Men of 2008” for their contributions to gay cinema.

Rob is currently developing a number of feature film projects for the future of Guest House Films, including a screen adaptation of Jim Tushinski’s novel, Van Allen’s Ecstasy, and is working on his first novel.

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