Sun June 09 - 3:00 PM
After the Tribeca Premiere: What's next?
Free Talks
| 60 MINUTESTribeca is the first stop on the distribution journey for the producers of these films, but what is their plan to reach wider audiences beyond the festival circuit? As distribution models continue to change and platforms merge, join the Documentary Producers Alliance in a discussion around alternative distribution ideas, how to think of unique audiences, what to prepare before embarking on self-distribution, and what comes after the festival premiere for some of this year's films.
Panelists: Simon Mendes, Melissa Haizlip, Brenda Avila-Hanna
Moderator: Pulkit Datta
Panelists
Pulkit Datta
Pulkit Datta is a producer, director, and film programmer, based in New York. Over fifteen years, he has worked on a wide range of scripted films, documentaries, commercials, short films, music videos and multimedia campaigns. His films have screened at festivals such as Toronto, Tribeca, Atlanta, Cinequest, Fantasia, LAAPFF, Cleveland, and OutFest. As a producer with Tikkun Olam Productions, he has co-produced the feature documentary ISRAELISM (Big Sky, CPH:Dox, Brooklyn Film Festival), and is currently producing climate activism doc series VS. GOLIATH. Pulkit is also a producer on INVISIBLE, a feature documentary about fibromyalgia (Amazon Prime, Tubi), the gun-violence themed short documentary DO WE BELONG? (The Atlantic, 2018 IDA Doc Award shortlist), and has produced the upcoming fiction feature JERSEY BOY. Other scripted films include BEAST, a magic realism film executive produced jointly by Lena Waithe's Hillman Grad Productions and Indeed, and co-produced COMING OUT WITH THE HELP OF A TIME MACHINE, which has screened at over 60 festivals, won several awards, and recently got licensed by Jio Cinema, one of India’s largest streaming platforms. Pulkit has been a Producing Fellow at Center for Asian American Media as well as Impact Partners. He is also active in the filmmaking community, having established initiatives that nurture South Asian talent for careers in American film and television, building alternative strategies for distribution and impact, as well as programming and curating for film festivals.
Melissa Haizlip
As a Peabody Award-winning producer, director and writer, Melissa Haizlip’s work has been featured on Netflix, HBO Max, Peacock, CNN, PBS, and E! Her work responds to pressing social issues at the intersection of racial justice, social justice, activism, and representation. Female transformation and empowerment are at the core of her ideas; to advocate and amplify the voices of women and people of color. A 4x-NAACP Image Award Nominee, Melissa has been recognized with a writing achievement award from the NAACP Image Awards, and is the recipient of the 2020 Critics Choice Documentary Award for Outstanding Debut Feature for her film Mr. SOUL! The film premiered at Tribeca (2018), aired on PBS and is now streaming on MAX. Mr. SOUL! won the 2022 Peabody Award and the IDA Best Music Documentary Award, was nominated for a 2022 News & Docs Emmy and shortlisted for the Oscars. She is Co-Exec. Producer of two 4-part limited series; LADIES FIRST: A STORY OF WOMEN IN HIP-HOP (Netflix) and Executive Producer alongside Steph Curry on BLACK POP: CELEBRATING THE POWER OF BLACK CULTURE (Peacock). Melissa is Co-EP / Director of the behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of EMANCIPATION, starring Will Smith (Apple TV+). Melissa comes from an extensive Broadway background, and is part of the Co-Producing team of THE WIZ musical revival on Broadway. Melissa was born in Boston; grew up in New York, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Connecticut, where she went to Yale. She lives and works in New York, where she serves on the Board of Directors of the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, NY.
Brenda Ávila
Brenda Ávila (she/her) is a filmmaker and educator born and raised in Mexico City. Most of her work connects to the nuances and complexities within transnational identities and communities. Her work has been supported by ITVS, the Redford Center, BAVC, DOCS MX, The Sundance Institute and more. Her films have screened in places like HotDocs, Tribeca, Lakino Berlin and many other festivals, universities and community events around the world. Brenda is a recent Rockwood/Just Films fellow and was part of the inaugural cohort of DOC NYC’s “Documentary Industry New Leaders.” She was the first team lead of Equity and Representation at New Day Films, the oldest documentary distribution co-op in the world. Brenda is currently producing three documentary films, one also as a first-time director. She is an active member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia, Color Congress, and the Video Consortium Mexico. Brenda is a board member of the Watsonville Film Festival, where she co-created the Cine Se Puede Fellowship for emerging filmmakers in the California Central Coast. She is currently a professor at UC Santa Cruz, where she lives close to the redwoods and her beloved familia.
Caryn Capotosto
Caryn Capotosto is a three time Emmy Award-winning documentary producer best known for Won’t You Be My Neighbor? a feature documentary about Mister Rogers that won a 2019 Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary as well as a Producers Guild Award and Critics’ Choice Award for Best Documentary. She received a 2016 News and Documentary Emmy Award for her role as co-producer on Best of Enemies, she was associate producer on the Academy Award and Grammy Award-winning documentary, 20 Feet from Stardom (2013). Other projects include the Emmy-winning Feels Good Man (Producer, 2020), The Thief Collector (Producer, 2022), and the Grammy and Peabody Award-nominated Little Richard: I Am Everything (Producer, 2023). Caryn founded the production company Museum & Crane in 2019.
* Rush Tickets available at venue except for
Beacon Theatre
Beacon Theatre
Rush will be offered when advanced tickets for a screening or event are no longer available at venues
other than Beacon Theatre.
The Rush system functions as a standby line that will form at the venue approximately one hour prior to scheduled start time. Admittance is based on availability and will begin roughly 10 minutes prior to program start time. Rush Tickets are the same price as advance tickets and are payable upon entry.
The Rush system functions as a standby line that will form at the venue approximately one hour prior to scheduled start time. Admittance is based on availability and will begin roughly 10 minutes prior to program start time. Rush Tickets are the same price as advance tickets and are payable upon entry.
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