September 2017 Calendar of Global Media and Showbiz Industry Social Networking Events

All That Matters

All That Matters in Singapore is a music, sports, gaming and entertainment industry conference, that covers the array of entertainment choices in the hands of its fans. One directive of the region’s ‘Business-2-Business-2-Fan’ event is to reflect the convergence of the music, sports, gaming and entertainment industries. All That Matters will be divided into four tracks: Music Matters, Sports Matters, Gaming Matters, Online Matters, Marketing Matters. Special events dot the five-day convention, mostly to enhance the networking experience. On various days visitors will have the Sports Locker Room Session, to mingle with movers and shakers in the world of sports.

Tencent

The Tencent Pool Party will be held at the end of day one to VIPs. Tencent Connects will be a recurring China Music Networking session. A recurring Online/Offline Session presents opportunities to mingle with the online community. Singapore Matters will be a special presentation for invitees given by the National Arts Council of Singapore. A YouTube Pool Party for VIPs happens September 12. A Twitter Breakfast happens the morning of September 13 and a Backstage Meet Up (of which there are a few) happens later on. A Wrap Party hosted by Music Matters Live will be thrown at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Notable Speakers

All That Matters entertainment conventionA diverse line-up of notable speakers who will offer a unique perspective on a converged entertainment mediaverse. Keynote Speakers that are slated to make presentations include, Will Page, Spotify; T. Jay Fowler, Director, Product Management, YouTube; Rob Roy, VP, Content Acquisition, Netflix; N.P. Singh, CEO, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN); Matt Derella, Global VP, Revenue and Operations, Twitter; Mary Gu, CAA China; Lyor Cohen, Global Head of Music, YouTube; Kevin Lin, COO, Twitch; Joshua Burke, Global Head of Music Sourcing, Coca-Cola Co; Italo Zanzi, Executive VP/Managing Director, Sports, Fox Networks Group Asia; Hartwig Masuch, CEO, BMG; David Yang, CEO, Wanda Sports China; Charles Caldas, CEO, Merlin; Alex Zhu, Co-founder and Co-CEO, Musical.ly. There will be so many more speakers than could be listed here.

China Music Forum

The China Music Forum on September 11 with Keynote address by Cussion Pang, CEO, Tencent Music Entertainment Group, will show visitors the Tencent China Music Forum aims to provide insight and direction to executives wishing to explore opportunity in the PRC while also delivering case histories and demonstrations on how to (and how not to) connect with over one billion music lovers. A Pavilion set-up will be dedicated to YouTube’s Music Matters Academy, admitting participants by invitation only. Lyor Cohen, Global Head of Music, YouTube, will deliver a Keynote address on September 12.

Broadcast Keynote

Again on September 12, a Broadcast Keynote will be delivered by Italo Zanzi, EVP and Managing Director, FOX Networks Group Asia, and talking about a new world facing traditional sports broadcasters. Following that session, Reaching Multi-screen Sports Fans Across Asia will examine the impact of multi-screen streaming services (TV, smartphone, tablet, desktop, display, mobile web, and over-the-top video) that forms evolving Asian media consumption habits.

Gaming Keynote

On the final conference day, September 13, Kevin Lin, Chief Operating Of cer, Twitch will deliver Gaming Keynote: The Rise and Challenges of the Next Multi-Billion DollarSpectator Experience.

Americana Music Festival and Conference

The Americana Music Festival and Conference in Nashville can be thought of as the melting pot of Americana’s influences, including roots, folk, country, blues and soul-based music. Each year, AmericanaFest draws in artists, the next generation of rising stars, fans, and industry professionals for six days of music and education beginning September 12.

Americana, as defined by the Americana Music Association (AMA), is contemporary music that incorporates elements of various American roots music styles, including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, R&B, and blues, resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound. A Kick-Off Bash gets things in motion for opening day at The Basement, serving as a badge pick-up and music jam lasting until midnight. But this will be separate from the Razor and Tie Kickoff Happy Hour, and the BMI Kick-Off Party presented by George Dickel.

Conference Panels, Seminars

The conference portion features numerous panels, seminars, that form the educational music industry forum, along with exclusive daytime performances. On September 14, Architect Management Presents: Mike Galbraith with Special Guest Escaping Paveent, and Cory Chisel Presented in Partnership With Content Creators Coalition (C3) and SAG-AFTRA happen the same day. Artist Growth Presents sessions, and on September 15, Red, White, and Blue Elan: Our Americana Sound, will include participants Rusty Young and Poco, Rod Melancon, Jesse Dayton, Chelsea Williams.

Americana Music Association Open Submission

Americana Music Association has an open submission process for any and all Americana performing artists are encouraged to apply to perform at the festival. The only consideration for inclusion is that the music is of the Americana genre. An objective panel of respected retailers, concert/club promoters, and media professionals are used to review each submission to decide who gets selected. Most showcases are 45 minutes, although there may be a few 30-minute slots. The length usually depends on the location, time and lineup.

Americana Honors and Awards Show

AmericanaMusic - High Plains Jamboree returns with Jenee Fleenor on fiddleThe Americana Honors and Awards Show on September 13, is considered a marquis event, and this year it will be hosted by the Jim Lauderdale, backed by an All Star Band led by Buddy Miller. This is not a black tie event and comfortable dress is encouraged.

Nominees for Album of the Year include, American Band, Drive-By Truckers, Produced by David Barbe; Close Ties, Rodney Crowell, Produced by Kim Buie and Jordan Leaning; Freedom Highway, Rhiannon Giddens, Produced by Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell; The Navigator, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Produced by Paul Butler; A Sailor’s Guide To Earth, Sturgill Simpson, Produced by Sturgill Simpson.

Nominees for Artist of the Year, Jason Isbell John Prine, Lori McKenna, Margo Price, Sturgill Simpson. Nominees for Duo/Group of the Year, Billy Bragg and Joe Henry, Drive-By Truckers, Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, The Lumineers.

Parties

Beyond opening day, parties (without including Happy Hours) are plenty at AmericanaFest 2017. Here’s a rundown of what will be thrown. September 13: the AMA-UK Mid-Day Party, WMOT Presents: The Official Viewing Party of the 16th Annual Americana Honors and Awards. September 14: Whistlepig Records Party, Folsom Records Launch Party, Missing Piece Rooftop Party, Razor and Tie Music and Listen Party! Metropolitan Groove Merchants Party, Black River Americana Party. September 15: Green Room Music Source East Nashville Party, Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music Book Party with Ann Powers and Little Bandit, The Muddy Roots Records Party. September 16: Sounds Australia Presents The Aussie BBQ, Bootleg BBQ, Cafe Rooster Records Party. And for six nights, AMERICANAFEST will feature over 230 live performances at approximately 40 of Nashville’s venues.

Future of Immersive Leisure 2017

Future of Immersive Leisure 2017 in Las Vegas is a conference and expo intending to convey a holistic, expansive view of the immersive technologies that are likely to be the evolution of out-of-home entertainment. The event is aimed at bringing clarity to the business opportunities and constraints of immersive technology (virtual reality, augmented reality, 4D), and extends anticipated connection and networking opportunities among gathered owners, technology innovators, investors, and others in attendance.

Future of Immersive Leisure 2017 runs two days, opening September 13, and has been set up to offer a holistic, comprehensive view of the immersive technologies that will likely transform out-of-home entertainment, building on recent developments in actual deployments. FOIL2017 (#FOIL2017) will highlight new technologies, tools, trends, business models, and innovations that will impact the success of immersive experiences in amusement parks, location-based entertainment centers, movie theaters, museums, and other leisure facilities, as well as the role of immersive technologies in out-of-home experiential marketing.

With emerging synergies between different immersive forms of out-of-home entertainment and in-home immersive entertainment as well as new ways of blending physical and virtual immersive experiences in public places, including the key role of social immersive media, commercial opportunities for this imminent industry are to be deconstructed.

Keynote Address Fireside Chat

The first official Keynote Address for the conference takes the form of a fireside chat with immersive entertainment and special effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull of Trumbull Studios. In the Interview conducted by Kevin Williams, Founder of KWP, Trumbull reveals details on an immersive cinematic format his company has developed called MAGI that harnesses super high frame rates and a number of technologies to deliver brighter, larger scale images with greater depth. The technologies will be implemented where Trumbull Studios is planning to launch an array of MAGI Pod theaters utilizing the format.

Immersive Leisure Conference Highlights

In other Immersive Leisure conference highlights, Christopher Stapleton of Virtual World Society will moderate a session with Michael LaFleur, Director, Writer, Choreographer & Creative Entertainment, and Jeff Mayer, Creative Director Mayer Creative, titled, “The ROI of Creating a Big Blockbuster Experience for a Small Box Attraction with 21st Century Immersive Technology.” Edward Marks, Founder and Co-CEO, The Producers Group, moderates a session with Lenny Larsen, CEO/Executive Producer, Next Generation Creative, and Luke Noonan, President, RUST, Ltd. titled “Leveraging In-Home/Out-of-Home Immersive Entertainment Synergies.” David Bloom, Writer and Strategist is Moderator for a session fielding Jim Stewartson, CEO, Awesome Rocketship; Greg Passmore, PassmoreVR; Dan Jamele, CEO, Mediamation; Doug Griffin, Nomadic VR, titled “Expanding Frontiers for Immersive Theaters.” Jikhan Jung, CEO and Founder, Subdream Studios, Inc. and Ryan Wang, Co-founder and General Partner, Outpost Capital LLC are speakers for the conference ending topic “Exploiting Alternative Financing and Monetization Models for VR and AR Location-Based Entertainment Content.”

This session will present key advice on alternative models for content financing and content monetization relating to VR/AR location-based entertainment and key ways for US-based developers of VR and AR location-based entertainment content to monetize their product in the Chinese market.

Miami Web Series Festival

From South Beach, the Miami Web Series Festival (Miami Web Fest) looks for the best web series and showcases them in theaters in Miami, along with panel discussions, exclusive parties, and an awards ceremony to increase their exposure. Mandates of the festival organizers would be to provide educational outreach programs for young filmmakers grades 6-12 and host educational and networking events highlighting global film organizations and professionals. The organization is dedicated to creating tangible commercial opportunities for emerging digital filmmakers while exposing audiences to their transformative work. On day two of the four-day festival will be the September 15 Pitchfest that will have a similar structure to “Shark Tank.” Competitors may play a video (up to 1 minute) on the screen behind them, Then will have 3 additional minutes to describe their project and why it is a good investment for a private investor, distribution company or network. The purpose of the event is for independent filmmaker to pitch their projects to attending network executives for the possibility of distribution,

Speakers

Speakers that will make presentations at Miami Web Fest will be Ece Karayalcin, film professor at the Department of Film and Television, School of Entertainment and Design Technology at Miami Dade College (MDC); Jose Luis Martinez, Executive Producer, Atomic Digital Media / Creative Director and Co-Founder, Miami Media and Film Market (MMFM); Filmmaker/Video Artist Juan Carlos Zaldívar, an Emmy nominee that has taught as an adjunct faculty at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts; Erik Marum, CTO at Bigstar TV; Bobby Roth, an independent film and TV Director with a resume of directing credits that include: Miami Vice, Beverly Hills, 90210, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Prison Break, Commander-In-Chief, Lost, Revenge, Greys Anatomy, Marvel’s Agents of Shield, Scorpion, Hawaii 5-0, Player and the recent reboot of MacGyver among many more.

Bobby Roth Masterclass

The Miami Web Fest 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, Bobby Roth, will be on hand to teach his Masterclass, “A Director Prepares.” The Director has directed more than eighty episodes of television, twenty-five TV movies, and thirteen feature films, and he has been teaching film seminars throughout the world for the last ten years.

The Veteran Film Awards

The Festival hosts The Veteran Film Awards, which takes place at the Colony Theater in South Beach. this gala affair showcased and highlights amazing films created by and inspired by military veterans. The gala affair showcases and highlights the films created by and inspired by military veterans. The Awards specifically spotlight the veteran experience and seeks to support veterans who have the creative passion and skill to create substantive visual works of art, that will continue their contributions to society in a new format. Red Carpet reception begins at 18:00.

NFMLA (#NFMLA) Film Festival

The Academy along with presenting partners NALIP and SAG-AFTRA host the annual NFMLA (#NFMLA) Film Festival InFocus: Latino and Hispanic Cinema event. The festival will showcase local and international films by emerging filmmakers from the United States, Cuba, Spain, Peru, Guatemala, Venezuela, and Mexico.

Opening the three-program event is a shorts program with stories that range from a young woman struggling with her identity on the verge of adulthood, a voiceless man now having the chance to be heard, and a winner of the American Visa Lottery having to choose between individual opportunities and abandoning her family.

The following segment of screenings will address an equally diverse collection of narratives. From a comedy about a loyal mother attempting to grant her son’s birthday wish of a Donald Trump piñata, to a drama about an Indigenous Californian woman trying to survive after being emancipated from a Los Angeles mission where she was raised.

And in the NFMLA’s final screening segment is the US premiere of the feature documentary, “Frágil Equilibrio (Delicate Balance),” which has already screened at European festivals. A keynote speech will be delivered by Kevin de León, President Pro Tem of the California State Senate, and the Q&A’s will be hosted by Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) President Claudia Puig.

This event will also serve as a launch for a new year-long partnership with Norwegian Air. The airline is joining NFMLA (#NFMLA) as the Exclusive Airline Partner and in celebration of international storytelling, will be flying in select global filmmakers to Los Angeles for NFMLA’s monthly festivals. There will be pre-screening receptions before each program where attendees can sip cocktails and mingle with industry professionals and festival selected filmmakers in the lounge. Q&A sessions with the filmmakers will follow each program.

IFP Week

IFP Week in New York 2017During IFP Week in Brooklyn’s DUMBO district, the Screen Forward Conference showcases how great projects can connect with audiences and stand out in a crowded marketplace. The Conference features main event Keynotes and Panels presented in 60-minute sessions. Past participants include Ezra Edelman (O.J.: Made in America), Ted Hope (Amazon Studios), Beau Willimon (House of Cards). Last year’s panels investigated current issues in filmmaking including Cinema in the Age of VR, The Faces of Comedy: Platforms That Look for (and Bring) the Funny, The Key to Documentary Accessibility and Inclusivity, New Innovators: The Musical Approach to Visual Storytelling, The New Festival Experience (and How to Adapt for the Future), Why We Financed Your Film, Working with the Right Agent.

Opening Day: Filmmaker Magazine Talks

The conference opening day will be devoted to Filmmaker Magazine Talks, an occasion that will also celebrate the 100th issue and 25th anniversary of Filmmaker Magazine. A listing of panels that will be conducted during this time include, A Creative Partnership: Barry Jenkins and Adele Romanski, Artists and Activism: Brandon Harris, A ‘Good Time’ in the City: Shooting New York on 35mm, A Conversation with Dee Rees, Persona Project: Behind the Scenes, Artists and Activism: Paola Mendoza, A Conversation with Sean Baker, What Does It Mean to be a Filmmaker Today? The subsequent days of the conference will address particular topics. September 18, Personal Visions on Screen/I Want to be a Producer. September 19, Truth to Power/I Want to Make My Series. September 20, New Stories on New Screens/I Want to Document Truth. September 21, Meet the Decision Makers/I Want My Film Seen.

The Future of Storytelling

Founded in 1979, IFP is acknowledged to be the largest and oldest not-for-profit dedicated to independent film. Under a steadily shifting media landscape, it champions the future of storytelling by connecting artists with tools and resources at all stages of development and distribution. With an expanding network of media creators around the globe, it has had a key role in facilitating new feature and documentary works each year.

Spanning its 35-year history, IFP has supported over 8,000 projects and directed resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers. IFP guides storytellers through the process of making and distributing their work. It offers creative, technological and business support through year-round programming, which includes Filmmaker Magazine, Independent Film Week, Envision, The Gotham Independent Film Awards, and the Independent Filmmaker Labs.

Latest IFP Initiative

IFP’s latest initiative, the Made in NY Media Center by IFP, is an incubator space developed with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, where storytellers from multiple disciplines, industries, and platforms can create, collaborate and connect.

Wrapup

The above events are only a sample of what is fully listed. Complete details are on the “Calendar of Global Media and Showbiz Industry Social Networking Events” page. If you like this report and other content found on The Actor’s Checklist, like the Facebook page at this link. India-France fusion band, Trinaad (formerly The Khayal Groove), is using crowdfunding to produce their next album. Learn more and become a supporter (with benefits). Visit their crowdfunding page here.

In this month’s photo placement, starting from top, speakers at All That Matters in Singapore, the band High Plains Jamboree returns to Americana Music Festival, IFP Filmmaker logo announces their conference in Brooklyn. Moving into October the events calendar picks up plenty of dates to take note of. MIPCOM 2017 returns to Cannes, Prolight + Spimd Shanghai will be in Shanghai, Broadcast Indonesia opens in Jakarta, Shriekfest, the Los Angeles Horror/SciFi Film Festival happens this month, Priorities for the creative industries in Scotland post-Brexit – talent, support and new markets is in Edinburgh, Woodstock Film Festival plays out in Upstate New York, music-business convention Mondo NYC 2017 stretches for five days in New York City, NAB New York Show will be in New York City, Augmented World Expo Europe 2017 is set for Munich.