Some of the more than 100 filmmaking talents along with their films curated, introduced, moderated and interviewed onstage by Carl Spence at Festivals and Film Screenings.

Film Festival Experts brings more than three decades of hands-on film festival leadership, programming experience, industry relationships and strategic insight to film festivals, filmmakers, distributors, technology companies and organizations working throughout the independent film ecosystem. Founded by veteran festival director and curator Carl Spence, Film Festival Experts provides practical, experienced guidance informed by decades spent not simply advising festivals, but actually building, programming, managing, and growing them.

Carl Spence currently serves as Festival Director and Chief Curator of the Sonoma International Film Festival and is Founder, Co-Director, and Chief Curator of the Orcas Island Film Festival in Washington State’s San Juan Islands. He also serves as a consultant to FilmFreeway, the global film submission platform that connects filmmakers with festivals worldwide and Strand Releasing, one of America’s most respected independent and international film distributors. His consulting work has also included advising film industry companies such as Eventive, filmmakers, producers, distributors, and festivals on festival strategy, programming, submissions, acquisitions, audience development, operations, technology, positioning, and industry relations.

Experience That Comes From Doing the Work

Carl Spence has spent more than 30 years at the center of the international film festival world. For 23 years, he held senior programming and leadership positions with the Seattle International Film Festival, ultimately serving as Artistic Director and Co-Director. During his tenure, SIFF developed into one of North America’s largest and most prominent film festival organizations, evolving from an annual festival into a major year-round cinema and arts organization. Spence played an instrumental role in that transformation, including the expansion of SIFF’s year-round programming and the acquisition and operation of multiple permanent cinema venues. His career has also included leadership and programming roles with the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Miami Film Festival and San Francisco International Film Festival, giving him a rare perspective across festivals of vastly different sizes, markets, missions and organizational structures.

Today, that experience allows Film Festival Experts to approach every project from both sides of the equation: understanding the creative ambitions of programmers and filmmakers while recognizing the operational, financial, technological and audience-development realities required to build a successful festival.

What Film Festival Experts Brings to the Table

Film Festival Experts works with organizations seeking experienced, strategic counsel in areas including:

• Film festival strategy, restructuring and growth

• Artistic direction and film programming

• Festival curation and program development

• Film submissions strategy and evaluation

• Industry and filmmaker relations

• Distributor, sales agent and acquisition relationships

• Festival positioning and competitive analysis

• Audience development and year-round programming

• Awards-season and specialty-film strategy

• Guest programming, tributes and special events

• Cinema and venue strategy

• Festival technology and ticketing platforms

• Organizational development and festival operations

• Sponsorship, membership and earned-revenue strategy

• Filmmaker festival strategy and premiere positioning

• Moderating conversations, filmmaker Q&As and industry panels

What distinguishes Film Festival Experts is not simply knowledge of how festivals operate. It is an extensive international network of filmmakers, distributors, sales agents, publicists, programmers, executives, and festival leaders built over decades of working together.

Those relationships—and the trust behind them—cannot be replicated through research alone.

A Career Built Around Filmmakers

Throughout his career, Carl Spence has curated and presented the work of thousands of filmmakers and has personally introduced, interviewed, or moderated onstage conversations with more than 100 of the film industry’s most celebrated directors, actors, producers, and artists.

Among them: Al Pacino · Alan Cumming · Alan Rudolph · Alejandro Amenabar · Alexander Payne · Alexis Denisof · Andrew Ahn · Andrew Haigh · Ang Lee · Anthony Hopkins · Ava Duvernay · Ben Kingsley · Berenice Bejo · Bernardo Bertolucci · Bob Byington · Bong -Joon Ho · Charlize Theron · Chiwetel Eijiofor · Christopher Doyle · Christine Vachon · Clint Eastwood · Daniel Clowes · Danny Boyle · Debra Granik · Edward Norton · Ewan McGregor · Ferzan Õzpetek · Francis Ford Coppola · Francis Veber · Gregg Araki · Griffin Dunne · Gus Van Sant · Harriet Sansom Harris · Helen Hunt · Isabelle Huppert · James Schamus · Jason Schwartzman · Jean-Marc Vallée · Jeff Probst · Jeff Nichols · Jennifer Jason Leigh · Jessica Chastain · Jessica Biel · Joan Allen · John Cameron Mitchell · John Ridley · John Schlesinger · John Waters · Jonnie To · Josh Brolin · Joss Whedon · Margaret Cho · Megan Griffiths · Kathryn Bigelow · Kevin Bacon · Kyle MacLachlan · Laura Dern · Lynn Shelton · Maggie Gylenhall · Mandy Moore · Marc Turtletaub · Matt Ross · Michel Ciment · Lulu Wang · Mel Gibson · Michel Hazanavicius · Miranda July · Morgan Neville · Nicholas Winding Refn · Pablo Berger · Parker Posey · Patrice LeConte · Patricia Clarkson · Paul Dano · Paul Feig · Paul Schrader · Peter Bogdanovich · Peter Greenway · Peter Saarsgard · Quincy Jones · Richard Harris · Richard Linklater · Robert Altman · Robin Wright · Ryan Reynolds · Sean Penn · Sofia Coppola · Sissy Spacek · Stockard Channing · Spike Lee · Stephen Frye · Taika Watiti · Tim Blake Nelson · Terence Stamp · Thora Birch · Todd Haynes · Viggo Mortensen · Warren Beatty · William Friedkin · Zoe Winters

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