Knight Heroes: From Short Form to the Stratosphere
This year’s Knight Heroes panel brings together experts from the industry to provide a behind-the-curtain peek at how many filmmakers have parlayed their stellar short films into spectacular streaming careers.
What do content executives look for in pitches and previous work (both scripted and non-fiction)? Kate Bustamante from the Original Documentaries & Limited Series development team at Hulu and Nick Borenstein, Head of Scripted for Topic, will be on hand to discuss how short films can act as launchpads—expanding into features, unexpected new media opportunities, or as unforgettable introductions that lead to six or seven figure series deals. Panelists will give emerging filmmakers an inside look at how the development process runs at the highest level, and share highlights and successes from their work on this side of the creative process.
We’ll also hear from award-winning filmmaker Shal Ngo, whose horror short CONTROL was acquired by Hulu. Ngo recently wrapped production on The Park, a dystopian drama series co-produced by Topic, and will present a candid case study of the series’ journey from conception to hitting your screens and streams, as well as other failures and triumphs throughout his artistic career.
Moderated by Caitlin Burke and Merrill Sterritt, co-directors of IF/Then Shorts, the Knight Heroes panel discusses the variety of factors that translate creative ideas into ultimate greenlight.
Panelists Include:
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Nick Borenstein, Head of Scripted, Topic
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Kate Bustamante, Original Documentaries & Limited Series, Hulu
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Shal Ngo, Filmmaker
Moderators: Merrill Sterritt and Caitlin Mae Burke, Co-Directors of IF/Then Shorts
Supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
The image above is a screenshot from a short film by Shal Ngo.