Stephen Margolis

Stephen Margolis is a lawyer with over 20 years' experience in the film industry and the CEO of Future Films, an integrated motion picture organisation that takes productions from pre-financing to distribution and sales. Future Films focuses on delivering a reduced cost of funds and serving as a portal to the investment community. The goal is to provide the most appropriate production and financing options to producers through innovative integration of new financing methods, co-production and distribution. Since forming the company in 2000, Stephen has been involved in more than 120 films, raising over £2 billion for film production and acting as Producer, Executive Producer or Financier for more than 30 titles. Stephen was the Executive Producer of "A Matador's Mistress" (Adrien Brody, Penelope Cruz), "Planet 51" (Jessica Biel, John Cleese, Gary Oldman, Dwayne Johnson, Justin Long, Seann William Scott), "Cracks" (Eva Green, Juno Temple), "Fifty Dead Men Walking" (Ben Kingsley, Jim Sturgess, Rose McGowan), "Veronika Decides to Die" (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Erika Christensen), "Flawless" (Demi Moore, Michael Caine), "The Abandoned," "Survival Island" (Billy Zane, Kelly Brook), "Malice in Wonderland" (Maggie Grace, Danny Dyer), "Goodbye Bafana" (Joseph Fiennes, Diane Kruger), "Shuttle" (Tony Curran, Peyton List), "Waking Ned Devine" (Fionnula Flanagan, James Nesbitt), "Gospel Hill" (Adam Baldwin, Angela Bassett, Danny Glover), "Ladies in Lavender" (Judi Dench, Maggie Smith) and other movies. Moreover, he helped produce "Transsiberian" (Woody Harrelson, Emily Mortimer, Ben Kingsley, Kate Mara), "The Brylcreem Boys" (Bill Campbell, Gabriel Byrne) and "Tale of a Vampire" (Julian Sands). Stephen has also been responsible for driving Future Films' strong track record outside the UK, with the structuring of the first Anglo-Russian co-production, a German film fund and activities in America and Australia, as well as the establishment of Future Films as one of the leading international producers of Spanish and French films. »

Gary Smith

Gary Smith is a Chartered Accountant and former investment manager who serves as the CEO of Intandem Films, a dynamic film company that specialises in co-production, executive production, sourcing of finance and international sales of movies. Intandem is listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and has a slate of 30 new films with budgets in excess of $300 million. Gary has been a CEO of film and TV public companies since 1989 and entered the film industry in 1993 when he formed Winchester Entertainment. He founded Intandem in 2003 with Andrew Brown. Gary has been Executive Producer on over 40 films with budgets in excess of $250 million, including "Shooting Fish" (Kate Beckinsale, Stuart Townsend), "Heartbreakers" (Sigourney Weaver, Gene Hackman), "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People" (Simon Pegg, Megan Fox, Kirsten Dunst) and "Last Orders" (Bob Hoskins, Michael Caine). His extensive experience in the international film business covers finance, production, distribution and sales. Gary's contacts include senior management at most of the major studios, financiers, producers, agents and lawyers in the UK and and North America, as well as distributors around the world. He is responsible for Intandem's strategy and move into production. »

Jezz Vernon

Jezz Vernon serves as Head of Distribution at Metrodome Group, an independent London-based publicly traded company that owns, manages and distributes film, TV and digital content. The company operates through two divisions: Metrodome Distribution (features films and home entertainment in the UK) and Target Entertainment (worldwide television). Its library of rights includes 4,000 hours of TV programming and in excess of 300 feature films. Metrodome excels in creating bespoke, cost-effective release strategies to maximise returns for all stakeholders. The company works with some of the biggest names in the business including Charlize Theron ("Monster"), Jake Gyllenhaal ("Donnie Darko"), Colin Firth ("Genova"), Maggie Gyllenhaal ("Sherrybaby"), Michael Caine and Demi Moore ("Flawless"), Jet Li ("The Warlords"), Kristin Scott-Thomas ("Leaving") and Tilda Swinton ("I Am Love"). Jezz is a film school graduate who worked in a variety of marketing disciplines before moving into film distribution. After leaving film school in 1998, he was a Magazine Editor on a music and lifestyle title before taking a marketing job at IPC Media, the UK's leading consumer magazine publisher with approx. 90 brands and selling 350 million magazines every year. After 18 months with IPC, he was promoted to the position of Marketing Manager at Britain's oldest weekly music magazine, the NME (an IPC brand). In 2001, Jezz went back into the film industry, joining the fledging DVD distributor Revolver Entertainment. Amongst a variety of other projects, he was responsible for re-launching the bestselling stand-up work of Richard Pryor in the UK, working closely with the comedian and his wife in Pryor's final days. During Jezz's tenure at Revolver, the company won five awards for its marketing campaigns. In 2005, he joined Metrodome Distribution's home entertainment department and, in 2006, was promoted to Head of Marketing for both theatrical and home entertainment. Metrodome won the RAAM British Cinema Award for Best Film and Cinema Marketing Campaign of 2007 (tying with Disney's "Ratatouille") for its work on the Academy Award winning film "The Counterfeiters". In early 2010, Jezz was elevated to the position of Head of Distribution. Recent releases from Metrodome include "I Am Love," "Lebanon" and Oscar winner "The Secret in Their Eyes." The company's ventures into film co-production, "Age of Heroes" (Sean Bean, Danny Dyer) and "Age of Dragons" (Vinnie Jones, Danny Glover) will release in 2011. »

Shelly Bancroft

Shelly Bancroft presently works as Acquisitions Consultant at Premiere Picture, an independent film finance and production company specialising in film business opportunities for high net worth individuals. Over recent years, Premiere has assisted in the raising of several hundred million pounds through various finance structures including an innovative rights trading business. The company has helped finance and co-produce over fifty feature films, a mix of UK and international productions. Premiere's aim is to work with the most talented professionals in the industry to deliver significant commercial returns to its clients. Prior to Premiere Picture, Shelly ran the in-house development slate for Matrix Film Finance, including initiating and managing a slate co-development venture with Oscar-winning producer Jeremy Thomas' Recorded Picture Company. She was Head of Creative Affairs (Europe) at MGM-Pathe and, prior to that, Director of Development at Enterprise Pictures. Her credits include award-winning films "Queen of Hearts" and "The Passion of Darkly Noon" (starring Brendan Fraser, Ashley Judd and Viggo Mortensen). Shelly originally trained as a film director at the MA course in Film and TV at the Royal College of Art. She currently consults as an Expert for the MEDIA Programme, has been on the interview panel for the NFTS Producer course and was also an Assessor for the Arts Council Lottery Fund. She has been a tutor in MA Screenwriting at the Northern Film School and on the International Producer Workshop at EICTV, Cuba. Shelly has her own development slate as a producer and has worked in the UK and US as a film development consultant/creative producer. »

Dave Morrison

Dave Morrison is a Partner at Nyman Libson Paul, a long-standing firm of Chartered Accountants specialising in the entertainment industry. In business for over 75 years, Nyman Libson Paul provides a wide range of services from traditional accountancy and tax compliance to much broader commercial, wealth and financial management advice. After qualifying as a Certified Accountant and Chartered Tax Advisor, Dave became a Tax Manager at two large firms looking after high-profile entertainers. He then spent a number of years running his own DJ, Clubs and Concerts business, even gaining a MOBO nomination (1998) in the process. With the arrival of two young daughters, Dave decided on a change of lifestyle and joined Nyman Libson Paul in the late 1990s where his association with the world of entertainment continues, although he is just as happy advising on wider tax issues for most industries and personal situations. Dave has specific areas of expertise in UK Film Tax Credits and EIS share issues (including Offer Documents) as well as Tax Enquiry work. Dave has since also become a Chartered Accountant and is on the Institute's Entertainment and Media Group committee. He regularly makes presentations on relevant topics outside the firm and has written a number of topical articles for various publications. »

Sharon Dean

Sharon Dean is Founder and Director of music publishing company Respect Music, based in London and Leeds. Prior to setting up Respect Music, Sharon served for 10 years as Director of Licensing at PRS for Music, an organisation that brings together two royalty collection societies, MCPS and PRS. Responsible for all audio/product/media licensing, she managed a staff of 120 people and helped generate over £280 million in revenue. The diverse roster of Sharon's own company Respect Music spans from current BBC Radio 2 favourite Nell Bryden to Emmy/Classical Brit nominated composer Sarah Class and from world renowned violinist Michi Wiancko to hip hop crossover artist Tenny Ten. Respect Music also represents rights for Dame Shirley Bassey's album "Get the Party Started," which went to number 6 in the UK album charts, and the US catalogue of Ford Music Services that includes songs by Aerosmith, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Sinatra and Quincy Jones as well as British indie label One Little Indian. Moreover, Sharon is a Board Member at the Association of Independent Music (AIM), the Executive Director (International) of LA-based music organisation NARIP, the National Association of Record Industry Professionals, and Head of Business Development for ZY Records. With her professional relationships along with a strong background in the music business, production (at BBC TV and the Christmas TV & Film Company) and banking (Visa International, International Stock Exchange and Barclay's), Sharon is uniquely positioned to understand the complexities of international revenue streams and collection systems which are vital to creating and sustaining long-term careers in today's music business. »

David Pope

David Pope is the Founder and Director of Advance Films, a production company making feature films and transmedia projects for international audiences. In addition, Advance offers support, training and consultancy services. As a producer, director and screenwriter, David has slate of feature film and transmedia projects in development including the drama "Angela," the thrillers "See Saw" and "The Hiding Place," and the documentary "American Dreams." His past directing credits include the award winning feature film "Miles from Nowhere," shot on the road between New York and Las Vegas. Before directing, David worked extensively as First Assistant Director for such clients as MTV, VH1 and BBC. He also serves as a film project and company consultant and as a provider of mentoring, training and development services for the international film industry. David previously held the position of CEO at the New Producers Alliance (NPA), a national UK membership organisation for producers, directors and screenwriters, and Director of Education (UK) for New York Film Academy (NYFA) in London. He teaches directing, screenwriting and acting for screen and regularly speaks at film festivals and conferences on current issues affecting the industry. He is a British Film Institute (BFI) associate tutor and industry mentor for First Light, the UK Film Council backed initiative to support filmmaking by young people. David has consulted for the Irish Film Academy, City University London, Metropolitan Film School and London Film Academy, for which he developed and is delivering the Shorts2Features Writer-Director Lab. Other clients, partners and collaborators have included BFI, UK Film Council, BBC, CineMart Rotterdam Lab, Cannes Cinefondation, Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Times BFI London International Film Festival, Power to the Pixel, UK Film Centre at Cannes Film Festival, Short Film Corner at Cannes Film Festival, Film London, Lionhead Studios, Xingu Films, Open Cinema and the FIKE (Portugal), IPIFF (Romania) and Expresion en Corto (Mexico) film festivals. In 2009, David was selected as a participant in the British Council's Cultural Leadership International Programme. »

Patrick Pinnock

Moderator

Patrick Pinnock runs the London chapter of the Institute for International Film Financing (IIFF) and organizes IIFF's monthly Film Financing Townhalls in the Greater London area. He is an entrepreneur across the retail, fashion, film and music fields. After leaving the University of Greenwich in 1990 studying IT and Business, Patrick moved to Hong Kong. There he worked first for Marks & Spencer and then for Fujitsu-ICL, where he was responsible for IT sales into major retail brands. After returning to the UK, Patrick worked as a consultant for music and entertainment retailer HMV. He also co-ordinated the 2002 London Chinese Film Festival. Patrick moved to Italy and then to Switzerland in 2003, where he worked on film projects and learned all about film finance using international co-production. He was also head of a Swiss non-profit organisation as well as IT and web consultant for a Swiss fashion label. Patrick runs his own artist management company and has managed Grammy nominated artists Inventing Eve. Whilst living in Switzerland, he produced a documentary film about a Switzerland based African American musician, which was broadcast on Swiss TV. Patrick is completing a Masters in Music Industry Management and Artist Development at Thames Valley University's London College of Music. »

Thomas Trenker

Founder

A Wall Street investment banker and Silicon Valley startup executive turned independent film financier, Thomas (LinkedIn profile | full bio) serves as Chairman of the Institute for International Film Financing (IIFF). An innovative and ambitious social-impact organization, IIFF endeavors to bridge the gap between the worlds of filmmaking and finance for the benefit of all stakeholders including the public at large. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in San Francisco, IIFF has active chapters in multiple cities across the U.S. and continues to expand.

In his role as Managing Director of FilmAngels, Thomas also runs the world's first professional angel investor group for film. FilmAngels has been modeled after the way successful angel networks function in Silicon Valley and adapted to the unique characteristics of the movie industry. It focuses exclusively on funding independent films and film-related ventures. FilmAngels address the unfilled need for a structured, highly efficient and ultimately more effective environment for the vetting and financing of high-risk film projects.

Don't hesitate to connect with Thomas on LinkedIn or at an upcoming IIFF meeting near you. »