As previously noted, Shadow & Act is this year's PAFF Institute media sponsor/presenter, which is taking place concurrently with the Pan African Film Festival in LA this weekend, and tomorrow, Monday.
Thankfully, Los Angeles hasn't been blanketed by the blizzard that covered much of the northeast this weekend, so those of you out there should take advantage of the lovely weather you're having, and attend this weekend's PAFF Institute panels and workshops if you're available.
Yesterday's lineup ended with a bang, as our own Jasmin Tiggett moderated what was said to be an amazingly explosive panel titled A Conversation With…Powerful Black Men in Entertainment, which featured the likes of Jeff Clanagan of CobeBlack Entertainment, screenwriter Don D. Scott and writer/producer Charles Murray.
Look for a summary of that panel on this site soon.
Here's what today's impressive panel lineup, which may prove to be even more informative and explosive, includes:
Creating and Shopping Your Own Reality Television Series
1:00pm to 2:30pm | Rave Theaters @ the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza
Featured Panelists: Karen Peterkin (VP, DuBose Ent), Jubba Seyyid (Sr. Dir of Programming, TV-One), D’Angela Proctor (Indie reality TV Prod), Rochelle Brown & Sonia Armstead (Turn up the Heat w G Garvin)
Moderated by Kai Bowe (Producer)
Summary: The recent overwhelming success of reality shows featuring African American characters has opened the door for new film-makers hoping to enter this exciting genre. Come learn from a team of reality TV experts how to develop your show and package it for pick-up.
Django Unchained: A Discussion on Slavery & the 150 Year Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation
3:15pm to 5:15pm | Rave Theaters @ the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza
Featured Panelists: Ayuko Babu (PAFF Founder), Dr. Gerald Horne (Univ of Houston), Ed Rampell (Historian), Prof. Aminah Bakeer (Cal State LA)
Moderated by Dr. Melina Abdullah (Cal State LA)
Summary: It’s been 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. What have we learned since then? How have we grown as a people? What do we want the next 150 years to look like? Join a powerful discussion on slavery, media and power.
A Conversation with… Powerful Black Women in Entertainment
6:00pm to 8:00pm | Rave Theaters @ the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza
Featured Panelists: Salli Richardson-Whitfield (I Am Legend), Debra Martin Chase (Producer, Sparkle), Stephanie Allain Bray (Producer, We the Peeples), IssaRae (The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl), Kym Whitley (Animal Practice)
moderated by Bill Duke (Dark Girls, Not Easily Broken)
Summary: Join us for an engaging discussion with a group of upcoming and veteran actresses, producers, writers and directors who’ve created a name for themselves in Hollywood.
Tomorrow, Monday, will be the final day of the S&A-presented PAFF Institute panels (but certainly not the end of the festival). And ahead of that, here are the panels that are scheduled, to help you plan ahead:
Monday, February 11th
Art of the Deal: Structuring Your Film Finance Deal the Right Way
11:00am to 1:00pm | Community Room (1st Floor) @ the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza
Featured Panelists: Mary Aloe (Producer, Mary Mother of Christ), Jeanette Buerling (Magnet Media Group)
Moderated by Jaia Thomas, Esq
Summary: Any seasoned producer (or lawyer) will tell you that how you structure your deal means everything. Come learn the right way to put your film finance deal together so that you don’t give away everything.
OBS Master Class: Lessons from Our Writing Legends
2:00pm to 4:00pm | Community Room (1st Floor) @ the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza
Featured Panelists: Ken Sagoes (Laverne & Shirley)
Summary: Writing screenplays is a skill. Writing great screenplays is an art. Come learn from the masters of the game how to lift your writing to the level of art.
A Conversation With… A Hollywood Power Couple
5:00pm to 6:30pm | Rave Theaters @ the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza
Featured Panelists: DeVon Franklin (Sr. Vice President of Production, Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group) & Meagan Good (Deception, Think Like A Man)
Summary: Hollywood’s newest power couple joins us for an intimate about life, love and all things entertainment. Join us for a discussion with newlyweds and Hollywood power brokers DeVon Franklin and Meagan Good.
PAFF Institute Closing Address – “The State of Black Entertainment”
7:15pm to 9:30pm | Rave Theaters @ the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza
Featured Panelists: Reginald Hudlin (Django Unchained, The Boondocks)
Summary: Academy Award Nominee Writer/Director/Producer/Network President Reginald Hudlin will be spending an intimate evening with PAFF to give us “The State of Black Entertainment.”
By the way, the PAFF Institute is all coordinated by Sherri James. This year's theme is "The Business of Entertainment" and the entire lineup of panels (yesterday's, today's, and tomorrow's) can be found within the image at the bottom of this post.
For those of you who are or will be attending the festival, or who will be in the LA area this weekend (whether you plan to attend the festival or not), I highlighted 10 films for you to add to your to-see list (if you missed that post, read it HERE).
And, of course, to accompany your film viewing, be sure to take a look at one or more of the PAFF Institute's strong, eclectic panels offerings, and add one or two of them to your festival itinerary.
Each panel is just $10.50, and takes place at Rave Cinema at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, 4020 Marlton Avenue, LA, CA 90008.
All panels will be held inside the Rave Theaters unless otherwise noted.
For more information, visit PAFF.org.
See the full list of panels below:
