Sherman Oaks Film Festival is proud to present expert panels on subjects that matter most to our indie film community. For the 2024 festival, we held two panels.
Indie Film Distribution
If you want your film to reach audiences then you need to know as much about distribution as you do about filmmaking.
Panelists – Martine Melloul, Glen Reynolds & Marc Clebanoff
Martine Melloul. Originally from France, Martine Melloul was Executive Vice President of billion-dollar fashion house BCBG MAX AZRIA before pursuing her passion for entertainment and founding her own production company, Kali Pictures in Los Angeles. She co-produces documentaries for Orange Studios and Arte in France, has produced a few independent films BEYOND THE SKY, BREAKING AND EXITING and THE MEAN ONE which came out in theaters last Christmas. She is currently working on a slate of projects including the new Steamboat Willie feature SCREAMBOAT coming out in January 2025.
Glen Reynolds. With 25 years in the indie film biz, he has produced, executive produced and co-produced 20 films and sold over 500 films. He founded Circus Road Films in 2006.
Marc Clebanoff. As a Sales Agent, Marc Clebanoff has sold films to clients including Lionsgate, Sony, Fox, Showtime, Shudder, Netflix, Starz, Tubi TV, Peacock, Vertical Entertainment, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Well Go USA, and distribution clients in 100+ countries worldwide.
Queer Filmmaking Tomorrow
Queer filmmakers take on their questions, plans, schemes, and dreams for the future of cinema.
Panelists – Sav Rodgers, Eve Lindley, Andrew Klaus-Vineyard, Sydne Horton, Florence Bouvy, Chris Maddox, Darren Stein, & Daniel Talbott
Sav Rodgers is a filmmaker, screenwriter, and pop culture documentarian whose feature debut CHASING CHASING AMY (Tribeca ‘23) explores the complicated legacy of Chasing Amy (1997) and its profound impression on his life. The TED Talk he gave in 2018 kickstarted this filmmaking journey and spurred the writing of scripts that center on highly specific, surprising stories about queer people. His screenplays have been recognized by GLAAD, Outfest, ScreenCraft, among others. Named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Media List in 2024, Sav is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Transgender Film Center, a nonprofit aiming to help trans creators bring finished films to audiences around the world. Additionally, Sav works as the Marketing Director at Seed&Spark, the world’s most successful crowdfunding platform for independent film. He is a proud University of Kansas graduate and still sports KU baseball caps wherever he goes.
Sydne Horton is an emerging directorial talent whose award-winning films often explore themes of identity, coming-of-age, and human connection, while bending genres and subverting expectations. She is an alum of the Women in Film Directing Mentorship, the Emmys Television Academy Internship, and she has been a semi-finalist for the SeriesFest Women Directing Program twice. Her work has been recognized in a 3-month theatrical exhibit at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture with inclusion at over 50 festivals around the world. Select festivals include Palm Springs ShortFest, Outfest LA, Aesthetica Short Film, Inside Out Toronto, Salem Horror, and more. Her horror short “META” was also referenced in the book “I Spit on Your Celluloid: The History of Women Directing Horror Films.”
Andrew Klaus-Vineyard is of Inuit, Icelandic, and Jewish descent, which fuels his passion for storytelling and exploration. He studied contemporary art and practice at Savannah College of Art & Design and holds a degree in Cultural Studies (focused on Queer, Feminist, & Marxist theory in media analysis) and Time-Based Art from Portland State University and an MFA in directing University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. As a filmmaker Klaus-Vineyard is heavily influenced by a mix of New Queer Cinema, underground art house experimentation, and regional folk horror. Klaus-Vineyard’s work as a writer-director, multimedia artist, and musician has been featured in American Theatre Magazine, OUT Magazine, The Oregonian, The Advocate, Just Out, Spectrum, PQ Monthly, Bitches Brew, Musée Magazine and The Feminist Review.
Florence Bouvy is a director and writer from Amsterdam, currently based in Los Angeles. Her work is characterized by her fascination for human behavior, strong acting performances and poetic, expressive elements. Her award-winning short film “Till the end of the world” traveled globally, winning her a.o. the Dutch Critics prize for Best Graduation film, the Dutch Filmfund Wildcard, and Best Director at Moscow shorts. Her current film, “Where We Stay” premiered at the Palm Springs Short Film Fest 2024 and was shortlisted for the Iris Prize 2024.
Chris Maddox most recently served as a Writer for Amazon’s upcoming series, THE GREATEST, and Writer/Producer for CW’s soap DYNASTY after coming from ABC’s hit drama A MILLION LITTLE THINGS and Fox’s MONARCH. In addition, he got his break staffing on the CBS series BULL and is a graduate of CBS’s extremely competitive Diversity Writers Mentoring Program. As a teenager, he left a lower-class black neighborhood in Ohio to attend boarding school in an affluent white community in Massachusetts. Growing up between these two diverse worlds influences Chris’s writing and informs his unique perspective on the world. He’s developed with JuVee, Incognegro, Bassett Vance Productions, Dana Honor, Franklin Entertainment, Orion, 20th, and CBSTV. He attended Tufts University, triple majoring in Child Development, Drama, and Spanish Literature. After living in Spain and becoming fluent in Spanish, he studied at Columbia University’s MFA program in Acting.
Darren Stein was raised in a celluloid family with grandparents who started a boutique Hollywood film laboratory and post production company in the Sixties called Crest National. The childhood films Darren made on his cul-de-sac in Encino would go on to become the subject of his 2003 documentary PUT THE CAMERA ON ME featured on NPR’s “This American Life.” After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Darren co-wrote and directed SPARKLER which premiered at the Hamptons Film Festival in 1997 and featured Park Overall, Freddie Prinze Jr, Veronica Cartwright and Grace Zabriskie. Darren then went on to write and direct JAWBREAKER which premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. The cast joined Darren this summer for the film’s 25th Anniversary screening at the Academy Museum moderated by drag legend Trixie Mattel. Darren has also written pilots for HBO, Freeform, The CW and ABC, as well as the final installment of VC Andrews’ FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC movie series SEEDS OF YESTERDAY for Lifetime. He produced the cult horror film ALL ABOUT EVIL starring Natasha Lyonne in 2010 and directed the teen comedy feature GBF (Gay Best Friend) which premiered at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival. Darren has been a producer and guest judge on five seasons of the Emmy-nominated reality competition series THE BOULET BROTHERS’ DRAGULA on AMC. He has also directed music videos and fashion films, including a Clio Award-winning piece for designer Alexander Wang,
Daniel Talbott is an award-winning writer and director, a Lucille Lortel Award winning theater producer, and the artistic director of Rising Phoenix Rep. His first feature film co-written and co-directed with Samantha Soule – Midday Black Midnight Blue – premiered at SIFF in Seattle in 2022 and was released in June 2023 by Good Deed Entertainment. His horror drama pilot Rome, Georgia (starring Mary-Louise Parker) is in development with Vertigo Entertainment. His feature script Gray is in active development in Denmark with Motor Productions, with Martin de Thura attached to direct. Other TV writing includes The Mist based on the Stephen King novella, and The Conners on ABC. He is a graduate of Juilliard.
