PANELS AND GUESTS - FREE!
Palm Springs: Camelot Theatres at Palm Springs Cultural Center,2300 E. Baristo Road
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9:30 am (Saturday, March 29)
(PROGRAM PANEL WORKSHOP) Claudia Raschke
Location: Camelot Theatres
Details: Theatre 3 (FREE)
Claudia Raschke is a world renown cinematographer, best known for her ability to bring rich tones of the motion picture to a diverse spectrum of films, from purely commercial ventures, through feature-length documentaries, to lower-budget works of art. Among her many notable award-winning films are: Oscar-nominated RBG, God is the bigger Elvis, My Architect, Small Wonder, and Sister Rose’s Passion; Oscar-short-listed Mad Hot Ballroom and Julia; Peabody Award-winning Black Magic and My Name Is Pauli Murray. Claudia has captured documentary series for Nat Geo, Discovery, Showtime and CNN. Her most recently released feature documentaries are Yours in Freedom, Bill Baird and the biography film of Loie Fuller titled Obsessed with Light. Currently Claudia is in production of a documentary series for the HBO Max and another for The History channel to be released Spring of 2025.
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For this workshop/presentation Claudia will be sharing her insights on how she forged my path as a documentary cinematographer in the film industry. Her very first steps into visual storytelling was learning to look through the lens of a still camera. B&W stills and experimentations during the printing process propelled on to a journey that kept evolving. Every step she took revealed a new point of view of how to capture a moment in time. From documenting her family in super 8mm film to developing cinematic approaches for 35mm movies to impactful award winning feature length documentaries, her passion for cinematography was unwavering and grew despite the many obstacles she recounted. Claudia's passion for the art of cinematography is fed by capturing the big and small moments of the amazing world we live in. As she states "It is equally important that I bear witness to, and document the unique stories that unfold before my eyes in a way that dismantles barriers, opens doors, and reveals truth. I believe that filming intuitively, honestly, and without inhibition is a journey that requires a compassionate heart. The ability to see and hear what lies beneath the surface embodies storytelling through cinematography."
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9:45 am
(PROGRAM 15) J Master Class TBD (Sunday, March 30)
Location: Camelot Theatres
Details: Theatre 3 (FREE)
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Our Event Guests/Judges:
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Claudie Raschke- (See Above)
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Satvros Savvaidis-
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Is the co-founder of the Thessaloniki Animation Festival (TAF). He was always in love with stories and narrative art. He and his brother Dimitris owned a Cafe called COFIX dedicated in Comics with a library of over 5.000 comics for the customers to read. In COFIX they together curated over 50 exhibitions, presentations of books and other art events.
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Pau Montagud-
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Is a Journalist, linguist, producer, screenwriter and a specialist in documentary film. He has participated as a jury member in various festivals, conferences and international documentary film markets. He has produced, written, directed many documentaries in Spain and Mexico. He is a founder and Artistic Director of DocsMX and the Managing Director of DocsValència, International Documentary Film Festival.
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Lis LaBracio-
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​ Is an award-winning animation director who specializes in conveying human stories and elevating educational experiences with the magic of handmade animation. As an Animation Director at TED-Ed, Lisa directed dozens of animated, educational shorts, and as an educator, has taught 100+ animation workshops to communities all over the world. Her short film, The Opposites Game, co-directed with Anna Samo, screened at dozens of festivals worldwide, including Zagreb Animafest, Anima Mundi, and Raindance Film Festival, where it qualified for the Oscars. Most recently, she's directed stop motion montages for Michael Showalter’s feature films, Spoiler Alert and The Idea of You, and is the Animation Director of #MetKids Microscope, an educational series for The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2022, Lisa co-founded the Brooklyn-based screening + discussion series, Animation Speak/Easy, and currently serves as an event director with the Ink Well Foundation and an Adjunct Professor at the School of Visual Arts. She is based in Brooklyn, NY.
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Yourgo Artsitas-
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IIs a filmmaker and journalist. His films have played at Hot Docs, DOC NYC, Austin Film Festival, Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, San Diego Comic-Con, Sidewalk Film Festival, Cinequest Film Festival and many others. As a journalist, he's a correspondent for Meadowlark Media and has written for USA TODAY, SLAM Magazine, The Salt Lake Tribune and The Portland Tribune.
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Laurel Roselle-
Is a film producer with extensive credits. More recently, Laurel, with Ed Oleschak, founded, Olerose, as an international holding company specializing in acquiring, safeguarding, and promoting creative works including novels, screenplays, and audio-visual entertainment and supporting creative artists in their imaginative endeavors.
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​Edward Oleschak
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Is a producer, cinematographer, editor, consultant, and visionary. He has worked with top talent in the entertainment industry for 45 years, and is head of the boutique production studio, World Entertainment - LA, inc. Edward studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna; he has been an active member of the Producers Guild of America since 2002 and an Executive Member of the International 3D and Advanced Image Society since 2011.
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4:00 pm (Monday, March 31)
(SPECIAL PROGRAM)
A Conversation With Senator Barbara Boxer and Soledad O'Brien
Location: Camelot TheatresDetails: Theatre 2
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Soledad O’Brien is an award-winning documentarian, journalist, speaker, author, philanthropist, and founder of Soledad O’Brien Productions, a media production company dedicated to telling empowering and authentic stories on a range of social issues. She anchors and produces "Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien," a national Hearst political magazine program. She was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame in May 2023.
O’Brien’s work has been recognized over the years with ten Emmy awards, three times with the George Foster Peabody Award, four times with the Gracie Award, which honors women in media, twice with Cine Awards for her work in documentary films, twice with Telly Awards, and with an Alfred I. DuPont Award.
SO’B Productions has two projects debuting in 2025, the Netflix documentary film “The Perfect Neighbor,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and the HBO documentary short, “The Devil is Busy.” This year, Soledad also reported a documentary on Latino voters, “War on La Radio,” and “The End of Affirmative Action.” Her podcast, “Who Killed JFK,” co-hosted with Rob Reiner on IHeartthat was named by Apple as one of its best shows for 2024 with 9 million viewers.
Previously, she led SO’B Productions’ efforts on the Peabody-Award-winning documentary, “The Rebellious Life of Rosa Parks” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and streams on Peacock, and the multi-part series “Black and Missing”, which won the Independent Spirit and NAACP award and streams on HBO. She works with major foundations such as the Ford Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to create award-winning content on topics like hunger, race, and education.
Soledad has a national impact through her podcasts, social media, speeches, and books, including her critically acclaimed memoir “The Next Big Story,” and her 1.4 million followers on social media. She has given Congressional testimony on media disinformation. She was a founding anchor at MSNBC, anchored at NBC’s “Weekend Today,” anchored CNN’s morning show for more than a decade, and was a correspondent for HBO RealSports. Her documentary and longform work has appeared on Netflix, CNN, Nat Geo, BET, CBS, Paramount +, Peacock, and HBO.
She runs the PowHerful foundation with her husband, which has helped dozens of young women get to and through college, and connects thousands of others with assistance through regional mentoring conferences.
​Barbara Boxer-
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Barbara Boxer served as California’s United States Senator from 1993 to 2017. She previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives for five terms after serving as a Marin County Supervisor for six years.
Boxer is known as a fierce fighter for California and its people. She is also known as a consistent advocate for women, children, families, workers, the environment, and equal rights for all.
She successfully passed laws that established the first federal funding for after school programs, permanently protected one million acres of beautiful California wilderness, ensured drinking water is safe for the most vulnerable, was one of 23 Senators to oppose the war in Iraq and was a
go-to leader on abortion rights.
Boxer’s career is marked by a number of firsts: first woman ever elected to the 2nd Supervisorial District in Marin County; first woman ever elected President of the Marin Board of Supervisors; first woman ever elected to the House of Representatives for California’s 6th Congressional District; in 1992 made history with Dianne Feinstein as the first 2 women ever elected to the U.S. Senate from any state in the union; first woman to chair the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee; first woman to chair the U.S. Senate Ethics Committee.
Boxer graduated from Brooklyn College in New York State in 1962 where she majored in economics. She worked as a stockbroker before moving to California with her husband in 1965. Boxer has been married to her husband Stewart Boxer since 1962. They have two married children and four grandchildren.
Upon her retirement from the U.S. Senate in 2017, Boxer donated her papers to UC Berkeley, where she gives an annual Boxer lecture, interviewing strong woman leaders. She continues to make speeches across the county, taught at USC Center for the Political Future where she is currently an advisor. She appears bi-monthly on Spectrum TV in Southern California, is a strategic consultant as co-chair of ACTUM, LLC and volunteers for a number of children’s organizations. She is proud to serve on the Board of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate where she works with a number of former colleagues to help preserve democracy and the American dream.
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