PANELS AND GUESTS

Each year, the American Documentary and Animation Film Festival (AmDocs) offers informative Filmmaker Panels conducted by our special guests and industry experts. These panels feature lively discussions, and Q&As, where our filmmakers get to bounce ideas off one another, and focus on multiple aspects of documentary filmmaking.

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Our 2019 Festival featured the following four panel subjects:

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  • How do you decide whether your film is a short or feature: What is better for the story and the audience?

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  • Everything Legal, with AmDocs Advisory Board Member, Attorney at Law, and Filmmaker Paul Szynol

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  • Editing your documentary film: The 3-act structure

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  • Self-selling versus traditional distribution

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In 2019, AmDocs hosted the following special guests and industry experts:

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  • Geoff Callan, award-winning director, producer, and accomplished actor, with over 25 years of experience in film, television, advertising, and New Media

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  • Adam Montgomery, Senior Manager of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival, and former Director of Programming for CIMMfest, a film and music festival based in Chicago

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  • Nita Deda, Director of International and Short Film Festival DokuFest, the largest cultural event in Kosovo, and former Head of Communications and music programmer for that festival's DokuNights

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  • Dale Knorr, professor of Documentary Film History & Critical Analysis at the Life Long Learning Institute at California State University, San Bernardino

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  • Rezeta Veliu, internationally-acclaimed actress who's appeared in the film Rezeta (currently available on Netflix) & the Lena Dunham-penned HBO series Girls

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  • Bruno Chatelin, Co-Founder of the web site filmfestivals.com, which partners with the world's largest festivals & markets (Cannes, AFM, Toronto, & more)

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  • Guy Kennedy, Co-Founder of the web site filmfestivals.com, and Founding Director of AB01, a digital media & communication company in London

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  • Tom White, Editor of Documentary Magazine, the print and online publication of the IDA, and writer for numerous other publications

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  • Craig Prater, President of Heartland International Film Festival, former Executive Director of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, and Co-Founder of the Palm Springs International Short Fest and Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival.

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  • Dion Eusepi, technology industry veteran and Founder of Synimatica, a platform designed to bridge the great divide between the filmmaking development process and the need for broad distribution

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  • Summer Helene, veteran actress and producer who's worked with Mountain Pictures, Moon River Cinema & Paramount Pictures, among other studios

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