PANEL: FROM FESTIVAL BUZZ TO DISTRIBUTION DEALS: HOW FILMS BREAK THROUGH TODAY

description

A candid look at how programmers, buyers, and distributors discover films—and what factors inform their decisions to champion one project over another. Moderated by a veteran festival programmer and independent film producer, panelists will discuss the various qualities and strategies that help films stand out and move the needle from premiere to pickup in today’s crowded market.

This is a FREE event open to the public.

PANELISTS:

MITCH DAVIS - Fantasia International Film Festival; Artistic Director
JENNY EZELL - Independent Film Company (Ifc Films) & Shudder; Coordinator Of Acquisitions & Productions
EMILY GAGNE - Hollywood Suite; Senior Marketing and Content Manager
HILARY HART - Game Theory Films; Co-President
PETER KUPLOWSKY - Toronto International Film Festival; Lead Programmer, Midnight Madness; International Programmer, Us Indies
ISABELLE LEGAULT - Filmoption International; Vice-president Acquisitions & Theatrical
JOSEPH YANICK - Yellow Veil Pictures; Co-founder, Acquisitions
LANDON ZAKHEIM - Overlook Film Festival & Sundance Film Festival; Executive Director & Co-founder // Programmer, Short Films

Moderated by PETER KUPLOWSKY.

BIOGRAPHIES:

MITCH DAVIS - Fantasia International Film Festival; Artistic Director
Mitch Davis has been a Director of International Programming at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal since 1997 and Co-Festival-Director since 2003. As a filmmaker, he directed the shorts DIVIDED INTO ZERO (1999 - winner, Jury Award for Best Narrative Short at the Chicago Underground Film Festival) and GOD’S LITTLE GIRL (2006). Davis produced Karim Hussain’s transgressive feature debut SUBCONSCIOUS CRUELTY (2000) as well as Rick Trembles’ GOOPY SPASMS (2004) and was an associate producer on the anthology feature ABC’S OF DEATH 2 (2014). Most recently, Davis was an associate producer on Pablo Absento’s BLOAT (2025), produced by Timur Bekmambetov and distributed by Lionsgate.

JENNY EZELL - Independent Film Company (Ifc Films) & Shudder; Coordinator Of Acquisitions & Productions
Jenny began working for the IFC entertainment group in 2023 on the Acquisitions team. She gained countless hours reviewing content for the company brands: Independent Film Company, RLJE, and Shudder. Throughout her time at the company, she's integrated her passion for horror, now primarily reviewing genre projects for acquisition. She believes the most unique and timely stories can be shared by anyone with a passion for horror and that the genre transcends barriers to find fans across the world, exemplified by recent releases like THE UGLY STEPSISTER, WHEN EVIL LURKS, CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD, and LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL.

EMILY GAGNE - Hollywood Suite; Senior Marketing and Content Manager
Emily Gagne is a Canadian critic, programmer and Senior Marketing and Content Manager for Hollywood Suite. Her writing has been featured by such outlets as Dread Central, The Mary Sue, and TV Guide Canada. She is currently the co-curator of the Revue Cinema's We Really Like Her! screening series, Toronto’s only monthly showcase for movies made by women, and a programmer for the Gimli International Film Festival.

HILARY HART - Game Theory Films; Co-president, Director Of Acquisitions & Distribution
Hilary’s career in film began in short film distribution at Ouat Media, before moving onto the Canadian Film Centre. While at the CFC she contributed to an online film magazine, The Seventh Art, where she managed a Live Director's Series, which brought prominent directors to Toronto to screen and discuss their work. She then worked in talent management, before partnering in 2018 with Will Woods to create Game Theory Films, a Toronto based independent film distribution company where she serves as Co-President. Hilary is a Berlinale Talents alumnus, voting member of the Academy Of Canadian Cinema & Television, and was named one of The Globe and Mail’s 22 Most Influential People in Canadian Film.

PETER KUPLOWSKY - Toronto International Film Festival; Lead Programmer, Midnight Madness; International Programmer, Us Indies
Peter Kuplowsky is a film curator, producer, and writer based in Toronto. Since 2005, he has championed genre and underground cinema at various international film festivals, including Toronto After Dark, Fantastic Fest (Austin, Texas), and the Toronto International Film Festival, where he currently leads its popular Midnight Madness section. Ever passionate about filmmakers who work outside mainstream channels, Peter is also the founder and president of Low Sky Productions, an independent film development company. His producer credits include In A Violent Nature, The Void, Psycho Goreman, The Artifice Girl, Climate of the Hunter, Country Gold, Every Heavy Thing, Mangoshake, Camp, and the reboot of Roger Corman's Deathstalker. A graduate of the University of Toronto's Cinema Studies Institute, Peter is internationally recognized for his enthusiastic introductions to cult film audiences and his oft-tossed fedora.

ISABELLE LEGAULT - Filmoption International; Vice-president Acquisitions & Theatrical
Isabelle Legault is an entrepreneur with a passion for cinema and the entertainment industry, bringing over 15 years of experience in key roles across video games and films. In 2020, she co-founded Aime ton cinéma, an initiative dedicated to promoting Quebec cinema in all its diversity. She has been with Filmoption for over a decade, where she plays a central role in the distribution and promotion of Quebec and Canadian films, both domestically and internationally, while championing emerging voices and genre-driven projects. Her recent credits include Who I Am Not, Crépuscule pour un tueur, Space: The Longest Goodbye, and Polaris. Anna Kiri marked her first feature credit as a producer, and her upcoming feature, The Wrath, is currently in post-production.

JOSEPH YANICK - Yellow Veil Pictures; Co-founder, Acquisitions
Joe Yanick is the co-Founder of Yellow Veil Pictures, a New York City and Los Angeles-based worldwide sales and distribution company. Focusing exclusively on boundary pushing genre cinema, Yellow Veil seeks to highlight emergent filmmakers who exist on the cusp of commercial, arthouse cinema, while maintaining a unique focus on festival strategy and production and packaging.

LANDON ZAKHEIM - Overlook Film Festival & Sundance Film Festival; Executive Director & Co-founder // Programmer, Short Films
Landon Zakheim is a short film programmer for the Sundance Film Festival and the co-founder and co-director of the Overlook Film Festival, a four day celebration of all things horror held annually in New Orleans. Among a myriad of additional festival organizations for which he’s worked, he has been a senior programmer for AFI Fest and the Philadelphia Film Festival, an associate programmer for narrative and XR at Tribeca Film Festival, the interactive curator for Denver Film, and he was formerly both director of programming for Aspen ShortsFest and head of shorts for the now-defunct LA Film Festival.