B-Side Community

Recently Leah was interviewed for an article in the Wall Street Journal about how the recession is affecting coffee shops.

Laptop backlash poses particular difficulties for people without offices, says Leah Meyerhoff, 29, a film director and free-lancer. She long has used coffee shops to interview cast and crew and to work on pre-production. Now, she says, “it’s a constant search for places with the Internet where I can sit and focus without being frowned upon.”

- Erica Alini
Wall Street Journal

Check out the full article here.

Leah will be speaking on a panel about distribution at the upcoming Hollyshorts Film Festival.

Short Film Distribution - Learn How the Pros Do It
Sunday August 9th 2009 12:00pm
Laemmle Sunset
Los Angeles, CA
Moderated by Roberta Munroe
Panelists: Leah Meyerhoff, Orly Ravid, Todd Luoto, Carsen Mell

Short Film Distribution

Moderator - Roberta Marie Munroe
Roberta is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, entrepreneur, international short film festival programmer, consultant. After programming shorts at Sundance for 5 years, Roberta wrote a book to share what she’d learned. How Not To Make A Short Film: Secrets From A Sundance Programmer (Amazon Bestseller List) is a provocative and practical insider’s guide to making a great short film that many reviewers have deemed the short filmmaker Bible. An articulate and entertaining speaker, Munroe has a keen insider’s take on the production and business of short filmmaking. In a media world that is increasingly dominated by the short film format, including online and mobile content, Roberta’s knowledge and rock solid advice are more valuable than ever for short form media makers everywhere.

Panelists:
Todd Luoto, Sundance Film Festival & Independent Filmmaker
Todd Luoto is a Chapman University film school graduate. After a stint in development at Miramax/Dimension Films, he worked as a journalist for Kodak, while touring the festival circuit with his own - very flawed - short film. Loving the festival community, he became a programmer at Newport Beach Film Festival, Special Projects Director for Silver Lake Film Festival and a feature screener for the Sundance Film Festival. Luoto currently serves as a Shorts Programmer and Shorts Coordinator for Sundance, as well as Associate Programmer for CineVegas. He loathes birthday cake served with fruit.

Carson Mell, Independent Filmmaker
Carson is an Arizona native living in Hollywood, CA. His films have screened several times at Sundance and he is the most frequent contributor to “Wholphin,” a popular DVD magazine. Last year the San Francisco Film Society hosted a solo exhibition of his films and a reading from his first novel, “Saguaro,” the main character of the which is also the subject of Carson’s two most popular films, “Chonto” and “Bobby Bird: The Devil in Denim.” Often, Carson simultaneously develops characters through both film and prose.

Orly Ravid, New American Vision, Sundance Film Festival
Orly is a 10-year industry veteran, a marketing & distribution maverick whose experience in film ranges from festival programming to acquisitions & distribution.

After serving, this past 2 years, as VP of Acquisitions and Distribution at Senator Entertainment’s US division, Orly has refocused her energies at her marketing and distribution company, New American Vision. She, and her partner Jeffrey Winter, help indie filmmakers get the most of out distribution.

Orly has consulted for various independent distributors and filmmakers handling all aspects of film distribution from acquisitions, foreign sales, business affairs / contract negotiation, digital distribution licensing, theatrical releasing and grass roots marketing. Orly regularly speaks on panels at Sundance, LAFF, AFI, Cannes and many other festivals and film markets regarding new technology and digital distribution.

Leah recently did a Brooklyn Television interview for a program called “Artist to Artist” where she discussed her filmmaking process with fellow filmmaker Esther Bell.

More details coming soon!