The DTLA Film Festival – a leading showcase for independent films in Los Angeles – will host three free-to-the-public film-TV industry panel discussions on November 3 from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm, at the Boyle Heights Technology Youth Source Center in downtown Los Angeles.
The first panel of the day, Ex Machina: Navigating the Rise, Ramifications and Ethical Terrain of Artificial Intelligence in Hollywood, explores the complexities of balancing innovation with artistic integrity, the potential displacement of human creativity, and the ethical implications of AI-driven decision-making. Moderator Holly Willis, a professor and chair of the Media Arts and Practice division at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, will be joined by actor-writer Clark Gregg, Storia AI CEO Mihail Eric, casting director Marci Liroff, producer Hilary Shor, USC professor of theatre Alexandra Billings, and content strategist Phillip Ruffini.
The second panel, The Future of Independent Film in the Streaming Age, discusses the foundational question of whether the rise of streaming content is friend or foe to the independent filmmaker and the indie film industry at large. Moderator Lorraine Ali, an award-winning reporter with Los Angeles Times, will be joined by Underrated indie-film platform CEO Matt Post, seasoned film-TV producer Jiarui Guo, DTLA Film Festival co-founder Henry Priest, development executive and producer German Michael Torres, DTLA Film Festival’s Opening Night Film (Hail Mary) producer Karina Miller, and director-writer Allie Cuerdo.
The third and final panel of the day, Evolving the Conversation on Diversity and Cinema, critically re-examines Hollywood’s diversity landscape in 2023, now almost eight years after the OscarsSoWhite hashtag prompted the industry to change course … or, did it? Moderator Kellianne Rae Jordan, producer, writer and award-winning actor, will be joined by asexual non-binary autistic Vietnamese-American actor and filmmaker Heather Muriel Nguyễn, Made With Love media producer Christian Ting, Seven Directions Studios head Rosa Constanza, Commercial Directors Diversity Program head Tamika Lamison, director of Hail Mary (DTLA Film Festival’s Opening Night Film) Rosemary Rodriguez, and autistic and non-binary actor/writer Analesa Fisher.
“These are especially turbulent times for the world of independent filmmaking, both on the creative and business sides. Through these panels we hope to empower filmmakers with the knowledge to enable them to survive and even thrive in the immediate future,” said Michelle Fang, panels producer. Fang was joined by David Dixon and Samantha Bui in developing the panels.
The panels are being provided by DTLA Film Festival in partnership with the nonprofit HNDP at the Boyle Heights Technology Youth Source Center.
DTLA Film Festival https://dtlaff.com
HDNP www.HNDP.LA