Fundraising Fundamentals for the Filmmaker - June 9th, 2 pm - 4 pm
Danielle Earle:
Danielle Earle has been working in the film industry for over 8 years and is a proud member of the Writer's Guild of America East. She has been recognized in the media for the critically acclaimed series "Brooklyn Is In Love," and the LGBT feature film "Lover's Game," starring Crawford M. Collins, Miranda McCauley, and Blaine Pennington.
Last year, Danielle directed, "In the Attic," a play written by Award Winning Playwright, Liz Amadio of "The Voire Dire Project," and owner of Cosmic Orchid Project that was a part of the Dream Up Festival at Theater for The New City. She is the Executive Producer of the short film "Lea," by Award Winning writer and director Jay Palmieri.
She recently completed filming her feature-length film, film noir thriller set in 1957 called, "The Haunted Mind Of An Insomniac," starring Ebeneezer Nii Sowah, Leigh Poulos, and Irma Cadiz, which will be out next year. Danielle is also the Executive Producer for three upcoming projects, "PLAY," written and directed by Jay Palmieri, SAG feature film, "Serial Killer in Harlem," written and directed by WGAW Guild Member Wesley Mills, and the LGBT Web Series, "Jaded - The New York Effect."
Melissa Adeyemo:
With over ten years of experience in the media and entertainment space, Melissa currently serves as the Director of Operations at National Black Theatre, while producing independently in New York. She has produced the short film Open Wounds, an Official Entry to the 2015 Dubai International Film Festival and Still Water Runs Deep, an Official Entry to the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. She also produces commercials and branded content, including the short film for a fashion line, A Peace Treaty, now distributed on Vogue.com. She has worked as the Unit Production Manager on the web series Unicornland.
She most recently worked for the Technology, Media and Telecommunications group within the strategy consulting arm of PwC, Strategy&. Prior to business school, she helped build out ROK Studios for iROKOtv, a Lagos based media and technology start-up.
Melissa started her career as a production assistant on Spike Lee’s, Inside Man and Steven Spielberg’s, Munich.
Kweighbaye Kotee:
Founder of the Bushwick Film Festival (BFF). She hailed as one of Brooklyn’s most celebrated events, BFF is recognized for its contribution to the borough’s artistic and economic growth. Dedicated to her community and the arts, Kotee serves on The Bushwick Community Board and is co-chair of its Arts & Culture committee. In addition, in 2016 she founded MCCG, an M/WBE community affairs company that helps developers positively engage with communities to create empowering opportunities for local residents and organizations. To date, her company has helped facilitate the distribution of over $400,000 in grants to local organizations and artists.
Born in Liberia, she and her family immigrated to the U.S. at the brink of the Liberian Civil war.
She has been featured on NBC, Fox News, Huffington Post, POPSUGAR, Delta Air Lines, Brooklyn Magazine, Indiewire, Tribeca Film and lives in Brooklyn.
Anna Marano:
Anna Marano is IncuBeta Films’ Development Executive. She brings extensive experience in international media and finance, as the founder and manager of Dada Productions, which produced three films targeted to the African market during her tenure. Marano is also a former personal assistant to the acclaimed director Phillip Noyce (for the production of Working Title's Catch a Fire), experienced research analyst for the renowned hedge fund, Paulson Europe LLP and freelance producer/journalist for Reuters-TV.
A graduate of the Bocconi University in Milan where she double-majored in Econometrics and Journalism, Marano began her career as a documentary filmmaker. Her coverage of Africa’s Maasai tribe won her the attention of Kenyan media - and a subsequent role in public relations. She is also an alumnus of the London Film Academy's producing course.