Developing Your Film Festival 2019

Jennifer Frees has diverse fundraising, marketing, and strategic partnership experience in both for-profit agency and non-profit sectors. Her innovative projects have won marketing and design awards for highly regarded international brands, as well as directly generating tens of millions of dollars for her non-profit clients. As Vice President, Partnerships at TIFF, Jennifer sits at the organization's senior leadership table and provides senior sales, negotiation, property development, and account stewardship direction for the organization’s 150 corporate and hospitality partnerships. In addition, Jennifer oversees the event partnerships and bookings strategy for TIFF Bell Lightbox, TIFF's cultural institution and cinema in downtown Toronto. TIFF's Partnerships team generates ~40% of the organization’s total revenues. Jennifer resides in Toronto, Canada with her film-loving husband and screen savvy toddler.

Wendy Mitchell is a journalist, moderator and film festival consultant. She is a contributing editor at Screen International (where she previously served as editor in chief) and is the editor of the European Film Academy's Close-up magazine. She is the Nordic and UK delegate for the San Sebastian International Film Festival, a consultant for the Zurich Film Festival and Zurich Summit, Connext by Flanders Image, Goteborg's Nordic Film Market and TV Drama Vision, and CPH:DOX. In the US, she previously worked on staff at Entertainment Weekly, indieWIRE, Time Inc and Rolling Stone. Her website is filmwendy.com.

Algirdas Ramaška is Executive Director of Vilnius International Film Festival “Kino pavasaris”, the biggest and unquestionably one of the most anticipated annual cinema events in Lithuania. Also, he is one of the initiators and organizers of “The best ad campaigns at Cannes Lions” event. Creativity, futuristic thinking, achieving the dreams, focusing on goals, the ability to inspire others - Algirdas' traits that successfully lead him and his projects forward.

Sven Schwarz is the Administrative Director of Hamburg International Short Film Festival (Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg) since 2010 and is responsible for all financial, logistical and personnel aspects of one of the and oldest and biggest short film festivals in Germany. Before taking over the position at the Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg he was working at the Hamburg feature film festival (Filmfest Hamburg) from 2004 on where he was responsible for the event planning, fundraising and marketing activities of the festival. He frequently serves on International film juries and gives lectures about film festivals and is also a member of the screening group A Wall is a Screen which organises short film events in inner-city areas worldwide

Olle Agebro has a background in journalism and marketing and has worked with film festivals, cinemas and distribution over the past 10 years. Since 2015 he's a programmer for the Göteborg Film Festival and editor of the festival VOD platform Draken Film, he is also a member of the board of the Swedish arthouse distributor Folkets Bio and the arthouse cinema Fyrisbiografen.

Since 1995, Guy has been the coordinator of the international festival Il Cinema Ritrovato, dedicated to the study of film history. He specialises in the search of the best film sources at the international level, in the management of a large production team, in the creation of musical accompaniment for silent films, in the organisation of international conferences and in the economic management of events. Also the coordinator of the summer programming Sotto le Stelle del Cinema (Under the stars of cinema), presenting film classics open-air on a huge screen on Piazza Maggiore (central square of Bologna).

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is one of the biggest audience and industry driven film festivals in the world with more than 2,400 film professionals and 300,000 visits every year. As Marketing & Communication Manager Jodie de Groot is responsible for ensuring the festival meets both audiences and professionals expectations. This means generating a growing awareness across multiple communities commonly summarised as "public", infusing a strong appetite for the festival identity and programme, and obviously prompt enthusiasm and engagement before and during each edition! Those objectives are implemented through the expansion and professionalism of the Marketing and Communication team; 2019 edition more specifically focused digital and online innovations. The outcome generated a 30% online presence increase, an increase in screening room occupancy, and the launch of innovative products geared towards younger audiences.