The Entertainment Finance Forum (EFF) is a collaborative event for strategic thinkers and creative minds.

Whether you’re an Investor, Creator, Producer, Distributor, Innovator, Strategy Executive or Advisor in the Entertainment Industry – join our unique platform to help you connect, evolve and thrive in this rapidly-changing market.

EFF is a comprehensive program unlike any finance conference being offered today. Industry leaders will address investment, financing and growth strategies within film, television, streaming, mobile and more. Through the conference, participants will explore and gain insight into moving forward in a challenging time. 

SPEAKING FACULTY:

PATRICK LEE
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
PKO Investments

Patrick Lee is an entrepreneur focused on the intersection of tech+entertainment best known for being a Co-Founder & the founding CEO of Rotten Tomatoes (rottentomatoes.com), a leading entertainment website focused on movie reviews and news. He is a Co-Founder & Managing Partner of PKO Investments, a syndicate of notable investors investing in the next generation of founders at the intersection of tech & entertainment. He is part of the Founding Team and a Board Member of the Gold House Collective and is an active advisor to a number of startups. He has also mentored and/or supported programs at 500 Startups, SOSV, Berkeley SkyDeck, Blue Startups, Founder Institute, and more. Patrick holds a BA in Cognitive Science from the University of California at Berkeley.

YAT SIU
Co-Founder and Executive Chairman
Animoca Brands

Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, Animoca Brands Founder and CEO, Outblaze

A veteran technology entrepreneur/investor based in Hong Kong, Yat Siu is the co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, a global leader in blockchain and gaming with the mission to deliver digital property rights to the world’s gamers and Internet users, thereby creating a new asset class, play-to-earn economies, and a more equitable digital framework contributing to the building of the open metaverse.

Yat began his career at Atari Germany in 1990. In 1995 he moved to Hong Kong to establish Hong Kong Cybercity/Freenation, the first free web page and email provider in Asia. In 1998 he set up Outblaze, an award-winning pioneer of multilingual white label web services. In 2009, he sold Outblaze’s messaging unit to IBM and pivoted Outblaze to become an incubator of projects and companies to develop digital entertainment services and products. One of those incubated companies is Animoca Brands, which was created in 2014.

In 2017 he set up the Dalton Learning Lab, an afterschool digital lab for skills not emphasized by most education systems, including divergent thinking and design thinking. He is the founder of ThinkBlaze, the research arm of Outblaze investigating socially meaningful issues in technology.

Since 2018, Yat has been an early advocate for the use of blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the gaming industry, which will allow gamers to enjoy true ownership of their own game assets, data, and, consequently, equity. With a clear vision of the potential of decentralized apps and assets, Yat quickly steered Animoca Brands to a leadership position in blockchain, gaming, NFTs, and the open metaverse. Recently valued at $5.8 billion, Animoca Brands operates a series of NFT-centric subsidiaries and products, and has invested in over 150 blockchain-related companies to build one of the largest blockchain portfolios in the world.

Yat has earned numerous accolades including Global Leader of Tomorrow at the World Economic Forum, Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the DHL/SCMP Awards, and recognition as one of the Cointelegraph top 100 notable people in blockchain.

A classically trained musician, Yat is a member of the advisory board of BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) and a director of the Asian Youth Orchestra.

THOMAS JANE
Co-Founder
Renegade Entertainment

Thomas Jane is a prolific Golden Globe-nominated actor, director, and producer, with extensive credits including the series The Expanse and Hung, and the features The Punisher, 61, The Predator and Boogie Nights. Jane recently starred in in the hit thriller The Vanished, and his film Run Hide Fight world premiered at the 77th Venice Film Festival. Jane will next be seen in the anticipated drama series Troppo for IMDb TV/Amazon, based on the bestselling novel by Candice Fox, which he is also executive producing via his Renegade Entertainment banner.

Jane founded the production company Renegade Entertainment with Courtney Lauren Penn in 2019. Since its inception, Renegade has produced the soon to be released features Murder at Yellowstone City, starring Jane, Gabriel Byrne, and Isaiah Mustafa; Dig, starring Jane, Emile Hirsch, and Harlow Jane; The Last Son, starring Jane, Sam Worthington and Colson Baker; and Slayers, starring Jane, Abigail Breslin and Malin Akerman.

Renegade is currently producing a comic book series The Lycan, and mmong other projects in development, continuing the Malone franchise with a sequel to the cult fan favorite Give ‘em Hell Malone, as well as an adaptation of Stephen King’s From a Buick 8, marking the fourth collaboration between Jane and King, following 1922, Dreamcatcher, and The Mist.

Jane is a writer and director, directing one of the first-ever natively shot films in 3D, the noir thriller Dark Country, as well as the celebrated season 5 episode “Mother” of his hit series The Expanse. He founded the graphic novel company RAW Studios in 2011.

COURTNEY LAUREN PENN
Co-Founder 
Renegade Entertainment

Courtney Lauren Penn co-founded and runs the multi-faceted production company Renegade Entertainment with her co-founder Thomas Jane. Courtney oversees content: producing film, series and hybrid new media projects alongside Jane. Renegade is a pioneering outfit that has been among the most active production labels since launching in late 2019.

Since its inception, Renegade has produced a slew of independent feature films, a short form comedy series, a television and streaming 8 episode series for the ABC in Australia and IMDBtv/Amazon alongside AGC Television, is currently in production on a comic book series THE LYCAN and in pre-production on several films for 2022.

The first film the duo executive produced was the western thriller “The Last Son,” starring Thomas Jane, Sam Worthington, Colson Baker (Machine Gun Kelly), followed by horror comedy “Slayers” starring Abigail Breslin, Thomas Jane and Malin Akerman. Courtney and Jane further produced DIG starring Emile Hirsche, Thomas Jane and Harlow Jane, bowing later this year, as well as MURDER AT EMIGRANT GULCH starring Richard Dryfuss, Gabriel Bryne, Isiaah Mustafa, Jane, and Zach McGowan also premiering later in 2022.

Among the myriad projects currently being developed by Courtney and Jane is the long-awaited adaptation of Stephen King’s “From a Buick 8” with which they launched the company.

Adopting a material-first, platform agnostic philosophy, Courtney embraces the growing disruption in the entertainment ecosystem and together with Jane have built a selective slate of compelling stories and edgy material with global commercial appeal. She takes a transmedia approach to cultivating IP and collaborating with gifted storytellers and partners to build out her company’s diverse content slate.

Courtney began her career in sell-side mergers and acquisitions and corporate restructuring on Wall Street. She worked for a boutique investment bank that specialized in advisory services, valuation, transaction structuring, strategic financial restructuring and private placements for privately-owned middle market companies. Courtney moved exclusively into film finance and production with the founding of Boundless Pictures in 2008 as a film finance, development and production company. Boundless’s production arm was launched when Courtney and her co-founding partner, Brandon Burrows, teamed up with Wesley Snipes for the supernatural actioner “Gallowwalkers” (Lionsgate . Subsequent Boundless Pictures’ productions included “Dark Hearts,” starring X-Men star Lucas Till; financed and produced elevated genre pictures including “The Perfect Weapon” starring Steven Seagal, “Altitude” starring Dolph Lundgren and Denise Richards and “PUPS ALONE” starring Dolph Lundgren, Jennifer Love-Hewitt, Rob Schneider, Keith David, Nick Tuturro which was released by Paramount in Nov, 2020

Courtney attended the University of Pennsylvania and subsequently studied Filmmaking and Direction at NYU’s Tisch School for the Arts. She is a former National Chess Champion, Top 50 Women’s Chess Player, Visiting Committee Member of Hematologic Oncology at the Dana Farber Institute, Platinum Member of New York Women in Film & Television, Member of the Producers’ Council of the Producers Guild of America and proud mother to her son.

Renegade participates annually in charitable giving to institutions who directly participate in “research to bedside” care for children with cancer and vulnerable children in high conflict zones.

Follow Renegade on IG @WeAreRenegades. “Character is Revealed in a Storm.”

MrMoe
Founder and NFT Collector
RoyaltyBits

Maurice is a Grammy Award Winning Technical Engineer and Music Producer who, in 2015, positioned himself as the blockchain advocate for the entertainment sector.

A year earlier, Maurice began exploring blockchain technology and the impact on intellectual property; and became a Keynote Speaker on content & data. In that same year, he joined the Winston Baker team to produce Entertainment Finance Conferences around the world with one of the goals to increase awareness of blockchain applications, and to help bridge the next generation of companies focused on intellectual property and Digital Assets.

In 2016, he served as a producer with Winston Baker and helped launched the China/US Motion Picture Summit with former Chairman of Walt Disney Studios, Dick Cook and a stellar line up of keynote speakers which included; The President of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Academy Award Winner, Alfonso Cuaron, and Award Winning Disney Producer, Don Han. The summit ending in a $500 Million entertainment partnership with China’s Film Carnival and Dick Cook Studios as reported by Variety. Today, Maurice manages a network of 300+ active digital asset investors on the Bleeding Crypto Discord Group focusing on Digital Assets and continues to be a catalyst for evangelising the impact blockchain technology will have on fundamental industries such as art, finance, gaming and more. He has been at the helm of establishing Crypto Workshops with some of the leading blockchain projects such as: ENJIN, SingularDTV, and with social media influencers like Omar Bham (YouTube/Crypt0News). His Blockchain Keynotes at Entertainment Finance Forum in Los Angeles and at Content Capital in New York City have inspired producers to begin using the blockchain for their projects.

ADHRUCIA APANA
Executive Producer/Producer and Co-Founder
Curiosity Entertainment and GP of Curiosity Media Finance

Adhrucia Apana is an Executive Producer/Producer and Co-Founder of the new production company Curiosity Entertainment and a GP of Curiosity Media Finance. Curiosity Entertainment is currently in development and pre-production of their inaugural slate including 5 films and 6 premium tv shows. Their year kicks off with co-productions from famed television creators Mark Williams (Ozark) and Kevin Fox (Law and Order SVU, Lie to Me, Raising Kanan) and director Nimrod Antal’s (Predators) next feature currently named “Max”.     She has spent the last 8 years as an Executive in Entertainment supporting over 30 film and television shows. Her latest position was with CWM supporting BRON studios producers of “Bombshell” and “Joker” and this year her films as an Executive Producer include “Capone” starring Tom Hardy, “Harry Haft” starring Ben Foster and directed by Barry Levinson, and “Needle” starring Cynthia Ervo, Leslie Odom Jr, Orlando Bloom, and Freida Pinto-directed by John Ridley.   Adhrucia is an active member of the diversity initiative lovingly called “Stone Soup” started by Rotten Tomatoes founder Patrick Lee and the Goldhouse Initiative focused on elevating Asian and South Asian voices in the Entertainment Industry and beyond, and has served or been an advocate and volunteer for Los Angeles based non-profits Young Storytellers and Project Paper Bag.    She is a founding member of the Producers Guild of America’s Social Impact in Entertainment (SIE) board.

JORDAN YALE LEVINE
Partner
Yale Productions

Yale Entertainment is the parent company of Yale Productions, the independent company led by partners Jordan Yale Levine and Jordan Beckerman.  Underpinned by over 30 years of collective experience in the film industry, the production arm specializes in high-quality, filmmaker-driven projects with responsible budgets in order to maximize the creative and commercial success. Since partnering in 2017, Yale has produced or executive produced over 25 films and has financed a range of budgets totaling more than $100MM.

Yale recently launched an international film sales and distribution company, Great Escape, to represent their rapidly growing slate of in-house titles in addition to select third party content. In addition to Lafayette Pictures, alongside director/actor Katie Holmes, which is in post-production on two features which Holmes directed and starred in – Alone Together, with Jim Sturgess and Melissa Leo, and Rare Objects with Derek Luke and Alan Cumming.

The group was one of the first production companies to commence production following the outbreak of Covid in 2020, and has been safely and successfully producing films on a consistent basis since then. Recent successes include: Becky, starring Lulu Wilson and Kevin James, which was released in June 2020 and became the #1 grossing movie at the box office; Joe Penna’s Stowaway starring Anna Kendrick and Toni Collette which was released by Netflix; and Separation with Rupert Friend, Brian Cox and Madeline Brewer for Open Road.

CLAUDIA BLUEMHUBER
CEO/Executive Producer
Silver Reel

Claudia has produced and executive produced, among others, the Oscar nominated feature film and Golden Globe winner THE WIFE as well as Oscar nominated animation feature LOVING VINCENT.  She also served as an Executive Producer on the drama series THE LUMINARIES which scored the 2nd-highest launch for a BBC One drama in Summer 2020 and won 8 NZ TV Awards. One of the first shows Claudia developed was the Emmy nominated MOST DANGEROUS GAME. Initially a Silver Reel feature, Claudia brought Nick Santora on to develop the story into a short-form format which premiered at Quibi’s launch, and has picked up two Emmy nominations. The show was recently renewed for season two at ROKU. As Executive Producer, showrunner, writer and director Claudia has multiple series in development including a multi-season TV series with HBO and STX Entertainment and a TV series with the BBC. Beyond her TV work, Claudia is one of the industry’s most prolific female producers with over 40 international independent films over the course of 12 years. PARADISE HIGHWAY starring Juliette Binoche and Morgan Freeman was shot last summer and is set to be released in 2022. Films such as THE WIFE, LOVING VINCENT, THE RAILWAY MAN, UNDER THE SKIN and EYE IN THE SKY are part of her producing portfolio. Claudia has been Silver Reel’s CEO since 2009.

JORDAN BECKERMAN
Partner
Yale Productions

Yale Entertainment is the parent company of Yale Productions, the independent company led by partners Jordan Yale Levine and Jordan Beckerman.  Underpinned by over 30 years of collective experience in the film industry, the production arm specializes in high-quality, filmmaker-driven projects with responsible budgets in order to maximize the creative and commercial success. Since partnering in 2017, Yale has produced or executive produced over 25 films and has financed a range of budgets totaling more than $100MM.

Yale recently launched an international film sales and distribution company, Great Escape, to represent their rapidly growing slate of in-house titles in addition to select third party content. In addition to Lafayette Pictures, alongside director/actor Katie Holmes, which is in post-production on two features which Holmes directed and starred in – Alone Together, with Jim Sturgess and Melissa Leo, and Rare Objects with Derek Luke and Alan Cumming.

The group was one of the first production companies to commence production following the outbreak of Covid in 2020, and has been safely and successfully producing films on a consistent basis since then. Recent successes include: Becky, starring Lulu Wilson and Kevin James, which was released in June 2020 and became the #1 grossing movie at the box office; Joe Penna’s Stowaway starring Anna Kendrick and Toni Collette which was released by Netflix; and Separation with Rupert Friend, Brian Cox and Madeline Brewer for Open Road.

ZACH GARRETT
Vice President of Acquistions & Production
AGC Studios

Zach Garrett is AGC Studios’ Vice President of Acquisitions & Production where he sources materials across all of the company’s film divisions and looks after the packaging, budgeting, and production of the slate.  Prior to AGC Garrett was a coordinator at Broad Green, and previously was a Manager at EuropaCorp.  Some of the titles Garrett helped acquire at those companies include Old Man and the Gun, Their Finest, and A Walk in the Woods. Garrett began his career in physical production but switched to the acquisitions side of the business at eOne Entertainment.

STEVEN BERNSTEIN
Screenwriter/Director

Steven Bernstein wrote and directed his recently released film, LAST CALL, which stars John Malkovich and Rhys Ifans. Previously, he directed the award-winning Decoding Annie Parker, also from his script, which starred Samantha Morton and Helen Hunt. 
He has been commissioned to write multiple projects going into production next year: a TV series being shot in Greece, a feature film being shot in Spain, and another series being shot in the UK, France, and India. He is currently in pre-production on an independent film in the US that he wrote and will also direct.  He has a new book coming out in the Spring called Film Production: A Filmmaker’s Guide to the Creative Process to be published by Routledge, who also published his last book. He writes for several magazines and is frequently invited to give lectures on his extensive background in film. 
Before he was a screenwriter and director, he was a cinematographer, shooting the Oscar-winning Monster. He was an ASC nominee for his work on Magic City and a Sloane Award winner for his directing. He has worked in motion pictures and television for over 30 years and has worked on over 50 feature films.
Having worked as a screenwriter, director, producer, and cinematographer, he is a member of the ASC, DGA, and WGA and has evolved a singular perspective on the filmmaking process.

LEIF LILLEHAUGEN
Partner and Head of Development
Curiosity Entertainment

 Leif Lillehaugen has over fifteen years of experience in television development and packaging experience with acquisitions of numerous A-List intellectual properties.  Leif’s mission for Curiosity is to develop and produce grounded-genre projects for an international audience. This includes a 2021-2022 slate of ground-breaking television projects with A-List creators like Mark Williams (OZARK), Rob Weiss (BALLERS, ENTOURAGE) and Kevin Fox (LAW & ORDER: SVU, RAISING KANAN), as well as many film projects in development.

In his prior roles Leif ran the television side of Endgame Entertainment, a financing and production company, setting up five television shows. As Vice President, Television at Demarest Films, Leif brought in and shepherded the Golden Globe winning AMC/BBC production of THE NIGHT MANAGER. Prior to Demarest Films, Leif ran scripted TV development for four years for Morgan Freeman’s Revelations Entertainment. There he directed the development team that set up eight television shows including CBS’s MADAM SECRETARY, and the Emmy-nominated THROUGH THE WORMHOLE for Discovery Science.

Leif spent two years at Creative Artists Agency where he helped package the films RED with Bruce Willis and the Academy Award winning THE KING’S SPEECH. Prior to CAA, Leif worked in development at Humble Journey Films where he helped set up six television shows at CBS.  He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota.

ADAM BARTH
Director of Co-productions, Acquisitions, and Development
Eccho Points

I began his career with New Media Vision, a bespoke production/distribution company based in the UK where I oversaw the commercial aspects of the format adaptation of THE MYSTERIES OF LAURA for Boomerang TV with Warner Bros. and NBC.  Additionally, I was NMV’s Executive Producer on ZOLTAN THE WOLFMAN for Animal Planet.  

From there, I joined NENT Studios UK (formerly DRG) as a Sales Manager and was quickly elevated to SVP EMEA before being named Commercial Director with responsibility for NSUK’s commercial interests in scripted & unscripted co-productions.  As Commercial Director, I successfully set up co-productions for CLOSE TO ME (starring Connie Nielsen & Christopher Eccleston, for Channel 4 & Viaplay),  THE HOLIDAY (starring Jill Halfpenny for Channel 5), and MANSON’S BLOOD LINE (for Reelz and Viaplay). 

More recently I have joined Eccho Rights as Director of Co-productions, Acquisitions, and Development.   My role is to find collaborative & creative ways of working with Eccho’s production partners in Western Europe and the English-speaking world as well as working with the team to find new projects to distribute worldwide.

JEREMY KAY
US Editor
Screen Daily

Jeremy Kay is Americas editor of the international trade publication Screendaily. He typically travels to the major markets and festivals on the calendar, and in the last two years has enjoyed reducing his carbon footprint by doing it all from his home office in Los Angeles. Besides focusing on the independent business, festivals and markets, Kay reports on production and financing, streamer and studio activity, the Canadian and Latin American film industries, and awards season.

PROGRAM:

10:00am-10:05am PT

WELCOMING ADDRESS 

Amy Baker, CEO and Co-Founder, Winston Baker

10:05am-10:45am PT

STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

As the powerhouse streamers continue to grow and diversify their repertoire, what does this mean for the traditional studios? Theatrical releases are in full effect around the world, but how does this continued expansion of easily accessible streaming services on devices affect the future of the traditional theatrical releases…will it ever be the same again?

We will touch on the big shift in the definition of “Independent” and how the budgets have skyrocketed. We can thank the streamers for allowing more people to engage with Documentaries, Films and Series…especially international local language content!

Panelists: 

Claudia Bluemhuber, CEO and Managing Partner, Silver Reel Partners

Jordan Yale Levine, Partner, Yale Productions

Jordan Beckerman, Partner, Yale Productions

Moderated by:

Amy Baker, CEO and Co-Founder, Winston Baker

10:45am-11:15am PT

FIRESIDE CHAT: THOMAS JANE & COURTNEY LAUREN PENN

Hear from the people behind films such as “The Last Son”, “Slayers”, “Murder at Emigrant Gulch” and many more. Jane and Penn will also discuss their upcoming Amazon and IMDb TV’s Crime Drama “Troppo” and currently in development is a film adaptation of Stephen King’s “From a Buick 8”. Jane’s extensive credits include the Amazon Prime hit series “The Expanse,” HBO’s “Hung,” and films such as “The Predator,” “The Punisher,” and “Dark Country,” which he wrote and directed. Penn is a highly sought-after independent producer with credits such as “Gallowwalkers,” “Altitude,” and “Dark Hearts.”

Thomas Jane, Co-Founder, Renegade Entertainment

Courtney Lauren Penn, Co-Founder, Renegade Entertainment

Moderated by:

Jeremy Kay, US Editor, Screen Daily

11:15am-12:00pm PT

SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN FINANCIERS AND CREATIVES

Hear from the Co-Founders of Curiosity Entertainment (Madame Secretary, The Night Manager, Needle in a Timestack, Capone, Let Go, The Card Counter and more) as they discuss with their guests, the connection between financiers and creatives on a project, and how to understand all aspects of a production.

Co-Moderators:

Adhrucia Apana, Executive Producer/Producer and Co-Founder, Curiosity Entertainment
Leif Lillehaugen, Head of Development, Curiosity Entertainment

Panelists:

Steven Bernstein, Screenwriter and Director 
Adam Barth, Founder/Head of Production, Eccho Rights

Zach Garrett, Vice President of Acquistions and Production,  AGC Studios

12:00pm-12:30pm PT

ROYALTIES DISRUPTED: NFTS AND THE RISE OF CREATOR ECONOMIES

In this informative session attendees will learn about the fundamentals of NFTs, understand what exactly a Metaverse is, and how Royalties from smart contracts empower Creator Economies.

MrMoe, Founder and NFT Collector, RoyaltyBits

12:30 – 1:00 pm PT

FIRESIDE CHAT: PATRICK LEE & YAT SIU

This discussion will address the different markets that NFT/s are touching including; Gaming, Film, Television, Music with a focus on the Animoca Brands. Patrick and Yat will discuss the Metaverse (Sandbox etc.) how this works for Film. Another highlight will be exploring the Network Effects… and how this is Created by Community.

Patrick Lee, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, PKO Investments

Yat Siu, Co-Founder, Animoca Brands

FORUM CONCLUDES…and the Bonus Workshop Begins!

1:00pm – 2:00pm PT

BONUS SESSION WITH MRMOE

How to Buy a NFT Asset

MrMoe, Founder and NFT Collector, RoyaltyBits

HOSTED BY:

Amy Baker
CEo and co-founder
WINSTON | BAKER

As Co-Founder and CEO of WINSTON | BAKER, Amy Baker oversees the company’s global strategic planning, editorial programming, event production, business development and vendor relationships. Amy co-founded the FILM FINANCE FORUM® SERIES, a series of conferences across the globe dedicated to bringing film and finance executives together.

Prior to establishing Winston Baker, she successfully directed B2B and B2C business development efforts for over 10 years by leveraging innovative sponsorship methods to engage business professionals. At ALM, as Vice President of Business Development, she provided finance executives and marketers with targeted channels for reaching decision-makers within the legal, entertainment, healthcare and tech sectors. In her previous position, Director of Business Development at RPMC, she worked with entertainment, music, and sports companies, creating event marketing programs, travel incentive services, sweepstakes, and media promotions.

Amy received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with honors from New York University and is proud to be a member of the National Board of Advisors for the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.
Amy is also a Certified COVID-19 Compliance Officer.

For more information please email: