"Independent Producing 101" Virtual Masterclass Recap

Last week we held another installment of our Virtual Masterclass series titled “Independent Producing 101” taught by award-winning producers and WFF alumni Mollye Asher and Mynette Louie.

Mollye recently won an Academy Award for her work on Chloé Zhao’s NOMADLAND, which was the official Closing Night Film for the 2020 Woodstock Film Festival. Mynette, a two-time Spirit Award winner, produced Heidi Ewing’s narrative debut I CARRY YOU WITH ME, which also screened as part of our 2020 lineup. Mollye and Mynette’s join credits include Carlo Mirabella-Davis’ critically-acclaimed thriller SWALLOW, which took home the Maverick Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2019 Woodstock Film Festival.

After introducing themselves, the instructors dove into the nuts and bolts of producing independent features covering topics like securing financing, locking down a script for production, coordinating rough cut screenings, being strategic with your film festival premieres and the importance of using film stills to generate publicity. The presentation was bookended by a message to the next generation of producers about their responsibility for creating a non-toxic working environment so everyone on a project can creatively thrive.

"Mynette Louie and Mollye Asher were incredibly generous with the knowledge from their experiences in the film industry,” said attendee Justin Saint Cyr. "They were forthright about navigating their respective careers and their [m]asterclass was invaluable.”

We really wish we could clone Mollye and Mynette,” said attendees and filmmakers Kevin Pontuti and Alexandra Loreth. “They are just the sort of producers that we all need right now. They are SO giving to the film community and are beacons for so many upcoming filmmakers. We can’t thank them enough for their contributions across all levels of the industry.”

If you want to learn more about our ongoing Virtual Masterclass series, feel free to sign up for our e-newsletter and follow us on social media. Thank you to everyone who attended!