Consultant Bios: Doctor’s Hours for Filmmakers, June 26

Register here for Doctor’s Hours after 11:00 AM EST on June 12.

These bios provide an opportunity for you to research which consultants would be appropriate for the advice and feedback you are seeking.

Adella Ladjevardi, Grantwriting, fundraising

Adella is the Grants Manager at Cinereach, a not-for-profit film production company and foundation that champions vital stories, artfully told. Before joining the Cinereach team, Adella was the Associate Producer of My Neighbor, My Killer, a documentary feature by Emmy-award winner Anne Aghion that premiered at Cannes in 2009. She was also the Associate Producer of Jennifer Fox’s documentary feature My Reincarnation, which aired on the PBS Series P.O.V. in 2012 and was nominated for an Emmy in 2013. In addition, she worked on Fox’s documentary mini-series Flying: Confessions Of A Free Woman, which aired on the Sundance Channel, BBC Storyville and SBS. Prior to working with Fox at Zohe Films, Adella worked in marketing and publicity at Icarus Films, an established documentary film distributor. She is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design.

Jason Leaf, Fiction, nonfiction, trailers, distribution, marketing

Jason Leaf has over a decade of experience acquiring and theatrically releasing feature films in North America. Currently VP of Theatrical Sales at Variance Films and President of Avatar Films (both based in New York City), Jason also personally edited 25 film trailers and has overseen the marketing campaigns for over 50 titles. He previously was Manager of Theatrical Sales at Kino Lorber. www.avatarfilms.com, www.variancefilms.com.

Hellura Lyle, Festivals, exhibition


Hellura Lyle is an independent documentary film programmer based in Harlem. Hellura has twenty years of experience working as a production manager, production coordinator and script Supervisor for numerous music videos and commercials (Boys II Men, Craig Mack , Vibe Magazine, Chrysler, Nintendo). As a freelancer, she has produced and directed corporate videos (Harlem Hospital, Citizens Conservation Corps of West Virginia), as well as, a short film documenting a yoga teachers’ training in Ghana, West Africa. She has also worked as a casting producer and field producer in reality television (TV One’s Family Reunion), as a Freelance Producer(BET’s Exalted), and as a Researcher for several documentary films that have sadly never seen the light of day. In 2008, she transitioned into programming when she became Maysles Cinema’s first independent film program partner and launched the community-based documentary film series, Doc Watchers. Now in its seventh year, the series offers a challenging and sometimes quirky examination of the human experience through its monthly film screenings and receptions. In addition to Doc Watchers, she has also been a regular consultant for the annual New York African Film Festival (NYAFF) that is presented in partnership with Film Society of Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Maysles Cinema.

Michelle Materre, Marketing, distribution, exhibition, fundraising

Michelle Materre is an independent media consultant with twenty-five years of experience in the film industry, advising filmmakers and organizations on fundraising, distribution, marketing, and exhibition. Her clients include filmmakers Shola Lynch (Free Angela and All Political Prisoners), Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Detropia), Stanley Nelson (Freedom Summer), Thomas Allen Harris (Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela) and many others, as well as Third World Newsreel and Channel Thirteen. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Women Make Movies and former board member of NY Women in Film and Television. Michelle curates Creatively Speaking, a film series in its 18th year. She is an Assistant Professor of Media Studies and Film at The New School. www.creativelyspeaking.tv

Jennifer MacArthur, Audience engagement, social issue documentary, transmedia

Jennifer MacArthur is a multiplatform communications and engagement strategist. Her company Borderline Media focuses on Social issue documentary and civic engagement. Projects include HBO’s Gideon’s Army, the transmedia project Sandy Storyline, the ITVS social TV platform OVEE, the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism’s 2011 Global Film Series, and POV’s Traces of the Trade. Jennifer’s background spans over 15 years working in radio, film and TV, publishing and the web. Prior to founding Borderline Media, she produced NPR’s StoryCorps Griot mobile tour in partnership with the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian. She also has held positions at the National Center for Media Engagement, Link TV, Scholastic Entertainment and Village Voice Media. http://borderlinemedia.net

Jose Rodriguez, Nonfiction, fiction, fundraising & grant applications, festivals

Jose F. Rodriguez is the Manager for Documentary Programming at the Tribeca Film Institute, which encompasses: the Tribeca All Access Program, the TFI Documentary Fund, the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund and the TFI Latin America Media Arts Fund. A native of Puerto Rico, he grew up with a passion for movies that led him to Syracuse University, where he wrote a feature script and directed two shorts. After interning as an assistant to producer Amy Hobby, he settled in New York City and became a script/book reader for Overture Films while also working on Tze Chun’s Children of Invention and the documentary Poor Consuelo Conquers the World. He also maintains a blog about daily NYC life & film. www.tribecafilminstitute.org

Reid Rosefelt, Social media, marketing, publicity

Publicist and film marketer Reid Rosefelt’s credits include “Stranger Than Paradise,” “Desperately Seeking Susan,” “High Art,” “All About My Mother,” “Central Station,” “Pollock,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” and “Precious.” His personal clients have included Errol Morris, Ally Sheedy, Adrienne Shelly, Harvey Keitel, Cynthia Nixon, IFC, and the Sundance Institute. Rosefelt is a consultant to Magnet Media, a production company that offers interactive marketing services to such clients as Dreamworks Animation, NBC, and Showtime. His Pinterest board Social Media for Filmmakers was listed #1 on Indiewire’s list of “10 Pinterest Boards Filmmakers Should be Following.” He is a regular contributor to Ted Hope’s “Truly Free Films” website and has his own blog Social Media for Filmmakers & Artists at www.reidrosefelt.com.

Linzee Troubh, Fiction, nonfiction, digital distribution, sales

Linzee Troubh is the Head of Sales at Cinetic Media, the preeminent independent film sales company in North America. Prior to joining Cinetic in 2010, Linzee worked in operations at the Tribeca Film Center. At Cinetic, Linzee is responsible for securing distribution for approximately 50 films every year, including favorites from Sundance, TIFF, SXSW and the Tribeca Film Festival. Some recent projects include After Tiller, Compliance, A Band Called Death, Venus and Serena, Downloaded and Short Term 12. In addition to working in the theatrical space, Linzee specializes in broadcast and digital sales for Cinetic films. Linzee also works for Cinetic’s distribution arm, Producer’s Distribution Agency (PDA) and has helped with the release of Exit Through the Gift Shop, Senna, The Way, and most recently, Brooklyn Castle. www.cineticmedia.com

Chris White: Preparing work for television, website content, trailers and editing

Chris White is the Vice President of Programming & Production at POV, the PBS showcase for independent non-fiction film. He helps curate the series, oversees delivery requirements, produces and edits on-air content and short-form content streamed on the POV website, and he often works with filmmakers to cut down and re-structure their films for broadcast. As a freelance editor his recent projects include films on architects Daniel Libeskind, Ray Kappe and Rick Joy, and trailers for works-in-progress such as “Strong Island” by Yance Ford, and “The New Black” by Yoruba Richen. www.pbs.org/pov