The ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York and the ReelAbilities Industry Summit are excited to offer a select group of filmmakers the opportunity to participate in one-on-one meetings with top film industry professionals.

To request a meeting, choose the expert you wish to meet with, click REQUEST A MEETING, and select an available time in their calendar. A ReelAbilities representative will follow up shortly to confirm your appointment.

Meetings will be held on Monday, April 27, between 9am and 12pm, in person, at JCC Manhattan.
Each meeting will last up to 20 minutes, and availability is limited. Requests will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis while slots remain open or until April 23rd.

Ainè Henderson, is the Series Producer of the award-winning documentary series Independent Lens and a Supervising Producer at ITVS. Ainè's expertise spans documentary production, story consultation, program development, digital & public media distribution, as well as reality television. Her versatile background illuminates her commitment to captivating storytelling and amplifying complex lived experiences, diverse voices and creative production.  Formerly, she was the series producer of the award-winning documentary series, Truly CA: Our State, Our Stories from KQED. 

ASK ME ABOUT: 
Accessibility, Pitching prep, Production, Public Media

Cassidy Dimon is the Executive Director of FWD-Doc a global, intersectional community of over 1200 disabled creators and allies working in media to build a more inclusive, accessible, and equitable entertainment industry. They are the founder of the Film Event Accessibility Working Group (FEAW), helping film exhibitors execute accessible film events/festivals. She is also one of the creators of the groundbreaking Film Event Accessibility Scorecard. Cassidy was recently selected as one of ten Leaders for a New Chicago 2024 by the Field and MacArthur Foundations. 

ASK ME ABOUT: 
Disability representation, Accessibility, Impact campaign

An advocate manifesting change in how the real world is reflected in media, Danielle serves as co-VP, Advocacy for the Casting Society.   She opened her own casting office in 2022, following over 14 years in casting at Nickelodeon. She is actively casting theatre, commercials, podcasts, and film, including the upcoming Deaf led feature film, The Flash Before the Bang.   Some recent favorite credits: Patrice (Hulu), Wonder Pets: Into the City (Apple), Pulse (Netflix), the Inevitable Foundation’s Visionary Fellowship for disabled creators (sponsored by Netflix).

ASK ME ABOUT: 
Disability representation, Casting

Kathy Susca is the Director of Content and Operations for The Film Collaborative, coordinating operations for their festival and non-theatrical distribution program. She served as the editor of How Not to Sign a Film Contract: Know What You’re Saying Yes To, and recently joined the Board of Directors of the Film Festival Alliance. She was the founding Director of Operations for the diversity initiative the Jane Bolin Project and consulted on the joint USC/Shoah Foundation film-based project Teaching Genocide Through Media. She studied film at USC and NYU.

ASK ME ABOUT: 
Marketing / Distribution strategy, Festival strategy

Kendra Hodgson is the Managing Director at Women Make Movies. She has been working in film distribution and promotion, as well as nonprofit strategy and management, for the past two and a half decades. She has served as a member of the Gotham Expanding Communities Advisory Committee and a mentor in the Gotham Film Lab and the Firelight Documentary Lab. And she frequently consults with filmmakers and distributors about impact distribution, technology, and marketing strategy and sits on festival juries and Gotham Award selection committees.

ASK ME ABOUT:
Pitching prep, Marketing / Distribution strategy, Impact campaign, Financing (Fundraising/grants)

Robert Y. Chang serves as juror, screener, programmer, panelist, and reviewer for a range of film festivals, foundations, and funders of the arts. Robert received his PhD in Cultural Anthropology with research on the intersection of religion and media. As a filmmaker, Robert's work has screened worldwide and is distributed by Documentary Educational Resources (DER). Robert also serves on the steering committee of the Asian-American Documentary Network (A-Doc), and a member of the PGA, the Television Academy, and NLGJA.

ASK ME ABOUT: 
Pitching prep, Production, Marketing / Distribution strategy

Sarah Napoli is the Learning Services Director at the Disability & Philanthropy Forum. From 2019–2023, she served as Lead Disability Inclusion Project Officer on the Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity team at Open Society Foundations. She brings over 25 years of experience teaching and training on social justice and advocacy, and holds two MA degrees in social justice in intercultural relations and applied human rights. A proud disabled person, she enjoys geek culture and was formerly a hip hop researcher and dancer, with training experience across the U.S. and globally.

ASK ME ABOUT: 
Disability representation, Accessibility, Financing, Philanthropy Landscape