2026 SEEfest Industry

INCUBATOR FOR FILMMAKERS AND STORYTELLERS

SEEfest Project Accelerator is an opportunity for filmmakers to present their projects in development. Up to twelve chosen artists are invited to virtual and in-person workshops hosted by industry experts. Some of the topics covered are perfecting the logline, marketing, pitching, target audience, streaming, technology, and entertainment law.

Chris Fink
Christopher Fink is a writer, director and producer, a member of the Writer’s Guild of America, having written films and television projects for companies including Disney Studios and Paramount Pictures. He has written, produced and directed two feature films, Moving August and None, as well as commercials, an award-winning political ad, and promotional trailers for film and tv projects.

While exploring Louisiana for a film production, Christopher discovered a need for infrastructure and co-founded Louisiana’s largest movie studio complex and first Hollywood-class motion picture studio, the $60 million, 23-acre Celtic Studios. In the process, he also gained valuable knowledge about the workings of tax credit programs both in the U.S. and internationally, worked with state and local officials in Louisiana including the Lieutenant Governor and the Mayor of Baton Rouge and one of his proposals was passed by the Louisiana state legislature in an update to Louisiana’s tax
credit law.

A regular attendee at major film festivals and markets including the Cannes Film Festival,
Christopher is very knowledgeable about film finance, sales and marketing of films and
international co-production.

He was selected as Mission Leader for an international film mission to Beijing, China to explore coproduction, serves annually as a mentor for a filmmaker’s workshop at SEEfest and worked on the WGA Constitutional committee, drafting a successful revision to enhance open elections.

He can be contacted by email at [email protected] and by phone at 818-501-7663.

Alexia Melocchi
**Alexia Melocchi** is an international film producer, distributor, author, and strategic consultant with over **30 years of hands-on experience in worldwide film distribution**—on **both sides of the table** as a buyer and a seller.

She has acquired, sold, and positioned films across **North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia**, navigating the realities of global markets, cultural nuance, and commercial viability long before “global appeal” became a buzzword. As co-founder of **Little Studio Films**, one of the earliest women-owned international sales companies, Alexia helped bridge independent creators with major distributors, broadcasters, and platforms worldwide.

Fluent in **six languages**, Alexia is known for her rare ability to **translate creative vision into market-ready positioning**, tailoring pitches to resonate with buyers, financiers, and producers across different territories and business cultures. Her approach goes beyond theory—it is rooted in decades of real negotiations, market floors, and deal-making at the highest levels.

Through her **Pitching & Global Producer Appeal Masterclasses**, Alexia teaches filmmakers, producers, and entrepreneurs how to **package, present, and communicate projects with clarity, confidence, and cross-border intelligence**—aligning story, strategy, and commercial reality so ideas don’t just sound good, but actually sell.

She is also the author of *An Insider’s Secret: Mastering the Hollywood Path* and host of the top-rated podcast *The Heart of Show Business*, where she continues to mentor the next generation of global storytellers and deal-makers.

Andrei Zinca
Andrei Zincă studied Film and TV Photography in Romania, and Directing and Film Production at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. Before leaving Romania in 1982, Mr. Zincă worked as a Cameraman for eight feature films, produced at Buftea Film Studios, and produced, wrote and directed for Romanian Television “We, the people”, a travel documentary series, that brought him an award from the Union of Romanian Filmmakers (UCIN) for best documentary series. Outside Romania, his debut as a Director/Producer occurred in 1987, with “Rosa de America”, a six-hour period TV mini-series shot in Peru. In 1988, Mr. Zincă moved to the U.S., where he established himself as a leading Director/Producer for the TV Hispanic markets in the U.S. and Latin America, with more than 1500 hours of scripted television under his belt. In 1991, he was nominated for an Emmy Regional Award for “Conversaciones en el Vaticano”, a Special Program about Pope John-Paul II and the Vatican, which he directed and co-produced. In 2006, Mr. Zincă returned to Romania as a Line Producer for the feature film “Mirrors”, starring Keifer Southerland, directed by Alexandre Aja, a New Regency/20th Century Fox production. He also directed “La Urgență”, a local version of ER, winner of UCIN (the Romanian Association of Filmmakers) and APTR (the Romanian Association of TV Professionals) Awards for Best Series 2006. In 2013, he co-produced, directed, and co-wrote “Puzzle for a Blind Man”, his first theatrical feature, shot entirely in Romania and post-produced in the US. The US-Romania co-production was awarded for best picture, script, lead actors, and photography at various independent film festivals in the US, and was distributed by Netflix in Europe, and by various streamers in the US. The same co-production formula was applied to his second feature film, “So, What’s Freedom?”, inspired in a short novel by world-renowned Ana Blandiana. The film won the Audience Choice Award for Best Romanian movie at TIFF Cluj-Napoca 2020, as well as other Audience Choice Awards and Special Jury Mentions, at festivals in the US. The movie was distributed in Europe by HBO. In 2023, Mr. Zincă premiered his first production of a feature documentary, shot entirely in South Africa. After its World premiere at Thessaloniki Documentary Festival where it won three awards, “Who I Am Not” had its N. American premiere at SXSW, followed so far by selections in 67 international festivals, with 20 wins. The movie was shortlisted by The European Film Academy for Best Documentary, and in the US, was picked by the prestigious PBS/POV for its 2024-2025 slate. Mr. Zincă is the co-founder and CEO of Voxx Studios, a Los Angeles based audio post-production studio.

Carol Contes

Carol T. Contes is a transactional entertainment attorney who has practiced both in Hollywood and the Silicon Valley. Carol began her career in business affairs at International Creative Management in Los Angeles and has worked ‘in-house’ at other prominent companies including the ABC Television Network, Paramount Television and Electronic Arts. Ms.Contes has her own film and is associated with the Guzman Law Group where she heads the entertainment group representing celebrity estates. Carol’s clientele includes the creators and producers of Broadway stage plays, animated films, streaming television projects and motion pictures produced and distributed in all media throughout the world.

Jacques Thelemaque
In 1993, Jacques co-founded Filmmakers Alliance. As President, he built the grassroots collective into an important independent filmmaking community and resource organization with films screening at every major festival in the world. He’s overseen the production of hundreds of films and developed a wide range of innovative and dynamic filmmaking support programs.

In 2004, Jacques and partner Liam Finn formed FA Productions and in 2005, he was named Chief Community Officer of the festival submission/filmmaker support site, Withoutabox.com.

Jacques has written, directed and produced numerous feature films, shorts, and even commercials, playing in premiere festivals – and winning prestigious awards – around the world, including The Sundance Film Festival and The Berlinale.

Jacques has hosted many seminars and workshops and served as a guest lecturer or invited speaker for many film schools, film organizations and film festivals. Jacques has also been a board member, programmer and juror at numerous film festivals. He was an Associate Programmer for the Los Angeles Film Festival from 2011 until it’s end in 2018. He is currently building a new short film streaming platform called BURP, which will launch beta phase in early 2027.

Valentina Ganeva
Born in Bulgaria, Valentina B. Ganeva is a graduate of the National Academy for
Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia. She holds a BA degree in Film History and Theory
and established herself as a freelance journalist for major Bulgarian publications.
After relocating to Los Angeles, Valentina became an executive producer and co-
owner of Murex Films, Inc., a Santa Monica-based post-production house. During
her tenure, she also built an extensive resume as an editor.

Her lifelong interest in art, architecture and design merged with her expertise in
video production, culminated in her directorial debut, *“Schindler Space Architect”*.
This revelatory documentary – narrated by Meryl Streep and Udo Kier – features
renowned architects Frank Gehry, Steven Holl and Thom Mayne, among others.
The film explores the life and work of Austrian-born radical architect and bohemian
Rudolph M. Schindler, whose visionary designs shaped modern architecture, even
as his legacy remained in the shadows.

Since its premiere at the Architecture and Design Film Festival in New York, the film
has garnered global recognition and won several prestigious awards. The
documentary qualified for the Best Documentary Feature category at the 98th
Academy Awards in 2026 and had a limited theatrical release at Laemmle’s Monica
Film Center in Los Angeles. Valentina served as the film’s writer, producer, director,
editor, and lead researcher.

Hans-Martin Liebing
Hans is a European film and television producer and screenwriter whose work spans North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. His projects have received international awards, been theatrically released and broadcast worldwide, and acquired by major streaming platforms including Netflix, Peacock, and Amazon Prime.

He has served on numerous film festival juries, including SEEfest, Cine Las Americas, the Newport Beach Film Festival, deadCenter Film Festival, and SXSW, and as a judge for the News and Documentary Emmy Awards and Kling AI’s global video competition. He is a member of the European Film Academy and the Television Academy.

At SEEfest, he co-founded the SEEfest Project Accelerator and the Global Film Business Breakfast Series, an international industry platform connecting filmmakers, executives, and global decision-makers.

As CEO of a European development and production company, he has produced and co-produced projects with award-winning directors, including internationally recognized documentaries and feature film co-productions.
He has held senior development roles in both the U.S. and Europe, where he worked on studio-produced feature films and internationally financed co-productions for the global market.

Hans serves on the faculty of UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, where he teaches film and television development across domestic and global markets, scripted and unscripted series development for streaming platforms, and courses in entertainment industry strategy and entertainment economics, incorporating emerging technologies such as AI and virtual production.

He holds an MFA in Film and Television Producing from UCLA and MA and PhD degrees in Film Production and Media Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.

His current slate includes international feature film co-productions, premium streaming series, and high-profile documentary projects across development, production, and post-production, along with work across emerging formats and platforms.

Marieke Oudejans

**Marieke Oudejans** is a Los Angeles–based producer with an extensive international network, working across cultures and languages. With her company, Mphasis Productions, she focuses on compelling stories from around the world.

Besides producing original content, Marieke has over 20 years of experience producing U.S.-based content for both American and international clients, including leading European film and television production companies and virtually all Dutch public and commercial broadcasters. RTL, SBS, BNNVARA, VPRO, AVRO/TROS, Endemol Shine, Talpa, NPO, Netflix NL, and Warner Bros. International are among her many repeat clients. From features to reality series and documentaries, Mphasis Productions co-develops and executes a wide range of projects across multiple platforms.

Since 2024, Marieke has served as Supervising Producer USA on the Netflix docu-series *Yolanthe*, currently in production on its second season, alongside her ongoing work across a range of international projects. In addition to her commissioned work, Marieke has produced award-winning personal projects selected for leading film festivals, including *Perfectly Normal*, which competed at SXSW and was acquired by *The New York Times*’ Op-Docs.

As an experienced entertainment consultant and journalist, Marieke can be found moderating industry events, teaching producing and development at film schools, writing for leading publications, and reporting for Dutch television and radio. Her production and project consultancy services range from deal brokering and line producing to script development, project strategy, and career counseling. She is Chair of the non-profit *Holland Hollywood Connection*, which she co-founded with the Dutch Consulate to connect European and American talent and opportunities.

Earlier in her career, Marieke held senior policy and management positions at the Dutch Immigration Department and served as Senior Press and Cultural Officer at the Dutch Consulate in Los Angeles. She holds an MFA from the Producers Program at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, where she received multiple awards, and an MA in Political Science/International Relations from the University of Amsterdam. Her background in international policy, along with the lives and stories she encountered along the way, continues to inspire and inform her creative projects.

PROJECT TITLE	GENRE	COUNTRY	AUTHOR
THE RINGS OF SATURN	Feature	Turkey	Tanju Ozdemir
LUCKY US	Feature	Kosovo / Croatia	Anita Morina
NO LAND PROMISED	Documentary	U.S. / MNE / Cyprus	Marina Ratina
70 DEGREES	Feature	Brazil	Cassio Tolpolar
FOR THE GOOD OF ALL OF US	Hybrid Feature / Documentary	U.S.	Jay Miracle
DADA A DEFIANT WITNESS	Political Feature	U.S. / Serbia	Elizabeta Betinski
THE LAST SOUL	Dystopian Feature	Greece	Charalampos Kontopanagos
BOLLYWOOD BOYFRIEND	Dramedy	U.S.	Almanya Narula
DILEMMA*	Teen Drama	Slovakia	Veronika Pastekova
CAUSE & CURE: UNKNOWN	Documentary	U.S.	Marvelous Miles
SENIORS & SENIORS	TV Series	U.S.	UCLA Film Class

INDUSTRY PANELS

Lessons From Mainstream Movie Marketing That Indie Films Can Benefit From

The speakers will share marketing strategies and how data and technology are used to attract younger audiences with fragmented attention spans, multi-platform habits and new expectations for interactive experiences.

While data-driven approaches are increasingly prevalent, curated programming, nurturing curiosity and niche audiences can still drive thoughtful theatrical-first strategies, particularly for European independent content.

Panelists will share experiences with marketing their own, or their companies’ movies, what tools and approaches they use to identify the likely/ target audience, and what lessons they’ve learned in the process.

Ioana Mischie

Ioana Mischie is a Romanian innovative artist, multi-awarded for film, virtual reality, and pioneering concepts. Her creative mission as a transmedia artist (writer/director) and futurist is blending meaningful concepts, groundbreaking technologies, and long-term social impact.

Daniel Schwarzl
Attorney **Daniel Schwarzl** LLM (WU) LLM (Stanford) is the managing partner of the law firm Fredricks, Schwarzl & von der Horst and is admitted to the bar in Austria, New York and California. He is also official trusted counsel (Vertrauensanwalt) of the Austrian Consulate General in Los Angeles.

He studied business administration and business law at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration in Austria and subsequently completed a law degree at Stanford Law School. With years of experience across multiple jurisdictions, he has built a reputation for navigating complex legal challenges with confidence and care.

He specializes in US market entry, venture capital, start-ups, and complex cases of immigration law, including dual citizenship and investment-based residence titles. His multilingual capabilities and deep understanding of both European and American legal systems enable him to serve a diverse clientele, from Silicon Valley start-ups seeking international expansion to European firms establishing a foothold in the U.S. market.

Daniel Druhora
Daniel Druhora is a Romanian-American Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, writer, and producer whose films inhabit the space where human struggle, hope, and history converge. His work often follows people navigating morally charged worlds shaped by crisis, faith, technology, and transformation.

His films include Lives Not Grades, his Emmy-winning documentary about education, purpose, and young people confronting the realities of the world beyond the classroom; Sean, about a Vietnamese-Irish rescue diver prosecuted after saving refugees from drowning in Greece; Cloudwalkers, a documentary exploring the pioneers and visionaries behind the internet and the age of AI; Frequency of Hope, a portrait of addiction recovery, motherhood, and redemption set against the stark landscape of Alaska; and Flowing Forward, a documentary series focused on water, infrastructure, and the innovators working to reshape the American future.

Druhora’s work has been distributed by PBS, Al Jazeera, RTE, Amazon, ARTE, and MUBI. He is a member of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Christine La Monte
**CHRISTINE LA MONTE** is an Oscar-nominated producer, writer/director and former studio marketing executive at Disney, Universal and Orion Pictures. As the founder and president of La Monte Productions, she develops and produces independent films with international scope and cultural impact, focusing on powerful stories at the intersection of art, music and politics. Currently under the La Monte Productions banner, she has three Italian feature documentaries: VIVA VERDI! Oscar-nominated for Best Song, is an intimate glimpse into the lives of the celebrated opera singers and musicians living out their “third act” while mentoring music students who live among them at Casa Verdi Milan, the home that Giuseppe Verdi built in 1896 – she serves as producer, p.g.a., writer and executive producer; Oscar and Donatello contender AI WEIWEI’S TURANDOT, which follows renown revolutionary artist, Ai Weiwei, in his operatic directorial debut, as he brings his artistic vision and iconoclastic activism to Puccini’s Turandot at the Rome Opera House – serving as producer on this Italian/ US Co-Production with Incipit Film and La Monte Productions; and lastly, serving as producer on the slow cinema FIGLI DEL FIUME/ CHILDREN OF THE RIVER about three men’s search for meaning along Italy’s Po River currently in post production. In development as a feature film, is legal thriller, Justice Deferred, by Len Williams with Laura Curran attached to adapt the screenplay. La Monte produced the Palm Springs International Film Festival Audience Award-winning short film, DANDELION DHARMA; the Gary Goldstein scripted play, “Three Grooms & A Bride,” and the syndicated television talk show, Marilu, starring Marilu Henner. Her directing credits include the Screen Actors Guild’s “A Heart United” with Sharon Lawrence and Jo Beth Williams, and “The Angina Monologues” with Brenda Strong. La Monte spent over 6 years at the public relations/marketing firm, Rogers and Cowan as the Executive Vice President of the Motion Picture Group; as an international strategic marketer, she worked at Italian studio, CineCittá in Rome, and served as Marketing Executive, at TV 3 New Zealand, while living in Auckland. A long-time member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, La Monte is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and the Alliance of Women Directors. She is a past faculty member of New York’s School of Visual Arts where she initiated the Dusty Awards, an annual festival of student short films and awards ceremony. On the Advisory Board of LA-based SEEfest, she is a frequent guest speaker/panelist at independent filmmaking events, including USC, UCLA and New York Film Academy; she was the Chair of the Humanitas Awards jury panel for two years. With US/Italian dual citizenship, she divides her time between Los Angeles and Rome. www.lamonteproductions.com

Alexandra Petrus
Alexandra Petrus is a PhD candidate in Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Southern California by day, and a filmmaker and game developer by night. For nearly a decade, she has worked as a motion graphics and animation artist on a wide range of projects, primarily for progressive organizations including the ACLU and PBS.

In 2020, she co-founded the Cologne-based (now Berlin-based) games studio Achtung Autobahn Studios, which specializes in social-realist games. With funding from the Film and Media Funding Board of North Rhein Westphalia, she oversaw the development of *Berlin Maniacs*, an action-adventure game set amid the escalating political tensions of the late-1960s student protest movements in West Berlin. The project was nominated for a Ubisoft Newcomer Award at the German Game Awards in 2021. Currently, Achtung Autobahn Studios is developing *13 Rosas,* a first-person horror game conceived as a virtual memorial to the thirteen young members of the Unified Socialist Youth murdered by General Franco’s regime in Spain in 1939.

These days, her work bridges scholarship and creative practice through research-based projects that explore the potentials, limitations, and inner workings of games, worldbuilding, and artificial intelligence.

CASTING WORKSHOP

New this year at SEEfest, our casting panel will offer insights, feedback on select reels, and provide live critiques (length, order, range, recommendations.)

ACCELERATOR

INCUBATOR FOR FILMMAKERS AND STORYTELLERS

Chris Fink

Alexia Melocchi

Andrei Zinca

Carol Contes

Jacques Thelemaque

Valentina Ganeva

Hans-Martin Liebing

Marieke Oudejans

INDUSTRY PANELS

Lessons From Mainstream Movie Marketing That Indie Films Can Benefit From

The speakers will share marketing strategies and how data and technology are used to attract younger audiences with fragmented attention spans, multi-platform habits and new expectations for interactive experiences.

While data-driven approaches are increasingly prevalent, curated programming, nurturing curiosity and niche audiences can still drive thoughtful theatrical-first strategies, particularly for European independent content.

Panelists will share experiences with marketing their own, or their companies’ movies, what tools and approaches they use to identify the likely/ target audience, and what lessons they’ve learned in the process.

Other topics that will be explored: How-to streaming platforms; Financing and Selling Your Indie Movie; Legal Framework for U.S. – Europe Co-Productions; AI, IP, and Maintaining Integrity, and Ownership, of Indie Projects.

Matthew Carey

Moderator, DEADLINE

Marina Kosten

Nika Agiashvili

Elizaveta Chalenko

Ioana Mischie

Daniel Schwarzl

Daniel Druhora

Christine La Monte

Alexandra Petrus

CASTING WORKSHOP

New this year at SEEfest, our casting panel will offer insights, feedback on select reels, and provide live critiques (length, order, range, recommendations.)

Emily Cook

Shyree Mezick

Zachary Spiegel

Natalie Bellestros