Don’t Sell Yourself Short: How To Market Your Film Panel
Sunday, November 6, 7 PM AC Raymund Room
Join Moderator Colin Costello, West Coast Editor Reel 360 News and award-winning Filmmaker (Storage) for an entertainment industry insider’s guide from Oscar-nominated Director Matt Ogens (Netflix Audible and Disney’s upcoming Madu) on how to market your film projects. Joining Colin and Matt for this essential conversation is Hype Co-Founder & Special Agent Colleen O’Mara, whose PR, Marketing & Social Media Agency collaborates with Filmmakers around the world on Film, TV, and Commercial projects.
Panelists
Matt Ogens is an Academy Award-nominated director known for capturing authentic human stories through an evocative visual and narrative aesthetic. Matt’s Netflix Original Audible received a nomination for an Oscar® this past year. The film is an immersive coming-of-age documentary told from the perspective of Deaf high school students and communicated through sign language. His debut documentary, Confessions of a Superhero, garnered critical acclaim and a devoted following. He subsequently earned a Primetime Emmy® Award for ESPN’s 30 for 30: From Harlem with Love. Additional credits include the two-time Emmy-nominated documentary series Why We Fight, which he created, as well as the Emmy-nominated augmented reality film LA Louvre and feature documentary Home + Away, following high school-athletes living on the US/Mexico border and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Matt received four additional Emmy nominations for his series work. He is currently in post on a new film for Disney+.
Colin Costelo is a WGA-East member, a 2022 Disney General Entertainment Writing Program Finalist, and a biracial comedy and genre writer. He is also the editor of Reel 360 News. He has won and finished as a finalist in numerous screenplay contests with his comedy and genre scripts. The former award-winning advertising copywriter, has written two family feature films. Star Wars -influenced theatrical release, The Stream (2013) stands at 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. After writing two episodes for the PBSKids series Moochie Kalala Detectives Club, the educational show received a nomination for a Midwest Emmy award. His debut short film, the 2018 thriller The After Party, which he wrote and directed, has played in 25 festivals internationally and won five. His other short family film, Dreamwisher (2019) has won ten awards in the United States and internationally. Colin most recently won Best Director and Best Comedy for an LGBT web series titled From Russia with Motive. His newest short film. Storage is currently on the festival circuit and winning awards. Colin’s writing has gotten the attention of Spike Lee (whom he helped launch an ad agency with), Michael Bay, Dr. Maya Angelou, Reginald Hudlin, Tim Burton, Jan DeBont, Marcus Nispel, Pam Thomas, Disney, ABC, Netflix and The Montecito Picture Show Company. He is repped by Metallic Entertainment and Carrie Wick PR.
Colleen O’Mara, a former magazine editor, devised the concept for Hype and opened the company with her good friend Jessie. Because of Colleen and Jessie’s diverse interests, they built a client roster for Hype, which constantly challenges them and their energetic team. In addition to her work with Hype clients, Colleen enjoys her collaboration with an ever-expanding group of press contacts and her teammates at Hype – not to mention the pool of freelance talent that Hype relies upon including writers, photographers and designers. A writer since the age of eight (when she won her first writing contest), Colleen has written and published articles and essays in a variety of publications. She is a Co-Founder of the Venice Media District. Beyond her co-directorship of Hype, Colleen writes short stories, poems and essays. In her rare free time, Colleen travels the U.S. and the world. Her favorite saying: “Will work to travel.” She lives in beautiful and emerging Mar Vista, California, and has a house “in the country” in Ojai.