This year, GIFF introduces a new area and opportunity within GIFF Industry! “GIFF Series Lab”, an intensive and complete workshop that includes consultation and discussions about the cinematic quality in the television series industry, the transition and opportunities for our filmmakers, screenwriters and producers in this globally growing medium.
We are offering a script lab as well as a showrunner lab, conferences, roundtable discussions and encounters with showrunners, digital platforms and networks, as well as international creators and producers. The purpose of this is to create new opportunities for film production in a different format.
Diary
Viernes 24 de Julio / Friday July 24th
Teatro Cervantes, Guanajuato
10:00 – 11:30
Creando una Serie:
Contenido y sala
de Escritores
Creating a Series: Content
and writers room
Ponentes:
Epigmenio Ibarra
Natasha Ibarra
Carolina Rivera
Fernando Sariñana
Moderador: Rodrigo Ordóñez
12:00 – 13:30
El Arte de ser
Showrunner
The Art of being a
Showrunner
Ponentes:
Kirk Ellis
Jay Dyer
Elwood Reid
Eric Garcia
Leo Chu
Moderador: Carolina Rivera
16:00 – 17:30
Trabajando
con Plataformas
Working with Platforms
Ponentes:
NBC UNIVERSAL
Netflix
HBO
Canal 11
Canal 22
Cadena Tres
Moderador: Leo Zimbrón
Sábado 25 de Julio / Saturday July 25th
Teatro Cervantes, Guanajuato
9:00 – 13:00
Incubadora
de SeriesLab
Series Lab Incubator
MESA #1: Escritores
Max Zunino
Anaí López
Rodrigo Ordóñez
Natasha Ibarra
MESA #2: Productores
Patricia Arriaga
Leo Zimbrón
Epigmenio Ibarra
Tita Lombardo
MESA #3: Productores
Adriana Bello
Fernando Rovzar
Alexis Fridman
Santiago García Galván
Andrés Tagliavini
MESA #4:Showrunners
Kirk Ellis
Jay Dyer
Elwood Reid
Eric Garcia
Leo Chu
MESA #5 : Plataformas
NBC/Universal
Netflix
HBO
Vimeo
MESA #6 : Plataformas
Canal 11
Canal 22
Cadena Tres
13:00 – 14:30
Talento
Talent
Ponentes:
Eréndira Ibarra
Tony Dalton
Rafael Amaya
Aarón Balderi
Moderador: Fernando Rovzar
16:00 – 17:30
Historias de Éxito
Success Stories
Ponentes:
Elwood Reid
Leo Zimbrón
Jay Dyer
Adriana Bello
Fernando Rovzar
Alexis Fridman
Santiago García Galván
Andrés Tagliavini
Moderador: Mafer Suárez
GUESTS
Kirk Ellis
Into the West y Hell on Wheels. He won two Emmys, a WGA Award, a Peabody and the Humanitas Prize for his work as writer and co executive producer of the HBO miniseries John Adams. He also won the WGA Award and Humanitas Prize for the ABC miniseries Anne Frank, which he wrote and co-produced. He wrote Bound for the Promised Land, Drill, and also wrote for a video game called The Order: 1886. He collaborated with Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks on the miniseries Into the West and Hell on Wheels.
Jay Dyer
A graduate of Yale University, Jay Dyer worked for five years as a development executive at Walt Disney Feature Animation, where he helped shepherd numerous projects to screen and stage, including Mulan and the Broadway musical Aida. Mr. Dyer has written for numerous television series, including Californication, Half and Half, and Andy Richter Controls the Universe. He has also penned screenplays for Bad Robot/ Paramount, Happy Madison/Sony, New Line, and Universal. He currently serves as head writer for the upcoming Netflix series Club de Cuervos, the network’s first Spanish-language production.
Leo Chu and Eric Garcia
They made their mark as the Emmy-nominated executive producers and showrunners of Spike’s adult action series Afro Samurai starring Samuel L. Jackson and Lucy Liu. They expanded the franchise with a hit Namco video game and Tor graphic novel series as well as writing and executive producing the sequel Afro Samurai: Resurrection, which made history as the first animé to win a Primetime Emmy Award. They’ve developed pilots for NBC, FOX 21, MTV, Dreamworks, and Spike.
Elwood Reid
An American novelist, television and short-story writer whose work in television as writer and producer includes The Bridge, Cold Case, Hawai 5.0, Close to Home, Undercovers and Fiscal Chase.
ADRIANA BELLO
She founded Casa Buñuel. Executive Producer of Días de Gracia, which won nine Ariel Awards. She was Director of Film Distribution at Quality Film and Director of Universal Pictures Mexico and LATAM. She’s currently a producer in What a Bear Producciones. in partnership with Fernando Rovzar and Eugenio Derbez to produce comedy content and she’s the producer and general director of SNL Latin America.
M.K. Kennedy
Vice President, Production at Universal Television Studios. She is an American TV producer best known for her work on Spanish-language soap operas produced by Telemundo. She has been executive producer of Mariana, El Juramento and associate producer of ¡Anita, no te rajes!
Anaí López
She began writing scripts for children’s programs like Bizbirije and El Diván de Valentina and later for a more grown-up audience Fonda Susilla and XY. She has developed projects such as They are the joy of home, Expedition 1808 for Nat Geo, and two feature films shot by Corazón Films. She currently works as head writer in Argos Television, by television series such as Bienvenida Realidad, Infames, Dos Lunas and Camelia la Texana.
Fernando Sariñana
Producer, director and screenwriter who has spent most of his career in film, but he is no stranger to television. This is where he’s developing his most recent project; the series Casa Colorada. “Stories are Stories and one tells them in different formats, each one with their own rules and way of telling them. That’s why I always say that anybody who can do soap operas has my greatest respect. I’ve never consider them a minor genre. They are a challenge and a lot of work.
Epigmenio Ibarra
He is an Independent Mexican producer working in different media such as television and film. He produced Backyard, El Traspatio, Sexo, pudor y lágrimas and Hidalgo, la historia jamás contada, for cinema, and in series like Capadocia for television. Throughout the 1990’s he helped transform soap operas as well as series in Mexico. He’s the founder and current director of Argos Comunicación.
Eréndira Ibarra
She studied to be an actress in Casa Azul. She participated in films such as Casi Divas by Issa Lopez, Entre Líneas and Juegos Inocentes. On Tv, she starred in HBO’s Capadocia I, II, III, which was produced by Argos, Las Aparicio, Infantes and Camelia La Texana. She participated in Más Negro que la Noche and is currently on Sense8.
Carolina Rivera
She studied screenwriting at UCLA and has devoted her entire career to writing for film and television. Her first feature screenplay, Cilantro y Perejil (1998), garnered three Ariel Awards (Mexican Oscars). She has written more than fifteen feature films, including box office hits Amar Te Duele, El Segundo Aire, Todo el Poder and Niñas Mal. For TV, she has written three soap operas including Amor Cautivo, which aired on Telemundo. She is currently writing for the critically acclaimed CW show Jane the Virgin.
LEO ZIMBRÓN
Director of production for Warner Bros, México till 2010. Leo Zimbrón is co-founder of Filmadora Nacional, production company for films such as Después de Lucía (Michel Franco, 2012). He’s Head of film division at TRZ Comunicación and vicepresident of AMPI. Some of the films he has produced include Efectos Secundarios, No eres tú, soy yo, Nosotros los Nobles, I Brake for Gringos and Mexican Singer.
MAX ZUNINO
He has several film credits to his name, including the short film Recuerdo del mar, produced by IMCINE, which participated in more than twenty international festivals, winning the award for best short film at the Independent Film Festival of Barcelona, Spain among other mentions. He’s also evolving as a television director in Bienvenida Realidad, produced by Sony Entertainment Television and Argos.
ALEXIS FRIDMAN
Head of Production and Development at Lemon Films. Film and Televison producer. Known for Después de Lucía, Matando Cabos and Kilómetro 31. He’s also produced series for televisión such as M13, and some episodes for Saturday Night Live Mexico.
Patricia Arriaga Jordán
Acclaimed for her work in children’s content which she revolutionized with the award-winning lineup of Once Niños as well as creating and producing unforgettable shows for Mexican public television such as Bizbirije and El Diván de Valentina. She extends this proposal to Bacalar, an action-adventure feature-length film for children. She currently develops and produces for film and television in Mexico, Latin America and Europe through her company Bravo Films.
RAFAEL AMAYA
He started his career as a model and a singer in several music groups (including the renowned Garibaldi), before he decided to pursue acting. He participated in soap operas like Alguien te mira and the series La Reina del Sur. In early January of 2013 he started filming his new televisión series titled El Señor de los Cielos, which is now in its third season.
Rodrigo OrdÓñez
Head writer at Sony Pictures Television/Teleset Mexico. His projects include Dos Lunas for Fox Latin America, the 3 seasons of XY for Canal Once, Camelia La Texana for Telemundo, La Teniente for TV Azteca, El Dandy for Sony/Televisa, Bienvenida Realidad for Cadena 3/MTV and El Octavo Mandamiento for Cadena 3/Mundo Fox.
Tita Lombardo
In 1980, she began her career as a producer of musical, journalistic and cultural programming for Canal 13. Three years later, she broke into the film industry, collaborating with CONACINE as a production assistant, location manager and production manager in the films El Otro, El Imperio de la Fortuna and Mentiras Piadosas, all directed by Arturo Ripstein.
Fernando Rovzar
Co-founder of Lemon Films. He started his career as a producer of films like Matando Cabos and Kilómetro 31, both box-office hits. He has many projects in development: television series, films, commercials, video clips and plays.
Tony Dalton
He studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute. After appearing in soap operas such as Ramona (2000) and Clase 406 (2002), he made a name by producing and starring in the controversial TV series No te Equivoques in 2001. In 2004 he wrote and starred in Matando Cabos, the first film produced by Lemon Films. He acted in Mujer Albastrina (2006), the soap opera Rebelde (2004-2006) and in Warner Bros Mexico’s Efectos Secundarios (2006).
Aarón Balderi
Mexican actor who has participated in several theater productions, as well as films such as Borrar de la Memoria, Cuatro Lunas and Adrenalina, for which he was nominated for Best Foreign Actor in the Madrid International Festival, 2015. He appeared in television series like Estado de Gracia, Paramédicos and El Torito, a new show produced by Corazón Films.
Mafer SuÁrez
From 2008 to 2010, she directed three successful seasons of Mujeres Asesinas, which became an unprecedented success in Mexican televisión, both basic and pay channels. She won Barcelona’s “Ondas” award for best Iberoamerican television series and a “King of Spain” award for directing the episode El Último Caudillo. She’s currently preparing her feature directorial debut and a new historical series: Tierra de Cruces.
Natasha Ibarra
She began her career in Argos and then founded Baby Argos where she’s currently producing several new projects. Currently she is a writer for a teen series made for the web. The pilot episode will be shot at the end of July 2015.
ANDRES TAGLIAVINI
Renowned Associate Producer who collaborated in films like The Woman Every Man Wants, Bolívar soy yo; Rosario Tijeras and Ópera, as well as the Brazilian film Eliana y el secreto de los delfines for 20th Century Fox. He was executive producer in the first season of Capadocia, produced by Argos and broadcasted on HBO. With Itaca Films, he produced Espectro and No sé si cortarme las venas o dejármelas largas. He made his debut as producer in 2014’s Amor de mis amores and was an associate producer in Malacrianza.
SANTIAGO GARCÍA GALVÁN
With 14 years in the film industry, he’s been Producer, Co-Producer or Executive Producer in more than two dozen films. Among them are La Misma Luna, Preludio, Havanyork and Tequila, historia de una pasión. In 2011 he co-founded Itaca Films, the production Company that produced: El cartel de los sapos and Restos. In 2012 he produced Carlos Cuarón’s Besos de azúcar, Espectro and No sé si cortarme las venas o dejármelas largas. In 2013, he produced Volando bajo, Medeas and Demián Bichir’s directorial debut, Refugio.
SERIES LAB PROJECTS
DE COBERTURA AMPLIA
Guión: Caroline Vera Bérenger | PAÍS: EUA , MÉXICO
A crime story set in a Mexico City that’s dazed by the light of a sunset, where violence returns like a deaf, but present pain. Set in Colonia Narvarte, most of its inhabitants lead a “normal” life, but they’re all aware that there’s a fine line between being the victim of a crime and being a witness to it.
LA TRISTE HISTORIA DEL PADRE ARRIAGA
DIRE CCIÓN : Jonás Nudi | PRO DUCCIÓN : Mariana Oc hoa | CASA PRO DUCTORA : Proyect or Films | PAÍS: MÉXICO
A Mexican Revolution Era drama that follows the story of Agustin Arriaga; a man who will go from being a criminal to becoming a priest and hero, until he takes another turn to becoming one of the most feared men in the history of Mexico.
RED CLAY
DIRE CCIÓN : Mark Ennis| PRO DUCCIÓN : Mark Ennis, Kent Kirkpatrick | PAÍS: EUA , MÉXIC
The Red Clay reservation is one of the oldest Native communities in North America. Sharing a border with Mexico, Red Clay has become a major smuggling route for ‘La Cuerda Negra’ cartel. Connor controls the cartel’s illicit drug and gun smuggling trade that passes through this border. When a young boy from Red Clay is kidnapped, a cascading effect of repercussions will strike the community.
SALÓN EDÉN
GUIÓN : María Diego Hernández y Emm anuel Caballero | PAÍS: MÉXICO
Arcadio inherits an old ballroom when his boss dies. This will pin him against his children, all of whom have different goal, as well as the owner of a competing ballroom and his partner, a corrupt police officer. Meanwhile, Arcadio must deal with his gambling addiction if he wants the ballroom to succeed.
La Prensa
DIRE CCIÓN : Diego flores y francisc o de la reguera | GUIÓN : Francisc o de la reguera | PAÍS: MÉXICO
A 13-episode horror thriller series. It’s 1985 in Mexico and the members of a sensationalistic newspaper with a bad reputation will be exposed to political intrigue and things they can’t explain while they try to get to the bottom of everything they’re investigating.
EL HIJO DEL PUEBLO
DIRE CCIÓN : Ad olfo Franco | PRO DUCCIÓN : Vidal Cantú | CASA PRO DUCTORA : Kenio Films | PAÍS: MÉXICO
From humble beginnings in his native Dolores Hidalgo, until he rose to fame in the 50s and 60s, José Alfredo Jiménez always lived to the fullest and defined through his music what it means to be Mexican. A son of the people who has managed to conquer the most important stages and collaborate with the idols of Mexican cinema.