A full roster of experts is slated for the workshops of the inaugural Jamaica Promotions Corporation’s (JAMPRO) Jamaica Film Festival, which kicks off today at the Courtleigh Auditorium in St Andrew.

These industry insiders will present an array of topics including: The Business of Filmmaking and the Future of TV; Key to Financing your Film Project; and Casting for Film and Television.

Among the presenters is Nicole A Bernard, executive vice president of Audience Strategy at The Fox Group.

She has launched the Fox Writers Intensive and the Fox Global Directors Initiative, which service all of the Fox entertainment businesses.

For the Jamaica Film Festival, Bernard will be presenting at the directors and writers intensive. She will also be a panellist presenting on most of the other sessions.

Bernard will be joined by Gina Reyes during a number of the presentations during the week-long festival.

Reyes started her career in Hollywood at International Creative Management (ICM) talent agency in the Motion Picture Production department. After a great experience at ICM, she had the opportunity to work with Salma Hayek at her newly formed production company, Ventanazul, where Hayek had a film development deal with MGM. After four years at Ventanazul, Reyes landed at 20th Century Fox Film as a creative executive in film development and recently made the move to the Audience Strategy Group at Fox Broadcasting Company where she manages the Fox Writers Intensive and the Fox Global Directors Initiative.

Film assistant director Larry Katz is also down to present at the festival. His credits include films like Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Captain America: The First Avenger, and X-Men: First Class and TV shows including ER and Seventh Heaven.

The international set will be completed by local players in the film and entertainment industry including Delano Forbes of Phase Three, directors Kamala Bennett, Ras Kassa and Jeremy Whittaker, Junior Taylor, Carlette DeLeon, and Martin Lewis.

The majority of the sessions will take place at the Courtleigh Auditorium in New Kingston, while others are set for the Bob Marley Museum and the JAMPRO Business Auditorium.

— Richard Johnson