Join leading voices from San Diego’s film industry for an insider roundtable on the region’s rapidly evolving production landscape. In a candid, conversational format, panelists will explore current opportunities, future growth, resources for filmmakers, and the advantages of collaborating with union talent and SAG-AFTRA productions. Whether you’re a local attendee, a visitor, filmmaker, actor, investor, or industry supporter, this discussion will offer valuable insight into building and sustaining film projects in San Diego.

Christine Altan - Moderator, Actor & Filmmaker, CIFF SAG-AFTRA Liaison

Larry Poole, San Diego SAG-AFTRA President

Michael Wood, San Diego Media Pros President

Jordan Jacobo, San Diego Writer/Director (Emmy-nominated)

Greg Sowizdrzal from IATSE

Jodi Cilley, Founder San Diego Film Consortium

Investing in film can be as thrilling as the movies themselves. This panel pulls back the curtain on funding models, market trends, and the balance of risks and rewards in both studio and independent projects. Industry experts will share what investors look for, how data and algorithms shape decisions, and why financing films remains both an art and a business.

Moderator: Steve Alexander

Steve Alexander is a producer and actor best known as executive producer of The Secret Art of Human Flight (Tribeca Film Festival, 2023), in which he also appeared. He is executive producing the upcoming film Nuur (2025), directed by Lula Ali Ismaïl and adapted from Hassan Ghedi Santur's novel, The Youth of God.  He is the executive producer of the documentary, My Elephant Odyssey (2025), produced and directed by Caitlin O’Connell-Rodwell and Timothy Rodwell. In 2025, he joined the board of The Museum at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in New York, on the site of the original 1969 Woodstock Music & Art Fair. He co-founded and manages AHA Productions with his wife and actress, Idylia Hachi.

Alysha Haran, Producer, Director and COO Chula Vista Entertainment Center, Alysha's career started in theater before moving to LA where she produced commercials and music videos. After a change in plans spared her from the events of 9/11, she spent 17 years serving as a US Navy Officer. A member of the Dramatist Guild with degrees in Directing and Creative Writing, she has been a senior manager for ABC Studios at Walt Disney Television
for the past 5 years

Julien Levesque began his entertainment career in CAA’s mailroom before joining Roeg Sutherland’s desk in the agency’s Indie Film Group. While on Sutherland’s desk, Levesque helmed CAA’s 2019 Task Force, which spearheaded significant fundraising and community activities for CAA’s Foundation. In 2001, he was selected for CAA’s first COVID-era Agent Trainee Class. While at CAA, Levesque worked on films like HELL OF A SUMMER, HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE, THELMA, and FATE OF A SPORT. In 2023, Julien left CAA to produce the film PSYCHOTHERAPY, which stars Steve Buscemi, John Magaro, and Britt Lower, and premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. In Fall 2023, Levesque joined Gersh, where he co-leads the agency’s Indie Film Group. During this tenure, he has worked on films such as Harris Dickinson’s directorial debut URCHIN, Gore Verbinski’s Sam Rockwell-led GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON’T DIE, and Philipa Lowthorpe’s H IS FOR HAWK. He was also instrumental in setting Tom McCarthy’s overhead deal at Closer Media. Internally, Levesque heads Gersh’s Festival Group, which works to strengthen the agency’s strategy and presence at major festivals. Outside of financing, packaging, and sales, Julien represents clients such as Fangoria and Washington Film Works. Known for combining creative vision with strategic deal-making, Julien is building a reputation as a community-driven executive shaping the future of indie film.

Back by popular demand, this panel brings together some of the most talented and diverse writers in the industry. Learn from their experience as they share how to craft and deliver a winning pitch, offering insights, strategies, and behind-the-scenes stories from the writers’ room to the big screen.

Moderated by Lisa Bruce

n 2018 Bruce is once again nominated for both an Academy Award for Best Picture and again for 2 BAFTA's for Best Picture and for Best British Picture for her newest feature, "Darkest Hour". In 2015 Bruce won the Best British Film BAFTA and was nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award® for "The Theory of Everything". Critically acclaimed, it was nominated for 100 international awards and won 29 including three BAFTAs, two Golden Globes, and an Academy Award®.

Prior to that, Bruce produced 15 feature films including the Working Title and HBO telefilm "Mary and Martha", directed by Phillip Noyce, written by Richard Curtis and starring Hilary Swank and Brenda Blethyn. Previously for HBO, she had produced "Walkout", starring Alexa Vega and Michael Pena, about Mexican American activism for which director Edward James Olmos received a Directors Guild of America Award nomination.

Ms. Bruce was an executive producer on Ivan Reitman's hit "No Strings Attached", starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher; on Dito Montiel's "Fighting" with Channing Tatum and Terrence Howard; and on Dante Ariola's "Arthur Newman", starring Colin Firth and Emily Blunt. She was co-producer of Nigel Cole's "A Lot Like Love", which paired Mr. Kutcher with Amanda Peet; of Christian Alvart's "Case 39" starring Renée Zellweger; and of Michael Hoffman's "The Emperor's Club", starring Kevin Kline, Emile Hirsch, Patrick Dempsey, Jesse Eisenberg, and Paul Dano.

Bruce was the co-producer of Gavin O'Connor's breakthrough feature, "Tumbleweeds". The film's young star Kimberly J. Brown won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance and lead Janet McTeer was nominated for the Academy Award® for Best Actress and won the Golden Globe. Tumbleweeds was cited by the National Board of Review as one of the year's 10 Best Movies.

Bruce was a founding partner of Orenda Films, a New York-based company for which she developed and produced internationally-released feature films including Sam Henry Kass' "The Search for One-Eye Jimmy" and Buddy Giovinazzo's "No Way Home" starring Tim Roth.

Panelist include CIFF Screenwriter Competition Jury

Joey Siara - Joey Siara grew up in Whittier, California. He spent his twenties performing in a noisy indie-rock band and has seen nearly every state in the country through the cracked window of a Ford Econoline. The band played over five-hundred shows including sets at Lollapalooza and Coachella. His music has been featured in several TV series – from Sons of Anarchy to Parenthood to Gossip Girl. He has a Master’s from Harvard, an MFA from UCLA, and has worked on series for PBS, Discovery, and CNN. Most recently, he was staffed on Emergence for ABC and co-wrote a comedy feature with his brother, Andy, for Limelight. He is a writing instructor in the School of Theater, Film, and Television at UCLA. His short-story, The Last of the Goggled Barskys, was just featured on Slate.

From soundscapes to visual effects, editing rhythms to wardrobe and design, discover how today’s creators harness technology and artistry to push the boundaries of storytelling and elevate the magic of cinema.

Behind every jaw-dropping chase, fight, and fall is a fearless stunt team making the impossible look effortless. Seasoned stunt performers and coordinators reveal the craft behind designing action, balancing practical special effects, and the training it takes to bring high-risk, high-reward moments to the screen.

Moderated by Deadline 

A dynamic conversation with the women shaping the future of the industry. Meet the groundbreaking women redefining cinema’s future. This panel unites producers, filmmakers, and creative leaders to share insights, challenges, and triumphs from the set to the boardroom. A powerful discussion on leadership, representation, and the impact of female voices in shaping storytelling.

Presented by DEADLINE

Moderated by Deadline

The entertainment landscape is evolving at lightning speed. From AI and streaming dominance to shifting audience habits and Hollywood’s new realities, industry leaders explore the forces reshaping film and television. Gain insights into the future of content creation, marketing, and distribution in this pivotal conversation.

Presented by MovieMaker

Moderated by : Tim Malloy, editor of MovieMaker Magazine and MovieMaker.com, writing about the art and craft of moviemaking, as well as film schools, festivals and more.

James Oliver:

James Aaron Oliver is an actor, writer, producer with an extensive early career in Equity Theatre, TV and film as an Actor and later as a  Screenwriter, Producer, and Executive Producer on several films under his company BLKBRD Films. He was an acting company member at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for several seasons and as a recurring co-star for three seasons on NBC’s Frasier as well as several independent and studio films. He is an Executive Producer on the British film INLAND Starring Mark Rylance and a Co-Producer alongside Wim Wenders on the Polish independent film Roving Woman. He recently sold his first screenplay to a major production company to be filmed later this year with an unannounced A-list actor and high profile auteur Director. He is currently setting up his next film, a thriller set in Italy for 2026. His company BLKBRD specializes in film finance, investor relationships, film development and hands-on production services. James is also a native to Coronado with close family recently returning to live on the island.

Bettina Sherick is an entertainment digital marketing veteran and President/Founder of Hollywood In Pixels, a nonprofit dedicated to celebrating and preserving theatrical digital marketing innovation. She began her career at 20th Century Fox, rising to SVP of Strategic Digital Marketing at Fox International, where she led global teams on groundbreaking campaigns, including award-winning campaigns for AVATAR, THE SIMPSONS MOVIE, the X-MEN franchise, and LIFE OF PI. She then held leadership roles in digital, data, and innovation at Warner Bros. and at 20th Century Fox before most recently serving as Head of Digital Intelligence at Prime Video, overseeing audience insights for the first season of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER and launching their global social intelligence program. An active AMPAS member, she has served eight terms on the Marketing & PR Branch Executive Committee, and chaired the Student Academy Awards Executive Committee for five terms. Sherick also sits on Loyola Marymount University’s advisory council for its Masters in Entertainment Leadership. She is the recipient of the CLIO Entertainment Impact Award and the Coronado Island Film Festival Trailblazer Award (2024), was twice named to Variety’s Digital Impact Report (2019, 2022), and received the Advanced Imaging Society’s Distinguished Leadership Award (2018).

Brian Walker Brian is a versatile change agent with over a decade of experience working at the intersection of culture, digital media, social enterprise, and social justice. For over eight years, Brian was the Chief Operating Officer of The Creative Mind Group, he has also formerly directed social impact campaigns and digital strategy at Participant Media and served as the first Culture and Entertainment Advocacy Director at Color of Change. Most recently, Brian served as a Stakeholder Engagement Leader with the Enterprise Diversity & Inclusion group at The Walt Disney Company. Brian also currently serves on the board of Made In Her Image, an organization dedicated to the advancement of young women, girls, and non-binary youth of color within film, media, and technology.

Aaron Roberts is an industry lifer, starting work as a PA on his father’s award-winning commercial sets as early as 10 years old. Since then, Aaron has helped build multi-million dollar creative agencies routinely working with publicly traded tech and hospitality brands, and is working with the city of Chula Vista on developing a next-generation film studio and creative campus to re-ignite the film industry in San Diego again.