Tore Knos

Tore Knos is a filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York. Most recently, he wrote and directed the feature film, Snakeeater, starring Isaach De Bankolé (Black Panther, Casino Royale). The film premiered at the 2023 Dances With Films festival at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Tore's narrative producing credits include Abel's Field for Sony Pictures, Out For Blood for Universal Pictures, and two Steven Seagal films: The Keeper and Against the Dark. Tore's commercial work includes spots for Hermès, West Elm, La Mer, Clinique, Elizabeth Arden, GQ, Cuervo Tequila, and Etsy. Additionally, Tore works closely with world-renowned artist Gregory Colbert filming for him around the world. Tore began his career in the agent trainee program at International Creative Management (ICM), one of the world's leading talent agencies. Tore joined the Producers Guild of America in 2013 and is a member of the International Cinematographers Guild Local 600.

Jason Peterson

Jason Peterson is an experienced entrepreneur, attorney, and producer - named as one of the 'Top 30 Entrepreneurs under 30' by The Los Angeles Business Journal and a '40 under 40 Power Player' in the music and video industries by Billboard and Media Play News, respectively. He has worked in the entire media value chain from production and post through marketing and distribution. His business GoDigital Media Group and its subsidiaries Cinq Music, Sound Royalties, YogaWorks, NGLmitu, and Eastern Mountain Sports connect content, community, and commerce at consumer passion points in music, entertainment, and sports.

Doug Weitzbuch

Doug is a veteran TV producer turned entrepreneur, dead set on changing the way productions are staffed. Fueled by his firsthand experience navigating the inefficiencies surrounding the entertainment industry, his new venture ShoBizzy is a production staffing and networking marketplace that leverages AI to automatically curate and perfectly match productions with the best available freelance talent, globally, saving valuable time and money.

Johanna Byer

Johanna Byer is the Executive Vice President of Motion Pictures at Will Packer Productions. She is responsible for identifying, developing and producing film projects through the company's first-look deal with Universal Pictures. Most recently, Ms. Byer executive produced "Praise This" that was directed by Tina Gordon and starred Chloe Bailey for Universal that premiered on Peacock on April 7th. Byer executive produced “Binged to Death” that will premiere on MTV on October 17th. Additionally, Byer executive produced "Dashing Through the Snow," that Tim Story directed and stars Ludacris Bridges and Lil Rel Howery that is premiering on Disney+ on November 17th.

Before joining Will Packer Productions, Ms. Byer was the Senior Vice President of Film and Television for Gaumont, the French studio. She produced the action film "Point Blank" that appeared on Netflix and co-executive produced "Trial 4," a docuseries created by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade for Netflix. Ms. Byer associate produced Joe Berlinger's newest limited series "Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes" for Netflix. Ms. Byer is also set to executive produce a remake of the hit Korean film "Train to Busan" as well as a remake of the French film "Patients."

Previously Ms. Byer was the Vice President of Development at Working Title Films, where she co-produced Warner Brothers' "We Are Your Friends" which starred Zac Efron, Wes Bentley and Emily Ratajkowski. She also played key roles in developing the films "Baby Driver," "Theory of Everything," "Everest," "Contraband," "Les Miserables" and "About Time." Ms. Byer began her career at Brillstein Entertainment Partners, where she assisted talent manager and partner Cynthia Pett.

Ms. Byer is a PGA member and sits on the board of the University of Southern California's John H. Mitchell Business of Cinematic Arts Program. She was awarded the 2018 Film Cincinnati Lori Holladay Founder's award and in 2017 was selected into Delta Air Line's inaugural class of "Ones to Watch in Entertainment, Tech and Media."

Johanna Byer is a magna cum laude graduate of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. Ms. Byer was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio but now lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband and two young sons.

Kai Sato

Kai Sato is the founder of Kaizen Reserve, Inc, which exists to foster innovation and unlock new growth. Its primary function is advising family offices and corporations on the design, implementation, and oversight of their venture capital portfolios. Another aspect is helping select portfolio companies, both startups and publicly-traded microcaps, reach $10M in revenue and become cash flow positive. Kai is also a partner in Mauloa, which makes growth equity investments into cash flow positive companies; an advisor to Forma Capital, a consumer-focused venture firm that specializes in celebrity-product fit; and a fund advisor to Hatch, a global startup accelerator focused on helping feed the world through sustainable aquaculture technologies. Previously, Kai was the co-president & chief marketing officer of Crown Electrokinetics (Nasdaq: CRKN); the chief innovation officer of Rubicon Resources (acquired by High Liner Foods); a board member of SportTechie (acquired by Leaders Group); and a cofounder of FieldLevel. He's the author of "Marketing Architecture: How to Attract Customers, Hires, and Investors for Any Company Under 50 Employees."

Dallas Sonnier

Dallas Sonnier's moviemaking journey began early when he attended USC's film school while still in high school. He helped pioneer the Business of Cinematic Arts program, bridging film and business education. After graduating, he joined United Talent Agency and later discovered and managed talents like Greta Gerwig, Leslye Headland, Jenny Lumet, Jessica Goldberg, and Alex Timbers. Returning to his home state of Texas in 2015, he produced distinct movies such as "BONE TOMAHAWK," "BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99," "DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE," "THE STANDOFF AT SPARROW CREEK," "VFW," & "SOUTH OF HEAVEN." He also revived FANGORIA magazine, and expanded it into a multimedia brand. Most recently, Sonnier founded BONFIRE LEGEND, a production and financing partnership with The Daily Wire on projects including "RUN HIDE FIGHT," "SHUT IN," "TERROR ON THE PRAIRIE," "WHAT IS A WOMAN?", and "CONVICTING A MURDERER." Currently, he is overseas in Italy and Hungary producing the first DW+ scripted series, "THE PENDRAGON CYCLE."

Tim Phillips

Tim Phillips is a Partner in the Television Literary department at United Talent Agency based in Beverly Hills, California. Previously, Tim was a Business Affairs & Offset Head at Screen Australia.

Brandon Berman

Director of Business Development - Cognition

Brandon is seasoned in the dynamic landscape of entertainment technology, currently serving as the Director of Business Development at Cognition - an award-winning immersive technology studio based out of Los Angeles. In this role, he spearheads new business and strategic partner initiatives, overseeing all growth-related matters for the company which specializes in cutting-edge, technology-driven fan experiences. Formerly at Maestro - a virtual event and livestreaming platform - Brandon managed day to day operations of a global sales team handling both inbound and outbound client procurement, strategic and business development, and client relations for a fast-growing entertainment technology platform. He acted as the main point of contact for prospective clients throughout the entirety of the sales cycle, liaising with executives from a variety of verticals including, film/tv, music, podcasts, comedy, sports, corporate, faith, and education. With a foundation in business and cinematic arts from the University of Southern California and many years in representation at agency powerhouse, CAA, and management company, Fourward, Brandon brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of success to his roles in the ever-evolving realms of technology and entertainment.

Kellie Kawaguchi

As a graduate of the University of Southern California in Business Cinematic Arts and Georgetown University, Kellie has built a career in Entertainment Marketing, working at Universal Pictures since graduating from USC. Kellie's role at the company continues to evolve - having worked in brand marketing, franchise management, integrated marketing, and PVOD strategy. She specializes in crafting full 360 evergreen campaigns and IP amplification across Theme Parks, Retail, Consumer Products, Games, Promotions, Bridge Content, TV, and Global Theatrical Marketing. Kellie's career evolved with a newly created position at the studio as a Director of International Marketing to develop global marketing strategy across the Universal Pictures slate and develop marketing campaigns for every territory around the world outside the U.S.

After 10 years at Universal Pictures, Kellie has shifted her career from Theatrical Marketing to Streaming Marketing and is now working at Netflix on the International Marketing Strategy team promoting Netflix movies globally, continuing to follow her passion for building cultural ubiquity with markets around the world. Kellie also joined the USC Mitchell Family as a Professor/Faculty Member, teaching an upper-division Entertainment Marketing Course for Graduate Students.

Mandi Brooksbank

Mandi Brooksbank is in-house counsel for Netflix as manager of Scripted Series Business and Legal Affairs, where she leads negotiations on various scripted series projects for above the line on- and off-screen talent in additional to overall and first-look deals for Netflix's key talent partners.

Brooksbank began her legal career in the general counsel's office at Creative Artists Agency, later moving to private practice at the entertainment boutique firm Donaldson Callif Perez LLP, where she focused on copyright and fair use, production legal and live theater law. Brooksbank then joined Entertainment One as senior director of TV Business and Legal Affairs, successfully managing and closing deals for eOne’s slate of television projects across development and production stemming from The Mark Gordon Company and Hasbro, among others.

Beyond her work as an attorney, Brooksbank champions education and devotes her time to educating, mentoring and lecturing. Brooksbank assists in the development of USC’s business and cinema curriculum as a board member of USC's John. H. Mitchell Business of Cinematic Arts Program. Brooksbank has lectured on film and television production, distribution, financing and clearance issues for various academic programs, including the UCLA Producers program, the Film Independent Grants & Awards program and the School of Visual Arts MFA program in New York City.

Drew Eller

Drew Eller works on business development and corporate strategy for Range Media Partners, with a focus on developing new partnership, distribution, and financing models for Range's clients and business divisions. His work has entailed the funding and launching of new talent-led ventures, content divisions for Range, and exploration into a broad spectrum of new opportunities -- from games publishers to sports leagues to AI.

Drew previously worked on the launch of HBO Max, focusing on content strategy, strategic partnerships, and DTC growth. He has also spent time at Entertainment One and CAA, working on television partnerships and financing. Drew also completed his MBA at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management in 2023, and holds a BA from USC. He is an avid fan of Bay Area sports teams, and enjoys playing rec-league softball and golf.

Christian Sutton*

Christian Sutton Director, Producer, Chief Marketing Officer - Psycho Films As a founding partner of Psycho Films, Christian has helped champion it's philosophy by aggressively taking advantage of film, music, entertainment zeitgeist and the emerging digital influence of urban culture. Through his unique communication style, he has forged connections with artists, agencies, and investors which have helped Psycho Films expand its business, increase its revenue, and diversify its income streams. He works to unite each of Psycho's team members' disparate voices into one unified vision, helping to develop talent, produce content, and manage and maintain an unmistakable brand.

Sam Canter*

Sam Canter is the Co-Founder and CEO of Psycho Films. Through Psycho, he has produced music videos for artists including Kendrick Lamar, Olivia Rodrigo, Dominic FIke, Aminéand Doja Cat. He was the Executive Producer of the MSNBC docu-series, MODEL AMERICA, and alongside Darren Aronofsky just produced his first feature film, LITTLE DEATH, starring David Schwimmer. Sam is also an Adjunct Professor at USC, teaching the "Entertainment Industry Launchpad" class in The John H. Mitchell Business of Cinematic Arts Program.

Jon Rosenblum*

Jon is an agent in the Non-Scripted Department at WME based in Beverly Hills, where he started his career in the mailroom in 2014 (plus an internship while in BCA). His work focuses heavily on navigating the intersection between sports and media, while also representing a long list of traditional storyteller/producers.

* Image coming soon!