St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase
Master Class: Finding Financing
LIVE STREAM
Moderated by Cliff Froehlich, executive director of Cinema St. Louis, and featuring the following panelists:
Srikant Chellappa: Srikant is an Indian-American director, producer, actor, and screenwriter based in St. Louis. His film credits include the action-comedy “Bad Grandmas” (2017), the drama “Sleep with Me” (2015), the thriller “Fatal Call” (2012), the horror film “Ghost Image” (2007), and the documentary “Running Against Dick” (2004). Srikant is also a tech entrepreneur and is the co-founder/president of Engagedly, an enterprise cloud software platform. He is a board member of Cinema St. Louis.
David Johnson: An award-winning executive producer, David has experience in film, television, digital, mobile/tablet-based apps, social-media campaigns, and experiential marketing for some of the world's most recognized brands, including Budweiser, Maxwell House Coffee, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Build-A-Bear, and Chrysler. David launched his career producing television commercials before transitioning to feature-film production as a development executive for Outlaw Productions and director of production for Mike Binder's Sunlight Productions. At Sunlight, David co-produced the films “Londinium” and “The Search for John Gissing.” David then joined Coolfire Studios, and within two years he was made partner and named president. Coolfire’s original entertainment endeavors include hit shows like “Welcome to Sweetie Pie's” (OWN), “Fast & Loud” (Discovery), “Resale Royalty” (Style), and the Emmy-winning docu-series “The Frontline for Hope.” Over the past two years, David has returned to his filmmaking roots to executive-produce the narrative feature “The Ghost Who Walks” and the documentary “Walt & the Winter Olympics.” David is vice chair of Cinema St. Louis.
Jay Kanzler: Jay is a lawyer and a filmmaker. He has written, directed, and produced films, including “Marshall’s Miracle,” starring Lauren Holly, Elizabeth Shannon, and Bill Chott, and “23 Minutes to Sunrise,” starring Eric Roberts. His narrative and documentary films have shown in theaters and on television around the world, winning multiple awards along the way. As a lawyer, he has represented actors, writers, and producers in all entertainment-related matters. Jay is the former board chair of Cinema St. Louis.
Andrea Sporcic Klund: Andrea is the film commissioner for Missouri and runs the Missouri Film Office, which is a part of the Missouri Division of Tourism. She has been in the film biz representing Missouri for more than 20 years. Since 2005, she has worked to market Missouri to the film and television industry nationwide. Andrea has helped coordinate production logistics for more than 30 feature films and hundreds of television segments and series filmed all over the state, including the feature films “Up in the Air,” “Winter’s Bone,” and “Gone Girl” and the TV series “Sharp Objects” and “Ozark.” Before joining the film office, she spent eight years with Cinema St. Louis as director of operations. She holds B.A. degrees in theater and corporate communications from Lindenwood University. She has also acted, written, directed, and produced for the stage and screen.
