Netflix vs. the World
The documentary’s Writer, Director, and Producer talk about the practicalities and challenges of documentary film making, funding and promoting. The double edged sword that are the streaming platforms - so much to see so much to choose from. SEO. Investor and audience development.
Speakers: Valerie Mcgowan, Shawn Cauthen, Gina Keating, Micheal Flaherty
Chair: Valerie Mcgowan
Chair
Valerie Mcgowan
Producer
Valerie is a Boston-based producer and co-founder of Epiphany Story Lab. Epiphany’s first documentary film, “Step", won the Grand Jury Award for Inspirational Filmmaking at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, and was distributed by Fox Searchlight. She has worked on several marketing efforts for films such as Abigail Disney’s documentary “The Armor of Light,” and Netflix’s “The Little Prince.” Currently, Valerie is working on The Tiger Rising, a film adaption of the beloved book by Kate DiCamillo. She is also a producer on "Netflix vs. The World” based on Gina Keating’s best-selling book which won Best Documentary at the 2019 Lonestar Film Festival and is now on Amazon Prime.
Speakers
Shawn Cauthen
Director
Director Shawn Cauthen made his directorial debut with Netflix vs. the World and was the second documentary he has produced. Cauthen is currently directing the docuseries, Fan Level Midnight: Devoted to The Office, based on the hit NBC show. He also is attached to direct, Call Me Papa, which is based on his short documentary by the same name. The film tells the story of Anne Frank’s father, Otto, and the people around the world who wrote to him after publishing Anne’s diary.
Gina Keating
Writer, Journalist, Podcaster, Author
Writer Gina Keating is a longtime journalist, podcaster and author of Netflixed: The Epic Battle for America’s Eyeballs (Portfolio/Penguin, 2012). She also wrote Wondery’s top-ranked podcast for Business Wars: Netflix vs. Blockbuster vs. HBO. She and Micheal Flaherty, award-winning film and documentary producer and co-founder of Walden Media, are starting a new podcast company, ThinkAgain Studios. Their current podcast, Raven 23: Presumption of Guilt, consistently places in the top one percent for each of its episodes and has been featured regularly on the news for its investigative journalism. Keating covered financial, government and law stories for three decades at the international wire services United Press International, Associated Press and Thomson Reuters, and for newspapers in Los Angeles and Austin. She lives in St Louis, and is a proud devotee of T-Ravs, the Blues and the Cardinals.
Micheal Flaherty
Co-founder Walden Media and co-founder epiphany Lab
Michael Flaherty co-founded Walden Media, a film company focused on adapting award-winning literature into award-winning films. Flaherty served as the President of Walden Media for fifteen years. During that time, Walden co- financed and produced nearly two dozen movies that grossed over $3 billion at the global box office, including ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’, ‘Bridge to Terabithia’, ‘The Giver’, ‘Charlotte’s Web’ and ‘Amazing Grace’.
