Join Raina Pratto in a conversation with screenwriters, reps, and producers on topics including Navigating Interpersonal Hollywood Relationships, Handling Rejection, Finding Your Network, Pitching Your POV.
Panelists Include:
Aadip Desai - writer, THE GOLDBERGS, MIRA, ROYAL DETECTIVE, etc., former Director of Digital Marketing at Roadmap Writers - Aadip Desai is an actively working tv writer/screenwriter. Aadip was honored a BAFTA Breakthrough for his work as a staff writer on The Goldbergs (ABC/Sony) and has written freelance episodes for Mira Royal Detective (Disney), Sharkdog (Netflix/Nick), and Dew Drop Diaries (Netflix/DreamWorks). He dropped out of AFI’s MFA Screenwriting program after being selected for the ABC/Disney TV Writing Program. When not writing, Aadip runs the 17.5k+ LA TV Writers Facebook Group, is an Advisor/Instructor at the Sundance Institute, a speaker at top film schools (NYU, UCLA, USC, AFI), a mentor/judge for fellowships and competitions, interviewer of industry pros, and panelist (AFF, CAPE, BAFTA, Disney, etc.). He’s a former Co-Host/Producer of the On the Page screenwriting podcast, and former President of the Northwest Screenwriters Guild in Seattle. Aadip has a vestigial BA in Economics and a Minor in Music from the University of Puget Sound (the one with the pretty brochures). In his former life he worked in marketing for music, tech, hospitality, healthcare, and more, working for brands like Microsoft, Reading Rainbow, Sony Music, Target, Starbucks, Nordstrom, and more
Jacob Hayman - Literary Manager, Citizen Skull - An aspiring producer, recovering casting professional, and current Lit Manager with Citizen Skull, Jacob Hayman is the host of the ‘First and Third Wednesdays’ networking event at The Red Lion Tavern, and was a former participant in the 2020 CSA BIPOC Mentorship Program and 2021 HRTS Mentorship Program, under Artios Award-winner Stephanie Holbrook and Additive Management’s Adden Laughlin, respectively. Prior to then, he served as a feature Casting Assistant to Jan Glaser (The Munsters), commercial Casting Coordinator for Clio-winner Terry Berland (‘Invader Zim’), unscripted Casting Associate Producer to Artios Award-nominee Katy Wallin (‘Wipeout’), and Executive Assistant to Michael Greenwald at Endorse Management Group, after spending a fair amount of time as a bartender, projectionist, and server while freelancing on set, and interning at Eclectic Pictures and Partos Co. Features for which he served as Casting Director have won ‘Best Drama’ and ‘New Visions’ at Cinequest (Trust), as well as Best Actress at the DTLA Film Festival (This Is Your Song), while Wine Club was nominated for Best Comedy and 2x Best Actor at Kevin Smith’s Smodcastle Film Festival. He was also the Production Coordinator on Katie’s Mom, which won Best Comedy at Dances With Films, while his short film producing debut, Fudgie Freddie, screened at Beyond Fest and was nominated for Best Midnight Short and Best Actor at FilmQuest. In his spare time he reads scripts and does research assignments for Oscar-winner Fred Roos (Godfather Part II) and prioritizes tiki bars, fire pits, and movie nights with dear friends.
Sam Schifrien - Co-founder/producer @ Cedar93. With nearly two decades of experience in entertainment, Sam Schifrien can trace her fascination for the magic of film & TV back to a moment in her Northern New Jersey kindergarten, when she learned to tie her shoes for a sketch on the MTV show The State. In the three decades since that moment, Sam has gone on to work for multiple representation companies in several capacities, networks & studios in international development and media relations, in a writers’ room and on sets (where her responsibilities grew beyond tying shoes).
Most recently before starting her own company, 93 Cedar, Sam developed a slate for Untitled Entertainment that included projects (mainly television) with Christina Ricci, Reggie Hudlin, Chris Diamantopoulos, Annie Chang, The Crown Princess of Greece, Vanessa Hudgens, Melanie Griffith, and Jack & Danny Huston. Before Untitled, Sam worked with producer Michael Rosenberg (Hung, The Riches) at roseyTV, originally under a deal with eOne. Most notably, roseyTV produced PopTV’s Let Get Physical from Workaholics’ Connor Pritchard and starring Matt Jones & Jane Seymour, for which Sam received a Development Associate credit. Prior to that, Sam worked with JoAnn Alfano, first on ABC’s Resurrection starring Omar Epps & Frances Fisher, with a writing staff that included Tara Butters & Michele Fazekas, Aaron Zelman, Tom Schnauz, and the late, great Nathan Louis Jackson, as well as producing-directors Dan Attias & Chris Misiano. Sam followed JoAnn to NBCUniversal International where the slate of projects originated from companies within the UK, Australia and Canada, and included Carnival’s Downton Abbey, Australia’s Glitch which streamed on Netflix, & You, Me, and the Apocalypse which aired in the US on NBC.
Sam started her career (really at ABC Media Relations in NYC in high school, but in Los Angeles) at Brillstein Entertainment Partners, captaining their flag football team and working for literary manager Margaret Riley, whose rosters includes Charles Randolph (The Big Short), Susanna Fogel (A Small Light), Alex Tse (Wu-Tang Saga), Mark Ruffalo (Sympathy for Delicious), Margaret Nagle (Warm Springs), Ann Cherkis (Better Call Saul) and Anthony Zuiker (CSI). Sam proudly graduated from the USC Business-Cinematic Arts Joint Degree Program started by industry legend and former WMA agent Larry Auerbach, with Order of Troy Honors for service.
In addition to working to build 93 Cedar, recently Sam has worked in story analysis and IP evaluation for companies with major studio deals, and judged screenplay competitions for various festivals, institutions and organizations. Currently, she is looking for like-minded partners and is building a slate that includes female-created genre, comedy with a purpose/has a personal connection to the creator & builds up opposed to tearing down, and any non-fiction or docu-series projects which could be partnered with advocacy groups.
Nerris Nevarez-Nassiri - writer/Roadmap Writer Success Story - Nerris Nevarez-Nassiri is a first-generation writer/director with both Latine and MENASA roots. His features have placed in the Austin Film Festival Finals, the Nicholl, ScreenCraft, Stowe Launch, and others. He's won fellowships with The Disruptors, Minorities in Film, Theatre Now New York, and The Black List. Beyond writing, Nerris was director and host of the Aputure YouTube channel, which, after getting over 200,000 subscribers, won the YouTube Creator Award for education in filmmaking. His short films have screened at numerous festivals, and his commercial collaborations with Disney, Cirque du Soleil, The White House, and The Mighty have garnered over 750 million views. Nerris graduated from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television with Latin Honors, and was founding president of the university's chapter of Delta Kappa Alpha. He aspires to create compelling coming-of-age music films spotlighting BIPOC protagonists who face and overcome adversity, fostering recognition for underrepresented communities in cinema.
