Join us for a panel discussing the process of the bringing a film through the festival circuit. This panel will feature Caryn Coleman (The Future of Film is Female), Cara Cusumano (Tribeca Film Festival), Jonathan Marc Lipp (Big Apple Film Festival), Susan Margolin (Producer) and Ben Thompson (Tribeca Film Festival). Moderated by Lori Hammel
Bios:
Cara Cusumano is the Festival Director and SVP of Programming for the Tribeca Film Festival. She has been with Tribeca since 2008, during which time the festival has become a globally respected showcase, premiering major work including Oscar-nominated documentaries Virunga, Which Way Home, and Ascension, and first films from Damien Chazelle, Reed Morano, Alma Har’el, Nia DaCosta, and Ryan Coogler. She introduced an episodic programming section to the festival beginning in 2016, making Tribeca the first film festival to add TV as an official section, and subsequently hosting the world premieres of notable series including The Handmaid’s Tale, Chef’s Table, The Boys, and The Bear. During her tenure as Festival Director, Tribeca has been called “an annual powerhouse” (Time Out), “reliably and inarguably excellent” (Village Voice), and “one of the most prestigious festivals of the new millennium” (Playlist); “an early champion of multiplatform storytelling” (Variety) and “the godfather of all gatherings for movie fans” (The Economist). Prior to Tribeca, Cusumano has worked with film organizations including the Hamptons International Film Festival, the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, the Brooklyn International Film Festival, IFP, POV, Chicken & Egg, & Sundance. She frequently serves on festival juries, among them CPH:DOX, Los Cabos Film Festival, DOC NYC, Nordisk Panorama, Bogota Audiovisual Market (BAM), and the Nantucket Film Festival, and has spoken on panels hosted by IFP, the Doha Film Institute, NYU, UnionDocs, the Athena Film Festival, and IndieWire, among others.
Jonathan Marc Lipp is the founder and director of the Big Apple Film Festival, which has been a premiere film festival in New York City since 2003. The festival has welcomed a long list of acclaimed talent throughout the years, including multiple Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy Award winners and nominees. He has also written, produced and directed multiple projects of his own that have screened at various festivals throughout the years. Jonathan also serves as host and producer of the Big Apple Film Festival Podcast, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon.
Susan Margolin is a producer and pioneer of digital film distribution with over 25 years of experience in independent film and media. As co-founder of distributor New Video/Docurama Films in 1992, she built the company into a leading force in independent film distribution before its acquisition by Cinedigm in 2012. During her tenure, she distributed over 400 critically acclaimed documentaries, including Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering's The Invisible War and D.A. Pennebaker's Don't Look Back. In 2016, Margolin launched St. Marks Productions, where she has produced and executive produced numerous award-winning feature documentaries. Her recent producing credits include Nancy Buirski's Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy (Zeitgeist/Kino Lorber), which premiered at Venice and Telluride and was shortlisted for an Academy Award; Billy Shebar's Monk in Pieces, which premiered at Berlinale 2025; and Trish Adlesic's A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting for HBO. Margolin serves on the boards of Chicken & Egg Films and Manhattan Neighborhood Network, and on the advisory boards of New York Women in Film and Television and the Documentary Producers Alliance. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), and the Producers Guild of America (PGA).
Ben Thompson: A graduate from Aberystwyth University Ben left Wales and London to settle in New York. Soon after arriving he joined the Tribeca Film Festival where he is currently the VP of Shorts Programming. From the start of his career as a filmmaker Ben has always had a keen interest in short form storytelling. While at Tribeca he discovered a passion for programming and presenting short films to new and engaged audiences. He is fascinated by the influence film has on our world and culture and travels to search out new stories from around the globe. He has watched over 13,000 short films for Tribeca alone.
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation Short Film Showcase has returned after a five-year hiatus. This program recognizes excellent short films and other shortform content made by and/or starring SAG-AFTRA members and inspires SAG-AFTRA members to create their own content, providing them with a toolkit and the requisite knowledge to get started as content creators.
