Lights, Camera, Diaspora!
Workshops @
Pavillon Afrique
Cannes Film Fest 2021
PITCHING;
GETTING A YES!
JULY 6,
3:15PM-6:15PM
GMT +2
KELLY EDWARDS
Veteran producer and creative executive Kelly Edwards has worked at every major studio in Hollywood. Her new book, The Executive Chair, will be released this October on Amazon and Barnes and
Noble, the cheat codes to breaking in and navigating the entertainment business.
Mentored by legendary director Garry Marshall at Disney and famed producer Laura Ziskin at Sony in the
feature space, Edwards eventually shifted her focus to television, where she served as a comedy executive at
Fox and headed up UPN’s Comedy division.
After producing a drama series for Paramount, she moved on to NBCUniversal, where she oversaw diversity for
their twenty networks. Edwards spent her final stint as an exec creating HBO and Warner Media
Entertainment's emerging artists programs. Along the way, she also produced a Christmas movie for Hallmark.
Edwards holds a B.A. in Theater from Vassar and an MFA in Screenwriting from Emerson College. She runs the
non-profit Colour Entertainment, has been a Sundance Episodic Lab fellow, and has raised three amazingly
brilliant daughters.
PRODUCTION
DESIGN
JULY 9
4:00PM - 7:00PM
GMT +2
LESTER COHEN
attended Rhode Island School Of Design & NYU. He has designed numerous television series & pilots including THE UNDOING, SNEAKY PETE, SUITS, HBO’s limited series “THE NIGHT OF” & Hulu’s “THE LOOMING TOWER”. John Turturro’s remake of the French farce “Going Places” as well. His Feature work includes the comedies FADING GIGOLO, and FORCES OF NATURE, the children’s film HARRIETT THE SPY, the documentary THIN BLUE LINE and finally such dramatic films as COPLAND, STANDER, and THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON. Independent features include TRUE LOVE, JUICE starring Tupac Shakur. Lester is also active in the commercial world designing hundreds of ads for the likes of American Express, E-Bay, Fed Ex, Kayak, Mercedes, Nike, Suntory Whiskey, and many others. Directors include Alfonso Cuaron, Jim Sheridan, Ernest Dickerson, John Turturro and David Duchovny.
PRODUCING
JULY 11
4:00 - 7:00PM
GMT +2
PAUL GARNES
Head of Physical Production for Ava DuVernay's ARRAY FILMS. Garnes’ working relationship started with her films Middle of Nowhere and Selma. He also worked on the TV side on Queen Sugar and the recent anthology series Cherish the Day. Garnes has also served as a producer, line producer and/or production manager on films and television series for Disney, Dreamworks, HBO, ABC, NBC, BET, Sony/Screen Gems, Magnolia and Paramount Pictures. Prior to Array, Garnes worked as Vice President of Operations and Production for Foxx/King Productions, Head of Production for Simmons- Lathan Media Group and served as Vice President and Executive in Charge of Production for the Tyler Perry Company, supervising over 250 episodes of broadcast television while at the studio.
CAMERA &
LIGHTING
JULY 13
4PM - 7PM
GMT +2
CHRISTIAN EPPS
has a 40 year career in film, television and live event industry as a lighting designer, Director Of Photography, Gaffer and Creative Direction. His work has featured Beyoncé, Michael Jackson, Oprah, 2 U.S. presidents, and seen on ABC, HBO, Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, The Olympics, and more. Recent projects include Beyoncé’s Black Is King, Lovecraft Country, Sylvie’s Love, and American Horror Stories’s Scared.
In Africa he’s worked professionally on Netflix’s 1st original production, ‘Queen Sono’, and their first original Nigerian production ‘Orisha’, and for Africa Magic, Nigerian Breweries, Emem Isong, and many more.
Understanding the real value for America and Africa to connect, he created Lights, Camera, Diaspora! (lightscameradiaspora.org) to connect people, companies, and institutions on the African Continent with those in the Diaspora. LCD! has hosted workshops in Africa for 7 years covering Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Zimbawe, and 4 more countries. Clients include Multichoice Talent Factory, AFRIFF, Shoko Festival, KZN Film Commission, Rwanda Film Festival and several U.S. Embassies. The long term results of this platform is a “more economically sustainable, culturally cohesive, and globally unified foundation for Africans across the globe”.