2005 Producers Lab Participants Announced
Los Angeles - Dawn Hudson, Executive Director of Film Independent, announced today the participants in the organization's annual Producers Lab. The Lab runs from October 15 through November 22, with participants meeting three times a week.

The Producers Lab is designed to help producers working in independent film improve their craft and to help them develop strategies for getting their films made. Participants selected for the 2005 Film Independent Producers Lab are:

Jason Free and Neda Niroumand, Affection
Ryan Navejar Gomez, Stateside
Charlie Kimball, Mickle
Lucienne Pappon, Husky
Scott Prendergast, Kabluey
Kate Roughan, The Undeniable Charm of Sloppy Unruh
Chris Stinson, We Are the Mods
Nathan Swisher, Coyote Sleeps
Juli Vizza, Amreeka
Nick Wrathall, Gore Vidal's America
Producer Shelby Stone, whose credits include Lackawanna Blues and Skipped Parts, is teaching this year's Lab. Guest speakers include Stephanie Allain (Hustle & Flow), entertainment attorney Craig Emanuel, producer Gina Kwon (Me and You and Everyone We Know), producer Debra Grieco (Lovely and Amazing, The Assassination of Richard Nixon), Joe Picharillo (family of Focus Features), and business plan expert
Louise Levison.

''In the few years since its inception, the Producers Lab has quickly become one of our most exciting programs. It's great to see films like Jessica Sanders' ‘After Innocence' and Ted Kroeber's ‘American Gun' coming out of the Lab. Shelby Stone is such a great producer, we are thrilled to have her teaching this year's Lab,'' said Dawn Hudson, Executive Director of Film Independent.

The Filmmaker Labs are talent development programs for emerging writers, directors and producers working in independent film. Past graduates include Ted Kroeber, who produced American Gun, the IFC film which premiered at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival, and Jessica Sanders, whose feature documentary After Innocence premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and is being released theatrically by New Yorker Films this fall. Past lab instructors include Allison Anders, Effie Brown, Tony Drazan, Rodrigo GarcÃ-a, Matthew Greenfield, Nicole Holofcener, Jasmine
Kosovic, Michael Steinberg, Jeff Stockwell, Barbara Turner, and Lee David Zlotoff. Past guest speakers include Peter Broderick, Reuben Cannon, John Cooper, Amy Israel, Sandy Stern, and Janet Yang.

The Labs began in 1999 with the advent of its Screenwriters Lab. In subsequent years, an annual Producers Lab and Directors Lab were added, to address the needs of these constituencies within the independent film community. Held in Los Angeles for seven weeks, each Lab provides emerging filmmakers with a safe, intimate environment in which to hone their craft and meet industry professionals who can help them forward their careers.

Participants in the Producers Lab received a complimentary pass to Film ndependent's First Annual Filmmaker Forum: Sell Your Film Without Getting Screwed, the 2005 Producer Series, and free E.P. Budgeting and Movie Magic Scheduling software, donated by Entertainment Partners.
Film Independent is the largest non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. We help filmmakers get movies made and seen by audiences. Additionally, we work to increase diversity in the industry by helping filmmakers from underrepresented communities tell their stories.

Our 6,300 members have access to discounted equipment, editing suites, casting rooms, a valuable resource library, over 120 free screenings, and 150 educational events every year.
Film Independent also produces the Los Angeles Film Festival, celebrating the best of American and international independent film; and the Independent Spirit Awards, the premier awards event of the independent film community. Our members attend nominee screenings for the Spirit Awards, view nominated films through Netflix, and vote for the winners.
Contact: Michele Robertson / Karen Oberman, MRC
(310) 652-6123