Join us as we hear pitches from the newest Fast Track Fellows & Diversity Initiative Selected writers. They get on the spot feedback from the industry panel. This is an incredible valuable tool to help you fine tune your own pitches.

Time Stamps
0:00 - Welcome!
2:45 - Introduction of the Panelist
9:40 - How has Pitching evolved
11:15 - What is the Ideal Pitch length
13:51 - Most Important Take away From a Pitch
17:22 - “Toccata and Fugue” by Jennifer Giacalone (Pitch 1)
20:36 - Feedback from Panelists for “Toccata and Fugue”
26:35 - “Daughter of Heaven” by Lindsay Kamikawa (Pitch 2)
31:04 - Feedback from Panelists for “Daughter of Heaven”
36:57 - “Good Bones” by Justine Rivero (Pitch 3)
40:56 - Feedback from Panelists for “Good Bones”
46:53 - “Hail Mary” by Stephanie Neroes
49:54 - Feedback from Panelists for “Hail Mary”
56:21 - Closing

Rachael Shapiro has been a senior programmer for Just for Laughs ComedyPRO for over 10 years, and the creator and producer of the long running 'Stand Up & Pitch' program, held annually at the well known Montreal JFL Comedy Festival. Rachael also created and oversaw the popular 'PowerBroker' one-on-one industry sessions and participated in the management of numerous industry focused programs held throughout the four day conference.

Rachael specializes in B2B new business development and media event production and marketing. Currently consulting as VP of Marketing and Channel Management at Glocal Media, the programming team behind a host of international channels on Amazon's SVOD platforms, as well as international packages on satellite and IPTV platforms, she oversees the introduction of content from the UK, Australia, Ireland, English Canada, China, The Philippines and Vietnam, and provides marketing support.

Earlier projects include consultant to iThentic, a digital production and distribution company, advising on content acquisitions and social media outreach and acting as an LA point person for the company’s Toronto-based operations. Rachael also served as Program Coordinator for the PGA Produced By Conference and assisted the Canadian Film Centre in building its LA presence with strategic industry events. Other previous projects include the production of on-air branding campaigns for cable TV and celebrity talent booking for interstitial programming and live events, with a focus on independent cinema (clients include ABC Family, IFC, VH1, MTV, Bravo); Heading up the marketing department and later, filmmaker relations division, of Reelplay.com, an on-line marketplace for independent film and TV product, responsible for the creation and launch of a distinct Independent Filmmakers Marketplace of over 1,500 websites for films in various stages of development and production; Director of the Independent Feature Film Market (IFFM) produced by the Independent Feature Project (IFP) in NY, developing and encouraging strong ties in the international film community and participating actively in many film and TV festivals and trade shows including Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, Sundance, Mipcom and the AFM.

Felicity Wren is the VP of Development at the ISA and Co-VP of Development for Creative Screenwriter Productions. An award-winning actor, originally from London, she studied all areas of Performance for her Honors and then Master’s Degrees. She then formed her own Production Company, Unrestricted View, which runs a theatre in London and curates three film festivals annually.

Since moving to Los Angeles over a decade ago, Felicity has continued acting and producing, winning five performance awards and producing sixteen film projects to date. She splits her time between Creative Screenwriter Productions and the management of the ISA Development Team, working directly with the Development Slate Writers, ISA Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch, and the ISA community. The Development Team has fostered enduring relationships with many of the industry’s finest, ensuring their writers projects get in front of eminent producers, managers and agents in Hollywood. Through Felicity and her team’s efforts, they have successfully paired several writer/director partnerships with productions underway, introduced writers to their managers, and have been instrumental in facilitating screenplay options with their contacts at C2 Motion Pictures, Fear Not Productions, Ethea Entertainment, Endless Media and Adam Krentzman Films. Felicity has been pitching CSP’s slate of projects to Hulu, Doozer Productions, DreamWorks, Groundswell and Fuzzy Door, to name a few. Shayna Weber is a screenwriter and producer originally from Bend, Oregon. She started out her professional career assisting in casting for music videos and talent management before beginning a 15-year career as a producer in unscripted television. Her roster of shows includes: “So You Think You Can Dance,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” “Weakest Link,” VH1’s “Band’s Reunited,” “Brew Dogs,” “She’s Got The Look,” Disney’s “Code 9,” and the Miss Universe Pageants. Shayna is also producer on the award- winning, horror/comedy, Lunch Ladies, and then directed its follow up, A Very Important Film, both of which have received distribution. Shayna and her partner, Clarissa Jacobson, under their Rebel Minx banner, are in post-production of a short film they directed titled Butts, which follows a day in the life of their 3’11” friend Kent who lives with brittle bone disease and his POV is looking at butts all day. They also recently sold a horror feature script to be filmed in Europe this fall.