Reimagine the Greenlight with Ted Hope, irina Albita and Anjali Midha

In an increasingly competitive and congested distribution marketplace, better and more informed decision making upstream is increasingly essential. However, formulaic and algorithmically influenced content continues to enter the system, often leaving audiences cold.

Is there a better way? How can we support intuitive creativity with robust data analytics, audience insights and distribution intelligence? What are the tools, resources and information that can underpin more effective commissioning or investment decisions? Where are the information blindspots and how can filmmakers formulate a more robust investment opportunity? How can we create more inclusiveness in the greenlight process?

These are some of the questions explored with 3 leaders in their field across film, data and technology featuring legendary producer Ted Hope, Co Founder and Co-CEO of Film Chain, Irina Albita and Anjali Midha, Founder and CEO of Diesel Labs. 

Ted Hope has been a producer on over 70 films, studio executive on over 60, CEO of a start-up streamer, co-head of 3 production companies, executive director of a film society & festival, a Professor Of Practice at 2 universities, and founder of a post-production facility, 2 websites, 2 think tanks, & an app. Ted launched Amazon’s foray into feature film production, leading them to 19 Oscar nominations and 5 wins. As a producer, his films have received 25 Oscar nominations, with 6 wins. Ted’s memoir and newsletter Hope For Film, are both must reads. Ted helped launch the feature film careers of Ang Lee, Nicole Holofcener, Hal Hartley, Michel Gondry and many others. His most recent films include the first narrative from Oscar-winning documentary director, Roger Ross Williams, Cassandro, as well as the documentary Invisible Nation on Taiwan, directed and produced by Vanessa Hope. Irina Albita is a technologist with over 12 years experience in the London/NYC tech scene, with a mathematics-economics background. Her passion is exploring how emerging tech radically transforms creative industries, and she is a prominent figure at film & tech events worldwide. She co-founded FilmChain alongside Maria Tanjala. The platform is transforming how producers, financiers, and sales agents get paid. With a digital collection account management (CAM) for indie films and a royalties management solution for content distributors, FilmChain brings transparency to payments and modernises royalties. Former EFM Startups 2018, they have won awards such as ‘Startup of the Year’ London Business Awards 2020, Startup Challenge at San Sebastian Film Festival 2020, Makers and Shakers 2020, and Unchain Fintech Festival 2022, to name a few.

Anjali Midha is an entrepreneur with a passion for driving innovation in media and marketing analytics. She is the co-founder & CEO of Diesel Labs, a content analytics company that addresses the toughest questions facing media companies today. Before starting Diesel Labs, she was the Global Director of Media Research at Twitter where she developed the ‘playbook’ for television - illuminating the synergies and opportunities across traditional and new media. She joined Twitter via their acquisition of Bluefin Labs (the pioneer of Social TV Analytics), prior to which she was the VP of Strategy & Analytics at Digitas. Anjali holds a BA in Economics from Tufts University and an MBA from MIT Sloan

This session is part of the Reimagining the Ecosystem Series presented by usheru and Screenovators: a series of talks featuring industry pioneers, trailblazers and thought leaders exploring whether it is time to reimagine the film ecosystem?