Producers to Watch Panelists Talk the Rise of Independent Films, Financial Limitations and the Importance of Festivals

By Tanya Fedak

Tanya Fedak

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The producers recognized on Variety’s 10 Producers to Watch list offered a look at the changing film industry during a panel in partnership with the Bentonville Film Festival, where Variety’s Carole Horst led the discussion on the challenges of producing and how independent films are evolving.

Producers don’t play just one role in the filmmaking process. Apoorva Charan (“Take Me Home”) began the panel by sharing what the job entails, which includes reading scripts, seeking talent, raising financing, hiring crew, strategizing distribution and supervising production and budgets.

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