FAN EXPO Boston, the three-day pop-culture extravaganza, is featuring Massachusetts film industry leaders on a panel, “So You Want to be in Pictures? How to Make it in the Mass. Film Industry. The panel takes place on Friday, August 12, 2022, at 6 p.m. at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC).

Fan Expo attendees will learn firsthand about how to break into the film industry in Massachusetts which continues to be a hotbed of activity for making movies.

The panel includes casting directors, producers, actors and film festival directors who will share their expertise and tell stories about what it is like to make films in Massachusetts. Panelists have worked on Made in Mass films including Academy award-winner CODA, the upcoming Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody, Knives Out, Equalizer 2, Patriots Day, Fever Pitch, Stronger, The Fighter, Free Guy, Daddy’s Home and more.

Panelists include:

  • Angela Peri, Owner and Founder of Boston Casting
  • Lisa Lobel, Co-owner of Boston Casting
  • Andrea Lyman, actor, singer, filmmaker and New England Local President of SAG/AFTRA
  • Naheem Garcia, actor and teaching artist
  • Kris Meyer, Emmy nominated, award-winning producer, co-founder of Muddhouse Media, whose work includes Fever Pitch, On Broadway, Lost Son of Havana (ESPN), Plimpton (PBS) Super Troopers 2, Last Night in Rozzie (Hulu.)
  • Jeff Kalligheri, Co-founder and producer of Compelling Pictures which is producing the Whitney Houston biopic made in MA, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, currently in post-production.
  • Robin Dawson, Executive Director of the Boston Film Festival and producer of Twin Lights Entertainment
  • Lisa Simmons, Artistic Director and Curator of the Roxbury International Film Festival.

Monica Madeja, reporter & anchor at NBC 10 Boston and necn, is moderate of the panel discussion.  

The panel is free for Fan Expo attendees. Fans who have Friday tickets are welcome to participate.

The Film Industry panel is part of Fan Expo Film Lover Friday on August 12, which features a special after-hours event at 9 p.m. with actor Greg Sestero and a screening of the cult classic film The Room, where he played the character Mark. Sestero is also the author of his memoir, the book The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made, which was adapted into a Golden-Globe winning film by Warner Bros and A24. Sestero will also meet and greet fans after the screening.

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Here is a calendar from Signature Boston of upcoming conventions, conferences and meetings taking place in the months ahead.