|
Jed Dietz
Director of the Maryland Film
Festival
President of the Producer's Club of
Maryland
The Executive Producer of the Fox
Network's movie Rise and Walk: The Dennis Byrd Story, Jed
Dietz is the founder and general partner of Film Development
Partners. FDP is a limited partnership investing in ideas for
feature film production. The fund has been used to develop
ideas into screenplays for a variety of producers ranging from
the actor Kevin Bacon to Larry Turman (The River Wild), and
now has 15 projects in various stages of development. Mr.
Dietz is involved with Parting the Waters, an eight-hour
mini-series for ABC.
In 1993, Mr. Dietz founded the
Producers Club of Maryland, Inc., a not for profit corporation
to help the Maryland Film Office attract more film and
television production to Maryland. The organization represents
business leaders from around the state and has been
instrumental in a significant increase in the film business in
Maryland in the past few years.
The Producers Club
owns the Maryland Regional Production Guide, the only
comprehensive "yellow pages" for film and television
production companies; has its own Web site geared to the Guide
(www.mdrpg.com); and organized a production conference,
REELMaryland, for local businesses who want to learn more
about the opportunities for increased business with production
companies. The Producers Club funds and administers the
Producers Club of Maryland Filmmakers Fellowship each year in
partnership with Sundance Labs. The Producers Club has
organized numerous premier screenings and marketing events on
both coasts.
Mr Dietz graduated from Deerfield
Academy, the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill where
he was a Morehead Scholar, and he holds an M.B.A. from the
University of Rochester. He serves on the Marketing Committee
of the National Aquarium, and is on the Board of Baltimore’s
CenterStage.
Skizz Cyzyk
Programming Manager
Skizz is a filmmaker, and founder of
MicroCineFest, the fall festival that has introduced countless
underground films to the Baltimore area since 1997. As a
filmmaker, Skizz is known for the Formstone documentary Little
Castles, that he directed and edited, and an award-winning
animated short called 4 Films in 5 Minutes. Skizz serves as a
Jury member and projectionist at Slamdance, and consults with
various other festivals including the Atlanta Film & Video
Festival and Alabama’s Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. A
founding member of the Maryland Film Festival's Programming
Advisory Board, Skizz has made important programming
contributions to each of the first two Festivals, before
taking on the position of Programing Manager in 2001.
Taryn Gentry
Director
of Business Development
Taryn Gentry graduated
with honors from the University of Louisville in
Kentucky with degrees in Communications and Theatre
Performance. While in college, Taryn performed in
several Main Stage productions at the University as well as
landing a national role as a co-host for A&F TV for
Abercrombie and Fitch. She also had a supporting role in
an independent film, Shennanigans produced by college
students in Louisville. While she has always wanted to
maintain ties with the entertainment industry, she made a run
in the corporate world for several years before landing at the
Maryland Film Festival. In her corporate journey she
became a jack of all trades. Her skills include
management, human resources, payroll and
advertising/marketing. Her passions include
spending time with her husband and friends as well
as volunteering and fundraising for BreastFest and the
the Friends of the Walter's Art Muesum. It only seems a
natural fit for Taryn to bring her dynamic background to
the Maryland Film Festival and add to their incredible
team.
Paul Weiss
Operations Manager
Paul is a filmmaker who holds a BFA in Film/Video/Animation from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and was recently featured in a cover story in The City Paper (Click Here to Read the Story). Paul has worked in a variety of positions in a variety of films, ranging from features to corporate/industrial and documentary works. He has produced several film projects including Dollar Theater, which is available on the web. Paul edited Josh Slates’ short, Ponkutsu Park, which screened at MFF 2006. In addition to his film background, Paul has also held various sales and marketing positions, most recently as the Preferred Gallery Manager for the Rosen Group.
|
