RANDI EMERMAN, Founder/CEO
Randi Emerman’s multi-faceted career spans film marketing, publicity, production, exhibition and distribution, along with live theater production and promotion. Combine that with her ability to cultivate relationships and connections inside the industry and you have a recognized leader with a well-rounded base of expertise that is second to none. With her “make it happen” philosophy, Emerman is known as a powerhouse for bringing talents together, while developing operational structure and partnerships for entertainment properties and cultural organizations.
Emerman has been involved with the film industry for over three decades. As head of Marketing and Corporate Communications for Muvico Theaters, she helped lead the team that created and branded some of the most innovative, unique, and highly attended venues in the country. Under Emerman’s tutelage, Muvico was thrust into the spotlight as she generated local, national, and international headlines for the company. During her years at Muvico, she spearheaded all theater, IMAX® Theater, and corporate marketing, promotions, and publicity. She was highly successful at creating programs designed to bring additional revenue streams to the circuit.
Most recently Emerman served as Vice President of Programming and Strategic Partnership for Silverspot Cinema. During her tenure, she built up their cinema profile and additional revenue streams through the company’s programming, where they not only showcased traditional Hollywood features and selections of independent and foreign films but introduced a blend of event cinema programming including the MET Opera Series; musicals and plays from Broadway; rock concerts, symphonic orchestras; and Flashback Cinema, a classic film series where you see your favorite films back on the big screen. In addition, Emerman created a unique curated program generating national and international attention to the company and was recently recognized by the Event Cinema Association in London for Best Programming in North America.
Emerman’s passion for film and promotional expertise drew her to the film festival world. After serving just one year on its board of directors, Emerman was named CEO of the Palm Beach International Film Festival where for twenty years, she expanded the festival’s relationship with filmmakers globally, providing early showcases for break-out films including: The Boynton Beach Club, Joel Zwick’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Little Traitor, and the award-winning documentary Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There. It was there that she first worked with Film Fest 919 co-founder Carol Marshall, who oversaw publicity at the festival.
Relocating to Chapel Hill, NC, Emerman found a community that had a similar passion for the arts and cinema and wanted to create a new event experience that would give them access to the best films of awards season and the chance to connect directly with the artists. This dream became a reality in 2018 with the inaugural Film Fest 919. Over half of the films featured went on to receive awards and critical acclaim, including the Oscar®-nominated films, ROMA, The Favourite, Green Book, Shoplifters and Capernaum – which Chapel Hill audiences voted as their favorite of the fest. With an unprecedented first year, Film Fest 919 is being hailed in the industry as the next big event on the awards circuit.
CAROL MARSHALL, Co-Founder/Director
Carol Marshall’s entertainment career started in 1979, as an assistant at renowned agency Solters/Roskin/Friedman, working with a roster of luminary clients including Frank Sinatra, Caesars Palace Las Vegas and the Grammy Awards. After 2 and a half years, she moved over to premiere entertainment PR firm Pickwick/Maslansky/Koenigsberg (PMK). During her 24-year tenure there, she worked on film campaigns for filmmakers including Robert Altman, Woody Allen, Mike Nichols and Cameron Crowe, as well as personal publicity for Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange, Queen Latifah and many more.
Having grown and thrived in this environment, Marshall applied her 27 years of experience to launch the eponymous boutique agency – Carol Marshall Public Relations, Inc. – which has continued to flourish since that time. CMPR’s roster of select clients has included actors Jimmy Smits (whom Marshall has represented for over 30 years), Wanda De Jesus, Carrie Fisher, Elliott Gould, Academy Award-winning writer/director/producer Peter Jackson, VFX masters Weta Digital and previsualization experts Proof Inc, the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts’ annual fundraiser Noche de Gala, and the award-winning live concert specials National Memorial Day Concert and A Capitol Fourth on PBS. Marshall’s diverse event experience includes Macy’s Passport, Project Angel Food’s Angel Award, the Dream Foundation, UCLA Care Center and AARP’s Movies For Grownups Awards. She has also toe-dipped into music, having previously worked with such artists as Barry Manilow (during which time he received 4 platinum albums), KC & The Sunshine Band, Whitney Houston, Heart, Gloria Gaynor and more.
It’s her sheer love of film that inspired Marshall to create a niche in the film festival world. She was an integral part of the tremendous growth of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where she oversaw publicity and talent relations for 25 years. She also worked for 15 years on the Palm Beach International Film Festival, alongside Film Fest 919 co-founder Randi Emerman. Her film festival expertise also includes Bermuda International Film Festival, Sonoma International Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, CineVegas Film Festival, SF’s Academy of Art Festival and Laguna Film Festival.
Marshall has since taken that desire to promote the arts and, along with Emerman, created Film Fest 919.
CLAUDIA PUIG, Program Director
Claudia Puig is a nationally recognized film journalist. She is president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. and has been a film critic on National Public Radio’s Film Week, on KPCC, since 2005. She was the lead critic at USA Today for 15 years, and host of the USA Today video series TheScreening Room. Her print reviews are currently featured in the online entertainment news site The Wrap. She has been a featured guest discussing movies on NPR’s Morning Edition, NBC, CBS, CNN and MSNBC.
Claudia has also been a speechwriter and diversity consultant for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, program director for the Mendocino Film Festival and consulting program director at the Napa Valley Film Festival. Claudia is also much in demand as a moderator for entertainment industry panels and Q&As, and has a consulting business specializing in film analysis and film festival curating.
She began her 30-year journalism career in 1986 as a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times where she covered crime, courts, radio, film and Spanish language media. In 1997 she became an entertainment reporter at USA Today, then film critic in 2001 and chief film critic in 2005. She also reviewed books during her tenure at USA Today. Claudia has covered the Sundance, Toronto and Cannes film festivals, and has been a juror at dozens of film festivals around the world from Ashland to Zurich. She is a native Spanish speaker and fluent in Italian and French. Claudia studied at Cambridge University and at Universidad Ibero-Americana in Mexico City. Claudia has a B.A. in Communications Studies from UCLA and an M.A. in Communications Management from University of Southern California’s Annenberg School.
CYNTHIA RAZA, National Publicity & Marketing
Based in Los Angeles, Cynthia Raza has over a decade of experience in marketing and publicity, including in-house stints at Warner Bros. and Netflix, as well as campaigns for mini-major clients on the agency side. Her background in campaigns, with an emphasis on digital, runs the gamut from major franchise releases and Academy Award® Winners to quirkier art-house fare. She has held staff roles at both AFI Fest and Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which gave her a passion for the unique way festivals allow audiences to connect with the art of cinema.
HEATHER BLAIR, Business Development Director
Heather is president of OuiMarket4U, Inc. a sales and marketing consulting agency. Whether a company has a service, product or solution, OuiMarket4U jumps in and finds new customers and revenue streams.
A recent client, MediaMation, hired Heather to increase their revenue. She brought them into the cinema market place and increased their sales revenue by 500%. She established relationships with the major film studios including Fox, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Warner Brothers, Lionsgate and STX to procure film titles to be programmed for a new interactive format called 4D. Her first client, Mexico’s Cinemex Cinema, (the 6th largest chain in the world) committed to a 15 theater roll out and chains across the US, Colombia, Curacao, Egypt, Croatia, Dubai, Bahrain, Qatar, and others have followed.
She now is VP of Extended Cinema, a new division of technology experience design company Holovis, which creates multisensory, immersive and interactive experiences to engage audiences. The company applies their expertise to a diverse range of industries; from the Enterprise Sector for automotive, manufacturing and construction solutions to Simulation; for aerospace and training and the Entertainment Sector; for scalable turn-key Dark Rides, motion-based attractions, media and real-time gaming solutions in theme parks, museums and visitor experiences. The company offers turnkey solutions from initial design and concept ideas to media creation, software development and installation
Her boutique consulting company, Heather Blair Consulting offers sales training to individuals and companies who need to brush up on sales techniques and strategies.
ART CHANSKY, Sponsorship & Gifts Liaison
Art has been covering UNC and ACC Basketball for 40 years, since his days as sports editor of the Daily Tar Heel. His popular books on the subject include Game Changers: Dean Smith, Charlie Scott, and the Era That Transformed a Southern College Town, 100 Things North Carolina Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, The Kid Who Couldn’t Dunk — The Phil Ford Story (which he co-wrote with Ford) and Blue Blood: Duke-Carolina: Inside the Most Storied Rivalry in College Hoops. His follow-up, Blue Blood II: Duke-Carolina: The Latest on the Never-Ending and Greatest Rivalry in College Hoops will be released by St. Martin’s Press on October 30th.
PHIL FORD, Community Ambassador
Phil Jackson Ford Jr. born February 9, 1956 in Kannapolis, North Carolina; the son of two school teachers, Mrs. Mabel Ford and Mr. Phil Ford Sr. both whom were instructors in the North Carolina Public School system. Ford grew up in Rocky Mount, North Carolina and attended Rocky Mount Senior High School where he was honored with a position on the High School All-America team, before enrolling in the University of North Carolina under a full athletic scholarship under Coach Dean Smith. Ford was Smith’s first freshman player that was not on the junior varsity team to start a game during the coach’s tenure at UNC. Ford finished with a brilliant freshman year, leading the Tar Heels to the 1975 ACC Tournament championship; becoming the first freshman in league history to win the Everett Case Award as the Most Valuable Player in the ACC Tournament. After Phil’s sophomore season, he went on to earn a gold medal in the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada where Team USA included five other Tar Heels Walter Davis, Mitch Kupchak, Tom LaGarde, assistant coach Bill Guthridge and of course the brains behind all this talent, Dean Smith sailed passed the competition. Phil’s senior year proved to be his most rewarding season by far, winning the prestigious Wooden Award and averaging over 20 points per game. At one point, Phil led as both all time leading scorer at UNC with 2,290 points; and assists with just over 750. He was the second overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft, selected by the Kansas City Kings. Ford continued to shine at the professional level, gaining the Rookie of the Year award in 1979. Ford retired from the NBA in 1985, and shortly after began a career in banking with North Carolina National Bank before embarking a career in coaching at UNC. Phil is an outstanding member of the Saint John’s Missionary Baptist Church and founded the Phil Ford Foundation that fights premature obesity.