CIFF eventsSeptember 26 & 27, 2026
Your film has an audience. Let’s talk about how to reach them.
Presented by New Path Pictures
in partnership with Calgary International Film Festival
The CIFF programme / 2026
From finding your audience to understanding the deal. Bring your questions. Leave with a new perspective.
Saturday, September 26·11 a.m.·90 min
How do you find the people who will care about your film? Explore audience development, festivals, event screenings, digital releases, and direct relationships with viewers.
Delta Hotel, Selkirk Room · Calgary
Masterclass details & ticketsSunday, September 27·3 p.m.·90 min
A candid conversation about audiences, distribution, rights, and the decisions that shape a film’s release. With Jon Reiss and Orly Ravid, moderated by filmmaker and New Path Pictures co-founder Tom Acton.
Delta Hotel, Selkirk Room · Calgary
Panel details & ticketsTwo separate sessions. Tickets and full event details through CIFF. All times are Calgary local time.
Film Fridays is made possible by
In partnership with
Calgary International Film Festival
Experience worth sharing
If you make films in Calgary, make time for this. Two people with decades of experience getting independent films seen are coming to our city. Hear what they’ve learned, ask your questions, and think through what comes next for your own film.
Jon wrote Think Outside the Box Office, a guide to independent film distribution and marketing born from releasing his own documentary, Bomb It. For 15 years through 8 Above, he has helped filmmakers find audiences and put their release plans into action.
His consulting work includes Paramount Pictures, Screen Australia, and Film Independent. He also helped create the IFP Filmmaker Lab. He knows the questions that come after finishing a film: who will watch it, how to reach them, and what a release can realistically achieve.
Visit 8 Above Masterclass + Sunday panel
Orly founded The Film Collaborative to help filmmakers distribute their work while keeping their rights. She brings more than two decades of experience in independent film, from sales and acquisitions to production and entertainment law, including a role as Senior Counsel at Tubi.
She has advised Sundance’s Artist Services / Transparency Project, programmed documentaries for the festival, and spoken at Cannes, SXSW, and IDFA. A co-author of Selling Your Film Without Selling Your Soul, she knows how the fine print affects a filmmaker’s income, rights, and control.
Visit The Film Collaborative Sunday panel · Moderated by Tom ActonPrevious Film Fridays
Industry legends. Candid conversations. How films get funded, made, and seen today.
Past event · Calgary, Alberta
Adam Neuhaus, John Scott, and Brian Newman joined Calgary’s film and business community for The Alignment Event. Between them: documentary development, decades on set, and the business of getting films seen. Film Fridays puts you in the room with people who’ve done the work, with space to ask your own questions.
Meet our previous speakersGet closer to the people, decisions, and deals that get films made.
The Film Fridays community
Meet the people who have shared their experience with our community.
The Alignment Event
Creative producer · Founder, Neuhaus Ideas
Adam Neuhaus develops and produces nonfiction stories through Neuhaus Ideas. He spent more than seven years in development at ESPN Films and 30 for 30, working across documentaries, series, digital projects, and podcasts. He also co-founded the Nonfiction Hotlist, an initiative supporting nonfiction storytellers and connecting their projects with industry opportunities.
The Alignment Event
Producer · Stunt coordinator · Animal wrangler
John Scott has spent five decades helping bring film and television productions to Alberta. A producer, stunt coordinator, and animal wrangler, he has trained actors and supported crews on projects including Legends of the Fall. His ranch near Longview combines working landscapes, western sets, trained animals, and practical production experience.
The Alignment Event
Producer · Founder, Sub-Genre
Brian Newman is the founder of Sub-Genre, advising on content strategy, development, distribution, and marketing. He is also an independent film producer whose projects include The Outside Story and Love & Taxes. A former CEO of the Tribeca Film Institute, he brings experience connecting filmmakers, brands, and audiences.
This is Film Fridays
Film Fridays is Calgary’s home for candid conversations about the future of film, presented by New Path Pictures. We bring filmmakers, producers, and business leaders together to talk about funding, new ideas, and how Alberta’s film industry can move forward together.
Our take on film thought leadership is simple: hear from people doing the work, ask honest questions, and share what’s working today. From financing and distribution to the changes shaping our province’s film industry, the topic can change. The purpose stays the same: educate our community and help it grow.
To help filmmakers understand their options and build the relationships they need to move their work forward, while strengthening the film community in Calgary and across Alberta.
Presented by
We’re a Calgary company working with filmmakers, investors, and partners to help films move toward financing and production.
Developing a film, exploring film investment, or looking for a project partnership? Let’s start a conversation.
Explore New Path PicturesThe people behind Film Fridays
Founder · CEO & Chief Creative
Tom is an award-winning filmmaker and entrepreneur working in documentaries, series, and commercial production in Canada and internationally. His experience developing, financing, and producing films shapes his work at New Path Pictures and the questions he brings to Film Fridays.
Co-founder · President & Chief Strategy Officer
Jared brings experience building content businesses, including his work with A Parent Media Co. and leadership in streaming and digital media. His background on the platform and distribution side informs how New Path Pictures approaches audiences, content, and the business of film.
Make room for the next conversation
Help bring filmmakers and industry leaders to Calgary to share what they know. Sponsor an event, support the series, or contribute services that help us put it on.
Every sponsorship is built around your group, with speaker access, industry events, and recognition agreed together.
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