IVY and Cadillac Host Second Annual IVY Innovator Film Awards Presented by Actor/Director Josh Radnor
LOS ANGELES, CA, August 5, 2015 (Newswire.com) - On Tuesday, August 4th, IVY, the world’s fastest growing collaborative community, hosted its second annual IVY Innovator Film Awards presented by Cadillac, at SmogShoppe in Los Angeles. Among the six finalists, Seed&Spark Founder & CEO Emily Best of Los Angeles was honored with the IVY Innovator Award for her contributions to the film industry by actor, director and How I Met Your Mother star Josh Radnor, alongside IVY Founders and Co-CEOs Beri Meric and Philipp Triebel. The IVY Innovator Awards & Event Series is a program designed to showcase and inspire the next generation of leading minds, and represents the joint commitment of Cadillac and IVY in supporting those who embody the best of the innovative American spirit.
“We are pleased to present Emily with this honor, as her work in the film industry truly exemplifies IVY’s Innovator awards program,” said Beri Meric, Founder and Co-CEO of IVY. “Emily’s dedication to helping young filmmakers build sustainable, independent careers is directly aligned with our mission to unite and inspire the next generation of leading minds.”
“The Ivy Innovator Film Awards are designed to celebrate and support creative talent in the film industry both on and off the silver screen,” said Melody Lee, Cadillac Brand Manager. “This year’s finalists and winner are an inspiring mix of creatives, producers, and disruptors that are pushing the industry forward through their passion for film and complete dedication to their craft.”
Emily was selected from hundreds of applicants nationwide as a leading visionary in the film industry for her role in launching the crowdfunding platform Seed&Spark. The one-stop shop, which was inspired by her experiences in directing her first feature film, Like the Water, allows filmmakers to crowdfund, distribute, and interact with their audience and the broader independent film community. Emily is touring film and tech festivals around the world as a part of the #StayIndieTour to educate and teach filmmakers best practices in connecting with their audiences to build a sustainable career. Throughout her career, Emily has helped many emerging filmmakers across the nation get their projects off the ground by using the service Seed&Spark to crowdfund, and build their audiences. Since her company launched in December 2012, it has raised $300,000 in feature financing for 17 films.
“This award belongs to my whole team, and maybe our greatest innovation together has been our commitment to the values of sustainability for filmmakers, and diversity of content for audiences ahead of even the technology,” said Film Innovator Winner, Emily Best. “It's heartening to be recognized as innovators by IVY and Cadillac for that work, and we're excited to charge full steam ahead on many new developments soon to come with a little extra pep in our step."
This year’s finalists included Luke Kelly-Clyne a Writer/Director and Head of Native Video at CollegeHumor/Electus, Elizabeth Dell, producer of B-GIRL which is featured on Showtime, Encore and Starz networks, Scott Glosserman founder of Gathr, a platform that democratizes theatrical distribution by allowing the movie-goer to 'pull' movies to their local theaters, Sean Carey, an award-winning film producer who has helped launch six digital media startup companies, and Don Napoleon, an Emmy award winning video producer.
The special night concluded with Josh Radnor providing the audience with one final insight, as he noted, "Initiatives like the IVY Innovator Awards make me very optimistic about the endless possibilities for continuing innovation in film and beyond."
For more information on the IVY Innovator Awards, please visit: ivy.com/awards. Upcoming Innovator Award Events, presented by Cadillac, will be announced in the coming weeks. In addition to Cadillac, the IVY Innovator program has been made possible with support from Shinola, WIRED Media, Veev and Los Angeles Confidential.
ABOUT IVY:
IVY is a dynamic community dedicated to creating a better world. Founded on Feb 2013, IVY’s mission is to create life-long collaborative bonds between the next generation of leading entrepreneurs, artists, thinkers and innovative professionals who would otherwise not cross paths. With more than 10,000 members, the IVY community is currently based across New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Boston, Chicago and Miami, with upcoming launches in London, Hong Kong, and Dubai. IVY members enjoy unique members-only experiences designed to create life long-collaborative bonds, and spark world-changing collaborations, all of which are amplified via IVY’s digital platform. For more information, please visit: ivy.com.
ABOUT CADILLAC:
Cadillac has been a leading luxury auto brand since 1902. Today Cadillac is growing globally, driven by an expanding product portfolio featuring distinctive design and technology. More information on Cadillac appears at www.cadillac.com. Cadillac's media website with information, images and video can be found at media.cadillac.com.