Edward P. Stencel has worked as a producer, director and cinematographer for the past 18 years. His fiction and non-fiction films have won awards at major film festivals worldwide. Over the past five years Edward has traveled the world selling and acquiring programming as a distribution executive. Most recently he has launched FilmmakerAdvisor.com and FilmFestivalAdvisor.com, a service to inform and assist filmmakers, producers, and film professionals alike with the ever-changing festival and distribution world through in-depth consultations that lead to insider knowledge on how to better advance your projects in today’s competitive society.

Mr. Stencel was the first Filmmaker Advisor at IFP Los Angeles -currently called Film Independent, the home of the Independent Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival. Ed also served as a freelance Film Festival and Line Producer Consultant for Film Independent. He has worked as the Executive Producer of FesTV for the Los Angeles Film Festival, and a producer/director for Split Screen that aired on Bravo and IFC. Edward has also worked on films and programs for Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros, Fox and HBO.

He is on the board of directors and vice president of the Temecula Valley International Film & Music Festival. Edward is also the founder and served as co-director of the Indy Film Showcase for four years, which screened feature independent films with the directors in attendance from around the country once a month in Kansas City. He is currently on the national advisory board for Kansas City FilmFest and served as vice president and executive board member of the Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee for nine years.

As a producer and director his films have won awards at film festival in the US and Europe. Some of these festivals include, SXSW, Temecula Valley International Film Festival, Chicago Underground Film Festival, Arizona International Film Festival, Festival International Du Film Independent Bruselles Belgium, and Avignon Film Festival in France. He was also nominated for an International Documentary Association Award for best documentary short in 2002.

As a panelist Edward has spoken at many film festivals and universities around the world. He has also written for MovieMaker Magazine.

Edward Stencel earned his Masters in Film and Television Production from the University of Bristol, England after receiving his BA (Economics) in 1988 from the University of Michigan.

Participating in the panel: Festival Strategies.