Sharon Badal
Sharon Badal is director of short film programming and initiatives for Tribeca Enterprises and head of shorts programming for the Tribeca Film Festival. She has been with the festival since its inception and has produced special projects for various Tribeca entities since 1999. She is the author of Swimming Upstream – A Lifesaving Guide to Short Film Distribution. Badal is on the faculty at New York University Tisch School of the Arts Kanbar Institute of Film & Television. She previously held executive positions in motion picture distribution and marketing and has extensive live-event producing experience. She is the executive producer of the feature documentary “Let’s Roll,” which follows a group of Los Angeles firefighters as they bicycle across the United States to reach New York on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. She holds a B.F.A in film & television production and an M.A. in cinema studies/business, both from NYU.
Tom Bergeron
Two-time Emmy Award-winning host, Tom Bergeron always guarantees his audience a fun and memorable evening with his wit and humor. Tom hosts ABC’s hit Dancing with the Stars and America’s Funniest Video, and in 2009 he had more prime time hours on TV than any other host. Vying for honors as the busiest man in TV, Tom released his first book I’m Hosting as Fast as I Can! Zen and the Art of Staying Sane in Hollywood to rave reviews. Bergeron began his broadcasting career in 1972 in his hometown of Haverhill, Massachusetts. He spent over a decade with WBZ-TV in Boston, hosting a number of popular shows. In 1994 he became host of Breakfast Time on FX, which morphed into Fox After Breakfast when it moved to the FOX network. He became a fill-in anchor on Good Morning America in 1997 before he segued to Hollywood Squares in 1998. While hosting Hollywood Squares, Bergeron kept busy as a fill-in anchor on CBS’ The Early Show and hosted Supper Club for Planet Green. He can now be seen hosting ABC’s America’s Funniest Home Videos and ABC’s #1 hit Dancing with the Stars. He has been chosen as one of the first class of inductees to the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame at Massasoit College. In between projects, Bergeron has hosted everything from The 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards and Miss America Pageant, to The 33rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation’s 28th College Television Awards Gala. Bergeron spends a lot of his free time volunteering his services for several charity events and was awarded the March of Dimes Special President’s Award for Volunteer Excellence. Bergeron is a confessed gym rat, working out 4-5 days a week with a trainer. He also enjoys running and riding his bike on the beach. He splits his time between Connecticut and California and lives with his wife and two daughters.
Justin DiPietro
Justin DiPietro is the Manager of Theatrical Sales for IFC Films three distribution labels, IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight. In addition to this position, he is also the head of Non-Theatrical Sales for IFC Films, where he supplies films to colleges, universities and museums nationwide. Over the past six years with IFC, he has had the privilege to work on films that include Palme d’Or Winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Gomorrah, Sleepwalk With Me and the recently Academy Award ® nominated, How to Survive a Plague. Prior to working at IFC Films, he worked in sales with Walt Disney’s Distribution Company, Buena Vista Pictures, which included work on films such as The Sixth Sense, High Fidelity, and Unbreakable. He spent time studying between SUNY Purchase and SUNY New Paltz. He currently resides in Sea Cliff, NY.
Maureen Masters
Maureen Masters is currently director of regional publicity and film festival bookings for Magnolia Pictures where she oversees regional marketing efforts for Magnolia’s theatrical slate. She began her film career in college writing indie film reviews, eventually earning a BA in Journalism from the University of North Texas. After graduation, she was hired by Moroch, Dallas, TX, doing film publicity. Continuing her career in film publicity, she moved to Philadelphia accepting a position with Allied Advertising and PR. While in Philadelphia, she earned her Masters in Communications from Villanova University. In 2010, Maureen moved to New York to work for Magnolia Pictures where she has overseen successful regional campaigns for Melancholia, Page One: Inside the New York Times, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Queen of Versailles and most recently Blackfish and Drinking Buddies.
Drew Vinton
Born in Argentina, bred in the U.K., and matured in the U.S., Drew Vinton has had the good fortune of heading up development for Pearl Street Productions, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s production company, since 2008. Drew’s primary responsibility lies in identifying and developing great material that can be turned into great films. Projects he has helped develop include Argo and Promised Land (which he also co-produced).