Dreaming about making your independent feature film? Meet three local filmmakers who dared to do whatever it took to make their celluloid dreams come true. This month's must-see panel will share their trials and tribulations of getting the cameras to roll. Learn practical advice you can use to get your project off the ground. Hear what they learned from their filmic adventures. Find out how to avoid mistakes they made. And discover what became of their dreams once their film was in the can!

Proving where there's a will, there's a way, VISHAL SHAH co-wrote American Addiction, about an aspiring South Asian actor chasing his dream of making a feature film. Like the lead character Vishal plays in the film, he found a way to raise the money to produce it. Through his company, Indio-American Films, Vishal recently completed a pilot for a reality show called "4 Weeks in Bombay," in which an American waiter tries to survive for a month in India on just twenty dollars!

ROBIN MACKENZIE studied screenwriting with Lew Hunter and was mentored by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon). In 2002, her screenplay Mothers and Daughters attracted the attention of Academy Award nominee Sally Kirkland, as well as co-stars Tom Bosley ("Happy Days") and Alice Ghostley ("Bewitched," Grease). Robin raised money to hire a director and crew, and the film won the Best San Diego Feature award at the 2003 San Diego Film Festival.

GIOVANNA CHESLER s an Assistant Professor in Communication at UCSD. Her films have won an honorable mention at the Student Academy Awards and the Best Student Documentary award at the prestigious Chicago International Film Festival. She recently completed the documentary, Period: The End of Menstruation?, which she produced, directed, and shot on 16mm.

Come network with your San Diego filmmaking peers from 5:30 to 6:30, then stay for this incredible indie filmmaker panel!

Don't forget to bring your business cards and head shots! And please be sure to tell everyone you know in the San Diego filmmaking community about this exciting, free event. See you there.

Meeting Review

After starting the June meeting with a productive networking session in which business cards were traded furiously, the panel began by showing clips from each of the evening's three guest speaker's most recent projects. Vishal Shah opened the presentation with the opening teaser from his ambitious and interesting reality show pilot that he shot in Bombay, India. Next, UCSD assistant professor Giovanna Chesler favored us with a brief excerpt from her documentary that succinctly captured both sides of the controversial issue her film addresses. Finally, Robin Mackenzie showed an impressive trailer for her labor-of-love feature film.

The projects these three artists were representing couldn't be more different, but they all were guided by determined dreamers who each managed to find a way to get their vision to the screen. Giovanna discussed the ins and outs of raising funds through grants. Vishal funded his projects through the money he earned working as a bartender. And Robin mortgaged her house to make her film a reality. The panelist also discussed the harsh realities of their expectations for the financial rewards of the fruits of their labor.

We learned a great deal of secrets on ways to stretch a small budget and examples of unexpected costs that pop up during productions. The panelists answered many questions from the enthralled attendees. Despite the hardships, these three filmmakers are all proud of their accomplishments and are looking forward to applying the lessons they learned to their next projects.

For more information on Giovanna's film, Period: The End of Menstruation, please visit www.periodthemovie.com