MASTERCLASS – Community Outreach Strategies for Filmmakers

The Community Outreach Strategies for Filmmakers Masterclass will feature industry experts teaching you how to build a vibrant community around your film. Attendees will explore effective marketing strategies, innovative outreach techniques, and practical tips for filmmakers looking to promote their work in an increasingly competitive landscape. You will also leave with actionable advice on fostering meaningful connections with audiences, leveraging social media, and creating impactful partnerships that enhance visibility and engagement.

Moderator – Ria Ruthsatz

Ria Ruthsatz is an Emmy award-winning Director, and the Co-Founder and CEO of Tree9 Films, a St. Louis-based commercial film production company. She has produced and directed films for a diverse clientele, ranging from nationally recognized brands to local businesses, schools, and non-profits.

Ria’s work has garnered recognition through various awards, and she’s proud to have produced fundraising films that have successfully raised millions for vital causes on a global scale. However, her roots remain in St. Louis.

An advocate for small businesses, Ria is also a recent graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. She is dedicated to expanding creative career opportunities and reintroduced the 48-Hour Film Project to St. Louis to celebrate and recognize the immense talent in our own backyard

Panelists – 

Cami Thomas (Ten Years)

Over the years, Thomas has utilized the arts as a form of advocacy and a conduit of social momentum. Her efforts and talent have been recognized by NPR, Teen Vogue and the Huffington Post and have led to nominations and awards from various organizations. Cami currently provides freelancing services as a film and video producer and director throughout the Midwest and Los Angeles. She is also the founder of the video production company, My Friends and I.

Bonnie Gross (Lady Parts)

Bonnie Gross is an award winning comedy writer and producer with a passion for telling stories around vaginal health care and sexuality. Originally from Philadelphia but now a New York transplant, she earned her Bachelor’s in Media Production from the University of Alabama and completed the UCLA Professional Program for TV Comedy Writing in 2018. Bonnie recently won the Special Jury Award for Screenwriting at the Florida Film Festival for her most recent film, Lady Parts, based on her own journey navigating the vaginal health care world.

Shmay Henderson (Lions of Mesopotamia, Clemente, Saturn)

As a self-taught, multi-disciplinary artist and remote brand strategist for the last 8 years, Shmay has a passion for innovative expression and carving connections out of unconventional pathways. In the last few years, Shmay has branched out from her internet origins into the physical world with her artwork appearing in local galleries and through hosting Recess, a nontraditional co-creation event, centered around guilt-free play and the radical use of existing materials as art supplies. 

Currently, Shmay works as Brand Ambassador for Bruton Stroube Studios, and an active artist in the city of St. Louis. From capturing behind-the-scenes footage of global client shoots to curating daily chalkboard games for her co-workers at BSS and Outpost, Shmay is an advocate for process and play in every space she goes. She has been a part of the social media marketing and screening promotion of multiple films in festival circuits this year.

She moved back to the Lou from sunny Florida in 2022, specifically to explore the film industry and pour play, art and energy into the creative communities committed to moving the city forward.  (So far, she is having-  like – the best time!)