Independent producers are responsible for some of the greatest breakout hits in cinema history. They fight passionately for their art, and have faced every logistical and financial challenge along the way. Cinematic mavericks divulge tales from the trenches and lessons they have learned along the way. Panelists include Beasts of the Southern Wild producer Matt Parker, Meadowland producer Olivia Wilde, Bachelorette producer Carly Hugo and Blue Valentine producer Alex Orlovsky, as they divulge tales from the trenches, and impart the lessons they have learned along the way. Moderated by The Hollywood Reporter’s Tatiana Seigel.

Carly Hugo
Carly Hugo is a New York-based independent film producer and the co-founder of Loveless, currently in post-production on HBO’s Nora Ephron documentary Everything is Copy and Five Nights in Maine, starring David Oyelowo and Dianne Wiest. Carly's recent films Mother of George, Higher Ground, Bachelorette, and Hot Coffee, which was awarded a Television Academy Honor from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. She is currently serving as a mentor for the Sundance Creative Producing Initiative. Carly grew up outside of Boston, and holds a B.A. in Film Studies from Columbia University

Alex Orlovsky
Alex Orlovsky is an independent film producer and partner at Verisimilitude. Orlovsky’s most recent film, ‘The Wolfpack’, premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and won the US Grand Jury Prize in documentary filmmaking. Recent producing credits include Mike Cahill’s ‘I Origins’ and Carter Smith’s ‘Jamie Marks is Dead’ both of which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Previous films include Derek Cianfrance’s ‘The Place Beyond The Pines’, ‘Blue Valentine’ as well as Ryan Fleck’s ‘Half Nelson’. His films have received Gotham Awards, Golden Globe nominations, and Academy Award nominations for both Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams.

Matt Parker
Matt was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee where his love of film began with his weekly Sunday trip to the movies with his father. He is currently collaborating to create a documentary with HBO on Gianni Agnelli, and is in post-production with a documentary on Nora Ephron (also HBO; the features “5 Nights in Maine” (with David Oyelowo) and “Ad Inexplorata” (with Mark Strong). He produced “Mother of George”, “Higher Ground”, and “Restless City”, all of which premiered at Sundance, and he co-produced “Beasts of the Southern Wild” (Sundance Grand Jury Prize 2012 and 4 Academy Award nominations), and “Bachelorette” (Sundance 2012).

Olivia Wilde
An actress, producer, director, and activist, Olivia Wilde is a modern-day renaissance woman. Best known for her role on FOX’s acclaimed medical drama “House,” Wilde has recently produced and starred in and Joe Swanberg’s DRINKING BUDDIES and David Gelb’s MEADOWLAND, which just wrapped. The executive producer of several documentaries, she was featured in the PBS docu-series HALF THE SKY: TURNING OPPRESSION INTO OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN WORLDWIDE, about women’s struggles in Nairobi. In 2013, Wilde launched Conscious Commerce, a philanthropic company aimed at promoting socially conscious living. She is a board member of Artists For Peace and Justice and sits on the foundation board of the ACLU of Southern California.

Tatiana Siegel
Tatiana Siegel worked for The Hollywood Reporter from 2003-2007 and rejoined the staff as a film reporter in June 2012 before being promoted to senior film writer in November 2014. She wrote for Variety from 2007-12 and has appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered, CNN, CNBC, Fox News, and MTV --- She has also worked as an editor and reporter for the New York Daily News, the Providence Phoenix and the Boston Globe. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northeastern University in Boston and a master’s degree in journalism from New York University.