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Sharon Badal is a Short Film Programmer for the Tribeca Film Festival, screening over 1,500 submissions annually without losing her mind. She has been with the festival since its inception, and has produced special projects for various Tribeca entities since 1999, including the 2005 Sloan Film Summit for the Tribeca Film Institute. Sharon is a faculty member at New York University's renowned Tisch School of the Arts in the Kanbar Institute of Film and Television, teaching undergraduate courses in what she refers to as the beginning and the end of the filmmaking process - Producing Essentials and Film Distribution & Marketing. In addition, Sharon team-teaches The Business of Producing for NYU's prestigious Stern School of Business. As the self-proclaimed empress of short film, Sharon has served on the regional jury for the 2005 Student Academy Awards, and on the juries for the 2006 Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films and the 2007 Worldwide Short Film Festival in Toronto. For the past four years, Sharon has dedicated much of her free time to working for The Leary Firefighters Foundation, founded by actor Denis Leary. In 2007, she worked primarily on the Foundation's New Orleans Firehouse Restoration Project as well as on its annual fundraiser, The Bash for New York's Bravest. From her humble beginnings at age fourteen as an usher in her father's movie theatre, Sharon went on to hold executive positions in distribution for United Artists/MGM, Warner Brothers and Orion Pictures, and has worked on many live events, including projects for Walt Disney Feature Animation, ShowEast, Cinema Expo International, and the Independent Feature Film Market. She received her B.F.A. in film and television production and her M.A. in cinema studies and business, both from New York University. She loves Coney Island, searching for alien life, and chocolate in any form. Sharon lives in New York City, and there's no place else she'd rather be.
Sharon Badal's information gathering uniquely appreciates the difficult balance between the art and business of filmmaking. Cinema without audience might as well be a great painting locked in a trunk in someone's basement. This book both helps locate the art and gives insight into how to set it free. - Jeffrey Abramson, Vice President of Film, Gen Art If you are a filmmaker with an interest in making short films you need to read Swimming Upstream. With refreshing candor, Sharon Badal has written a unique book that is a wealth of information and true-life inspiration. -Jane Rosenthal, Co-Founder, Tribeca Film Festival Forget everything you thought you knew about short films--this book is the real deal! Brimming over with the collective wit, wisdom, and insights of the most important players in the world of short films, Sharon Badal's Swimming Upstream tells you everything you need to know about the making and marketing of short films, from original concept to international sales. In equal measures entertaining and essential, It should be required reading for anyone engaged in the art and business of short films. --Darryl Macdonald, Executive Director, Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films Books on short film distribution are sadly lacking, especially in the arena of microfilmmaking (where most short films are made), so it is wonderful to see one as informative as Swimming Upstream. The experience and insight contained in this book is invaluable. --Kari Ann Morgan, MicroFilmmaker Magazine
