Join us for a virtual conversation about navigating press and programmers with Hansen Bursic! Hansen is a filmmaker, journalist, and film festival programmer who will discuss the do’s and don’ts of interacting with the press (including pitching journalists and writing press releases) and contacting film programmers. He will discuss how to prepare for festivals, navigate interviews, and building relationships with journalists and programmers.
Hansen Bursic
Filmmaker, Festival Programmer & Journalist
About Hansen Bursic:
Hansen Bursic (he/him) is an award-winning filmmaker, journalist, and film festival programmer. He is the founder and head of the nonfiction production company Hansen Bursic Film, the current Co-President of the NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists’ Los Angeles Chapter, and the Festival Director of Backyard Docs Film Festival.
Bursic’s work is dedicated to historically excluded voices, specifically LGBTQ+, working class, and rural communities. His latest award-winning documentary, Trans Heaven, Pennsylvania (2024), which tells the story of legendary parties that saw hundreds of trans women take over a small Pennsylvania town for life-changing weekends, has screened internationally, including BFI Flare, Frameline, and NewFest. He was named a 2025 Sundance Film Festival Press Fellow, a 2024 DOC NYC Documentary New Leader, a 2023 Ford Foundation Rockwood Documentary Leadership Fellow, and a Temple University 30 Under 30.
Bursic has worked with organizations like Outfest, the Video Constorium, and the International Documentary Association to help guide filmmakers through interacting with journalists and programmers.
Nidhin Patel
Educator/Filmmaker
About the moderator:
Born and raised in India, Nidhin Patel is an award-winning film educator and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. He started his career as an entertainment journalist, and then worked as a creative writer, before moving to the US to pursue his MFA in TV, Film and Theater production. He has worked in various production departments over the years and been a part of numerous film projects that have reached audiences through national/international film festivals and platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. He also has extensive experience working for programming departments for renowned film festivals like NewFilmmakers LA and Outfest. Nidhin is committed to utilizing his multi-minority experience to nurture diverse stories and storytellers to effect positive change.
IMPORTANT DETAILS:
This panel will take place virtually over ZOOM. Ticket purchasers will receive a ZOOM link to this panel 2 hours before the published start time. If you don’t already have the ZOOM app, please make sure to download on your device before the panel start time.
If you purchase an All-Access Pass for our April Festival events prior to the date of this panel, you will also receive admission to this virtual panel, included as part of your pass.
If you are a current Annual Member of NFMLA, please email info@nfmla.org to receive a complimentary ticket to this panel. If you are not an Annual Member of NFMLA and would like to join, you can become a member here.
