UNPANEL is an indie filmmaking seminar featuring veteran filmmakers Kire Paputts and Michael Jari Davidson. The conversation will focus on our process and the realities of navigating the current indie film industry amongst the ever-changing landscape. We will be touching on a number of topics including financing, casting, AI, marketing, and distribution. There will also be a lengthy Q&A, allowing you, the audience, to ask any industry questions.

Whether you’re a producer looking to make your first feature, an emerging filmmaker eager to shoot your first short, or a lover of independent cinema, the goal of UNPANEL is to inform, inspire, and empower. Join us for a 90 minute discussion as we share our 20+ years of experience working in the Canadian film industry.

Kire Paputts is an award-winning Canadian producer/director and educator whose films center around outsider culture. People and characters on the fringes whose voices are often silenced or overlooked. Working in the narrative and documentary worlds, he has produced content for both film and television. His latest feature film The Last Porno Show (2019), had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019. His previous feature The Rainbow Kid (2015) premiered at TIFF 2015 and was released by A71 Entertainment. His films have screened at festivals worldwide including SXSW, Sitges, Torino, Beijing, VIFF, and The Edinburgh International Film Festival. His television credits include Gerrard St East and Chillin’ With Dylan, two documentary series for Bell Media. He recently completed a feature documentary entitled Always Had A Nice Time (2025) and a feature narrative entitled Junkie Run (2025). He is a producer on Michael Pierro’s debut feature film Self Driver (2024), which took home Best Feature at the Fantaspoa Film Festival and Best First Feature at Fantasia Film Festival.

Michael’s cinematography work includes the award-winning digital series I WILL BURY YOU Season 2 – Best Cinematography nominee – die Seriale Giessen, Best Cinematography nominee – Shareable Fest LA), the upcoming feature sci-fi film DEN MOTHER CRIMSON, and Lowell Dean’s SUPERGRID (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment GmbH, winner Best Cinematography – Blood In The Snow film festival).
Other past credits include 2nd unit DOP work on THE VOID, ANOTHER WOLFCOP, and Anthony E. Zuiker’s CYBERGEDDON, previs for Guillermo del Toro’s PACIFIC RIM, as well as operating on AMERICAN GODS and FAHRENHEIT 451. Michael’s work has garnered millions of views on YouTube, having lensed music videos for major American record label artists, including the legendary GRAMMY nominated grunge titans Alice In Chains (Capitol), Juno Award nominees Wake (Metal Blade Records), and Juno Award winners Tegan and Sara (Warner Bros Records).