Here at Stage 32, we love celebrating every member of our community's "wins," both big and small. And today, we've got a very big win for our fearless leader and Stage 32 CEO, Richard "RB" Botto, who has been named a Film Industry Innovator at the American Film Market.

RB joins fellow Innovators Jeff Annison (Co-Founder & President, Legion M), Lindsey Ramey (Head of Global Film, Wattpad WEBTOON Studios), and Alex Ferrari (Founder, Indie Film Hustle) for a panel at AFM on November 3rd. RB and Alex Ferrari will speak with moderator (and Stage 32's Producer & Managing Director) Amanda Toney to discuss Film Education and Community.

This community has seen RB's innovating for over a decade since launching Stage 32 in 2011. The platform has since grown to one million creatives and professionals and is the world's largest online educational library, with over 2,000 hours of webinars and classes taught by over 1,000 industry executives. RB also spearheaded the partnership between Stage 32 and Netflix for the "Creating Content for the Global Marketplace" program, which aims to support the development of content creators worldwide, and produced a series of workshops that guides creatives to turn their ideas into compelling and structured series. And he wrote a best-selling book, Crowdsourcing for Filmmakers: Indie Film and The Power of the Crowd, published under the "AFM Presents" banner, which is now used as a course of study at major US Universities.

RB has shown an undeniable vision and an ability to innovate beyond current industry trends. From the concept to democratize the entertainment industry by founding Stage 32 in 2011 to predicting the "Great Content Gold Rush" where creators from all over the world have opportunities to get their projects considered thanks to increased distribution platforms. RB also launched Stage 32 screenings in the wake of Covid so that filmmakers from festivals worldwide could screen projects and access distribution deals. Festivals included SXSW, Sundance, ECU, The European Independent Film Festival, and more.

In addition to all that he gives to the entertainment community, RB is also a producer with films that have played at dozens of festivals. He is, beyond a doubt, driven by his passion to create great entertainment and helping others do the same in all his endeavors.

If you're attending the American Film Market, we hope you'll join RB at the Innovators Panel and help him celebrate this incredible honor.

American Film Market - Innovators

When: November 3, 2022 @ 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Where: AFM, Arcadia Stage
Open to All Platinum & Plus Badges

Panelists PART I: Independent Content Development & Financing
Jeff Annison, Co-Founder & President, Legion M Lindsey Ramey, Head of Global Film, Wattpad WEBTOON Studios

Moderator
Ryan Koo, Founder & CEO, No Film School

PART II: Filmmaker Education & Community
Richard Botto, Founder, Stage 32 Alex Ferrari, Founder, Indie Film Hustle

Moderator
Amanda Toney, Producer & Managing Director, Stage 32

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