A Strategic Production Roadmap for Today’s Independent Film Landscape
Moderator:
Brian Beckmann, Chief Financial Officer, Arclight Films
Panelists:
Amos Newman, Founder, Word Is Bond
Zach Garrett, Executive Vice President of Production, AGC Studios
Sophia Dilley, Executive Vice President, Concord Originals
Speakers
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Brian BeckmannCFO/COO, Arclight FilmsBrian Beckmann serves as CFO/COO at Arclight Films, the leading international sales and production company for theatrical, television, and home entertainment media. Beckman’s prolific career includes over 30 years of experience as a CFO/COO, including 18 years at Arclight. He has worked in a variety of industries from film/entertainment, media/advertising, to advanced technology.
He is well versed in all aspects of film finance, distribution, tax incentives, and production operations. Beckmann has financed and produced over 25 successful and critically acclaimed films, with financing exceeding $300M. The films he has financed include First Reformed, Hotel Mumbai, Portable Door, Poker Face and Oh’ Canada.
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Sophia DilleyEVP, Concord OriginalsIn 2018, Ms. Dilley was hired by Concord to build their new content strategy. In 2021, she launched “Concord Originals,” Concord’s Film and TV division. Ms. Dilley and her team collaborate with all teams under Concord’s banner to identify, develop, and produce various screen projects related to Concord’s library of artists, compositions, plays, and musicals. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series for the Peabody Award and SXSW Audience Award-winning “Stax: Soulsville U.S.A.,” a multi-part docuseries about the legendary Stax Records for HBO from executive producer Ezra Edelman (O.J.: Made in America) and director Jamila Wignot (Ailey). Since the division’s launch, Ms. Dilley has also overseen projects such as the Billie Holiday documentary “Billie”; the Emmy-Nominated 20/20 special on Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella; Creedence Clearwater Revival: Live at the Royal Albert Hall film on Netflix; Cyndi Lauper: Let the Canary Sing which premiered at Tribeca and is streaming on Paramount+; and more.
Concord Originals most recently partnered with Jesse Collins Entertainment on The Untitled Robert Johnson Biopic, the narrative feature film on the legendary blues musician Robert Johnson, which Dilley will produce. Under her stewardship, Concord Originals’ current and upcoming projects include KIDZ BOP LIVE: The Concert Movie, the first-ever live concert movie experience from the #1 kids’ music brand, opening nationwide from Fathom Entertainment in January 2026; Shari & Lamb Chop directed by Lisa D’Apolito (Love, Gilda), which Kino Lorber released theatrically in July 2025; Paris Barclay’s documentary feature Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It about the celebrated musician Billy Preston (which had its world premiere at SXSW); Ilya Chaiken’s music doc Pretty Ugly: The Story of the Lunachicks from Executive Producers Julie Cohen and Betsy West (RBG) which will be released theatrically by Giant Pictures; and the star-studded My Favorite Things: The Rodgers & Hammerstein 80th Anniversary Concert, broadcast on PBS and Sky Arts.
Concord Originals also has an active scripted slate, including a remake of The King and I with Temple Hill for Paramount Pictures and a limited series adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella with Skydance TV and Jennifer Lopez’s Nuyorican Productions for Disney+.
In June, Concord Originals acquired RKO, the legendary film studio behind such classic film properties as King Kong, Citizen Kane, The Best Years of Our Lives, It’s a Wonderful Life, Suspicion and The Woman in the Window; securing the derivative rights to over 5,000 titles, including the remake, sequel, story, and stage rights (as well as unproduced screenplays) to the company’s storied film library. RKO will continue to operate as an imprint under Concord Originals, with Ms. Dilley also serving as Co-President of RKO.
Prior to joining Concord, she worked at Route One Entertainment and Not Impossible Labs, producing various films, TV shows, commercials, and documentaries. Ms. Dilley holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Loyola Marymount University and a Master of Science degree in Project Management from Boston University.
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Amos NewmanFounder, Word Is BondAmos Newman is the founder of Word Is Bond, a film and television production company dedicated to protecting and amplifying the legacies of artists and cultural icons through storytelling. A former partner at William Morris Endeavor, he founded the agency’s Music for Visual Media division, working alongside artists such as Trent Reznor, Pharrell, Janelle Monáe, Jack White, and Bruno Mars. Newman later joined Endeavor Content (now Fifth Season), where he built a thriving music division behind acclaimed projects including Severance, McCartney 3,2,1, and Kiss the Future.
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Zach GarrettEVP, Production, AGC StudiosZach Garrett is AGC Studios’ Executive Vice President of Production, where he sources material across all the company’s film divisions while overseeing the development, packaging, production and post-production AGC’s productions.
After beginning his career in independent production and short-form content, Zach held positions in the acquisitions departments of eOne, Broad Green, and EuropaCorp.