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The first Northern California Film & Media Summit is rolling into Livermore this Saturday with the goal of helping emerging filmmakers and media professionals break into the industry.
Intended as a professional and creative development opportunity, the event is focused on expanding visibility and career paths for individuals from diverse and historically underrepresented backgrounds.
The summit is set to include industry-led workshops and panels, dedicated networking opportunities and minority-lead short film screenings.
Founded by D’Adonis Moquette of Livermore, the award-winning filmmaker said he created the summit in response to the disparity in representation he saw in film school and on film sets.
“I wanted to be able to even the playing field for people who are trying to get their foot in the door of the industry by providing opportunities for people to network, to learn and to empower themselves with knowledge,” Moquette told Livermore Vine.
Also serving as summit host, Moquette is the producer of feature documentary, “The Right to Exist” and director of the Sacramento-based PBS docu-series, “Citizens of Planet Earth.”
For his work, Moquette earned the title of 2025 Tyler Perry Studios Dream Collective Top 100 Director.
Moquette has also hosted the NorCal Film Expo, the region’s largest film expo, and created the Black and Underrepresented Film Mentorship Program to connect minority and female film students with industry professionals.
His career in the industry began with working as a production assistant concurrently with studying at the Sacramento State University film program, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.
Moquette worked his way up to become an in-house producer, later shifting to independent production.
One of the challenging aspects of the film industry is initially gaining entrance, Moquette said.
“But in order to do that, you have to first know people who can get your foot in the door,” Moquette said. “Until you expand your networking, it is hard to open up those doors of entry.”
Moquette arrived on his first film set by networking at an event similar to the upcoming summit, he explained.
“I want to be able to create an environment where I can replicate that for other people,” he said.
Under the event’s theme of, “one ticket, multiple career paths,” attendees are encouraged to explore pathways in creative careers such as directing, producing, journalism, animation, technical production, sound and community-based media, event officials said in a statement.
To help foster connections, the summit will give opportunities to attendees to talk with industry partners, local organizations, community leaders and vendor representatives.
In addition to networking, workshops will be offered to cover cinematography, directing and producing.
Led by Emmy-nominated cinematographer Jerry Henry, the cinematography workshop covers the foundations of cinematic, visual storytelling.
Attendees can expect to learn how to use the camera, lighting and image design to tell stories, according to the ticketing website.
Henry brings experience in documentary filmmaking, visual composition and storytelling as a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Among his works is the award-winning short documentary, “I Promise Africa.”
“He’s going to be focused on how to write for people of color’s skin, since that is typically something that isn’t gone over a lot in many film schools, or just in general,” Moquette said.
The workshop on directing will be led by Oscar-qualifying filmmaker Rippin Sindher.
Sindher is set to teach fundamentals of directing such as creative decision-making techniques and practical filmmaking principles, the ticketing website states.
She is one of the first Punjabi-Sikh women to qualify for the Oscars, which she did so with a live action short film dubbed “FLIGHT 182.”
The producing workshop will be led by Robin Kincade, who has produced projects for groups such as NBC, ABC, MTV, CMT, Showtime, HBO and 2K Games.
Kincade will guide attendees through the process of bringing a project concept to completion.
In addition to the workshops, the summit is set to feature three educational panels with an emphasis on media, producing and directing.
Panelists have worked on projects with Skywalker Sound, Pixar, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Netflix, Disney and Marvel, according to the ticketing website.
A series of short films, created by emerging filmmakers of diverse backgrounds will be showcased at the event as well.
The showcase is meant as a celebration of filmmakers and expanded visibility for underrepresented storytellers.
Support for the summit has come from sources such as sponsor The Flourish Collective and the city of Livermore’s Commission for the Arts Project and Program Grants.
The project was greenlit for a $7,500 grant based on merit, as the commission aims to support Livermore artists and arts organizations, expand artistic opportunities and encourage culturally enriching programs, according to Livermore management analyst Allen McFarland.
The film and media summit is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday (June 27) at 1660 Freisman Road in Livermore.
Tickets to the summit are available here.
