order your fest pass
Experience all of CSIFF26
(Pass includes Pre-fest workshops & Fest panels, Opening reception, screenings, and CSIFF26 Award Ceremony)
Pass price: $150
Get the Fest Pass and save!
THE TEN LAWS OF PREMIUM VERTICAL FILMMAKING - Friday, September 25, 2026 4:00–6:00 PM ET | Online
More and more audiences are watching scripted stories created specifically for their phones. But how do you create something for a vertical screen that still feels like cinema?
Join Conch Shell International Film Fest (CSIFF26) and Hyperlens Studios for a two-hour online masterclass with Richard Lawson and Denee Busby-Howard exploring the art—and business—of premium vertical filmmaking.
Vertical filmmaking isn't simply traditional filmmaking turned sideways. It's a different screen with its own storytelling language.
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?
Through The Ten Laws of Premium Vertical Filmmaking, you'll explore how to tell compelling stories in the 9:16 frame, structure short episodes, direct and perform for the intimacy of a phone screen, and make smart production choices that still feel cinematic.
You'll also explore the business behind this growing format: Who is buying vertical content? How are projects financed and distributed? Where are the opportunities? And how can independent storytellers participate?
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTORS
Richard Lawson | Actor, Director & Educator
Richard brings decades of experience as an actor, director, filmmaker, and educator, with an approach that keeps character, truth, connection, and storytelling at the center—even as the screen changes.
Denee Busby-Howard | Producer, Showrunner & Capital Strategist
Denee currently serves as Showrunner for Legacy on BET+ and has produced projects including Angel (BET), Lot Patrol (BET), and The Stray House. She also works in the evolving microdrama space as a producer and distributor, bringing experience in financing, capital strategy, tax credits, and distribution.
Together, Richard and Denee bring the creative and business sides of vertical filmmaking into the same room.
TICKETS
LIVE ROOM — $40
Join the interactive online workshop and engage directly with Richard and Denee.
YOUTUBE LIVE/ON-DEMAND — $30
Watch live and ask questions through the chat.
All attendees receive 7-day on-demand access to the workshop recording.
Can't Join Us Live? Watch On Demand!
YOUTUBE LIVE/ON-DEMAND — $30
Can't make the September 25th live workshop? You don't have to miss it.
Purchase the YouTube Live option and watch the recorded workshop on your own schedule.
Full workshop recording
⏳ Watch through October2 , 2026
festival jury
Stefon Bristol hails from New York with a distinctive voice in independent cinema. Inspired by his Guyanese heritage, his work blends genre storytelling with humanistic social commentary and cultural specificity. Bristol co-wrote and directed the time-travel movie See You Yesterday, produced by Spike Lee, which premiered at Tribeca before
Stefon Bristol hails from New York with a distinctive voice in independent cinema. Inspired by his Guyanese heritage, his work blends genre storytelling with humanistic social commentary and cultural specificity. Bristol co-wrote and directed the time-travel movie See You Yesterday, produced by Spike Lee, which premiered at Tribeca before launching on Netflix to critical acclaim. The film earned Certified Fresh and won Best First Feature Screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards. His latest dystopian thriller, Breathe, stars Jennifer Hudson, Milla Jovovich, Common, and Sam Worthington. Bristol graduated from Morehouse College and earned his MFA in Film from New York University. IG: @stefonbristol
Lu Childs is the Co-owner of Street Team Productions. As a New York City native, he along with his friends decided to create a company that would make content that appealed to their demographic. Street Team is a New York City based company that creates entertainment content for different platforms. Currently, the company produces the Behi
Lu Childs is the Co-owner of Street Team Productions. As a New York City native, he along with his friends decided to create a company that would make content that appealed to their demographic. Street Team is a New York City based company that creates entertainment content for different platforms. Currently, the company produces the Behind The Boards Podcast, Weed Smokers Anonymous Podcast, THC x NYC Web Series. Street Team is also distributing the Madan Sara documentary and N'AP Boule short film.
They are currently working on a documentary about Haiti titled Haiti 1974. It is about the journey of the 1974 Haiti World Cup team. Childs also served as Co-Executive Producer of the Madan Sara Documentary.
IG: @StreetTeamProductions
Sekiya Dorsett is a GLAAD Award-winning filmmaker, educator, and founder of Seabreeze Media Inc. Her films center Black queer life, migration, memory, and liberation, earning international recognition. She is an Assistant Professor of Film at Hofstra University and mentors filmmakers.
IG: @sekiyadorsett
Gillian Isabelle is an engineer, an entrepreneur and the owner of Renderyard. a film and music distribution company in Boston. She has spent many years working in intellectual property and licensing, and now brings that knowledge to her work at Renderyard.
IG: @renderyard
Nambi E. Kelley is an award-winning playwright and television writer/producer. Television credits include Bel-Air, The Chi, Our Kind of People, and Lady in the Lake. Her plays, including Native Son and Toni Morrison's JAZZ, have been produced nationally and internationally.
IG: @nambi.e.kelley
Lamar Richardson is a 2x Tony®-winning producer and award-winning actor. He is the founder of Ivy Lion Productions. Select Broadway credits: Ragtime, Gypsy, Merrily We Roll Along, Appropriate. Columbia ’15.
IG: @lamarrichardson_
🏆 CSIFF26 Award Nominees Announced!
The 2026 Conch Shell International Film Fest Award Nominees are here!
We’re excited to celebrate the filmmakers, writers, performers and cinematographers whose work stood out among this year’s Official Selection.
A special thank you to our CSIFF26 jurors — Lamar Richardson, Sekiya Dorsett, Nambi Kelly, Lu Childs, Stefon Bristol and Gillian Isabelle — for sharing their time, experience and thoughtful consideration with this year’s films.
Congratulations to all of our nominees — we can’t wait to celebrate you at CSIFF26!
this is how we pre-fest
.png/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:100%25/rs=w:370,cg:true)
