Jon Gann

Jon Gann is the founder of the DC Film Alliance (dcfilm.org), a non-profit group supporting Washington, DC’s film and video community, and the creator of the DC Shorts Film Festival (dcshorts.com). Now in its eighth year, the event attracts national and international filmmakers, and has become one of the country’s premier short film showcases. From its inception, DCFA creator and director Jonathan Gann, has demonstrated his ability to organize and implement such a major event. Building upon his expertise as an entrepreneur and filmmaker – professions that require creative, persistent, and effective individuals – he has successfully grown DCFA from a single-day of screenings to year-round arts organization, and from a budget of $3500 to more than $160K in 2011.

Jon’s new venture, Reel Plan (reelplan.com), consults with filmmakers on the festival circuit. His “festival tips” blog is read by hundreds of filmmakers every week, and through his work, has bridged the communication gap between competing film festivals, so all can share film information, sponsor strategies and filmmaker data.

As a filmmaker, Jon’s notable past projects include: “Cyberslut,” the first gay-themed short film to screen at over 50 festivals and broadcasts worldwide; “Signs,” a national 48 Hour Film Project award winner, and “Offline,” a modern dating parable.

Before creating DCFA, Mr. Gann created theGannAgency (marketing and design services) and GannFilms (video and film production) — continuously run commercial enterprises since 1989. tGA has provided web programming services through in-house and contract programmers and designers since the early 1990s. From 1996-2000, he spun off iGann.com, a division specifically created to serve the growing dot-com market, and was instrumental in the launch of man major web initiatives, including AOL, MCI, Network Solutions, Capital.com and others.