Atlanta Film Festival 2025 (Day 8) Creative Conference - The State of the Industry: From E-Sports and Gaming to Film and Television

From the venue:

This panel of leaders in Georgia will share their state of the industry thoughts - the current status of their respective industries, their hopes for the future, and the challenges they see coming so that we be prepared for what potentially comes next for Georgia's E-sports, Gaming and Film and Television businesses.

Moderator: Tyler Edgarton

Tyler Edgarton started in industry in 2012 with the opening of Mailing Avenue Stageworks. He opened 5 additional stages spread throughout Atlanta, and in 2014 Co-Founded GA Propsource. He is the former board chair of ATLFF and Lifecycle Building Center, founding member of GSIA, and board member of Reimagine ATL. Tyler is an Executive Producer on the locally produced film Color Book that is opened the 2025 Festival.

Panelists:

Andrew Greenberg

In addition to leading development on the Emperor of the Fading Suns computer game series, Andrew Greenberg runs the Georgia Game Developers Association and Southern Interactive Entertainment and Games Expo. He chairs the DeKalb Entertainment Commission and serves on the board of the Georgia Film, Music and Digital Entertainment Office. Greenberg has credits on more than 100 game products.

Melissa Sanders

Following an extensive career in public relations and marketing, Melissa Sanders launched Tadpole Communications in 2015. Her PR agency specializes in entertainment and lifestyle clients, while also working in industries including sports, nonprofits, tech, and education. Melissa is a master storyteller who is also a solution-oriented, creative, and highly-driven communications strategist accustomed to working with teams across complex organizations to achieve goals. Over the last 10 years her agency has provided PR services for global clients and projects including: Candy Crush, ESL FACEIT Group (DreamHack, ESL Gaming, DreamHack Sports Games), the Olympic Virtual Series, SXSW Gaming Awards, DeKalb Entertainment Commission, Atlanta Pops Orchestra, Crafty Apes, Star Forest, PC&E, and more.

Mitch Leff

Mitch Leff is the founder of the Georgia Entertainment Public Relations Alliance, a team of PR professionals that serves clients in film, music, esports, and digital entertainment. His work in the entertainment space includes work for MomoCon, Ambient Studios, the Atlanta Digital World Summit, the DeKalb Entertainment Commission, PC&E, and the Rome International Film Festival.

Grant Wainscott

Grant Wainscott is Vice-Chairman and founding board member of the Atlanta Esports Alliance.