What We Do
Press Play Chesapeake Bay
Celebrate the innovation, talent, and future of Chesapeake Bay's media community! RSVP to snag your spot ↓
Friday, Sept 19
We’re kicking things off with a laid-back welcome and happy hour, followed by a screening of local shorts and a panel. Come ready to meet fellow storytellers, swap ideas, and start building the creative energy that will carry through the weekend.
- 6:30pm — check-in & happy hourÂ
Happy hour presented by Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund
 - 8:00pm — screening & panel conversation: Navigating the Festival CircuitÂ
Saturday, Sept 20
From community breakouts to expert panels on fundraising, distribution, and digital nonfiction — with a break for a catered lunch — Saturday is where bold ideas meet real-world strategies. We’ll close it out with a collaborative share-out and head to a local spot for [optional] post-event drinks to keep the momentum going.
- 9:00am — check in & fuel up with coffee — get into a full day of conversations and connection
Bagels & coffee by Bagels & Grinds
 - 10:00am – introductions, welcome
 - 10:30am —  community conversation sessions
 - 11:30am — panel conversation: Distribution: Reaching Audiences Today
 - 12:30pm — lunchÂ
Lunch catered by Cocineros
 - 1:30pm — panel conversation: Funding & Fundraising: Investing in Stories
 - 2:15pm — breakout sessions
- Navigating a career in freelancingÂ
- Starting out in the business
- The art of the sizzle reel and sample scenes
- Intersection of traditional journalism + videoÂ
 - 3:15pm — convene to share what we learned in the breakout sessionsÂ
 - 3:40pm — presentation: Media Ethics in Generative AI UseÂ
 - 4:30pm — panel conversation: Video, social and the futureÂ
 - 5:15pm — thank yous
 - 5:30pm — that's a wrap!
Press Play Chesapeake Bay is one of the first stops for Press Play, a cross-country tour convening local media, with a focus on innovation and video, to shape an interconnected, meaningful future for all.
The goal? To foster cross-sector collaboration, embrace and reimagine new forms of media from the ground up, and bring the press and the public together to celebrate their city. Learn more here!
If you're an emerging or established journalist, documentary filmmaker, media student, newsroom/media org leader, nonfiction creator, or creative of any kind who cares about informing and inspiring audiences, Press Play is for you.
Press Play is for and by the media makers in the DMV. Let's celebrate this place, forge new connections, and have solutions-focused conversations that push us farther, together.
Friday, September 19th and Saturday September 20th! This experience is designed to inspire and activate. We’ll gather for interactive panels, community-led breakouts, and a screening + filmmaker Q&A. From practical conversations on distribution and fundraising to bold dialogue around AI, branding, and building sustainable careers in media — Press Play is a space to ask big questions, share knowledge, and make real connections across disciplines.. 🎉
The national Press Play tour is run by local-first global nonprofit Video Consortium (that's us!). Press Play Chesapeake Bay is co-hosted by the Philip Merrill College of Journalism - University of Maryland, with support from our partners Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund, WETA, Maryland Public Television, Evident Media, Docs In Progress, DC/DOX Festival, and Double Exposure Film Festival.
Press Play is made possible by Knight Foundation, in addition to Sony and Rode.
🎧 Attendees, get ready for a raffle of superb Rode audio gear!
Come alone, with a colleague, or with a friend. Everyone who's attending will have their own skillset and perspective, but what we all share is a desire to use media for good. We'll highlight what's working and what's changing across the media landscape while focusing heavily on video and innovation.
Come ready to have honest, collaborative, and solutions-focused conversations (and an empty stomach, as there will be great food).
Any follow up questions? Holler at us here.
Our Speakers, Presenting Filmmakers, Conversation Leaders
Our Facilitators
Josh Davidsburg
Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Senior Lecturer, Lot1 Films
annette porter
Director, Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund at Johns Hopkins University
Zach Toombs
Executive Director, Evident
Talia Rosen
Vice President, Standards & Practices and Associate General Counsel
Kamaria Roberts
Digital Strategist
Brent McDonald
Senior Video Journalist, The New York Times
Keir Johnson
Director of Photography and Producer/Shooter
Jamyla Eunique Krempel
Writer, producer, filmmaker, adjunct lecturer...
Emily Thomas
Cinematographer, Producer, Lemon Tree Productions
Emma Patti
Managing Editor, The Baltimore Banner
Eli Kintisch
Professor, George Washington University
Gabrielle Ewing
Director of Programming, PBS Digital Studios, PBS
Amy Young
Festival Manager, Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival
Darren Durlach
Show runner, Director, Co-Founder, Early Light Media
Julian Hamer
Producer, Director, Cinematographer, Co-Founder, Fearless Video Productions
Barbara Valentino
CEO, Docs In Progress
Dawne Langford
Producer, Independent
Ben Yennie
Principle, Disrupt Entertainment LLC
Dawne Langford
Producer, Independent
Cosima Amelang
Manager, Video, National Geographic Partners
Stuart Kazanow
Director of Acquisitions, Maryland Public Television
Eugene Obah
Vice President, Common Sense Entertainment
Jonna McKone
Producer/Director
Elizabeth Potter
Producer, Potter Productions
Timothy Wolfer
Video Journalist and Filmmaker
Bethany Swain
Founder & Lead Storyteller, Swain Domain LLC
Emily Condon
News Associate, CNN
Sky Dylan-Robbins
Executive Director, Founder, The Video ConsortiumWith gratitude to our community partners:
