Henry Priest
Founder of the Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival
Henry Priest originally starred in Walt Disney's feature film titled "Spooner," alongside Robert Ulrich. In his 30 years in the industry, he has been an advocate for Latin filmmakers and filmmakers of color, championing diversity in the media. He has served the industry as an actor, writer, casting director, and producer of film, TV, live events, and has founded several film festivals. His projects have been presented at some of the most prestigious film festivals, such as Festival De Cannes in France, Tribeca Film Festival in New York, and AFI Fest in Hollywood. His work can be seen on networks including Showtime, Netflix, Amazon Prime, the Big Ten Network, and more. As a casting director, his clients have included Nike, Adidas, Lionsgate, America Online, and many others.
Henry produced a feature film titled "Beyond the Mat," which was featured at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival's All Access program. Additionally, a film he produced titled "I Came Here for Love" was featured on Showtime. He is also slated to produce a feature film for HBO.
He is often asked to serve on boards, committees, and panel discussions. Currently, he is incorporating technology by bridging the gap between the crypto community with NFTs and film with the Legends of Atlantis NFT collection and other similar projects. His latest venture involves producing a feature film with A-list actor Billy Baldwin as the Executive Producer. Additionally, he is developing a $100M film fund with advisors who are executives at studios such as Walt Disney, Universal, Paramount Studios, and more. The project aims to assist high-net-worth individuals in investing in the film community.
As part of the consulting team working with Timely NIL, Timely Entertainment, and World Class Sports, Mr. Priest is raising $3M to help high school and college athletes secure sponsorships. Additionally, he is working as a talent manager to assist athletes in finding work in commercials, film, and television. Currently, he is working with over 10 UFC and MMA champions.
Henry is the founder of the Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival, which has been awarded the Best Annual Event. The festival has presented thousands of films over its 15-year span. As the center of the film community, he has access to film distributors, networks, and studios such as Netflix, HBO, Showtime, and Disney. Additionally, the festival is one of the biggest entertainment industry networking events. The music programs include a music documentary program at the Grammy Museum at LA Live, featuring Wu-Tang's ODB with a special performance after and a screening of the legendary Bill Withers in a private engagement. Other partnerships include projects with Live Nation.