[photo credit: Pasadena International Film Festival]
Jake O’Flaherty of Dangerfield Talent will lead an entertainment industry workshop at the 13th annual Pasadena International Film Festival, covering what he describes as the state of the industry from a talent agent’s perspective. The session, scheduled for noon at Laemmle NoHo 7 in North Hollywood, addresses self-tapes, self-submissions, marketing, content creation, and finding the right agent for representation, according to the festival’s website.
The workshop is part of a festival founded in 2013 by Pasadena residents Jessica Hardin and Marco Neves. PIFF runs April 9-16 this year, presenting more than 160 films from over 12 countries across eight days, according to festival organizers. The festival closes with its “Old Hollywood Glamour” gala and award ceremony at Der Wolf RestoBar on North Fair Oaks Avenue in Old Pasadena on April 16.
O’Flaherty is an associate at Dangerfield Talent, a commercial talent agency operating in Los Angeles and Portland, according to the agency’s website. He is also an actor who has booked more than 200 national commercials and voice-over jobs, an acting coach whose clients have included Ken Jeong, and a professor at Pepperdine University, according to his professional profiles. His credits include roles on “Lethal Weapon” and the film “Red Pill,” according to his IMDb page.
The workshop has become a recurring feature of the festival. In 2023 and 2024, Dangerfield Talent hosted similar panel sessions during PIFF’s run, according to festival press releases.
“I don’t know where else you can meet the heads of an industry for 18 bucks,” Hardin said in an interview with Pasadena Weekly. Individual screening tickets are also available through Laemmle. A Day Pass is priced at $35, an All Access Pass at $99, and a Platinum Pass — which includes entry to all screenings, the opening night party, the Passholders’ Lounge, and the gala — is $299, according to the festival’s website. Workshop seating is first come, first served.
“We are here to build community and an audience and networking … and fall in love with film again,” Neves said in the same interview. “We live in a world where everything is becoming more and more isolated. We’re trying to fight back against that and create a little community of our own.”
The festival also features several films with direct ties to the Pasadena and Altadena area, including documentaries about the Eaton Fire’s impact on Altadena: “Altadena: The Heart, The Art & The Soul” and “Going for Home,” which follows a Central Altadena Little League team in the aftermath of the fire, according to festival programming.
The workshop takes place Friday, April 10, 2026, at noon at Laemmle NoHo 7, 5240 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Tickets and passes are available at pasadenafilmfestival.org. For questions, email info@pasadenafilmfestival.org or call 626-676-5554.
“We’re trying to remind people of how wonderful this communal experience is because it taps into the human condition,” Neves said. “We are not designed to be isolated as human beings … we’re designed to create.”
JAKE O’FLAHERTY: ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY WORKSHOP (PIFF 2026) Date & Time: Friday, April 10, 2026, 12:00 p.m. | Venue Address: Laemmle NoHo 7, 5240 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601 | Phone Number: (310) 478-3836 | Website: https://www.pasadenafilmfestival.org/
