The Latest
Timing Is Everything for Independent Filmmakers, While Cable VOD Still Holds Sway
Digital distribution has to be done in a certain order if Cable VOD is part of your plan. If Cable VOD is not an option, your digital release pattern can be more flexible, allowing for experimentation with the different platform options and timing. But for now, for films with Cable VOD potential, holding off on digital plays until Cable VOD has run its course is certainly worth it, given that it still accounts for 70-odd percent of your digital distribution revenues (it used to be approximately 80%).
Sundance Institute Announces Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue to be Presented in Jackson
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI (September 12, 2011) — Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue, a Sundance Institute initiative in partnership with U.S. federal cultural agencies, will present a broad spectrum of film screenings and workshops in Jackson and Piney Woods, Mississippi September 26 – October 8, in conjunction with the historic Piney Woods School, the Mississippi Film Office and Crossroads Film Society.
‘Opal’ Filmmaker Ramona Emerson on the Importance of Native American Representation Onscreen
Ramona Emerson is a Navajo filmmaker from Tohatchi, New Mexico. She participated in the 2010 Sundance Institute Native Filmmakers Lab with her project Opal, and is now using Kickstarter to fund the final stages of the film’s production. Opal has been a journey.
Q&A: Jim Whitaker on His Ground Zero Documentary ‘Rebirth’
“The site was a place that had itself experienced a deep loss, and it was healing,” Rebirth director Jim Whitaker said about Ground Zero. Whitaker decided to document that healing process by creating Rebirth—a documentary about the trauma, grief, and recovery of five individuals who suffered personal loss in the tragedy.Process is at the heart of Rebirth as it explores through time-lapse photography the changes at Ground Zero—the transition from a disaster area to a search and rescue operation and then to a rebuilding project—and as it documents, also in time-lapse fashion in the form of yearly interviews, the progression of its human subjects.
Sundance Institute Announces Projects for 2012 Theatre Lab at White Oak, Oct. 30-Nov. 13
New York, NY — The Sundance Institute Theatre Program today announced the three projects selected for its 2012 Theatre Lab at White Oak in Yulee, Florida. The Lab provides creative support and direction for innovative musical theatre projects and ensemble-generated projects, which have unique needs for collaboration and rehearsal time. Under the supervision of Philip Himberg, Producing Artistic Director of the Theatre Program, and Associate Director Christopher Hibma, the two week Lab (October 30 – November 13, 2011) is produced in partnership with the Howard Gilman Foundation.
Kickstart To Be Forever Wild
David Becker participated in the Sundance Institute Independent Producers Conference for his film Small Steps: Creating the High School for Contemporary Arts, which went on to air nationally on PBS. He also coordinated the restoration and re-release of Barbara Kopple’s landmark documentary Harlan County, USA, which screened at the 2005 Festival.I’m writing from upstate New York, where the devastating effects of Hurricane Irene can still be seen all around: uprooted trees, downed power lines, the mud and mess left behind by flooded rivers.
Kickstart Five Nights in Maine
Nekisa Cooper is an independent producer who most recently worked on Dee Rees’ 2011 Festival selection, Pariah. She is currently producing Maris Curran’s debut feature Five Nights in Maine along with a team of Sundance Film Festival alumni.In 2008, I participated in the inaugural Sundance Institute Creative Producing Lab and it was an experience that truly changed my life.
Stephanie Allen on the Problem with Independent Film Marketing
Stephanie Allen recently retired from her co-executive VP of marketing job at Fox Searchlight to focus on an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts at Goddard College. Allen spent 10 years at Searchlight conceptualizing and producing award-winning ad campaigns for films such as Slumdog Millionaire, Little Miss Sunshine, and Sideways. Her eclectic career path has included gigs at Rolling Stone, TriStar Pictures and Orion Pictures.
Adventures in Specialized Distribution (Part 2): Opportunity Costs
This is part of a series by Red Flag Releasing that documents their ongoing efforts to position We Were Here (release date September 9) in the marketplace. You can read the first part here.
Last week, it was about 110 degrees and Paul were I were in line at the post office, with about 20 poster tubes and boxes each in our arms.
A Glossary of Terms Independent Filmmakers Should Know
Do you really know what “VOD” means?There is no universal standard yet for definitions of digital rights. While IFTA (the organization that runs the American Film Market) has rights definitions for its signatories, it doesn’t cover all contracts out there. Many distributors and digital platforms use their own contracts with a range of definitions that don’t match up with those of others.
Sundance Institute to Host First-Ever Native Producers Workshop
Los Angeles, CA — Sundance Institute today announced that its Native American & Indigenous Program will host its first Native Producers Workshop, August 17 and 18 in Santa Fe, NM. The invitation-only event builds on the Institute’s 30-year tradition of supporting Native American cinema through its Labs and Festival and will focus on the opportunities and challenges unique to producing Native American film, as well as independent cinema in general. The workshop is an extension of Sundance Institute’s offerings for producers, including its annual Creative Producing Labs and Creative Producing Summit.
Andrew Okpeaha MacLean on Making ‘On the Ice’ 320 Miles North of the Arctic Circle
Andrew Okpeaha MacLean is an Iñupiaq filmmaker born and raised in Alaska. His short film Sikumi premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and his debut feature On the Ice screened at the 2011 Festival.Making a movie 320 miles north of the Arctic Circle is hard.
Filmmaker Heather Rae on Sundance Institute’s First Native Producers Workshop
Heather Rae is a filmmaker and Sundance Institute trustee who has produced three Sundance Film Festival selections including the 2008 Grand Jury Prize-winning and Oscar nominated Frozen River. She recently participated at the first-ever Native Producers Workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico. At the Native Producers Workshop this past week we sat in a circle on Museum Hill – a complex featuring four world-class museums – in Santa Fe and discussed the state of independent film and the way in which Native production plays a role in the marketplace.
Madeleine Olnek on Raising Funds for Her Sundance Film ‘Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same’
Madeleine Olnek is a New York-based filmmaker, director, and playwright whose debut feature, Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same, premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Click here to help fund her film’s distribution. As I’m writing this, an article in Indiewire with a somewhat mocking title—“The Kickstarting Never Stops”—has appeared mentioning how three films (including mine) which played at Sundance are still looking for funds.
Kickstart Rugged Guy
Jason Asenap is a Comanche/Muskogee Creek writer and filmmaker originally from Walters, Oklahoma, but now residing in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His project Rugged Guy was selected for the 2011 Sundance Institute NativeLab. Click here to learn more and help fund this film.