Filmmaker's Conference
Filming at 230 m.p.h.
Sierra Club Festival
FIRST LOOK's New Horizons
Creativity in Squaw Valley
IFFM '97
Parks Sparks Awards
Indies in Soho

The independent filmmaker's conference, hosted by the IFP/Midwest for the sixth consecutive year, has expanded to run two days, Friday April 18 and Saturday April 19, 1997. Friday's small-group workshops are hosted by national and local independent filmmaking experts on casting, directing, writing and pitching scripts, budgeting, scheduling and negotiating low-budget talent and labor agreements, and submitting films to festivals. Saturday's events will feature three panels: A Case Study: love jones and Soulfood; Music: Soundtracks without Borders, and Indepen-dent Film: Defining Success in the '90s. Scheduled participants include writer/director Ted Wichter and producer Jeremiah Samuels of love jones ('97 Sundance Aud-ience Award co-winner); Soulfood writer/ director George Tillman and producer Bob Teitle; Independent Film and Theatrical Producer Jim Stern, of 35 Miles from Normal and Stomp; C.G. O'Connor of The Hollywood Reporter; L.A. casting director Susan Peck; Andrew Golov, production executive The House of Yes; independent producer Johnny Wow, Dream With Fishes, and music supervisor and publisher Jan Rhees. For more info, call the IFP/Midwest (312) 527.2663 or request info via fax (312) 644-5776.

Acclaimed IMAX director Stephen Low (Across the Sea of Time, Flight of the Aquanaut, Titanica) takes on the laws of physics in his most recent IMAX project, Super Speedway. Narrated by Paul Newman, Speedway features Indy car racing footage shot by the father and son team of Mario and Michael Andretti and delves into the world of one of the world's most technologically advanced sports. The film interweaves three story lines: the construction of Michael Andretti's 1996 Indy car; the complex rivalry between the father and son racing team, and a trip through the history and evolution of modern racing. Speedway opens on March 28 at the Kodak OMNITHEATER (the nation's largest IMAX Dome Theater), at the Library Science Center in Jersey City, N.J. and will be released at large-format theaters in over 60 markets across the U.S. beginning in May. For more info, call (212) 647-1850.

The NYC Sierra Club is establishing a unique annual event: a showcase of the best in environmental film and video. The festival will recognize individuals with the potential to make a major contribution to the cause of conservation. The NYC Sierra Film and Video Festival is scheduled to run from May 29 to June 1. At press time Honorary Co-Chairs include Ed Begley, Jr., George Stephanopoulos and Cheryl Tiegs.

The event will showcase fiction and documentary features, shorts, children's and animated works. Among topics considered for panel discussions are the future of the Hudson River, the ecology of commerce and the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park. The late Nigerian writer and environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa will be honored with a screening of In Remembrance Ken Saro-Wiwa. Screenings and panel discussions will be held at the New School for Social Research's Tishman Auditorium and the theater of the Parsons School of Design, both in NYC. For more info call (212) 473-7986 after May 1.

Now in its fifth season, the Eastman Kodak Company and Tribeca Film Center sponsored screening series FIRST LOOK is branching out in two directions. Beginning in Spring of '97, the N.Y.-based event will also offer filmmakers the unique opportunity to premier their films on both coasts. Films with distribution rights available will be screened for a select audience of invited professionals, with two screenings per film and a cocktail reception between screenings within a few days of each other in N.Y. and L.A. Simultaneous with the West Coast expansion, a focus group met during the '97 Berlin Film Festival to discuss plans for an international FIRST LOOK series. Using the N.Y. model and adapting it to European films seeking to enter the U.S. market, the new series would promote and facilitate the cooperation of media professionals within the European, North American and world markets. The FIRST LOOK international focus groups are a collaboration between the Eastman Kodak Company, the Tribeca Film Center, London-based MediaXchange, and the Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen, with the support of the pan-European funding agency, MEDIA Promotion of the European Union. For more info contact Harlene Freezer, Director (212) 941-4011.

The Squaw Valley Community of Writers enters its 28th year, with four different workshops scheduled for '97, beginning with Art of the Wild, July 11-18, then continuing with a Poetry Workshop, July 19-26, and finishing simultaneously with a Screenwriting Workshop and a Fiction/Non-Fiction Workshop, both from August 2-9. Each workshop is limited to 20 participants and costs $555 (limited financial aid available). The deadline for submissions is May 10, 1997. For a brochure contact (916) 274-8551.

The Independent Feature Film Market (IFFM) will take place at NYC's Angelika Film Center September 14-21. Four hundred feature fiction and documentary projects will be screened in the following categories: completed features, works-in-progress, shorts and scripts (fiction only). Deadlines for submission are May 23 (early) and June 13 (final). Filmmakers will be able to save money on their registration fees by downloading their IFFM applications from the IFP's website: www.ifp.org. For more info, call (212) 465-8200 or request info via fax (212) 465-8525.

The National Latino Communications Center (NLCC) returns to the IFFM for the third year with a showcase of five films by Latino and Chicano filmmakers. And officially participating for the first time with their own curated showcase of five films, will be the National Asian American Telecommunications Association (NAATA).

The Gordon Parks Independent Film Awards for Black Filmmakers has been launched as a new IFFM program. The selection committee is to be made up of Julie Dash, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Spike Lee, Gordon Parks Sr., and George C. Wolfe. The awards are a collaboration of the IFP and Viacom Inc, created for emerging independent black directors and screenwriters. The Parks Awards will go to both a screenwriter and a director, and carry a cash prize of $10,000 each. Sponsorship of the awards has been spearheaded by MTV Films and is a collaboration of several Viacom divisions, including Nickelodeon Movies, Paramount Pictures and Showtime Networks. All filmmakers submitting to the '97 IFFM, who meet the eligibility criteria, will be considered.

The FilmMakers Collaborative, a newly launched venture at 29 Greene Street, offers full production suites, office support staff, and an AVID 8000 editing suite. "We decided there could be a place for real low-budget independent films that was low cost but was still a joy to be working in, a really comfortable space for filmmakers," says founder John Johnson. Among other plans for the Collaborative is an outdoor screen on the roof to be used for a summer film screening series. "We're really hoping to make this a community space for true independents." Space is limited, and only films with budgets less than three million can take advantage of the prices. For more info, call (212) 966-3030.