When I think about what to put in Filmmaker, I like to think of myself as the ideal reader. As long as I maintain my own sense of curiosity, then I can be sure that if a topic or person or film interests me then it should interest a lot of other readers as well. This extends to other things too. That is, if I'm interested in going to or seeing something, I imagine that you, as a subscribers to this newsletter, might be interested in it as well.

All of the above is to say that I'm really looking forward to the IFP's Independent Film Week and Filmmaker Conference this year. And, yes, the IFP publishes Filmmaker, and we're involved with one of the events, but, really, I'm not just saying that. When I looked over the schedule for the first time, I thought, wow, there's a lot of stuff here that I want to go to.

Independent Film Week runs September 16 - 20 in New York at various locations around Lincoln Center. If you haven't been to it before, it can seem a bit confusing at first because it's actually several different events, some of which are open to the public and some of which are not. If you're a filmmaker attending the Project Forum, you've already been in touch with the IFP and don't need my guidance. But if you're heard about the Filmmaker Conference portion of Independent Film Week, which is open to the public (and yes, tickets are still available), you might be wondering what's so interesting about this year's program. Here, then, are six events I'm looking forward to.

1. The first day, Sunday, Sept. 16, is headlined "The Future of Film," and it kicks off with a case study of Beasts of the Southern Wild. I've attended a lot of case studies at a lot of festivals, but I think I'll learn something at this one simply because Beasts had a production history like no other.



2. Focus Features CEO, producer, screenwriter and professor James Schamus and veteran indie producer Christine Vachon of Killer Films have long and illustrious CVs. They've been major forces in independent film since the '80s. But, both have resisted residency in Memory Lane; they are two of the most forward-thinking people around, and I'm very curious as to their conversation on Sunday about the future of our business.



3. Monday, September 17, is headlined "Audience Engagement," and the Sundance Institute panel, "How to Avoid the Big Self-Distribution Mistakes," looks particularly interesting. (I mean, hearing about other people's mistakes is always more fun -- and edifying -- than hearing about their success stories.)



4. Wednesday, September 19, is headlined "New Ideas in Storytelling," and kicking it off is Michel Reilhac, producer, curator and Executive Director of Arte France Cinema. I've seen Michel speak before about transmedia at the Rotterdam Film Festival, and I even wrote it about on the blog. While a lot of people espousing transmedia turn it into marketing gobbledygook, Michel is capable of explaining why it's an essential part of our cinematic future.



5. Thursday, September 20 is headlined "The Truth About Non-Fiction," and the panel I'm most interested in is "Filmmaking in Conflict," which looks at subject matters that bring the director and subject into conflict, whether that's physical or emotional. The panel includes directors Alison Klayman, Doug Block and Joe Berlinger.



6. Finally, Tuesday afternoon is a special, invitation-only event, ReInvent, consisting of short talks, TED-style, from a number of innovators and industry figures on the future of independent film. Filmmaker is hosting it, and it's not on the regular schedule. But if you'll be in New York on Tuesday, September 18, between the hours of 2:30 and 5:30, shoot me an email at scott@filmmakermagazine.com. I'll send an invite to the first five of you who respond.

Hope to see you around Independent Film Week next week.

Best,
Scott Macaulay
Editor
A BIG WEEK: GOTHAMS DEADLINE, INDEPENDENT FILM WEEK, AND FILMMAKER CONFERENCE This Friday, September 16th, is the deadline for U.S. independent films scheduled for release in 2012 to be submitted for consideration for the Gotham Independent Film Awards. Submissions can be made to the five competitive categories that accept open submissions - Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor, and Best Ensemble Performance. Nominees in all categories will be announced on October 18th. For info on Gothams criteria, click here. Later this weekend, IFP begins its 34th Independent Film Week in which 161 projects in development and production will be presented to more than 500 attending industry reps who can potentially partner to help move those projects forward on a financing, sales representation, broadcast or distribution level. Concurrently, the Filmmaker Conference will contain keynotes from producer Christine Vachon and Focus Features' James Schamus, filmmaker JC Chandor, ARTE's Michel Reilhac, and the Ford Foundation's Orlando Bagwell, as well as case studies of Beasts of the Southern Wild and How to Survive a Plague. Conference tickets are still available; for the schedule, click here.