Authors — Jane Schoenbrun

KICKSTARTER: SARA NODJOUMI AND TILL SCHAUDER’S “THE IRAN JOB”

The Kickstarter campaign for Iranian basketball documentary The Iran Job ends next Monday, but the project has already passed its ambitious $50,000 goal. In production for several years, The Iran Job (which is fiscally sponsored by IFP) is seeking finishing funds to prepare for a 2012 release. The documentary follows Kevin Sheppard, an American basketball player who has become an unlikely spokesperson for reform while playing ball in Iran. Per the project’s Kickstarter page: With tensions running high between Iran and the West, Kevin tries to separate sports from politics, only to find that politics is impossible to escape in […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Jan 3, 2012
AMERICANA THE BEAUTIFUL: EULOGIZING “FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS”

And we’re back with my fourth and final post in a series looking at some of the year’s best TV. In previous weeks I’ve sung the praises of FX’s Louie, HBO’s Game of Thrones, and AMC’s Breaking Bad. This week I’ll be gushing about NBC and DIRECTV’s dearly departed football drama Friday Night Lights. One Wednesday night this past February I sat on the floor for an hour at a loud sports bar just east of Union Square in Manhattan. Three-hundred-and-sixty-four days out of the year, this place would not have not been my scene. But tonight, they were screening […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Dec 27, 2011
TRAGEDY IN SLOW MOTION: AMC’S BREAKING BAD

Here we are again, with part three in a series highlighting some of 2011’s most daring, innovative television. This week, I’ll be singing the praises of AMC’s consistently shocking and always riveting Breaking Bad. Indeed, there is no show on TV more unrelenting in its exploration of human misery than Breaking Bad. Created by former X-Files writer Vince Gilligan, the show stars Bryan Cranston as Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher who, after being diagnosed with cancer, begins cooking and distributing meth with the help of a burnout ex-student (Aaron Paul). If that premise sounds a bit too high-concept […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Dec 22, 2011
TEN GREAT SONGS FROM 2011 THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

As Filmmaker’s contributors offer up summations of the year’s greatest achievements in film, I wanted to share some of the best new music I discovered in 2011. I tried to make picks that highlight musicians still flying under the radar (even by independent standards), or, in certain cases, artists tracking huge success through a unique, idiosyncratic, and independent mindset. Here are my picks in alpha order, along with Soundcloud streams and (where available) music videos: Air France – “It Feels Good to Be Around You” Following in the tradition of The Avalanches, Sweden’s Air France have made a name for […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Dec 21, 2011
KICKSTARTER: KEITH MILLER’S “WELCOME TO PINE HILL”

On the heels of this week’s Slamdance lineup announcement, Welcome to Pine Hill, one of the films premiering in competition, has launched a new Kickstarter campaign. A verite, doc-narrative blend (and an alum of the 2011 IFP Narrative Labs), Pine Hill follows Shannon Harper, a former drug dealer who reexamines his past after receiving some life-altering news. Director Keith Miller has crafted an intimate, stirring, and emotionally authentic first feature; one that’s sure to have quite a life on the 2012 festival circuit. For now though, Miller and his team need your help. Per their Kickstarter page: Keith Miller and […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Dec 21, 2011
IFP LABS: VARIANCE FILM’S DYLAN MARCHETTI OFFERS MARKETING ADVICE

Dylan Marchetti, founder of Variance Films, donated his afternoon Wednesday to mentoring filmmakers at IFP’s Marketing & Distribution Labs. Variance, a distribution company that has overseen the releases of niche indies and foreign imports like Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, Littlerock, and Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, has built a reputation very much in line with the trailblazing, DIY-attitude that many of IFP’s lab filmmakers hold dear. And it was a great match, as Marchetti spent the afternoon listening to these filmmakers discuss their marketing and distribution strategies, offering tailored advice about the distribution paths that he felt […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Dec 13, 2011
IFP LABS: HOW TO MERCHANDISE EFFECTIVELY

A recurring topic all last week at IFP’s Marketing and Distribution Labs was how indie filmmakers can get the most out of their film’s release, both monetarily and in terms of marketing. Friday morning the conversation turned granular (but no less interesting) with lab leaders Jon Reiss, Amy Dotson, and Milton Tabbot discussing the pros and cons of various forms of merchandising. Stressed repeatedly – the key thing to remember is that each film requires a distinct merchandising campaign. Think about your film’s core audience, and what kinds of products they would most likely be interested in. Then plan accordingly. […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Dec 12, 2011
FANTASY FOR FANTASY’S SAKE: DEFENDING HBO’S GAME OF THRONES

Welcome to part two in a series highlighting some of the most innovative, groundbreaking TV of 2011. This installment’s focus is HBO’s wildly ambitious and equally expensive fantasy series, Game of Thrones. Booker Prize winning author Salmon Rushdie recently had some not so flattering words for Thrones. In a recent interview with Haaretz, he said: “Most novels published are bad novels, most plays put on are bad plays, most movies that come out are bad movies and that is also true of TV. Nineteen times out of 20 you fall asleep. There was a series called Game of Thrones which […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Dec 12, 2011
IFP LABS: A BRIEF GUIDE TO PLANNING YOUR FESTIVAL PREMIERE

There was an elephant in the room during day one of IFP’s annual Marketing and Distribution Labs, and that elephant’s name was Sundance. The majority of the Lab’s 21 attending filmmakers submitted applications earlier this year, each one hoping and secretly sort of expecting an acceptance letter. What they all received instead was a courteous but crushing rejection. Today’s afternoon session started out as something of a venting session. As the lab leaders tried to reassure these first-time filmmakers that their careers were not over, that they had many options still on the table, the mood in the room only […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Dec 9, 2011
IFP Labs: Ten Things Every Filmmaker Should Know About Distribution Deals

I’ll be blogging this week from the 2011 IFP Filmmaker Labs, which are in their third and final session at 92Y Tribeca. This year’s 21 participating documentary and narrative projects, are nearing completion of the grueling post-production process and are now turning their attention towards the marketplace. Things kicked off this morning with a sobering discussion about sales and rights, led by Jon Reiss, co-author of Selling Your Film Without Selling Your Soul (presented by PreScreen and Area 23, also written by The Film Collaborative and Sherri Candler). Alongside the other lab leaders, Reiss stressed that filmmakers should always use […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Dec 7, 2011

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