Filmmaking
Filmmaking
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Crowdfunding Campaign Launched for Alexandra Simpson’s Feature Debut No Sleep Till, Produced by Tyler Taormina
Today we’re sharing the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for No Sleep Till, the feature debut from French-American filmmaker Alexandra Simpson. So far, $3,735 has been raised by 21 backers toward a flexible $25,000 goal, with 29 days remaining to secure funds through the campaign. Producing the film is Ham on Rye and Happer’s Comet director Tyler Taormina, a member of the filmmaking collective Omnes Films, which appeared on our 25 New Faces of Film list in 2021. Also on board in Zurich-based producer Michael Graf, who produced the Sundance ’23 short White Ant. Here’s a general synopsis and pitch of No […]
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Remembering Producer and Doc Society Co-Founder Jess Search, 1969 – 2023
Jess Search, an extraordinary and impactful documentary producer and executive, died Monday in London of brain cancer. She was 54. Search began her career in 1998 as a founder of Shooting People, the London-based site connecting thousands of filmmakers and crew, and then at UK’s Channel Four, where she was a documentary commissioning editor. From there she founded the BritDoc Foundation, which then became the nonprofit Doc Society. As Doc Society’s co-founder and also chief executive, her vision led to a diverse set of initiatives that includes funding non-fiction films by UK filmmakers as well as, more specifically, supporting films […]
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“I Think We Sampled 100 Pinks”: Production Designer Sarah Greenwood and Set Decorator Katie Spencer on Barbie
Neither Barbie production designer Sarah Greenwood nor set decorator Katie Spencer had Barbie dolls growing up. “Or a DreamHouse, or anything,” recalls Greenwood, who joined Filmmaker on Zoom alongside Spencer following the record-breaking opening of Greta Gerwig’s feminist smash hit. “I was probably a little judgmental about Barbie until this film — I fell into that camp. But I kind of readdressed my thoughts after meeting this Barbie, and [its creator] Ruth Handler.” Spencer adds, “And [after] meeting Greta. We were a part of the backlash generation. Even if we wanted a Barbie, I don’t know that our parents would have […]
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Thread Again: SCAD Lacoste Film Festival Honors Lesley Manville (Sponsored Post)
“To get a good script is a thrilling thing,” said Oscar®-nominated actor Lesley Manville during this month’s SCAD Lacoste Film Festival. “It was a privilege when a good script would plop through the letterbox—it now pings through your email.” Manville’s good humor and insights infused the event, which took place July 1-2 in France’s Luberon Valley at the international location of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Fittingly, the festival paid homage to tradition as it looked to the future—while having a great time in the here-and-now. “La Maison Basse, with walls dating back from the 12th century, […]
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Dos Estaciones, Charm Circle, a New Joel Potrykus Short and More to Debut on the Criterion Channel in August
Alongside programming celebrating hip-hop, actress Kay Frances, Roger Corman’s Poe adaptations and “eurothrillers,” this August’s streaming selections on the Criterion Channel heavily feature filmmakers who’ve appeared in this publication, including in our recent Summer 2023 print issue. First up, Juan Pablo González’s highly-recommended Dos Estaciones will have its exclusive streaming premiere on the platform. González made our 25 New Faces of Film list back in 2015, and Dos Estaciones is the director’s sophomore feature. Described by Criterion as blending a “fictional character study and documentary-like observation,” the film follows tequila ranch owner María (Teresa Sánchez, winner of a Special Jury […]
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25 Great Independent Films You Can Stream Free on Tubi Now
With many viewers struggling with subscription-itis — a costly overload of SVOD memberships that inflate credit card bills at the end of each month — it’s no wonder that the so-called FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) channels are taking off in popularity. For filmmakers, these channels offer a new revenue stream, and for viewers not only no-cost entertainment but the chance to discover many titles that for whatever market-based reasons aren’t streamable on Netflix, Amazon Prime or Criterion. Filmmaker‘s Web Editor, Natalia Keogan, and I took a look through the current offerings of the most well-recognized FAST channel, Tubi, to […]
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Steven Soderbergh Announces Sci-Fi Series Command Z Dropping on His Website July 17
Although his new miniseries Full Circle just premiered on Max, Steven Soderbergh has announced today that another episodic project—which he allegedly made between Magic Mike’s Last Dance and Full Circle—will be ready to watch by next week. Command Z, an eight episode sci-fi project that’s roughly 90 minutes overall, will launch on Soderbergh’s website, Extension 765, this Monday, July 17. As of right now, a trailer for Command Z is available to watch on the site. Command Z takes place sometime in the distant future and revolves around a mission that a lead scientist (Michael Cera, appearing only via screen) […]
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SAG-AFTRA Votes to Strike, Shutting Down Film and Television Production
SAG-AFTRA is joining WGA on the Hollywood picket lines. Following the collapse Wednesday of its negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the union voted to strike, effective tonight at 12:01 AM. It’s the union’s first motion picture and television strike since 1980 and the first time since 1960 that both the actors’s and writers’ unions have concurrently struck. “We had no choice,” said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher at a live-streamed news conference this afternoon. “We are the victims here. We are being victimized by a very greedy entity.” She continued, “I cannot believe it, quite […]
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Girlblogging: Jennifer’s Body
As a girl—I mean, when I was younger—I would watch films about beautiful girls in the hope that I could somehow learn beauty, the fairytale story; that, by proximity, beauty would rub off on me; that I could contour myself in its image, or put it on. I was irrevocably convinced that beauty would save my life. Beautiful girls live life on easy mode. People give you whatever you want when you’re a beautiful girl. This is sort of true, but nothing in life is free. In return, what they demand is you. Jennifer’s Body is a film about best […]
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HieronyVision Announces “30×30” Film Independent Partnership Winners
HieronyVision, an online platform that aims to “establish a new creative ecosystem across independent and alternative movies, music and art,” has announced the 30 filmmakers selected as part of a Film Independent partnership. The filmmakers, chosen from five film schools as well as an application process, will “get a chance to develop, fund and distribute their projects with HieronyVision and learn the HV ORIGINALS model.” Explains HieronyVision in a statement, “For film projects, our team describes it as ‘Y Combinator meets The French New Wave.’Creatively the projects have to provoke, inspire or entertain. On the business side HieronyVision follows a […]
