On Saturday night an exclusive dinner was hosted for participants to discuss issues involving alternative and arthouse film exhibition. The IFP’s Danielle DiGiacomo was there, and she files this report. On Saturday afternoon, in the sun-drenched backyard of the El Paso Tacqueria on 104th and Lexington, Rooftop Films, Cinereach, and IFF Rotterdam launched both a new partnership and a new form of the “panel discussion.” As white sangria flowed freely and guacamole was savored, several of independent film’s industry leaders and filmmakers and programmers came together to confab about “New Collaborative Models of Film Exhibition.” At least, according to the […]
I stopped by St. Mark’s Bookshop this afternoon and noted that they are remaining open past midnight on Monday, August 3 (until 12:30) to sell copies of the new Thomas Pynchon novel, Inherent Vice, which goes on sale Tuesday. This new Pynchon has snuck up on me — I knew it was coming out but I hadn’t realized so soon. So, Googling I come across the cover, which at first I thought was a joke. It’s got a real Elmore Leonard ’80s design thing going on, or maybe a Carl Hiassen vibe, or, less charitably, as a poster on at […]
Our press release announcing our annual “25 New Faces” feature has just gone up at Indiewire, and you can read our profiles of the selections on our site here. As I wrote in the editor’s letter for the upcoming issue, we looked at a lot of work this year — maybe too much work, actually — and could easily have made a list of “125 New Faces.” Of the people we finally chose, every person on the list was championed passionately within our editorial team, and each person also seemed to us to be approaching their roles as filmmakers, dps, […]
Since I posted yesterday about the ways in which journalists might learn to pitch in the future, I suppose I should finally commit to the blogosphere this post about how they should pitch in the present. I’ve been meaning to write this post for a long time, and I haven’t because, frankly, I’ve been afraid to. That’s because the Filmmaker magazine editorial mailbox fills up with about 500 posts a week, and I’ve been hesitant to write something that’s going to increase that in any way. Of course, most of those 500 posts are spam, or press releases that can […]
I took note of Anthony Kaufman’s most recent blog post, “How to Survive the Recession?” for a number of reasons. First, Anthony writes our “Industry Beat” column, which is a place every issue where we survey the broader trends affecting this industry. He’s one of the few writers in our independent sphere who equally understands art and business issues, and he knows how to communicate both in concise and clear prose. But Anthony only does four columns a year for us, and if he’s finding the freelance world in general too forbidding at the moment, that’s awfully sad. He writes: […]
As I settle back in from a wonderful July 4th get-away, I am reminded of a mantra we used to chant at InDigEnt all the time (we were a spiritual bunch). It was about how the digital revolution in filmmaking truly is a democratizing factor in production and distribution. I believed it then and I believe it now. While that phrase has been thrown around to mean all kinds of things, what it really means to me is that technology is reducing the barriers to entry for the making of films and subsequently for the dissemination of those films to […]
As Indiewire reported, Brian Newman has left his position as CEO of the Tribeca Film Institute. In a statement he sent to his friends that he reposted on his Springboard Media blog. An excerpt: As many of you know, I have quite an entrepreneurial spirit and want to now explore other opportunities. I will be launching a consulting business focusing on business development projects in the entertainment and cultural industries as well as helping filmmakers, artists and organizations to distribute content and connect with audiences through innovative uses of new technology. His statement echoes comments he made at the Open […]
Premiering tomorrow at 7pm — and on the museum’s YouTube channel — is the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA)’s Chinatown Film project, a collection of short films by Miguel Arteta, Patty Chang, Jem Cohen, Cary Fukunaga, So Yong Kim & Bradley Rust Gray, Amir Naderi, Sam Pollard, Shelly Silver, Rose Troche, and Wayne Wang & Richard Wong on their unique visions of Chinatown, New York. (Advance registration required to attend the opening.) The museum is located at 215 Centre Street, and the exhibition continues both on YouTube and on the exhibition’s blog (appropriately in Chinese and English.) The exhibition […]
I was working with a young director who was very talented, but who was also prone to panic — causing her to lose her perspective and clarity (an issue I’ve had to deal with myself at times). So I wrote this ‘”cheat sheet” for the fellows to carry with them for when they felt lost. To be honest, I created it just as much for myself… The Unofficial Sundance Shooting Cheat Sheet You may never need this, but if you’re feeling a little lost, or out of control, or not sure, remember… 1. Breathe. Calm down. Fear and anxiety are […]
Here’s actor, writer and director Keith Gordon’s (pictured) second post from the Sundance Directors’ Lab. For his first post, click here. OK, so the weather isn’t great so far (lots of rain), and the food is, well, it’s kinda like being at summer camp. (That’s why I always bring some cereal and cans of soup from home). And that’s all I can come up with to complain about. This place is magic, and I’m thrilled to be back in it’s grip. I unpacked in my cozy little condo, and headed down to the Sunday reception for us “new folk.” I […]