Independent filmmakers like to think that they are creating works of art that contribute to an enduring American culture. There’s just one problem: these works of art are disintegrating. Literally. More concerned with life rights than half-life, filmmakers are allowing their films to crumble and dissolve into analog blurs and forests of digital glitches as formats change, materials are uncared for, and elements are left forgotten on lab floors. Enter the Sundance Collection, a collaborative program with the UCLA Film and Television Archive. It is the first archive to be devoted exclusively to the preservation of independent cinema. This year, […]
[PREMIERE SCREENING: Friday, Jan. 16, 8:30 am — Prospector Square Theatre, Park City] Johnny Mad Dog is based on a novel by Emmanuel Dongala. At first, I wrote a faithful adaptation of the book following the same narrative construction, which was centered on two main characters: Johnny, a 15-year-old child soldier, and Laokolé, a 13-year-old girl who runs away with her family. They are in the same situation in the last days of a civil war in Africa. The same unit of time, place and space. Two roads which cross paths, two different points of view, two destinies. Once this […]
From a press release I just received from Film Independent: Today Film Independent and Netflix announced the immediate launch of the Netflix FIND Your Voice Film Competition, which will award one aspiring first-time feature filmmaker the means, guidance and resources to make a full-length, narrative film. The winner of the competition, who will own all rights to his or her film, will be determined between now and July 2009. In addition to production resources needed to make the film, the winner will receive a $150,000 cash production grant funded by Netflix, plus turnkey resources like film stock, processing, camera rental, […]
It seems whenever the economy is down you’ll hear some rose-colored-glasses wearing producer saying, “Great, now that stocks and real estates are no longer offering investors a return, they’ll turn to film!” Well, for those of you waiting to see how the economic collapse will affect independent filmmakers, Hannah Seligson in The New York Times offers one possibility: there may soon be more of us. From the piece: With Wall Street hemorrhaging jobs, bonuses disappearing and the financial sector going through a seismic shift, some bankers and lawyers are switching lanes to more creative career paths. They are putting down […]
Matt Dentler of Cinetic Rights Management sent word of two films now online that will be of interest to Filmmaker readers. The first is Randall Sharp’s fascinating indie period film Henry May Long, which Alicia Van Couvering covered here on the site in an interview with the writer/director. From Van Couvering’s interview: Filmmaker: How did the film come together? Sharp: I made up the story on a car ride to Woodstock one day. I thought, what would happen if someone was willing to do anything to get someone else to pay attention to them? What if that decision led to […]
MERYL STREEP IN DIRECTOR JOHN WALTER’S DOCUMENTARY THEATER OF WAR. COURTESY WHITE BUFFALO ENTERTAINMENT. In the field of documentary, John Walter has emerged as the medium’s most eloquent and entertaining cultural historian. The Detroit-born director, who is also an unpublished poet, began his career in the film industry as a boom operator and worked in that capacity on Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead II. In the mid 90s, he became an editor, beginning with Norman Reedus’ Messenger (1994), and in 1995 he directed Edison’s Miracle of Light, an episode of PBS’ television series The American Experience. In 2002, Walter made his […]
Brian Chirls, who contributed the piece on Soderbergh’s RED camera post-production in the current issue, weighs in with some of his ’08 personal bests. Best Foreign Film About Food That I Saw at a European Festival Of Which No One I Know In the States Has Ever Heard:Estômago Best Film About Zombies in High SchoolDance of the Dead Best Film of the Year/Best American Film About FoodPoultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead Best Film About Pistachios That I Never Heard From After Its Sundance Premiere (Even Though It’s Not About Cannibalism)Anywhere, USA Best Film That I Never Actually Got Around […]
Here are producer Noah Harlan‘s year-end thoughts: I think a lot of people missed Jake Mahaffy’s Wellness (pictured) which won SXSW this year and got a Gotham nomination. Also, I continue to be amazed by what is coming out of Israel. Each year I think that they have peaked and then they produce even more impressive films the next. With films like Beaufort, Jellyfish, The Band’s Visit and Waltz With Bashir they have had an exceptional year with awards (Academy Award nomination, Silver Bear at Berlin, Camera D’Or at Cannes…). Lastly, I think the introduction of the RED Scarlet system […]
Last week on the newsletter I posted a request for Sundance-bound filmmakers who are doing anything outside of the ordinary to promote and distribute their films (i.e., anything other than making a poster, hiring a publicist and waiting for the sales to come in) to email me and I’d post their efforts on the blog. Well, so far, no Sundance filmmakers have replied, but a couple of others have, and they’ve expanded my question to include their own efforts in production and theatrical release. Here’s the first of the responses I received in what will become an occasional feature here […]
I’m back from the Dubai Film Festival (expect my coverage early next week) and am now rushing to get the next issue of the magazine together, so that’s why there hasn’t been as much material up on the blog. But I had to quickly post this quote from David Mament that appeared in Variety regarding Jeremy Piven, who has left the Broadway production of Speed the Plow due to a “high mercury count.” Piven has informed the producers that he hasn’t been feeling well and that the condition is attributable to a high mercury count. The show’s producers weren’t returning […]