IFP

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
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 GOTHAM AWARDS: “BEGINNERS” DIRECTOR MIKE MILLS RECAPS HIS TWO WIN NIGHT

That was quite surreal. I’ve been to just two events like that before, so the red carpet shenanigans, seeing so many “movie stars” and directors you’ve listened to on DVD commentaries, and being in a room with so many people you’ve tried to get financing from – is really a strange experience. The kind that makes you all wild eyed and sweaty palmed. But mostly I was really truly just very happy to be there and felt very safe that we weren’t going to win anything and that I was just lucky to be included, to be in the group, to […]
by Mike Mills on Dec 1, 2011
IFP GOTHAM AWARDS: REFLECTIONS FROM AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER JUSTIN LERNER

In early 2009 I took my childhood friend Evan Sneider, a 31 year-old with Down Syndrome, out to lunch to see whether he’d be interested in letting me write a feature length film for him to star in, Girlfriend. “It’s going to be a little dark, Evan,” I said to him. “There’s going to be violence, and maybe even a little sex.” “That’s fine with me,” Evan said with a smile while finishing a steak and cheese pizza. “Sounds like fun.” Five months after that lunch we were casting the other roles and had found three willing actors – Shannon […]
by Justin Lerner on Dec 1, 2011
IFP GOTHAM AWARDS: “BEGINNERS” IN GOOD COMPANY

I was very very lucky. First, because I was blissfully unaware that the Gothams would announce the nominations on that day. In fact I was trying to get used to the idea my film — Beginners— had run its course and now it was time to put it to bed, move on, stop worrying about that project. Which isn’t easy. I started this in 2005, I’m used to putting everything I have into it, and the film contains so many people and places and things I truly love (both the real people who inspired the story and the filmmaking family […]
by Mike Mills on Nov 28, 2011
IFP GOTHAM AWARDS: LITTLE TIME FOR FANTASIES WITH “WILD HORSE, WILD RIDE”

When my husband and co-director, Greg, and I were first alerted that our film was one of 29 eligible for the Gotham Audience Award, we were intrigued, but realistic. We knew the chances that our documentary, Wild Horse, Wild Ride, would make the top FIVE were slim. After all, we were up against many wonderful and worthy films and while Wild Horse has earned numerous audience awards at festivals, it has yet to be nationally released. Still, we thought it was a tremendous opportunity, a kick-in-the pants so to speak, that would motivate us to reconnect with our audiences, do […]
by Alexandra Dawson on Nov 28, 2011
IFP GOTHAM AWARDS: A GREAT RUN FOR “GIRLFRIEND”

I was on my way back to the U.S. after spending a week in Belgium for the 2011 Ghent International Film Festival, where my first feature film Girlfriend had screened in the World Cinema section. My week in Ghent was spent seeing many of the great festival films of the year, eating Belgian chocolate, waffles, and enjoying all the different beer varieties the country proudly offers. In the Mariott elevator I met my favorite foreign filmmaker of the moment – Andrei Zvyagintsev, whose new film Elena ended up winning the festival. I knew Ghent was likely going to be our […]
by Justin Lerner on Nov 26, 2011
BUILDING COMMUNITY… ONE PROJECT AT A TIME

As the practice of ‘crowd-funding’ has come of age over the past couple years, so has the wide array of opinion about it. Some have called it a ‘game-changer’, especially when it comes to funding films, others seem to think of it as a magical place where free money simply appears from thin air, and yet others are wholly unconvinced, if not fully disdainful, of this practice of ‘organized-begging’. I can sympathize with the latter, seeing how crowd-funding has contributed to the advent of incessant self-promotion via social media sites, and the fact that you feel like everywhere you turn […]
by Gregorybayne on Nov 14, 2011
OLIVER PLATT & EDIE FALCO NAMED CO-HOSTS OF GOTHAM AWARDS AND AUDIENCE AWARD NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

In a release sent out today, the IFP has announced that actors Oliver Platt and Edie Falco will serve as co-hosts for this year’s Gotham Independent Film Awards, which take place this year on Nov. 28 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. This is the second straight year two actors known for their work in indie films will be hosting the event. Last year Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson did the honors. Also announced today are the five finalists for this year’s Gotham Independent Film Audience Award. Comprising 29 audience award winners from the top 50 US and […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Nov 9, 2011
CINEMATOGRAPHER ED LACHMAN DISCUSSES HIS CRAFT

At Independent Film Week this past September, Ed Lachman taught a Masterclass sponsored by Kodak. An acclaimed cinematographer known for creating lush and arresting images in films such as I’m Not There, Erin Brockovich, and The Virgin Suicides, Lachman was nominated for an Academy Award and received an Independent Spirit Award for his work on Far From Heaven. While the full panel is pay-walled and available only to IFP members, you can watch these three free excerpts right now: Here, Lachman discusses the difference between working with first-time directors and more experienced directors. Here, Lachman theorize about the difficulty of […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Nov 2, 2011

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