Independent Filmmaker Labs
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TAXI RIDERS: ALRICK BROWN
If you’ve taken a ride in the back of a New York City taxi cab these last two weeks, you may have heard the stories of seven of New York’s most distinctive independent filmmakers of the moment. In partnership with Royal Bank of Canada and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, the IFP has produced six spots that are playing not only in cabs but on NYC Life. Jamie Stuart directed, T. Griffin scored and I produced these pieces, and each one, in addition to profiling a person, highlights a different aspect of the independent filmmaker’s current creative, production […]
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 12, 2011 -
Five Questions with Habibi Director Susan Youssef
When we chose Susan Youssef for our “25 New Faces” list in 2009, the Brooklyn born filmmaker of Lebanese and Syrian parents was in post-production on her feature Habibi, which she had been working on since 2002. “I’ve been working on the film for eight years, continuously,” she said. “I’ve never fought for something so hard before — I’ve defined my whole existence around this film.” Fortunately for Youssef, her work has paid off. Habibi premiered last month to strong response at the Venice Film Festival and now plays Toronto before heading to Dubai. Based on an ancient Sufi parable, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 14, 2011 -
IFP ANNOUNCES NARRATIVE LAB PARTICIPANTS
In a press release today IFP announced the participants of the 2011 Narrative Independent Filmmaker Lab, which kicked off today and will go on in New York City until June 10. The Narrative Lab Fellows and their features are Matt Ruskin (Booster), Rola Nashef (Detroit Unleaded), Nir Paniry (Extracted), Jenny Deller (Future Weather), Andrew Semans (Nancy, Please), Sara Blecher (Otelo Burning), Tim Sutton (Pavilion), Jaron Henrie-McCrea (Pervertigo), Ryan O’Nan (The Brooklyn Brothers Beat The Best), Mark Harris (The Lost Children) and Keith Miller (Welcome To Pine Hill). This highly immersive, free mentorship program for first-time feature filmmakers is currently the […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Jun 6, 2011 -
Zeina Durra and Elodie Bouchez on The Imperialists Are Still Alive!
In the opening scene of Zeina Durra’s debut, The Imperialists Are Still Alive!, Asya, a young artist, poses naked for the camera. A hijab on her head, a machine gun in hand, she explains to an off-screen assistant her rationale for why the religious freedom fighter she’s portraying might have waxed her pubic hair. It’s a scene that is as funny as it is politically loaded, much like the movie that follows. Although its milieu — the young, privileged and the artistic — is the stuff coming-of-age movies are made of, The Imperialists Are Still Alive! is more than just another […]
by Mary Anderson Casavant on Apr 12, 2011 -
A DIY DATE WITH “MR. SADMAN”
A few years ago I took part in the IFP Narrative Labs with a feature I wrote and directed called Mr. Sadman, about a 1990 Saddam Hussein double who loses his job and moves to Los Angeles to start his life over — a satire about what it truly means to become American. We had a brief, almost nonexistent festival run and then regrouped and thought about next steps. Every now and then we’d get an inquiry from a distributor or sales agent, but in the end nothing really ever made sense for either us or them. “No stars” plus […]
by Patrick Epino on Mar 23, 2011 -
SXSW BLOG: “YELLING TO THE SKY” PRODUCER BILLY MULLIGAN, PT. 2
The below post was written by Billy Mulligan, producer of the SXSW film, Yelling to the Sky. Six days of nonstop on-the-go hustle, with a few moments of pause for food coma recovery. That’s my SXSW in a nutshell. As a SXSW first-timer, I had heard countless times that it’s important to take the time to appreciate the Austin foodscape. After finally experiencing some of the culinary delights myself, it can’t be stressed enough that the Trailer Food culture that is ingrained into every fiber of the city is enough of a reason for any man, woman or child to […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Mar 17, 2011 -
“YELLING TO THE SKY” PRODUCER BILLY MULLIGAN, PART ONE
Producer Billy Mulligan, who is attending SXSW with Victoria Mahoney’s Yelling to the Sky, is filing a series of guest blog posts. Here’s the first. I’ve just touched down on Texas soil, a first for this pale-skinned, mid-winter-hibernating New Yorker. It’s a truly wonderful thing to be here conveying my experiences promoting a film I produced that is extremely close to my heart. The film is Yelling to the Sky, a narrative feature born from the rib of debut writer/director/producer, Victoria Mahoney. The occasion is our North American premiere this weekend in the Spotlight section of SXSW. We have flown […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Mar 12, 2011 -
“PUTTY HILL,” “ZERO BRIDGE” OPEN IN NYC
Two of Filmmaker’s “25 New Faces” have excellent movies opening today that are worthy of your first weekend patronage. From Tariq Tapa, who made our list in 2008, is Zero Bridge. Here’s what I wrote about him back then: “Everything I used to make this movie, from soup to nuts, fit in one little backpack,” says Tariq Tapa, whose Zero Bridge, a neorealist tale of unexpected friendship and moral complication set in the Indian-occupied city of Srinagar, Kashmir, is set to explode on the festival circuit this year. Tapa, who not only directed this first feature but shot, edited and […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 18, 2011 -
IFP NARRATIVE LAB APPLICATION LAUNCHES TODAY
The IFP Narrative Lab launches its online application today. From the website: IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs is the only program in the world currently supporting first-time feature directors in post-production to complete, market and distribute their films. Focusing exclusively on low-budget features ( Through the Labs, IFP works to ensure that talented emerging voices receive the support, resources, and industry exposure necessary to reach audiences. The Lab is really an excellent program that provides a wealth of intensive mentorship having to do with all the aspects of filmmaker that follow production. Recent Lab films include such Sundance selections as Pariah, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 15, 2011 -
“KINYARWANDA” | writer-director, Alrick Brown
[PREMIERE SCREENING: Monday, Jan. 24, 9:00 pm — Egyptian Theatre] One of the biggest surprises while shooting Kinyarwanda on location in Rwanda is something that we may have just taken for granted. Frankly, it could have been a surprise in the U.S., in a community not familiar with low-budget or independent filmmaking. The community, many of our crew, and local officials seemed to have a really strong grasp of the work of big budget films — situations where, as a solution, money is often thrown at a problem. Many were also very familiar with the other extreme: people picking up […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 24, 2011
