Several of the films that will appear in Competition at this year’s Berlin Film Festival were announced today, and I couldn’t be happier to see two anticipated films by two of our “25 New Face” filmmakers on the list. Miranda July will be traveling from Sundance to Berlin with her new movie, The Future, and first-time filmmaker Victoria Mahoney will be debuting with her Yelling to the Sky. I’m particularly thrilled to see Victoria’s film there because the project was part of the IFP Narrative Lab this year, for which I was a mentor. I saw the film at the […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 15, 2010In this time of economic peril, many Americans have begun to shed frivolous spending for small but rich pleasures. With less nights of take-out or cineplex movies, they’ve learned that it’s the homemade things that count in this world. Filmmaker Anna Farrell portrays a tight-knit community in her documentary Twelve Ways to Sunday, one that always knew about the basic and organic things in life. Fixing up motorcycles, dishing up meals at the local diner, and canning fruit preserves, the people of Allegany County, New York, have always sustained through the good and bad times. Playing this Wednesday at Rooftop […]
by Melissa Silvestri on Sep 22, 2010Project Forum, part of IFP‘s Independent Film Week which will take place Sept. 19-23, is the centerpiece of IFW, designed specifically as a place for industry to meet with new talent, as well as discover fresh projects from emerging and veteran filmmakers. 150 projects have been selected for this year’s Project Forum, and will be spread out over its four section — Emerging Narrative, Independent Filmmaker Labs, No Borders International Co-Production Market and Spotlight on Documentaries. Some of the established names showing new work this year include producers like Howard Gertler & John Cameron Mitchell (Shortbus), Lynette Howell (Half Nelson), […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Aug 15, 2010Filmmaker Zeina Durra’s Sundance Competition film The Imperialists are Still Alive! has its East Coast premiere tonight, June 24, in an Indiewire-hosted screening at the 2nd Northside Festival of Film and Music in Brooklyn. The film, a graduate of the IFP Narrative Lab, is an upscale Manhattan comedy of manners with an internationalist flavor and a post-9/11 paranoid bent. It also has the most arresting first shot of the year. Writing for Filmmaker, Eric Kohn said of the film: Consider the revelatory drama The Imperialists Are Still Alive! Like a 1990s-era Amerindie upgraded to post-9/11 concerns, this insightful low key […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 24, 2010The recently concluded IFP Narrative Lab was a dense week of study and mentorship as our participating filmmakers, all with films somewhere between rough and fine cut, were given guidance about picture lock, sound design, scoring and music licensing, festival strategy, distribution deals, and DIY, self and hybrid distribution efforts. Amy Dotson and Rose Vincelli from the IFP did a fantastic job of putting the program together. Susan Stover, Jon Reiss and I were the lab leaders. In addition, an inspiring group of editors, filmmakers, producers and industry vets came in to lend their expertise. At the end of the […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jun 17, 2010IFP has announced the 10 projects selected for participation in this year’s narrative edition of Independent Filmmaker Labs which takes place June 7-11 in New York City. The 2010 Labs include an initial five days of workshops that assist filmmakers with the technical, creative and strategic advice needed to complete their films; a Strategy & Networking Lab following in September with specialized workshops on web building, sales & marketing and audience building, as well as pre-scheduled meetings for the projects with potential buyers, funders and festival programmers during IFP’s Independent Film Week; and a winter intensive Distribution Lab, specifically focused […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Jun 7, 2010The IFP has announced the ten projects selected for its Documentary Lab. The Lab will take place April 12-16 in New York City and will include five-days of intensive workshops and mentorships from working professionals. The list of projects are below. Lear more at ifp.org. 25 To Life William Brawner was infected with HIV before he turned two and kept it a secret for over twenty years. Now he seeks redemption from the women of his promiscuous past and embarks on a new phase of life with his pregnant wife, who is HIV-negative. Fellows: Michael L. Brown (Director, Producer); Yvonne […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Apr 13, 2010In a press release sent out today, the IFP has announced that they’ve expanded their Independent Filmmaker Labs to include distribution. In collaboration with Ted Hope and Jon Reiss, the Distribution Lab will take 20 projects (10 docs, 10 narratives) and gives them a year-long fellowship to assist the filmmakers with marketing and distributing their films. Filmmakers will receive, among other things, year-round access to IFP staff and Lab leaders, one-on-one mentorship with working producers and a five-day Completion Lab. To learn more about the Lab and its benefits read the full release below. Also on the IFP front, the […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Mar 30, 2010Filmmaker Miao Wang, a Beijing native now based in Brooklyn, is currently racing to finish her feature doc Beijing Taxi in time for SXSW, where it’s scheduled to world premiere. She needs to raise $11,000 to cover post-production expenses and is just under half way there with five days left to go at Kickstarter. From the Kickstarter page: BEIJING TAXI is a feature length documentary that vividly portrays Beijing undergoing a profound transformational arch. Through a humanistic lens, the intimate lives of three taxi drivers connect a morphing city confronted with modern issues and changing values. With diverse imagery combined […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 9, 2010Today IFP announced the projects selected for this year’s Independent Filmmaker Lab, taking place next week. In it’s 5th year, the Lab is a highly immersive, free mentorship program for low-budget ($1 million) first feature films that have shot all or a substantial amount of footage but have not completed post-production. The goal of the program is to connect mentors with projects before they are submitted to film festivals. Past participants include The New Year Parade (2008 Slamdance Grand Jury Narrative Prize winner) and Half-Life (2008 Sundance Film Festival and Tokyo International Film Festival). The 2009 Narrative Lab leaders are […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Jun 1, 2009