If independent film is going to prosper well into the 21st century, many would agree that there must be some sort of interdependence between filmmakers, a collective effort that will help everyone to communicate and share resources. Thankfully, there is already a driven group of Americans who are doing exactly that, providing a template that indie film can examine and emulate. It’s the Occupy movement. No matter how you feel about their politics, Occupy has utilized new technology and social media better than many organizations and affinity groups in the United States. And if you look closely at how they […]
by Marty Lang on Sep 17, 20121. A sense of outsideness. Buildings turned inside out on 9-11, and people outside in the streets of Manhattan. The mind, outside of itself with disbelief. The brutal and temporary restoration of the natural world in the middle of one of the world’s largest cities. Located a block from the World Trade Center, Zuccotti Park, terribly damaged on 9-11 and slowly restored, would become the locus of the Occupy Movement. Encampments. Tents. The incongruous sight of camping gear in urban spaces and beneath the shadows of skyscrapers, in a forest of steel and concrete and glass. It is not films […]
by Nicholas Rombes on Dec 19, 2011The Making of a ‘Grassroots’ Movement’ is a series of posts that are meant to serve as a case study on transmedia marketing, social engagement and distribution for an independent film called ‘Grassroots‘. Stephen Gyllenhaal – my boss – says that running a film marketing and distribution campaign without studio distribution is a lot like running a grassroots political campaign. I am here to tell you that the two are, indeed, very similar: You live in the realm of hope, try to retain the project’s integrity, work with called-in favors, unguaranteed outcomes, creative work-arounds and half-truths. You court official-dom, but also […]
by Saskia Wilson-Brown on Oct 13, 2011