Hello. I’m going to be blogging during Independent Film Week but started thinking about this before and wanted to post it.
The market and conferences during Independent Film Week has always been a great time to get a better understanding of the “climate” of independent film and develop strategies for how to navigate the next year. And as I get ready for this year I’ve been reading some interesting articles in the New York Times. One that came out in June and two that came out this month. The most recent article is a bit more hopeful, not exactly in terms of finances, but about artistic risks and challenging stories that could come out of a widening separation between studios and independent filmmaking.
Providing an overview of what’s been happening since January, the articles have been helpful. Some excerpts:
In July, John Anderson wrote “
No Film Distributor? Then D.I.Y.”
“When “Bottle Shock” played at the Sundance Film Festival in January, it appeared to possess that mix so tantalizing to well-heeled indie distributors….But “Bottle Shock” found no love among distributors in Park City, Utah. So the director, Randall Miller, is opening the film himself next week in 12 cities. With their hopes for conventional movie deals increasingly dead on arrival, more and more indie filmmakers are opting for a do-it-yourself model: self-distribution, once the route of the desperate, reckless or defiant, has become an increasingly attractive option for movies otherwise deprived of theatrical exhibition….”
Then on September 4th, A.O. Scott wrote “
It’s Suddenly So Last Year, That Once Bold New Guard”
“On Oscar night, the idea that indie was the new mainstream was confirmed, once again, as conventional wisdom. Even the big-studio offering that crashed the party — Tony Gilroy’s “Michael Clayton” — was more of a middle-sized movie than a would-be blockbuster.
Again! Still! For real this time! What began as a trickle of discouraging news — Warner Brothers shutting its art-house divisions; sluggish sales on the Riviera — swelled over the summer into a flood of gloomy assessments and “I told you so…”
And, also in September: “
The Revolution Is Dead, Long Live the Revolution” by Manhola Dargis
“As long as there’s been a Hollywood, there has been an off-Hollywood, outsiders and mavericks who show their movies any which way they can, at film societies, art houses and ethnic theaters. There was always overlap between these worlds, but it wasn’t until the 1990s and the ascendancy of Miramax Films that that the two became so interdependent as to be, at times. nearly indistinguishable….
For my part, I am honestly sorry to see those small studio companies go, but their closings say less about independent film than they do about Hollywood.
…Like the finest independents, they aren’t trying to emulate Hollywood, and while Michelle Williams has the lead role in “Wendy and Lucy,” it isn’t the kind of film that can be sold on a starlet’s smile. Like “Ballast” it will make its way into theaters, where it will be much loved and remembered long after it leaves…”
---------------------
So I’m hoping that panels at the IFP like “The State of the Industry” will give me even more insight -- and I bring with me a sense of hope that people will continue to find creative ways to tell and distribute stories that are complex, interesting, and challenging. Personally, I want to better understand and further explore distribution models like educational distribution, and I hope to blog more about these findings.
Please chime in with any thoughts.
Regards,
Jesse
Bio:
Jesse Epstein grew up in Boston, Mass. and for two years in Mozambique, Africa. She received an MA in documentary film from NYU.
Her films
WET DREAMS AND FALSE IMAGES (Short Subject, Jury Award, Sundance Online Film Festival), and THE
GUARANTEE (Best Short Film, Newport International Film Festival) are being distributed to schools through
New Day Films. She recently received grants from
Chicken & Egg Pictures and
The Fledgling Fund to expand these shorts into a feature film, and has just completed the third segment 34x25x36 (SXSW, Full Frame, True/False).
Jesse also moderates the
Shooting People bulletin.
jessedocs.com
#
posted by Jesse Epstein @ 9/08/2008 10:51:00 PM
Comments (1)
Great intro post, Jesse!
#
posted by William Levin @ 9/08/2008 11:54 PM
