Kickstarter
Monday, January 16th, 2012
With thanks to the good folks at Kickstarter, today we debut our curated page on the crowdfunding platform. At Filmmaker Magazine on Kickstarter you’ll always find a half dozen or so projects that we believe deserve your support. These will be projects by filmmakers we support through the magazine or site (like, for example, those from our annual “25 New Faces” list), those whose work has impressed us in the past, or perhaps just those whose project descriptions are particularly compelling. And while film and video projects will, naturally, comprise the bulk of our recommendations, I hope to sprinkle in projects in other areas like technology, music and publishing. There will always be a short blurb explaining why we’ve made the pick.
We’ve launched the page with the following projects:
* Fourplay. Kyle Henry made our 25 New Faces list following his eerie, assured independent feature, Room. For the last couple of years he’s been making Fourplay, a series of shorts about sexual intimacy. As they’ve been completed they’ve played places like Outfest, Cannes and, upcoming, Sundance. This last Kickstarter campaign will underwrite final post production and go towards a major festival debut.
* The Joneses. Aviva Wishnow, whose previous production, Blank City, was a necessary chronicle of the New York No Wave scene, is producing Moby Longinotto’s documentary about a “transgender trailer park matriarch, Jheri Jones, and her two adult sons in Bible belt Mississippi.” (This project has only a few days left, so if it sounds interesting, click on the title.)
* Aunt Louisa. Filmmaker readers may remember producer Thomas Woodrow, who blogged for this site from the Sundance Producers’ Lab. After producing films like True Adolescents and Bass Ackwards, and toiling in the trenches of DIY distribution, he’s now moving over to the director’s chair. Aunt Louisa is his personal short that will go the festival route and also serve as a calling card for his and his creative team’s planned feature.
* The Doc Yard. The Doc Yard is Boston’s excellent documentary screening series that not only shows great films but … Read the rest
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
The Kickstarter campaign for Iranian basketball documentary The Iran Job ends next Monday, but the project has already passed its ambitious $50,000 goal. In production for several years, The Iran Job (which is fiscally sponsored by IFP) is seeking finishing funds to prepare for a 2012 release. The documentary follows Kevin Sheppard, an American basketball player who has become an unlikely spokesperson for reform while playing ball in Iran. Per the project’s Kickstarter page:
With tensions running high between Iran and the West, Kevin tries to separate sports from politics, only to find that politics is impossible to escape in Iran. Along the way he forms an unlikely alliance with three outspoken Iranian women. Thanks to these women, his apartment turns into an oasis of free speech, where they discuss everything from politics to religion to gender roles. Kevin’s season in Iran culminates in something much bigger than basketball: the uprising and subsequent suppression of Iran’s reformist Green Movement – a powerful prelude to the currently unfolding Arab Spring.
In a recent email conversation with FILMMAKER, co-director Till Schauder discussed the genesis of the project, explaining why Sheppard turned out to be such a compelling protagonist. “We took two years to find our protagonist, but the wait was well worth it,” Shauder explained. “Kevin is not only a terrific basketball player, and smart and insightful. He’s also one of the funniest guys I’ve ever met. He adds a sense of humor that I think is unusual for a film about a country typically associated with Islamist terrorists or illegal nukes.”
Schauder went on to discuss his and Nodjoumi’s plans for the project. “We’re raising funds to complete the broadcast version, to finance the film’s outreach campaign and other costs associated with the release. We’ve submitted to festivals and are hoping for our world premiere in the spring or first quarter of 2012.”
You can donate to The Iran Job now over at Kickstarter. And be sure to check out this accompanying video, which serves as something of a trailer for the doc:
… Read the rest
Monday, December 26th, 2011
I wasn’t supposed to go to Europe. You can’t really drive there (unless you’re the Muppets) and flights across the pond are expensive, but when a production comes calling, I listen. This one made it easy, asking would I come to the UK if they covered the plane ticket?
A no-brainer.
Which is how I ended up in Newcastle upon Tyne, a small city near Scotland, serving as gaffer in a country where I have absolutely no idea how the electricity works. And when I ask how much I can put into a circuit, I’m told that, well, that depends on the wiring. In other words, no one knows. My solution? Start plugging stuff in until the circuit trips, unplug the last one, and see how much is left. There’s the answer.
The United Kingdom (England?) is only my second non-US country on A Year Without Rent, but one thing that seems to be evident is that the American DIY mentality, the one that says “fuck y’all, we’re making this movie whether you like it or not”, isn’t nearly as prevalent as it is in the States. Oh sure, it’s there, but it’s on a delay. There’s no Gregory Bayne overseas (hell, there’s only a handful in the U.S.). Or if there is, I haven’t heard about him, which might be all the proof you need.
Follow me on a tangent. I’ll get back to my trip to Europe in a minute. Honest.
It’s been a couple of years since indie filmmakers in the U.S. could rely on studios or the festival system or pretty much anyone to take care of them. Oh sure, Sundance used to create careers more or less out of thin air, but anyone who’s been paying attention knows those days are long gone. Kevin Smith said recently that CLERKS probably wouldn’t get into Sundance if he made it now. I’ll go further: he probably wouldn’t even bother submitting it, and if he did, I doubt it’d get much serious consideration.
Every month, more indie filmmakers come to the conclusion that no one’s going to … Read the rest
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
On the heels of this week’s Slamdance lineup announcement, Welcome to Pine Hill, one of the films premiering in competition, has launched a new Kickstarter campaign. A verite, doc-narrative blend (and an alum of the 2011 IFP Narrative Labs), Pine Hill follows Shannon Harper, a former drug dealer who reexamines his past after receiving some life-altering news. Director Keith Miller has crafted an intimate, stirring, and emotionally authentic first feature; one that’s sure to have quite a life on the 2012 festival circuit. For now though, Miller and his team need your help. Per their Kickstarter page:
Keith Miller and Shannon Harper first met fighting over a lost puppy one late night in Brooklyn, NY. Inspired by the chance encounter and a range of true experiences they blurred reality and fiction to create a movie called WELCOME TO PINE HILL. We’re here to raise some last-minute funds to prepare PINE HILL for its World Premiere and to make sure Shannon can travel to see himself on the big screen for the first time.
You can contribute to Welcome to Pine Hill through January 17th. And be sure to check out their new Kickstarter video, which features clips from the film as well as some behind-the-scenes interviews with both Keith and Shannon:
… Read the rest
Tuesday, December 20th, 2011
Producer Adele Romanski (The Myth of the American Sleepover, The Freebie) is stepping into the director’s chair with Leave Me Like You Found Me, and she is raising post-production funds on Kickstarter. You can read our interview with Adele about Myth this past summer and check out her Kickstarter video below.
From the Kickstarter page:
A few years back while on a camping trip in California, I had the idea to shoot a film in a national park. The idea was to try and capture something small and intimate and beautiful within the backdrop of something vast and expansive and also beautiful. Thus LEAVE ME LIKE YOU FOUND ME was born.
It is a story about two people who – after a year of being broken up & sad & lonely – decide to get back together. They just want to feel okay again and are hopeful that over the course of the last year they have grown enough as people to make the relationship work. To me this was a familiar idea… that place of total & utter heartbreak where you forget all the flaws of your last love and in your depressed state convince yourself that having them back would fix everything.
As I’ve spent the past few years making films – both as a producer & now as a director – I’ve come to realize that there is a special place in my heart for what I call ‘destination filmmaking’. Touching down in new place and going to work at bringing a vision to the screen while at the same time being immersed in a new location and finding a new routine to your day. This is how I have fallen in love with places like Detroit & Downeast Maine. And I think that making LEAVE ME was for me, the epitome of ‘destination filmmaking’. For two weeks my cast, my crew & myself camped in the woods – slept in tents, built a fire each night, hiked through said woods & made a movie. It was a truly unique experience about which
… Read the rest
Tuesday, December 20th, 2011
As the editor of this column it is my job to choose the contributors, shape the voice, and move the column in a forward direction. The last post really struck up a good conversation, and it is now clear that my decision to move the blog in a new direction would be a welcome change. This does not mean, however, that we will stop talking with micro-budget filmmakers on timely topics and take the time to check in on their latest projects. Despite what some people feel, one of the functions of this column is to help contributing filmmakers get the word out about their latest endeavors, fundraising, and upcoming releases. This is not a thinly veiled attempt at advertising — this is just good form. I will be working hard to add new voices like genre, documentary, and perspectives of industry professionals, as well as more diary entries from filmmakers in different stages of production and distribution. These new topics and subjects will hopefully spark a large amount of chatter that I hope to put back into the conversation as well. So if you have something you just have to say…write it up and email it my way.
In an effort to close this season and move into the New Year, I’d like to take a moment to look back, reflect, and give my opinion. Think of this as a “Letter from the Editor” post.
Authenticity.
This has been the year of the honest, transparent filmmaker. The large majority of contributors I’ve met talk about being honest about your limitations and how to use them to your advantage. The real debate in my mind is, will this last? Will we continue to be more open about fundraising? Will we search our hearts for what we really want as a filmmaker and move towards that? Will we work harder to make content that truly reflects who we are as opposed to what festivals and foreign markets like? Will we be brave enough to forge a new industry that relies on community, honesty, and hard work to carry us through tough … Read the rest
Monday, December 12th, 2011
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.
Here’s a list of merchandising opportunities that filmmakers should consider when taking their film out on the festival (or screening) circuit.
Sell DVDs at Screenings
If you’ve already had DVDs pressed by the time your film is screening, you should seriously consider selling them directly to the audience after the film. It’s a golden opportunity to reach fans directly, and one of the only instances where you’ll get to keep one hundred percent of the profits. Probably best not to sell at your festival premiere, but at subsequent theatrical screenings, it’s a tactic that could prove lucrative.
Important: If you’re in the process of negotiating DVD distribution, make sure to find out from the distributor if they’ll allow you to sell DVDs in this kind of scenario.
Equally important: You should make sure to negotiate a price below market value at which you can buy mass quantities of your DVD directly from the distributor.
Print Postcards, Business Cards, or Both
This will be essential to the marketing campaign surrounding your festival appearance(s). Make sure your postcards are visually appealing, and that they advertise the time and location of your screening. There was some debate this morning about whether postcards or business cards were ideal for this sort of marketing. Business cards, one filmmaker argued, are less likely to be discarded because of their wallet-friendly size. Whichever option you go with, make sure that your physical marketing materials clearly and effectively get the word out about your film, and about how … Read the rest
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Category News | Tags: Amy Dotson, DVDs, IFP, IFP Fimmaker Labs, Independent Filmmaker Labs, Jon Reiss, Kickstarter, merchandising, Milton Tabbot, post cards, premiere parties, sam prekop, the sea and cake, Tim Sutton,
Sunday, December 11th, 2011
“In 1972, Ricky put a Super 8 synch-sound camera in my hand and said, ‘If you want to become a filmmaker, you have to shoot,’” writes filmmaker Jane Weiner on the Kickstarter page for her project, Ricky on Leacock. “Turning my lens on him, I was suddenly transported into another universe: What began as a filmic conversation developed into a filmic adventure that traces the roots of Leacock’s cinematic quest and his role in documentary-making over the last century.”
Four decades later, and less than a year after Leacock passed away, Weiner is finishing her documentary on the legendary filmmaker Richard Leacock. As she tells in her Kickstarter video, Leacock agreed to the documentary so many years ago on two conditions: it had to be shot on Super 8 synch sound, and there could be no interviews. More from Weiner:
Mixing my own footage with film clips and never-before-seen images from Ricky’s personal film archives, this film pays homage to my friend and mentor and, most importantly, allows him to tell his story in his own words.
Presented as an intimate, on-going cinematic conversation with me and other filmmakers, Leacock recounts the periods of his career spent with Robert Flaherty, Robert Drew, DA Pennebaker and others, during which he discusses the roots of his lifelong quest to capture “the feeling of being there.”
Ricky Leacock helped lay the foundation not only for today’s filmmakers, but for amateur filmmakers all over the world who use portable equipment and new technologies. His pioneering role in the development of hand-held, observational documentary films can be traced through several important eras in film history to the explosion of the small-format ‘being there’ filmmaking of our YouTube generation.
Weiner has compiled a raft of awards, including many DVDs of docs by her students, and is releasing updates in the form of video clips from the project. There is also a Facebook page with regular news as well.
Check out the video below and consider supporting what I’m sure will be an essential documentary on one of the great pioneers of independent film.
… Read the rest
Friday, December 9th, 2011
Boundary-busting filmmaker Cam Archer — one of Filmmaker‘s 25 New Faces and director of, most recently, Shit Year — is making his first doc, Criminal Thoughts. He talks about it and his career in an unguarded video for Kickstarter.
In the video, Archer is up-front about the exploratory nature of his project, which appeals to me. As more and more Kickstarter campaigns seem like pre-buys for existing products/projects, Cam’s appeal to us to assist him during his creative process is striking. From the page:
CRIMINAL THOUGHTS, my first feature length documentary, will be an exciting, creative departure for me. in the past, my work has been almost exclusively narrative. though i still consider all of that work to be of me, the fictional element, as far as i am concerned, builds a wall, or a mask, which keeps us from getting to know one another. i’d like to remove the mask and be as direct as possible. does this sound okay?
FIVE REAL CRIMES call to me each night… they’re tangled in my mind, actually. with your help, through my lens, i can begin to explore, investigate and re-imagine each of these crimes, their horrors. each investigation will take me some place new, places like: WASHINGTON STATE, INDIANA, OHIO, VIRGINIA, FLORIDA, CALIFORNIA and VIETNAM. yes, crime is everywhere. why?
the film will have one principal narrator, an actor, who will speak in the first person (as me), presenting new facts and old truths, as they are collected and exposed. additional narrators, or characters, will be presented throughout the film, as each new story or incident is introduced. inevitably, with actors lending their voices to real people, some of which are dead, there will be an unavoidable narrative element in the final film.
though this film will be, at its core, about crime, it will, inadvertently, also be a film about me, touching on my own personal obsessions and dark thoughts. projects like this are often labeled ‘personal documentaries,’ but i’d like to think that this project, at this point in time, is too new and undeveloped to be
… Read the rest
Friday, December 2nd, 2011
Gregory Bayne, who has contributed some of the best, most rabble-rousing recent posts to this site — including the analytics-busting “When Should You Call Bulls@&T” — is in the final hours of a Kickstarter campaign for his documentary Bloodsworth, An Innocent Man. With less than 72 hours to go, he’s about 15K shy of his 25K goal. Tough numbers, but I’ve seen other campaigns pull it out. Bayne is a tough and passionate filmmaker who has the goods, as you’ll see from this demo video. Please check it out and if it interests you, consider helping by supporting his campaign. (And check out his near-manifesto from today’s Microbudget Conversation: “The Journeymen.”)
… Read the rest
