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I'm one of the mentors at the IFP Narrative Lab this week. I think it's a pretty unique program because, unlike a lot of filmmaker labs, it's not focused on development or financing or preparing to make a movie but instead on finishing one. The films accepted are all features somewhere between rough cut and fine cut, and the program is an intensive week during which feedback on the cuts is given by veteran editors, and speakers discuss everything from sound post-production to music licensing, distribution deals, and, this year, various forms of hybrid and DIY distribution. (Jon Reiss has been an invaluable addition to the Lab team this when it comes to distribution strategy.)
When we first started the Lab six years ago, I thought it could be guided by one simple idea: producing a first film involves making a lot of mistakes, and if, during filmmakers' post-production, we could point out some of these potential pitfalls, the films would stand a better chance when submitting to festivals and seeking distribution. Over the years the Lab, while still containing this idea, has grown to become a kind of crash course in all the different options available to filmmakers today. It's kind of crazy how information is tossed at the Lab participants. All this info makes me realize that despite the indie-business gloom and doom out there, filmmakers today have a lot more options than Susan Stover (my co-Lab leader) and I had when we started. The Lab is still in progress, so it's too early for a takeaway, but, overall, it's the strongest group of films we've ever had in the program. Aside from the incredible diversity of the films, what's been incredible is the sheer energy in the room. Some years the filmmakers seem already a little beaten down by the process. This year they are psyched, and they have good reason to be. I'll try to write some kind of wrap-up of the event after it's all over, so check back on the blog. A final note this week: we're hard at work on the new issue of Filmmaker, which is our annual "25 New Faces" issue. If you've been meaning to subscribe to the magazine and would like to get this issue, you have about a week to do so. Click here to check out our subscription options. See you next week. Best, Scott Macaulay Editor IFP'S INDEPENDENT FILMMAKER LAB – NARRATIVE PROJECTS ANNOUNCED ![]() The selected projects are Susan Youssef's Habibi Rasak Kharban (Darling, Something's Wrong with Your Head); Rodrigo Lopresti & Zak Mulligan's I'm Not Me; Alrick Brown's Kinyarwanda; Chris Ohlson's Melvin; Dee Rees' Pariah; Andrew Dosunmu's Restless City; John Henry Summerour's Sahkanaga; Brady Kiernan's Stuck Between Stations; Lucy Mulloy's Una Noche; and Victoria Mahoney's Yelling to the Sky. Read press release. Our Forums page is new and improved! Check out the new categories: how to make films, discuss the current trends in the business, job opportunities and look out for guest filmmaker moderators. Click here to get started. Top Discussions Film Calendar, DIY Distribution, Current Cinema |
![]() Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work Winter's Bone Blog: Duplass Bros. talk Cyrus; Thoughts from Cannes Jan Kounen, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky IFP: Narrative Lab Projects Announced Fest Deadlines Join our Forums ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() To read more posts from our blog, click here. JAN KOUNEN, COCO CHANEL & IGOR STRAVINSKY ![]() In his stylish new chamber drama Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, which closed the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, Dutch-born filmmaker Jan Kounen (Dobermann) observes the hothouse affair between married modernist composer-in-exile Igor Stravinsky and legendary French couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (played by Audrey Tautou in last year's Coco Before Chanel). read more JUNE Montgomery Film Festival Final Deadline: June 15 Festival Date: July 24 Vancouver International Film Festival Final Deadline: June 21 Festival Dates: Sept. 29-Oct. 15 Woodstock Film Festival Final Deadline: June 21 Festival Dates: Sept 29-Oct 3 |