The concept: every month, 1 film selected from submissions all over the world, under one minute, and a grand champion announced at the end of the year. Check out SWEEPER, the winner for March. "Astonishing" is a good word for it. You've got a minute to spare to see something astonishing, don't you?

Renderyard 1 minute Film Festival

The announcement of a new pay-TV/ VOD/ Web 2.0/ Super-futuristic-total-entertainment-experience service from Viacom, Lionsgate, MGM, and Paramount is big news, but what’s giving industry analysts pause is the idea that the lifespan of a Hollywood movie is going to get a whole lot more compressed.  Channels like Showtime and HBO aren’t make the money they used to off TV premieres--they argue that new movies aren’t worth much anymore on TV, so they don’t want to pay the high licensing fees. So studios are taking back control over the twilight years of their films (before they become catalogue titles), as well as their delivery windows.  The fact is, nobody cares about the HBO premiere of a six month old movie.  Why not put the film on TV in two months?

So what does this mean for indies?  Well, for one thing, Showtime, HBO, STARZ, and their ilk are going to be looking for content.  That’s one opportunity. But another might be with the studios themselves.  If studios get the idea that the TV roll-out is part of their overall marketing campaign (the same way that a theatrical release becomes a loss leader), studios might become a lot more flexible in their ideas about how a film can reach an audience.  More stops on the studio tour mean more places for indies to get on.  Times are changing.

We did a series of posts about Cinetic Media and its reputation as an ‘unseen hand’ at the Sundance Film Festival...well, well, well: we learn today that Cinetic has made a stunning strategic move, tempting South by Soutwest Film Festival director Matt Dentler away from sunny Austin to the cool blue-gray towers of NYC.  Clearly, this consolidates Cinetic’s position as a premiere player in the American Independent film scene.

But that’s just the beginning.

According to this IndieWire article, Dentler is joining Cinetic as part of the Cinetic Rights Management (CRM) unit, a new team dedicated to navigating the brave new digital world of distribution.  Is this the dawn of a legitimate alternative distribution network for indies, or is Cinetic poised to become the next CAA?  Very exciting times.

From IW:

“Reflecting on the tough market at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, [Cinetic founder] John Sloss cited a, “recession of revenue streams from traditional media,” while adding that the, “corresponding revenue streams of digital have not filled in the hole, but they are going to...”

“It’s a changing landscape,” prefaced Cinetic partner Rob Nathan on the iW call, with Sloss adding, “As pay TV deals recede and as the DVD revenues plateau these are the [areas] that are going to rise.”

How do you look at the film industry and discover new needs and niches? How do you create innovative fare that will find an audience? And how do you turn your first indie feature into an online phenomenon? In this interview, Chris Elston of Three Blind Artists shares his expertise, experience, and insights into these and other questions.

3BA is dedicated to becoming the go-to company for family and commercial-friendly fare, but are doing it outside of the mainstream. Putting the indie ethos of tenacity, integrity, community, and vision to work, 3BA recently completed its first feature, Shelter. A character drama set in a bomb shelter on the eve of apocalypse, Shelter is already generating internet buzz with its intriguing trailer. With a sophomore effort already well under way, and almost a dozen equally buzz-worthy projects in the pipeline, things are looking bright for this family-run enterprise.

Click here for the One Sheet for
'Shelter' - Produced by Three Blind Artists

Continue reading
"Three Blind Artists: How The Indie Ethos Can Change Commercial Filmmaking for the Better"

As anyone who is involved with the entertainment industry knows, sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands to make things happen. That is exactly what Tonisha Johnson did, starting her own company, TOMI Enterprises, in 2007. Not yet two years old, TOMI already has one successful film festival under its belt (there's a festival recap here), a second one in the works, and a wealth of resources set up to bring business knowledge to people in the entertainment industry. With a focus on minority and underground filmmaking, TOMI is setting the pace for showcasing and promoting emerging talents. Check out this inspiring and personal interview with Tonisha about the challenges and rewards of DIY business.

Click here for the Sell Sheet for
'She's Got It' - Produced by Fear No Man Productions
Winner of Best Feature at the 2008 TOMI Film Festival.


Continue reading
"The ‘Other’ Movie Industry: How TOMI Brought Indie Urban Film to the NBA All Star Weekend"

SXSW 2008 Film Festival wrapped up this weekend, leaving in its wake a single tattered, oh so earnest, snapshot of Indie filmmaking.  If Sundance is the official word on the state of indie filmmaking, SXSW is what you’ll learn going to your local bar.  Getting down with SXSW is what it takes to get your ear close to the American independent film underground. Here’s a look at the Top 5 Key Trends that emerged from this year’s diverse group of fiction features and documentaries. 

Continue reading
"The 5 Trends That Make SXSW 2008 the Indie Film Fest You Need to Know About"

South By Southwest 2008 Film Fest winners have been announced, see results at: http://2008.sxsw.com/film/

Over at Cinematical, they give top marks to Doug Benson’s Super High Me, a silly but incredibly funny stoner-comedy doc.

http://www.cinematical.com/2008/03/13/sxsw-review-super-high-me/

SXSW veteran and San Francisco native Gabriel Fleming showcased his second feature The Lost Coast to positive press. I admit I know Fleming form back in the days when we were both schlepping at the Telluride Film Fest and I’m thrilled for his success. He’s also the epitome of the sort of emerging artist that SXSW caters to.

http://www.cinematical.com/2008/03/13/sxsw-review-the-lost-coast/

Reviews of lots of SXSW films can be found at:

http://www.spout.com/sxsw

and http://www.filmthreat.com/

Final Farewell To Austin
Here at IPEX we looked at the whole sweding fad tied to the online promotion of Be Kind, Rewind. And, as you know, we’ve also have been following the blog coverage of the SXSW film fest in Austin. Now these two obsessions have miraculously dovetailed. While neither a part of SXSW nor a part of the official promotion of Be Kind, Rewind, the Austin based Filmmaking Frenzy and Austin Drafthouse have the results of their own Rewind, Kindly sweding contest online now. A bunch of sweded films of everyone’s romp favorites, the results are well worth checking out. See them at:

http://beta.filmmakingfrenzy.com/ViewFrenzy.aspx?FrenzyId=5

and start your schemes and dreams for SXSW 09.

SXSW Film took a backseat to the SXSW Interactive on the blogosphere. While film coverage has been few and far between, the Interactive component has, perhaps not surprisingly, engaged the minds and keypads of bloggers from all over.

The fest’s biggest news so far was Sunday’s keynote address by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Of interest was not his address per se but the manner in which interviewer Sarah Lacy alienated the entire crowd as the whole talk ended in heckling and chaos – and much Twittering.

However, if you’re actually interested in film...well, Variety has you covered:

http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=festivals&jump=sxsw

A brief note on the film fest’s opening: www.keyetv.com

A story that ran everywhere, basically an ode to the fest’s hip-ness: National Post

Laremy Legel gives some mini-reviews/grades to Secrecy, We Are Wizards and American Teen. We Are Wizards comes out on top, with the grand praise as one of the best films of 2008.

A review of the documentary Second Skin that finds the film, a look at people addicted to online multi-player games, “depressing”:

http://www.news.com/8301-13772_3-9889170-52.html?tag=blogFeed

South by Southwest Film Fest starts today with a flurry of film screenings and a treasure trove of panels and discussions. Here are a few picks from the festival’s opening weekend.

Films

Second Skin. World premiere of this much-buzzed doc that looks at the lives (or lack thereof) of some hardcore online gamers. Think of it as the Cinemania of the gaming set.

Sex Positive. Docs are really where it’s at this SXSW. Sex Positive is the story of AIDS activist Richard Berkowitz and his pioneering work in “inventing” safe sex.

Films on geeks and geek culture are the rage these days. We Are Wizards looks at the culture of Harry Potter fans and the imaginative and creative ways they engage with their super-fandom.

Panels / Workshops

As well as films, the festival has a ton of panels set up that look at every aspect of filmmaking, financing, distribution, etc. All well and good, but I would go and hang out at Arrested Development‘s Jeffery Tambor’s acting workshop just to see him live.

Long the cultural beat in the heart of Texas, Austin is just now enjoying its status as Indie film capital of America. As far back as Richard Linklater’s Slackers (1991), Austin has offered glimpses of a small but vibrant film scene, one that has now fully flourished. All the stars have aligned and Austin is the city to be in if you are a young filmmaker.

Here are 5 reasons why:

1. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
Every scene needs a venue. Austin has the best. Austinites may take this theater for granted but for those of us living in Muliplex hell, the Alamo sounds too awesome for words. Food and beer, watching movies in a mature environment, with programming that covers everything form first run to eccentric audiovisual events. Want to watch Showgirls with David Schmader’s live running commentary? You can at the Alamo. Am I out for a movie, or have I died and gone to heaven?

2. SXSW
Every scene needs a festival. Austin’s South By Southwest is the little fest that could—and did. Already having proven its bankability—2002’s Spellbound broke at SXSW and went on to an Oscar nom—SXSW gets better every year and has yet to sacrifice any of its credibility. Programming at the fest manages to ride the fine line between hipness and accessibility, providing a vibrant venue for emerging filmmakers.

3. University Of Texas Film Institute
Every scene needs a draw for the local talent and UTFI may be one of Austin’s biggest as far as film is concerned. The institute has been aggressive in looking for opportunities for their students, partnering with Burnt Orange Productions and giving students a chance to work on feature length films (2005’s The Quiet was a part of this initiative).

4. Filmmaking Frenzy
Every scene needs a website. This is one of the best online sites for young filmmakers. Constant competitions are running with videos posted online. If you live in the area you can check out Frenzy events at the Alamo; if you don’t, check out the site for a dose of inspired filmic antics.

5. Congress Avenue Bats
Every scene needs its bat cave. Under Austin’s Congress Avenue bridge is the world’s largest urban bat hangout. The bats have even spawned their own music fest—Batfest. Peak seasons sees over 1 Million bats congregate and at sunset these little devils whoosh out from under the bridge, creating a spectacle that is equal parts inspiring, beautiful and a little creepy. A bat colony, it’s just so cool.

The weekend was a 1-2 Film awards knockout, with the Indie Spirit Awards running on Saturday, followed by the the Academy Awards on Sunday. Crossover nominations for both were high this year, which must have resulted in a ton of tuckered out stars and starlets by the time Sunday night rolled around.

Having the two events back-to-back highlights how great the indies have fared this Oscar season. The Coen brothers No Country For Old Men proved the night’s big Oscar winner, with Best Picture and Director nods, while the crowd-pleaser Juno cleaned up at the Indie Spirit taking Best Picture, Best Actress (for Ellen Page) and Best Screenplay for Diablo Cody. Cody was a double winner: she grabbed the Oscar screenplay, too.

In some ways the two awards seem almost a reversal: the feel-good blockbuster taking over the Indie Spirit and the more edgy, but critically acclaimed, No Country For Old Men cleaning up at Oscar. Indeed, this might have been the year when the Indies most openly embraced big box-office returns and the Oscars pretty much followed the critics point for point, even giving the Best Actress nod to Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose.

The sea change can be attributed to a number of factors.  A big one: the huge-grossing comedies of Judd Apatow are fun but nobody is ready to give them an Oscar nod. More crucially, the sort of Important ‘A’ pictures that usually dominate Oscar season (such as Meryl Streep’s Lions For Lambs and Rendition) have had such a tepid audience and critical response that a nomination would be simply silly. Indeed, Hollywood has failed abysmally throughout 2007 to put out a thinking-pic that also attracts an audience.

If these trends keeps up, in a few years the Indie Spirit and Academy Awards may want to combine events with one big weekend extravaganza, hosted by, of course, Jon Stewart and Rainn Wilson.

So, you have an indie film and you want to find distribution.

Never have so many options for distribution been available; never has it been so confusing to decide what is right for you and your film. The industry is experiencing a transitional moment; everyone knows online downloads are the future, but nobody knows exactly how it will play out. As well, distribution has gone online too, offering a plethora of choices for the indie filmmaker and producer. What to do, what to do.

This article is the first of a 5-part series that looks at all of the avenues open to you as a filmmaker and distributor. We’ll offer some tips on how to find your film a home.

Regardless of your film’s ultimate destination, your goal is to find a license buyer for your film. Who are film buyers? We’re talking about broadcast TV (cable, satellite, and terrestrial), home DVD companies, VOD service providers, and mobile content providers.

Let’s start this series by examining the psychology of this rare and overworked professional. Here are five things you should know about Film Buyers and 5 tips for putting the best face of your film forward.

Continue reading
"Looking for Film Buyers? 5 steps to secure distribution for your indie film"

On paper it sounds like the sort of viral marketing campaign that would take the genre to the next level, the sort of marketing campaign that would become an overnight superstar of the blog-o-sphere. Yet somehow, Be Kind Rewind’s invitation to 'swede' your own film, a la Jack Black, has met with a surprisingly tepid online response. Perhaps the campaign simply started too late to get its Inter-web legs in shape and find an online following; perhaps the fact that the contest segment of it (submit Sweded videos for prizes) is only open to the UK and Ireland has stalled the growth of a trend.

Apparently coined by Michel Gondry, the term 'sweding' is the practice of remaking a film with a whole lot of love and no resources (you can read about a Brief History of 'Sweding' here). Is the concept of 'sweding' meaningful enough to achieve any lasting cultural significance? It's been a while since we've seen a marketing campaign ambitious enough to try and cash in on coining a phrase. Does it pay off for Be Kind Rewind?

The film opens this Friday and both the film's website and its You Tube channel are still low on entries, although the last two weeks have picked up. The larger problem may simply be that with few exceptions the DIY swedes lack the humor and pizzazz or just the outright weirdness that would demand repeat views and sharing.

Overall, the campaign has seemed a bit fuzzy and out of focus. More of a damp drizzle than internet storm, one wonders about the audience being targeted here. Michel Gondry fans are too shy to seek exposure; and Jack Black fans are too lazy. In some respects, like the film itself, the marketing campaign is a brilliant idea executed with sagging spirit. If nothing else, swedsters may pick up on the potential fun of sweding and continue to build the You Tube channel in time to make a larger impact alongside the film’s DVD release.

It remains to be seen if independent filmmakers can swede this marketing campaign for their own purposes.

Swe·ding (swee'ding) 1. verb. To express your love for something by imitating it in a way that is obviously an imitation. Especially the act of a fan remaking a beloved film with no budget. 2. noun. A marketing campaign from New Line Cinema for the Michel Gondry directed film Be Kind Rewind.

Alison at IFC Blog was kind enough to help us get the word's origins straight:


Gondry's film is about a couple of hapless VHS Video Store clerks who have to swede the inventory of their store in order to keep product on the shelves after a massive tape demagnetization mishap. The film has taken sweding one step further by using the sweding practice in all aspects of the film’s viral marketing campaign: Gondry swedes the film's own trailers, Youtube users are invited to swede scenes of their film favs on Be Kind Rewind's YouTube channel, and the film’s website stages a breakdown of the Internet and quickly swedes a site.

Sweding is basically remaking with no dollars. With a lot of love, duct tape, and well, that's about it. The joy of sweding is the gap between the lack of resources available to the sweder and the sweder's tremendous love for what is being sweded. Anyone can pay tribute with a budget; sweding is paying tribute despite the fact you don’t have a budget. That's true love.

While Gondry might be the first to put a name to this phenomenon, the practice has been around for awhile, and, if the New Line Cinema marketing team has their way, it will reach critical mass in 2008. Who are some notable sweding pioneers? Keep reading...

Continue reading
"Viral Film Marketing: A Brief History Of ‘Sweding’"

Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys is launching an indie film distribution and sales company called Oscilloscope Pictures.  He has brought in ThinkFilm VP David Fenkel to run things, and David Berger from ThinkFilm is also on board. Bergel and Fenkel know film and over the last few years Thinkfilm has been the company to watch in indie film. The group will be looking to pick up documentary and fiction films from the fest circuit, as well as provide finishing funding.

The down side is Yauch wants to make this happen without any outside financing; he is looking for deals where the filmmakers can “share” the risk. What this means is not exactly clear; but anyone who doesn’t mind a low MG and a DIY ethic should look out for these guys.

Link: The Hollywood Reporter