ARTHOUSE FILM NEWS - Cosmic Disco Detective Rene at Facets, Chicago 11/29/23

Ultra indie filmmaker & self distributor Kelley Baker , who completed several US tours with his movies over the last few years, is on MySpace. Here is the introduction from his page : " About me: I am probably best known for working with other people. I was the sound designer on six of Gus Van Sant's feature films including, MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO, GOOD WILL HUNTING, and FINDING FORRESTER. I designed the sound on Todd Haynes feature film, FAR FROM HEAVEN, with Dennis Quaid and Julianne Moore. I was the picture editor/sound designer on Will Vintons The Adventures of Mark Twain, and Meet The Raisins for CBS. I have also Written and Directed 3 features, (Birddog, The Gas Cafe, and Kicking Bird), 8 short films and a few documentaries. My films have been shown all over the world in film festivals and have aired on PBS, The Learning Channel, Canadian and Austrailian Television. I tour the US twice a year showing my movies and teaching filmmaking workshops. check out www.angryfilmm

the amount of the check is not the important thing - although, for a low/no budget DIY filmmaker & distributor w/ a day job like myself it is a pleasant amount, no, the important thing at this point is that the item exists - as an indicator of the possible potential of success in a very risky, foolishly risky even, business (indie film) - one which i am approaching through a still relatively unusual method (low/no-budget d.i.y. production & distribution). so what's all this about? i received a check from the pioneer theater in nyc today, for my share of ticket sales from the 8/31 screening of date number one. this of course is not the first time i made some money (cash coming my way, not necessarily a profit) through showing a film, and this is not even the first time i made some money from showing date number one, but the pioneer booking was specially important because: 1) it was the pioneer theater - one of the best venues for real indie films in the US, & it's i

51 Birch Street Filmmaker Doug Block is a brave man. He has chosen to take a close look at an area of life that most of us would rather not know too much about: the parent's troubled marriage and related details. His doc 51 Birch Street sounds very interesting, has gotten excellent reviews, lots of festival play and apparently both Al Jazeera & Israeli TV are big fans. The film opens in New York on this coming Wednesday - October 18, I expect to have a review here before then. Check out the film's site for more information on screening dates & reviewer reactions. * My Interview with DVGuru.com Just did a lengthy interview for DVGuru.com re: Date Number One & self-distribution. It should be up next week, will post the link here. Kind of related: still no definite word on when the Variety article that may feature Date Number One will run. Will let ya know when I know something firm. Have an excellent weekend. - Sujewa

Film Movement 's got good graphic design sense, I like how they package their DVDs (in a clear case, two sided insert, a good amount of white space on the cover/front of the insert, and the actual DVD itself looks very respectable - just the series & flick title & web site URL on one color background - overall simple, elegant & colorful). Plus they have good taste in movies, I liked the last Film Movement flick I saw. So it is always exciting to find a Film Movement DVD in my mail for review. I received the documentary Anytown, USA yesterday. Looking forward to checking it out this month. In the meantime, here is Anytown, USA 's description, at least some of it from the back of the DVD case: "A funny and eye-opening look into a hard-fought mayoral race between a legally blind, blunt-speaking, conservative Republican incumbent, a retired Democrat brought back into the fray and a legally blind write-in candidate, in the small town of Bogota, New Jersey." Sou

Do you absolutely love Kevin Smith's Clerks & also ultra low budget filmmaking & also perhaps you are from Canada or have some roots/friends there? Then BUMS by the Butler brothers might be the low budget indie film for you. It is a comedy about a few slacker friends in Toronto and their attempts to find sex and or romance. There isn't much of a plot, but there is some very well written dialogue in the film. On the downside, the well crafted dialogue is often not delivered in a naturalistic manner - specially in the first half of the film, but perhaps that was intentional. The film did not become very interesting for me until the last 15 minutes or so, when two of the characters discover if they are going to be getting together or not. I did a quick search on the web and found a few reviews by people who enjoyed the movie a lot more than I did. So, in the spirit of low budget indie filmmaker solidarity, I will point you in the direction of those reviews & will poin

Wild. Read all about it here . Thanks indieWIRE for the link. Go Mr. Lynch, smart move. Looking forward to checking out this apparently very experimental DV epic. - Sujewa

All Our Power was a punk activist conference that happened this past weekend in DC. I knew it was coming, lost track of the exact dates, caught up with it at their website just now. The name of the conference (in my opinion) may refer to ideas expressed in local punk, activist & author Mark Andersen's book All the Power: Revolution Without Illusion , which advocates opening up to/interacting with & including mainstream America in punk's (& also The Left's in general) attempt to build a better America & world. Here is All Our Power's definition of punk: " PUNK: just a label, one among many for a creative, compassionate, questioning lifestyle; a spirit or attitude of truth-telling and do-it-yourself-ism, applicable for all times and places, and any stage of life. PUNK is NOT necessarily a form of adolescent rebellion, a fashion, a certain type of music, or hairstyle or personal adornment, it is about the inside, the deep reality, not superficialities

After playing Seattle & NYC (& not to mention Kensington, MD & Takoma Park, MD of course :), Date Number One returns to Washington, DC on Saturday Nov. 4, 8 PM, at the Warehouse Screening Room. DNO had its world premiere in DC back in May (Chuck Tryon's review after seeing the flick at the premiere). Here's the short version of the essential info: DATE NUMBER ONE Screening Saturday November 4, 8 PM $6 WAREHOUSE Screening Room 1017-21 7th St., NW Washington, DC 20001 202-783-3933 directions :: :: a benefit event for We Are Family, a DC non-profit that assits the elderly * Will have lots more info. closer to the date, as usual :) Make plans to be there interested DC people, make those plans. It is quite possible that this will be the last screening of the flick in '06 - I usually start hibernating after November 15 or so every year, to re-surface in Spring/March or so of the following year with a new coat of fur and a fresh pair of horns. - Sujewa

Looks like the makers of the doc American Hardcore engaged in a discussion with a few interested Post readers recently. Here is a slice from the on-line discussion/ interview : " Steven Blush : "American Hardcore" is not just a rock documentary. It is a testament to the power of youth. These bands didn't change the world, but they changed the music scene forever. When you look at bands today, there's stage diving and slam-dancing and ferocious lead singers, and DIY records and DIY tours. And that is the legacy of hardcore, or formative bands like Black Flag, Minor Threat and the Bad Brains. Paul Rachman : What all these bands had when they were kids, when these guys started, these guys were strong. They didn't fear failure, they trusted and acted upon their gut instincts, and they didn't care what anyone thought of them. Those are important things for youth today to have in anything they do. That foundation is always solid. " Looking forward to check

Just saw the new Scorsese flick The Departed - excellent, although there are a few loose ends in it & a few things that are mysterious - but I guess the credit should also go to the original, the Hong Kong flick that Departed is based on. Maybe I'll check it out - Infernal Affairs /Mou gaan dou is the title. Departed is definitely a good thriller. Also reminds me of the samsara is nirvana, nirvana is samsara idea found in some Buddhist writing. Without giving much away hopefully re: Departed, I think the central female character's relationship with the male characters could have used more work. That's all I'll say for now, will do a lengthier post re: the flick when the DVD comes out. Received 51 Birch Street - a documentary about a father, & Manhattan, Kansas - a documentary about a mother, in the mail a couple of days ago. Reviews coming this week. Also a review of the Canadian indie flick Bums is on the way. - Sujewa

I was verrry lazy about promoting the Thu 10/5 screening - just did a few blog posts & sent out a couple of group e-mails, that's it, no fliers, no notices to local media, no press releases, nothing. I was kind of taking a break before starting up a new wave of more publicized screenings that will commence with the 11/4/06 DC screening at the Warehouse theater & will continue into middle of '07 at various US cities - details soon. But, once the showtime rolled around today I was happy. A handful of locals showed up, including several family members of Jen Blakemore, the hot star of Story #2. Movies should always be watched on as big a screen as possible. I need to hook up a 5 foot screen & a projector in my room, for editing & movie watching purposes. It was very exciting to see my movie again on a large screen today. Got me energized about pushing the upcoming screenings & the DVD. The audience dug the show. Got some positive feedback & DVD orders. All

Can't say much about it at this point as it may turn out to be nothing or something that takes a loong time to happen, but there is some interest in Date Number One from a very well known global company re: possibly showing the flick in Central Europe (Poland, Hungary, etc.), of all places - quite far from DC :) Working on figuring out what's what, should have more info. on this new distribution possibility in a few weeks - it's something that just came my way a couple of days ago w/ no effort in my part in that direction (showing the flick in central europe that is). the film may be entering a weird & interesting zone of low key fame & exposure, something that i find to be utterly hilarious & wonderful...let's see what happens, the life of a DIY no-budget filmmaker/project is very entertaining if nothing else, more on all this soon hopefully. In the meantime, the flick screens tomorrow, Thu 10/5, @ 7:30 PM in Kensington, MD. Here is the essential info: DATE

so you have a good movie, but do not have the $750/$1000 - $1250/$1500 (prices based on quotes from replicator/duplicator Nationwide 's website, + shipping cost estimates + misc. expense $s) that it would take to create 1000 retail ready replicated DVDs? but you still want to sell your movie on DVD to interested customers at screenings & through the web? here is the least expensive way i can think of to create oh let's say 100 DVDs for sale: (& before we get to that, let's address the whole replicated vs. duplicated issue: most pros recommend replicated, which is guaranteed to play in most players most of the time - w/ like only 1%* failure rate quoted by some pros. as opposed to a 5%* failure rate assigned to duplicated DVDs. however, i know 3 filmmakers who have sold 100s of duplicated DVDs, made at home, w/ very little to no playback failures reported by their customers. so i guess replicated is the way to go when you have the cash & for the long term, but in

The ever productive West Coast based indie/D.I.Y. filmmaking champ Amir Motlagh recently took a break from his work (he is currently at work on a feature called Whale, also creating & putting out music & other art work) & checked out my new flick Date Number One. Here is a little bit of the goodies from his review of Date Number One , which was posted today at his blog Still Lover : "The film is very specific to its location, and its quirks and ticks represent the feelings and moods of the particular area [DC], which I find almost exclusively missing from Hollywood films. The films first scenario is about a Ninja looking for Love. As tough as that is to swallow, and believe me, I had a hard time at first, but somehow, someway, in the end, the love of the characters, the postiveness of the film, and Sujewa’s disregard for conventions wins you over. The act of making this film wins you over. There is only a positive through line in this film, and that is rare to see, esp

I tested out posting video to YouTube today. Works pretty well, although, having a faster connection may help me get more video up sooner. Here's a quick overview of the process, for any interested souls: 1) create a video file on your computer, know where it is (most recent computers - PCs - should come with some sort of a video editing program, such as Windows Movie Maker or something - use that along with a Firewire cable to bring video in from your camera (not sure yet how to do this directly off of a DVD), then convert the footage to a video file using Real Player or another program - the video editing software in your computer should be able to do this for you, look at the video editing program's File menu, Export options), 2) set up a YouTube account, 3) follow Upload Video instructions at your YouTube account - you'll have to locate the video file on your computer & hit upload, pretty easy. I am working on setting up two YouTube pages: 1 for my own stuff, and a