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

Go here to read it. It should be up here on the blog but I started working on that post a couple of days ago, so it appears after a few posts, below . Thanks! - Sujewa

It wasn't just light skinned Europeans & Americans & the like that saved the world from Germany, Italy & Japan; lots of other people were involved too (I know at least one of my relatives from Sri Lanka fought for the British in WW II, also thousands of Indians) but many films about THE WAR have not adequately celebrated the non-"white" contributions to securing victory in that epic conflict. So I am looking forward to watching the French film Days of Glory this weekend or next. Here is a synopsis from Films Distribution: "1943. They had never stepped foot on French soil but because France was at war, Saïd, Abdelkader, Messaoud and Yassir enlisted in the French Army, along with 130,000 other “indigenous soldiers,” to liberate the “fatherland” from the Nazi enemy. These heroes that history forgot won battles in Italy, Provence and the Vosges before finding themselves alone to defend an Alsatian village against a German battalion." - Sujewa

The latest film to partake in the '06 self-distribution trend is David Lynch's Inland Empire, which opens in New York this week. Four Eyed Monsters and Mutual Appreciation can also be seen on screens this month. Go here to get some links for Inland Empire, including to an excellent review at the New York Times. Go here to get links to Four Eyed Monsters, Mutual Appreciation & other self-distributed films that I have been tracking this year. The Year of Self-Distribution or perhaps Year 1 of the New Self-Distribution Movement in American indie filmmaking is coming to a close with a lot of activity in both theatrical & DVD fronts. More on this soon. - Sujewa

NBC late night talk show host Conan O'Brien wants you to send him "amateur horny manatee pictures or stories". Check out the web site here . I thought my friend Amanda was the only one who was into watching giant sea mamals/people dressed as them in funny suits getting it on; I guess now she'll have a lot of company. - Sujewa

I just added a CLIPS page to the Wild Diner Films website, for Date Number One clips. The video clips get uploaded to YouTube & then I embed the HTML code thingy that YT gives into the clips page at my web site at wilddiner.com . So when you go to my site & go the the Clips page , you get to watch the video clips that I've uploaded to YT. Got it? :) In case you want to do the same with your movie/site/& YouTube, that's how I did it. Hmmm, maybe indie movie theaters should do this on their blogs & websites, to promote movies that they show, movies that may not have a huge publicity budget. Maybe some of them are doing that already. I still need to figure out how to add video clips to this blog. If anyone out there knows, let me know. Thanksalot! Go here to check out the Clips page at the web site for Date Number One . By the way, my YouTube clip has been viewed over 175 times so far, since 11/30 (w/ about 20-30 of those views coming from me). And I've receiv

When I grow up I want to be like Lance Weiler. His first self-distributed indie feature The Last Broadcast ( Wikipedia ), from the late 90's, has reportedly earned (gross) over 4 million dollars so far. His second self-distributed feature, this year's title Head Trauma , played in 17 cities this fall and is now available on DVD at stores nation & web wide. Here is an e-conversation I had with Weiler re: his work & DIY film: Sujewa: I think we are creating a new field of existence for indie filmmakers (or developing it further); the DIY field. Previously we had the indie field (make your movie independently & get it out with the help of Hollywood), and we had pure Hollywood (get Hollywood to finance & distribute the film, the filmmaker as director for hire). Now we have you, me & several other indie filmmakers such as the Mutual Appreciation team, the Four Eyed Monsters team, the Jumping Off Bridges team, & others - who are working on making the movies

The indie film website Fylmz interviewed me about my movie Date Number One & its self-distribution project. Check out the interview here . Here is a segment of the interview: " Q: Can you explain DIY filmmaking to me? Isn’t every film really a kind of DIY endeavor? * A: DIY is a term borrowed from punk rock. DIY refers to artists making work and distributing the work without the assistance of the mainstream production and distribution industry or other large corporate involvement. For indie film in the US, that means Hollywood or Indiewood. DIYness is only relevant, as far as I see, in cases where the filmmaker does not have a lot of money or is not already a part of Hollywood or Indiewood. If you have $200,000 to make and distribute an indie movie, at this point in time, it does not matter if you claim you are DIY or not, because the amount of money you have will make it easy for you to get the work done. On the other hand, a young filmmaker with no industry connections maki

James Ponsoldt is having a couple of years that most film school students dream of; his plan to make a low budget debut feature got improved upon with the addition of a famous actor (Nick Nolte) & a veteran indie producer (Scott Macaulay), & his film got selected to Sundance 06 & now the movie, Off the Black , will be opening theatrically thanks to the respected indie distributor THINKFilm. In spite of or just maybe even because of all the breaks, Off the Black is an excellent movie; fresh & unpredictable & a lot funnier than it looks in its promotional material - I will have a review of it here this week. I spent about 12 hours today (Sunday 12/3, starting with a 10:30 AM screening at The Avalon in DC that was attended by 300 - 400 people!) talking about, & first watching on screen, the world of Off the Black & the world of Ponsoldt. His quick rise to indie success has not been a 100% smooth ride & his current situation is not without frustrations, but

Hmmm, how did this happen? How is a filmmaker/blogger who writes mostly about no-budget, no star movies & self-distribution getting invited to attend a special screening of a THINKFilm distributed movie starring Nick Nolte? I guess it is part of the magic of bloggin'. Anyway, Off The Black sounds very interesting, and I am looking forward to seeing it & talking with the pic's director James Ponsoldt afterwards (he's supposed to be there tomorrow for a Q & A session). Ponsoldt is young & so far he sounds like a very cool dude (we've exchanged a couple of e-mails, and I read up on him on the web). Will have a review & notes on the whole going-to-see-a-movie-at-10 -AMish-on-Sunday-at-a-special-screening experience. Off The Black opens in LA & NYC on Fri 12/8. Here's my previous post about the movie, with links . Maybe they'll have free coffee there. If not, there is a cafe near the theater, I think. Anyway, I am going to bed early tonight.

Intel, ClickStar & THINKFilm, along with Landmark Theaters, are getting this small film (a small film with a big star & a director & a decent budget by indiewood standards, but looks like a primarily one location, whole-story-in-one-day film; which are low budget indie staples) out to theaters & on to broadband download & DVD (DVD 2 weeks after theatrical). It's day & date release version 2.0 people (or, this is no Bubble, content wise). Also, due to stars Freeman & Paz Vega, this film could appeal slightly more to minority audiences; slightly more than most of the US indies or indiewood projects that do not have minority actors in lead roles (this is one of my on-going concerns, lack of ethnic diversity in US indie film, which also means less dollars for indie film related businesses 'cause the movies are not appealing to many of the segments of the US & world population - exactly the groups that could be served well from indie films). Check ou

Hey indie & DIY filmmakers, Indie-Pictures sounds interesting; a filmmaker founded distribution company with the ability to get DVDs into stores nationwide (through Ryko's distribution network, which I believe is now owned by Warner). Also, the company says their approach to indie film distribution is based on releasing the DVD first, building up a fan base for the title, and then taking a look at theatrical. They also share sales $s from DVDs with the filmmakers very fairly (50/50 usually, as far as I know). Go visit their site here , and e-mail them with your questions to find out more about possibly working with them on getting your film or DVD out.

Lally With Fugazi in 2001: From left, Brendan Canty, Guy Picciotto, Ian MacKaye(Photograph by Shawn Scallen) The City Paper cover story this week, and it is a very long article, is about the post- Fugazi life of Joe Lally. Fugazi are DIY rock giants, one of the best things to come out of Washington, DC. Check it out here . Also, inside CP, there is a review of the new album by ex-Fugazi member Ian MacKaye's new band The Evens. I was driving around DC tonight listning to In On The Kill Taker (one of the best albums of all time). Fugazi is on a very long break (& is perhaps finished, who knows), but Fugazi lives on CD & in memory. - Sujewa

Indie film publicity consultant Reid Rosefelt recalls working with Werner Herzog in this new post . I love reading specialty film history recollections - specially ones such as Rosefelt's that looks beyond just the biz facts & figures.

For all you NYC indie film fans who have not seen Four Eyed Monsters, this is you chance. After about 2 years of promoting & doing some screenings & podcasts, Arin & Susan are showing their movie at a week long run at Cinema Village . Here's the movie's website , it's got all kinds of neat stuff & info. Go join in on the excellent real indie festivities. - Sujewa

Fin-n-nally getting caught up on things; just uploaded my first real YouTube clip - a less than 2 minutes long segment from Date Number One 's Story 3: Start Over (it may be labeled wrong on the clip). In the clip a guy is trying to start all over with an ex-girlfriend. More & better quality YouTube clips are on the way, no doubt, as I figure out all the nifty details of making great web video files. In the meantime, here is the link to the clip , enjoy!