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A week of good reads

Been busy editing Indie Film Blogger Road Trip, have not had much time to blog this week, but did read a few interesting articles, posts about the changing world of indie film distribution. A lot of the ideas presented in these linked articles are not new to DIY/self-distributing filmmakers; however, it looks like that new combinations of DIY + working-with-several-companies distribution approaches (with publicity coming from fests, the web) may soon be tried out by regular indie filmmakers - the kinds that formerly relied or tried to rely solely on distributors for getting their work out. The end goals are (or should be, if you want to build a catalog of work that can be released through new avenues, have some say on how work gets marketed, make money) distribution AND holding on to long term control & ownership of projects, and simple paths for achieving those goals will probably appear after this current period of experimentation. Here are the links (if you haven't read the articles already) to some perhaps useful ideas; old & new:

Ted Hope at Filmmaker Mag blog

Peter Broderick part 1 at indieWIRE

Peter Broderick part 2 at indieWIRE

Anthony Kaufman at Variety, about VOD revenue

(This article is a little older, but shares similar concerns with the ones linked above) Manohla Dargis at New York Times

As some of these veterans of the indie biz are thinking up & looking into new solutions to the distribution obstacles, feel free to come up with your own also. In many cases I am sure each indie filmmaker & film's situation is very different from those of others (motivation for making movies, economic situation, long term goals, etc.), so most likely each filmmaker will have to come up with their own unique combination of approaches in order to publicize, distribute, and generate revenue from their work. Sounds like a lot of fun :)

- Sujewa

Christmas Eve controversial, fun discussion - 1 of the best American indie filmmakers - Amir Motlagh

Inside the Arthouse ep 2

Full Movie - SNEAK PREVIEW - Cosmic Disco Detective Rene And The Mystery Of Immortal Time Travelers

NEW - COSMIC DISCO DETECTIVE RENE (2023) - TRAILER!

The Secret Society For Slow Romance (2022) - available to rent as a new release starting January 1

Werewolf Ninja Philosopher at Vimeo VOD

Popular Posts

Info, trailer, clips, opening scene - new feature doc - The Last Days of Joseph Koch Comics Warehouse (2025) - movie coming out on Sun on YouTube!

* Watch movie here (or above at top of page, starting 11 AM EST 7/20 Sun) -  https://youtu.be/De6AXHsD5d0?si=QoqLZAJlJM-NmoBv * Final trailer:  * The subject of the doc - Joseph Koch Comics Warehouse in Sunset Park, Brooklyn - will be open to the public daily 12-7 PM until the end of July. After that, after 35+ years, the warehouse closes. Visit them at:  206 41st Street, 2nd Floor Between 2nd & 3rd Avenue Sunset Park, Brooklyn 718-768-8571 12-7 PM daily, until end of July Website -  https://kochcomics.com/ Lots of amazing deals there (over 300K+ items for $1 they say). On to the documentary - it officially comes out on Sun - on YouTube (but may be available to view earlier). I am wrapping up work on it now.  Will post link at this blog when the movie is out (UPDATE - link - https://youtu.be/De6AXHsD5d0?si=QoqLZAJlJM-NmoBv ). The doc will be 1 hour and 13 mins long - and will feature: - Intro and notes by filmmaker - A tour of the warehouse in its last day...

The case for using AI for indie film reviews (if tech is developed to be able to write good reviews)

Regardless of how it is presented to the public, everything in US film (and probably worldwide) - Hollywood and indie - is about money.  If you have the money, you can make and release films, buy ads in publications, and get reviews.  There are 200+ reviews for a mediocre Hollywood movie now at Rotten Tomatoes site - for the new Fantastic Four movie. At the same time there were less than 10 reviews for an indie movie that was playing at IFC Center in NYC last week. Outside of even IFC runs, there are 100s of indie movies - fiction features and doc features - that come out on VOD and YouTube every week these days that do not get reviewed and do not get any articles written about them. With some effort I and many other indie filmmakers are able to get some reviews for our movies. However, the vast majority of new indie films are not reviewed. Film is art, it is easier to make and release films now than it was in the past, and all films deserve reviews and articles about them. ...

Cosmic Disco Detective Rene (2023) Full Movie + The Last Days of Joseph Koch Comics Warehouse (2025) feature documentary, full movie

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Reading Material

Indie Film Blogger Road Trip