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

the programmer of a cool sounding indie film fest contacted me a couple of weeks ago & said he read about my movie & that i should submit Date Number One to his fest. sounded like a routine invite/an attempt to increase submissions to the fest so i wrote back & said thanks but i don't really believe in the whole pay money to see if a fest wants to show my movie with no $s coming to me from the screening route. then the programmer said he understands and started a conversation about some indie film biz stuff that i was interested in. i continued the conversation, we exchanged some e-mails & the dude sounded cool & his fest sounded cool, so i said i'll send him DNO to take a look at (w/ out paying a fee) & if he likes it he can program it to the fest & if i can come down & sell some DVDs of the movie at the fest it would all work out for me i said. he said that sounded good. so later this week (hopefully, if all the work gets done) i will mail a DN

Links to some of the major press mentions & coverage of Date Number One can be found here . I still need to add over a dozen blog mentions to that page. But the key stuff, such as the links to the 4 reviews so far (from GreenCine Daily , The Chutry Experiment , Amir Motlagh , Hollywood Is Talking ), is there now. - Sujewa

I have not seen any of Charles Burnett's movies yet (did see some clips from I think To Sleep With Anger in a doc about indie film). His movies sounds interesting. On the To Watch list. Here is a little bit of an interview from Sense of Cinema, published in '03, with Burnett, conducted by Nelson Kim: " CB: Hollywood has this psychology—there's this whole plantation mentality where it's all about power and someone trying to impose their values on you. It's nuts, they'll tell you how to tell stories about people they never really came into contact with. Executives, story readers, development executives don't interact with people other than their kind so how would they know what's acceptable to people of color? It is not about and never has been about supplying a diverse look at life. It is all from and for a white audience. And because of that fact this group of people who determines what the world sees have no idea, not a clue as to reality. It is a

Here's Lance Weiler's introduction to a new project, from Indie Features 06 : " A FREE DIY RESOURCE I've been working on a DIY book and I've decided to make it a free online resource. The concept is part of a "social opensource info experiment" called the workbook project. It's a simple concept, the workbook is meant to be spread and edited. Meaning that content creators can add their own info, war stories, advice etc. Since the workbook is a wiki that can be saved to the desktop and edited, we're hoping that it can become a resource that is always growing. I've included extensive info about: Putting together a 17 city theatrical release Building a fan base and creating buzz Clearance and Delivery issues A look at actual contracts Getting your work into retail and rental outlets Making a TV deal How to deal with world sales and much much more The workbook will launch later this year but if you're interested and want to get an advance copy

Here is a paragraph from a long post Lance Weiler made today at Indie Features 06 re: self-distribution: "DIY THEATRICAL - part 1 of 12 The thing I find most interesting after having gone through the first couple windows of release is how broken the system is. Now I know you're probably saying no shit but I think we're at a very interesting crossroads. When something is damaged it provides new opportunities but the difficult part is identifying them. Often it seems that going in a totally different direction is an answer OR you can work the current system to your advantage. For example a theatrical release with no cash, no distributor, no booker and no publicist seems insane - and it is in the sense that it's an insane amount of work BUT it is possible. " Read the rest of the post here . Very useful for filmmakers who are thinking about self-distribution. - Sujewa

The Date Number One DVD will be available through Wild Diner Films' web store & other places this month, starting around 11/15. There will be 100s of US screenings of the film in '07. The first batch of them will be listed here by the time end of December '06 rolls around. And that's the latest on DNO. Will post up the DVD cover art soon. - Sujewa

Congrats Democrats. I guess it is time for all those people who moved to Canada after the '04 elections to move back :) The counts are close in Virginia & Montana - Democrats leading right now, but NBC just called Missouri for the Democratic Senate candidate. It is going to be a very interesting & hopefully better 2 years than the previous 2, starting later today. I think Democrats will take the Senate, of course they already have the House. Off to sleep now, will know for sure later today (unless VA goes into recount). Congrats again Democrats. - Sujewa