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

Update 7/20/08 : working on 3 movies (Indie Film Bloggers, Actress, and Date Number One DVD release), and will be busy with distribution on those next year, so, producing a film fest is out for '09, perhaps later/at some other year. I have read, at some point far back in one of my history of art classes, of painters putting on group shows ( example ); basically several painters get together, exhibit their work, with all the attendant press, details (food, music, etc.) in tow, and also sell their work at this event. Maybe this idea can be adapted to the real indie film world because; - film festivals, most of them (or at least many of them), as we know them now, draw significant attention & attendance from the general public but are not events whose primary mission it is to enable filmmakers to receive money from the public directly, at the event, for their work (either from screenings or DVD sales) The event could include indie filmmakers as the primary organizers but significa

A blog comment conversation at Spout blog re: the value of Sex and the City movie made me think of Sullivan's Travels (1941). Here's a clip:

This year marks the first appearance of the Austin Asian American Film Festival . From the fest's site: "After years of hard work, the Austin Asian American Film Foundation has arrived. Our unique foundation promises to bring the best in Asian and Asian American cinema to Austin. Texas may seem like an odd location for an Asian film foundation, but we are the fastest growing minority in an already lively and vibrant Asian community. We are supported by the University of Texas, Austin Film Society and many Asian organization. This October we are proud to present: The 1st Annual Austin Asian American Film Festival will be held on October 9-12th, 2008. Our four day event will have exciting screenings, thought provoking panels, great parties and many filmmakers in attendance. This year we are proud to announce our festival will be held at the Alamo Drafthouse. Recently voted “Best Theatre in America”, the Alamo takes our festival to the next level!" I have a perhaps a difficu

It's that time of the year again folks; the "sleepy"? town of Silver Spring, MD turns into a pretty gigantic celebration of documentary films, doc filmmaking, & doc filmmakers. I'll post links to all my posts about SilverDocs '08 on this page, so that we may locate them with ease in the future. 6/27 update : This page is missing a few links, will add them next week. In the meantime, click on the blog's title, go to the top of the blog & scroll down to see a few SilverDocs entries. SilverDocs 2008 posts North American Premiere of Generation 68 at SilverDocs - 5/28/08 SilverDocs '08 films - 5/28/08 - Sujewa

You can't take three steps in the indie/art/specialty film blog world these days without running into a post about the glorious & revolutionary days of '68 Paris. So, for us kids who were not yet born when all that happened, the new doc Generation 68 might be interesting & perhaps even educational. From the SilverDocs site : "Simon Brook’s raucous exploration of the pivotal year of the 1960s is a tale of many cities––London, Paris, New York and Prague––and a record of revolution. The music was fabulous, fashion was fun, sex was safe, and flower power blossomed. Meanwhile, American cities burned with race riots, Martin Luther King was assassinated two months before Robert F. Kennedy was killed, the flowers of a Prague spring were trampled by Soviet tanks, and a war raged on in Vietnam. Brook is most interested in the youthful exuberance that bubbled to the top of the seemingly placid social status quo, revealing the roiling conflicts of racial injustice, sexual p

Check out the SilverDocs '08 offerings (if you have not looked over the list already), posted at Film Panel Notetaker blog. You can also visit the official SilverDocs site for more info. on the films. I am going to get a chance to check out some SilverDocs '08 shorts soon. Will write about them next week. - Sujewa

Jonathan Marlow's wake up call to some indie filmmakers is getting read & commented on over at GreenCine Daily . Here is my comment re: the post, might be of interest & use to some indie filmmakers in dealing with the challenge of distribution & making money from distribution: "Lots of people check out indie films at festivals, so, that's a positive starting point; people are willing to pay money & give time to watching indie movies in a theater type setting under certain conditions/at festivals. Groups of indie filmmakers could work together to create new festivals; ones where some of the ticket sales $s can go to the filmmakers. Another production/distribution option is to approach indie filmmaking & distribution not from a Hollywood or indiewood model, but from an independent music model; the artists make the work, tour & bring the work to audiences at whatever venues (clubs, theaters, etc.), and a home version of the work (DVD in the indie fil

Michael Guillen interviews Peter X. Feng, University of Delaware associate professor of film and author of Identities in Motion: Asian American Film and Video. From the interview : "Guillén: Though I’m aware that you were trying to focus on the history of Asian representation and—as you say—the Asian experience in more or less classic Hollywood film, I’m curious what your thoughts are on some of the more contemporary Asian American filmmakers like Gregg Araki or Eric Byler , or Asian directors like Ang Lee ? Feng: I have different thoughts about all those filmmakers. I really love Gregg Araki’s films. Mysterious Skin was amazing. I love his earlier films and I’ve shown his films when I teach my film class; but, I thought Mysterious Skin—without compromising what made him completely unique and bizarre—was more a professional film. Eric Byler is a really intelligent filmmaker who really understands contemporary sexual politics between Asian Americans. That’s what his films have t

Time to take a little break from The DC (area) & take a quick trip out to the city of cities to hang out, network, etc. I'll be in NYC this weekend, w/ a bunch of Date Number One screener DVDs, if any filmmakers/bloggers/film fans/others want to hang out, let me know . I think I'll have the most time available for hanging out on Sat 5/31. - Sujewa

The movies I planned on showing at Lo-Def/Jackie's Back Room will now be shown at Capital City Microcinema/Kensington Row Bookshop . Jackie's is interested in showing only shorts in the future (easier to incorporate food service, etc.) and I want to show a lot of indie features, thus the June - September screenings had to be moved to another venue. I am still planning on swinging by Jackie's often for the yummy food & to see what kind of art/entertainment events they'll have going on in the Back Room. Capital City Microcinema will happen on Fri nights, once a month. At the moment I am working on shows for June - September. June show on Fri, June 27, 7 PM, several short films, info. soon. July - September shows will be features. Same deal as Lo-Def for filmmakers; $100 screening fee for showing a feature, $25 for shorts/participating in a shorts program by screening one or more shorts. CCM line up for the coming months & completed site coming soon. - Sujewa

From about 1992, the year I dropped out of film school, 'till about 1998, the year I shot my first feature, I went to see a lot of indie/punk bands in DC, read zines, hung out with people involved in the DC area indie scene, even worked briefly at Dante's (restaurant run by DC punk people) & Black Cat (one of the few large indie rock clubs in DC). And I still try to keep up with what my favorite bands & labels from the 90's are up to these days. So, to me the indie music world is a real and working thing, not an experiment. So it is very easy for me to translate elements of the indie music culture into my filmmaking & distribution work. The CD = the DVD, the live show = theatrical type or large screen screening at a venue, the zine = the blog, concern with politics & the well being of the world = same, etc. The business model, or one business model that would work well for real indie film is the indie rock model. In both cases artists are creating wo