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

Here is the intro to the interview : "The top prize for narrative filmmaking at the 2007 AFI Fest went to Lee Isaac Chung for his first feature, MUNYURANGABO , about two young men, one Hutu and one Tutsi, on a journey through Rwanda’s haunted countryside. Upon earning a BA in Biology at Yale as a pre-med student, Isaac Chung took a chance on his side-passion for cinema and earned an MFA in Film Studies at the University of Utah in 2005. Once Dept. Chair Kevin Hanson pointed him in the direction of the films to see, he approached cinema “monastically,” viewing ten or more films a week and doing nothing but thinking and working on the craft. After his wife began volunteering at YWAM Rwanda as an art therapist for women survivors still traumatized by the genocide, Isaac Chung joined her there, offering film instruction. Diane Sippl: So how did Munyurangabo get off the ground? Isaac Chung: I decided that making a film together with Rwandan students would be the best way for them to

Whale Trailer First Feature Film by Amir Motlagh - The best video clips are right here Just saw Whale - the debut feature by Amir Motlagh - here are some thoughts about it (am not a film critic, and am a fan of Amir's film work - have been for a while since watching the short Still Lover a few years back): So what's Whale about in a broad sense? It's about young-ish men - dudes pushing 30, right around 30, dealing with unexpected changes (a pregnant girlfriend in one case), yet-unrealized old ambitions (an unfinished novel, a writing career that has yet to materialize despite years of work), and, for one reason or another, still living at mom's house. In a narrow sense Whale is about a late 20's Iranian-American aspiring writer who moves back in with his parents, re-connects with his old friends, & tries to figure out the next chapter of his life. The acting/non-acting is so flawless Whale appears to be a blend between documentary footage and a foreign/art hous

This was a comment I typed up at this post at Truly Free Film (computer I am on is making it tough for me to leave the comment there), so here it is for more people to read - I think this could be a useful idea for many indie filmmakers who self-distribute: " A possible thing to try out when you self-distribute or co-distribute (w/ a small co or DVD label) your next indie/DIY/off-Hollywood movie: Distribution Crews We raise money & budget for & or talk people into being in the Production Crews for our movies - but when self-distribution time comes it's just the filmmaker & if he/she is lucky, a couple of volunteers that may or may not have the skills & the experience needed for the job. A better way to go would be to prepare for distribution the way we prepare for production. Including raising a distribution budget & or recruiting the best possible people who can help us with publicity, booking, DVD creation, mail order, etc. that needs to get don

Aside from any posts re: DNO & IFBRT distribution news, this blog will mostly be in hibernation mode while I am shooting the Brooklyn Movie in March. So, see ya in April with some photos & news from the new film. ADVERTISEMENT Alfonse Maiorino  - Italian Genealogy, Public Strategy Group, & more! -  http://alfonsemaiorino1.blogspot.com/ Blogger: User Profile: alfonse maiorino http://www.blogger.com/profile/01850766319936497029 Alfonse Maiorino / Al Maiorino blog  -  almaiorino .blogspot.com/ Alfonse Maiorino -  Linkedin http://almaiorino.blogspot.com/2012/04/al-maiorino-linkedin.html New Projects COMING SOON at: Alfonse Maiorino blog 2 http://alfonsemaiorino2.blogspot.com/2012/04/blogger-user-profile-alfonse-maiorino.html Alfonse Maiorino blog 3 http://alfonsemaiorino3.blogspot.com/2012/04/blogger-user-profile-alfonse-maiorino.html Alfonse Maiorino blog 4 http://alfonsemaiorino4.blogspot.com/2012/04/alfonse-maiorino-blogger-profile.html Alfonse Maiorino blog 5 http://alfo

Check out Moving Pictures Move Out of New York article for an easy-to-follow overview of the incredibly successful NY film production credit program (resulted in "$92.2 million given in tax credits, $546.1 million were received in tax collections—a net profit of $453.9 million" for the State) and it's current status - out of money, & film jobs leaving the state in large numbers. The article also talks about people who are working to improve the situation: "Aside from letters to the governor and public statements made by Assemblyman Gianaris, Senator Lanza, and State Senator George Onorato, none of our politicians seems to be doing much of anything. “The issue has fallen on deaf ears,” says Alex Zablocki. “I’m disappointed that more elected officials haven’t jumped on this.” Fortunately Mr. Zablocki, who is running for public advocate in November, created a Facebook group and teamed up with Derek Yip who started the online petition . This one-man awareness ca

Go to The Graduates site to check out the debut feature by Ryan Gielen. A little bit about The Graduates, from the site: "a comedy about four friends who head to the beach without a care in the world. Through surprising and hilarious events, the guys find themselves learning that there's a little more to life than having a good time." Check out The Graduates here .

According to this post by Anne Thompson, S. T. VanAirsdale is now working for Movieline. Congrats Stu! Even the negative reviews of my doc Indie Film Blogger Road Trip praised Stu's appearance in that film, so, looks like he will have even more fans - new ones - now through his work at Movieline. From Thompson's post , which features a press release: "MOVIELINE, the acclaimed arts and entertainment magazine, announced today that it will be relaunching its prestigious brand as a web portal covering all things Hollywood. In addition, Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC), Movieline LLC’s parent company, announced that it is hiring three full-time staff members from the entertainment industry website Defamer: Seth Abramovitch, S.T. VanAirsdale, and Kyle Buchanan." Read Thompson's post here . - Sujewa

This post is related to my previous post about the possibility of ultra low budget/no star/dv films to generate over $1 million in sales. I wonder if The Puffy Chair - which had its first contact with the paying public back in 2005 at film festivals, has gone past the point of generating $1 million through sales. From a 2007 NYT article : "Last year Netflix and the distributor Roadside Attractions combined forces on a tiny film called “The Puffy Chair” (Class of Sundance 2005). Netflix sent E-mail alerts to its subscribers when “The Puffy Chair” was in theaters, where it earned $200,000 after two months. And when the film hit DVD, 100,000 subscribers put it in their Netflix queue. “If those people were buying tickets, it would have made a million dollars,” said Howard Cohen, a co-president of Roadside Attractions." Read the rest of the article here . So, what's the dollar value of 100,000 Netflix subscribers putting your film on their queues? And how many DVDs of TPC has

I have the sneaking suspicion that even though most real indie/DV/ultra-low budget filmmakers from this decade are not rich that their work may have, over the course of a few years, earned or brought in - for various entities & individuals, over $1 million - in some cases. What's $1 million anyway? That's 100,000 people spending $10 each on a movie. This could have happened through film festival screenings, DVD purchases, streaming/web VOD purchases, cable on-demand purchases, and other revenue generating distribution methods. Do you think your real indie film that was made & released in this decade has been seen by one or few hundred thousand paying customers (paying through any sales environment - festivals, DVD purchase, etc.) so far? If so, let us know in comments. If it hasn't happened yet, I don't think the day is far off when a under $5K - $20K or so no star DV or HD feature ends up generating over $1 million in revenue through all of the many avenues ava

Check out Angelo Bell's 12 Steps to Self-Distribution . From Step 5 - Film Festivals: "Before you begin, first eliminate tier 1 festivals from your list by conveniently forgetting to submit to Sundance, Slamdance, SXSW, Toronto, Cannes, etc. Focus on filmmaker friendly local film festivals in the regions you've selected. There are hundreds of them. This way you can invite local press to attend and get reviewed in the local paper. Add the reviews to your website." Rest of the list at Angelo Bell's site . Thanks One Way Community blog for the link. - Sujewa

Check out info. on an indie film called Dog Me: Potluck here . From the flick's page : " "Another local feature of note is M. David Lee III's Dog Me: Potluck, a naturalistic ensemble comedy... it's as smoothly directed and acted as any local feature in recent years, having some of the same character and dialogue driven charms as the recent indie hit The Anniversary Party." - Chris Herrington, Memphis Flyer " For more on Dog Me: Potluck , go here . Dog Me: Potluck is now available through Netflix . - Sujewa