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Truly Free Film

Diary of a Film Startup Post 19: Searching for Green Card

By Roger Jackson

Previously: New Year Update

Less of a diary post this time, more of a rumination on Hollywood, video-on-demand, and long-tail movies. Klaus and I decided to build KinoNation because we want to make it super-easy for indie filmmakers to distribute their films to the medium that is rapidly replacing DVD. Along the way we’ve come to realise there are also many well known films that remain almost impossible to watch “on demand” — fuelling consumer frustration that can often only be solved by breaking the law.

Last week was a big day for Klaus‘s wife — Malona had her final interview with the Feds for her Green Card. It all worked out, green card approved, and she wanted to celebrate that evening with a family viewing of the classic movie Green Card.

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Truly Free Film

Blue Potato — Things to Think About Before Production

By Kavita Pullapilly 
 
As most producers know, the battle is won in pre-production.  If you can’t succeed in pre-production, you’re better off not going into production.  There are lists upon lists of everything that needs to fall into place to seamlessly deliver all the logistics, people and resources that will result in the creative vision of your film.

However, for the directors and producers of BLUE POTATO, they didn’t just stop there.  During pre-production, award-winning filmmakers Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly along with producer Kavita Pullapilly knew that they had to think about the business behind the film and how it would perform in the marketplace. 

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Truly Free Film

Be Careful What You Wish For: Prepping for Sundance

Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson’s film American Promise is set to screen at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Below is part 1 of 3 of an interview with them discussing what it was like to get the confirmation call and their next steps in preparing the film for Sundance, among other things. Stay tuned for the following parts in the days to come.

Joe: When we received the phone call from Sundance, we were in the editing room agonizing over how we should end our film.  When the phone rang and we noticed the call was from the Sundance institute, I couldn’t bring myself to pick it up so I handed the phone over to Michèle.  For a moment, it was as if time stood still.  I could hear Michèle say “Hey Shari,” after that, even the sound in my head had been drowned down. I had anticipated this moment for years and the thought of hearing no was now impossible for me to come to terms with, only because of my temporary brain fix.  Suddenly, Michèle went airborne, jumping up and down, pumping her fist in the air.  Then the sound in my mind came back on.  She was screaming the word, “YES!”

Michèle: Perhaps there was some fist pumping and jumping up and down, I don’t know, I think I was numb with elation.

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Truly Free Film

Forward! The Necessity of Twitter

By Rob Millis

Every filmmaker, distributor, press agent and their mother has seen plenty of posts about how important Twitter is, yet filmmakers constantly ask me why and how to use it. So at the risk of beating a dead horse, I’m going to try and convince that silent majority once and for all.

Twitter is one of the most powerful tools for direct communication with your audience. It is easy to use, conversational and can be lots of fun as well. Twitter enables industry leaders and celebrities to easily and safely engage in conversations with thousands of fans, which means you can easily join the dialogue too.

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Truly Free Film

The Only Logical Response For A Creative Person To This Age Of Abundance

I write today in honor of the Sundance Film Festival (which kicks off today) and if it wasn’t for, I probably would have not been able to do what I love for so long.  Here’s to new models that are designed with large heart and a complete commitment to the welfare & progress of the artist and their community.  Thank you, Mr. Redford, and may you continue to give rise to so many diverse creatures.

I trust that by now all of you who read this blog understand that the Film Biz still functions on an antiquated model that has no applicability to today.  That is, the film industry was constructed around the concept of scarcity of content and control of that content — and our life is nothing like that now.  Yes, there is still money to be made via the antiquated model, but it only benefits a very few beyond those that control it.  It survives because all industries are essentially designed to keep the jobs of those that have them.  So it goes.  But eventually, we all confront reality, and it often is not pretty.

I also trust that if you are reading this you also recognize that we live in the time of Grand Abundance of produced stories, total access to that content, and a general tendency to be thoroughly distracted from that content.  Looking at the state of film from this perspective can be pretty discouraging, but it is only a partial picture.  I state all of this again, in the hopes that we can soon walk together into the future I know can be before us.

I took to blogging & public speaking because I was frustrated that the film business leaders were only talking about the business aspects of our situation and were neglecting that this is a wonderful time to be a generative, creative person committed to the passion industries.  

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Truly Free Film

What If We All Made Important Introductions For Others Daily, Starting Today?

Can we ever have too many friends?  Too many collaborators?  Too many allies?

I don’t know if it is a function of my job, my age, my experience, or social media, but it seems like more and more I know more and more people who really SHOULD know each other. And I don’t mean just a casual Joe-this-is-Jerry-sort-of-thing.

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Truly Free Film

The Rise Of Theatrical-On-Demand: What’s Working

By Scott Glosserman

A year ago I was having breakfast with Ted Hope, but I didn’t know it.

Attending Sundance’s Art House Convergence Conference in Midway, Utah, (a coming together think tank of progressive art houses and independent theatres), I found myself sitting at a communal breakfast table, conversing with Ben Galewsky, a co-op expert who was applying his preferred model to a small theatre in Champaign, Illinois.

The collective mood at the conference was cautious and guarded. Theatre owners commiserated over Fox Searchlight’s recent letter vowing to end shipments of 35mm prints, essentially requiring indie houses to retrofit for digital projection or to get used to solely showing repertory titles. Yet, sales reps for VPF’s (Virtual Print Fees) weren’t revealing their deal structures. Indie exhibs were looking for answers, but little at the time were understood, much less given.