Categories
Truly Free Film

Brave Thinkers Of Indie Film, 2010 Edition

We have a bit of a redundancy in the recognition of those that create good work, but that good work does not end with what is up on the screen — which is the part that everyone seems to want to write about.  I feel however that we must recognize those that focus not just on the development and production of good work, but those that commit themselves to ALL of cinema, including discovery, participation, appreciation, and presentation — what I consider the other 4 pillars of cinema.

Last year at this time, I put forth a list of inspiring folks, people who by their acts and ideas were giving me the energy to keep striving for a better film culture and infrastructure, one that was accessible to all, and slave to none. We are closer to a truly free film culture this year than we were last year, and I remain optimistic that we can be a hell of a lot closer next year than we are today, thanks in no small part to the 40 I have singled out these two short years.

This list, like last year’s, is not meant to be exhaustive. Okay, granted I did not get to the quantity to the 21 Brave Thinkers that I did last year, but the quality is just as deep.  Regarding the lesser amount, I don’t blame the people — I blame the technology (of course).  I wish I had better tools of discovery that would allow me to find more of the good work and efforts that are out there. I know I am overlooking some BTs again this year. But so be it — one of the great things about blogging is there is no need to be finished or even to be right (although I do hate it when I push publish prematurely — like I did with this — when it is still purely a draft).

I know I can depend on you, my dear brave thinkers, to extend and amend this work into the future.  I do find it surprising how damn white & male & middle aged this list is.  And that I only found two directors to include this year.  Again, it must be the tools and not the source, right?  Help me source a fuller list next year; after all, it is as Larry K tweeted to me about regarding who are the most brave these days: “Those whom you don’t know but who continue, despite the indifference of all, to create work that is authentic,challenging and real.”  How true that is!

Last year I asked and stated: “What is it to be “brave”? To me, bravery requires risk, going against the status quo, being willing to do or say what few others have done. Bravery is not a one time act but a consistent practice. Most importantly, bravery is not about self interest; bravery involves the individual acting for the community. It is both the step forward and the hand that is extended.”

This year, I recognize even more fully that bravery is a generosity of spirit, as well as a generative sort of mind.  It is extending the energy inside ourselves to the rest of the world.   I often get asked why I blog (or why so much), and I have no answer for those folks.  It can’t be stopped, for I believe if we love the creative spirit as much as the work it yields, if we believe we create for the community and not for the ego, how can we not extend ourselves and turn our labor into the bonds that keep us moving forward.  In other words, no one can afford to create art and not be public (IMHO).  If you want a diverse and accessible culture of ambitious work, you can not afford to simply hope it will get better — you have to do something (or get out of the business, please).

So without any further adieu, here’s my list of the nineteen folks who have done more on a worldwide basisto start to build it better together,

Categories
Let's Make Better Films

Finding Inspiration In The Lives Of Others

Today’s guest post is from filmmaker Peter Sillen.  His documentary bio-portraits will be screening this week in NYC at the IFC.

The kind of inspiration that makes you want to go out and make a film about someone is tough to pin down. It’s definitely not something you can plan. It’s funny that both Speed Racer: Welcome to the World of Vic Chesnutt and I Am Secretly An Important Man were essentially inspired by albums. In the case of Speed Racer, it was Vic’s, “Little”. For I Am Secretly An Important Man, it was Jesse Bernstein’s record, “Prison.” Arthur Aubrey’s photo on the cover of the Prison CD got my attention. Steve Fisk’s production and sound design was a perfect fit for Jesse’s raspy voice. Many things came together on that record but it was Jesse’s writing that grabbed me most. 20 years later both albums hold up as well as they did the first time I listened to them.
Both of these films began with a letter. With Vic I got pretty lucky with timing. He was about to go into the studio to record his second album “West of Rome”. I basically used those sessions as a way to enter his everyday life. He was this incredible force just oozing with creativity. Every time we’d turn on the camera it just kept getting better and better. We were all pretty young and figuring out what we were doing. The film is sort of a time capsule of that moment.
The film on Jesse started the same way, with a letter to Leslie Fried, Jesse’s widow. She was open to the idea of a film. The only problem was I didn’t have Jesse to film (he died the year before, just shy of his 41st birthday).  I Am Secretly An Important Man, is a film that has seen many starts and stops over the 17 years it has taken to make. The long process informed the film a great deal. There are subtle themes that I never could have picked up on when I was 26. Although, I never imagined it would take so long to make, the older I got, the more I became in tune with Jesse and his struggles.
For most documentary filmmakers, I think the idea that everything is constantly changing plays heavy on their work. It certainly does for me. I see a person or a place that somehow to me represents this moment in time were everything comes together  (usually against the odds).  They’re really the ones that are documenting their experience. I’m just inspired by the work or the situation to try to help capture that moment for others to experience, because as Vic put it, “they’re fleeting moments and they don’t last forever”.

tuesday night link:
i am secretly an important man in NYC link:
Peter’s  website:

Peter Sillen is a New York based documentary filmmaker. Working mainly in 16mm film, Sillen creates portraits of an array of individuals who live and work outside the stereotypical 9 to 5 environments. With a low-tech approach to documentary film and sensitivity to his subjects and their environment Sillen’s work gives an unobstructed view into the lives of a number of uniquely talented artists and trade workers.

Categories
Let's Make Better Films

SUPER’s Rainn Wilson Gets Philosophical (Again)

Rainn gives back in a big way. I am a bit in awe in how generative and generous this man is. There’s a reason why he has over 2 million twitter followers and it’s not just because he’s really funny. He cares about things. He cares about people. He cares about process. He’s thoughtful. And he’s one of the folks I am thankful for getting to know in this past year.

BTW, if you haven’t encountered Brainpickings.org yet, stop delaying. It is where I found this vid and it is one of the best curated sites out there. Give yourself a gift for being so damn good this year and subscribe to their free weekly newsletter. It will make your new year even better.

Categories
Truly Free Film

Save The World AND Expand Indie Film’s Market

I got a kick out of Hollywood’s Reporter’s recent article on the WikiLeaks cables. There they put forth the realization that George Clooney, Desperate Housewives, and Late Night With David Letterman do more to prevent jihad than the $500M the US State Dept dumped into funding the TV station in Saudi Arabia.

I have long thought we damn the perception of America by only allowing the market to decide what films travel overseas. Okay, granted that is a bit of an oversimplification, but when so much money is spent marketing The Studios’ product, the overseas audiences basically get to see that Americans like to drive fast and blow shit up. I know we are a wee bit more diverse than that.

If the films from Sundance or any other regional festival were given away to developing nations, the people of the world would have a much different impression of whom we are, culturally speaking. Okay, maybe they’d think we are a bit obsessed with coming out and perhaps made up of predominately junkie moms trying to go straight, but they still would be presented with a much greater tapestry.

If the US State department funded a giveaway of US Indie films, not only would Indie’s have access to audiences, communities, and markets that they currently struggle to find, but hey, what’s so funny about getting a little world peace in the windfall?

Categories
These Are Those Things

Data Visualization

Pretty neat if you ask me…

 

Categories
Bowl Of Noses

Pets! The 4th Type Of Reptile

I don’t know if this could ever be a pet, but it sure sounds cool. It is the only surviving species of a 4th type of reptile (the other three being crocodiles, snakes & lizards, and turtles and tortoises).  Read up on the Tuatara, it’s got lots of neat attributes: the remnant of a third eye, special teeth where one row slides between two others, no external sex organs, and a whole lot more. They might live to be 200 years old!  And it may be the oldest creature around.

Categories
Let's Make Better Films

Real Time Visualization of INCEPTION

Frankly, this made me want to watch the film again — and isn’t that a lot of the point.