IFP’s Independent Film Week in NYC was a great event with many diverse elements. It was a place to be. Like walking into your favorite restaurant, and finding all the chefs — from the places you wanted to go but could not ever afford — were hanging out and having a cook off and you were the private taster. So many riches! Good ideas, access, and a good cool vibe.
From the start, I felt the RE:Invent Story mini-conference was too good to miss — and I wasn’t wrong. Top thinkers, makers, doers, getters, and yes, takers to, all sharing and telling like they see it. A peek behind
Producing requires that you look beyond your own projects and looks at how you build it better for everybody. I frankly don’t have respect for producers who only work on their projects. I want to know they give back to the community in general. That does not have much to do with packaging frankly, but it is why I write this blog.
To that end, I want to share with you my thoughts on how to package your film in such a way that your film will gather momentum, get made, and succeed in the marketplace. I have come up with twenty points. I wanted to know what I forgot, so I hope you add to the list.
Recognize what you are doing when you package a project. You package a project because you want to finance or sell your film. You put actors in it not just for the creative enhancement, but also for the financial benefit. If you fail to make the movie or to use the actors well, you devalue them in the market place. That’s a HUGE risk for them. It’s not true that if an actor attaches herself to the project and it doesn’t get made, no harm is done. Attaching an actor exposes them to the marketplace — and kind of checks their value. If a project an actor attaches himself to does not get made, it appears that buyers are not interested in them (because they presume that audiences does not value them). By attaching actors to your project, you are risking their career. Do not even approach them, until you are can demonstrate to everyone around them that is not the case.
Develop a positive reputation for consistently delivering films of quality and acclaim. It may sound like a Catch 22, but
We now have more than 40 films in the Kinonation Private Beta, with more submissions arriving every day. Among them, a couple of documentary trailers immediately had me wanting more. And that’s exactly what KinoNation seeks to do — make it super easy for independent films and docs to get video-on-demand distribution, so anyone “wanting more” can instantly rent or buy the movie from among dozens of global VoD outlets. Black Sun, a 2005 documentary by Brit filmmaker Gary Tarn, tells the tragic and inspiring story of Hugues de Montalembert, a New York City artist who was blinded for life during a vicious street mugging. On a lighter note, French filmmaker Pascal Cuenot submitted In The Tracks Of, her intimate look at the life and work of the late, great film composer Maurice Jarre. I watched this preview clip, frustrated that just as Jarre starts telling the story of his involvement with Lawrence of Arabia and his first meeting with the legendary producer Sam Spiegel…the clip ends! I desperately wanted to watch the full documentary, right away. That’s why we’re so passionate about KinoNation — the promise of instant access for consumers to rent or buy movie gems like these. Keep submitting your films, please.
Distribution Deep-Dive
While Klaus and the technology team is busy building the KinoNation platform, I’ve taken a deep dive into the world of film distribution.
I have given a few interviews around my new mission as the San Francisco Film Society’s Executive Director. I recently spoke to Cinesource and we discussed a bit about where we are now and where we could hopefully go. It is always such a challenge because the existing businesses are invested in the status quo — even when that is predicated on propping up a world that is no longer here.
I said: “The business of film has been oriented around the concepts of scarcity and control—where 50,000 titles can come out every year,” Ted points out. “It would take nearly a century to [showcase] just a single year’s output of films.”
“The film industry has not been able to keep up with what the tech industry has brought to the forefront. The business has been stuck in ways of doing things that are not good for business. Transformations need to occur to create a sustainable investment class to continue to help filmmakers market to the new niches.”
Yes, it’s true: STARLET premiered in the USA in competition at SXSW (where it won Best Actor) , and just recently made it’s international debut in competition at Locarno (where it won the Junior Jury Award), quickly followed by Oldenburg (Germany). And it’s been getting great reviews. Music Box is set to release in the States late fall or early winter, and we have a whole long list of places you may be able to catch Starlet first. In fact there are six more prestigious fests that are to screen it that I could not list because they have yet to announce their line-ups. But check out all the places you can see it first:
Don’t worry that the Hollywood output this week is a bunch of crap, Hulu has a great collection of Cinema Rarities courtesy of Criterion up that you can watch for free. We all can’t go see The Master multiple times so it’s nice to sit at home and get caught on some classics you may have missed.
On my perfect planet, Jeffrey Lewis would be mandatory listening, reading, watching in all high schools. He would be our biggest media star. I consider the night I first head him (at Joe’s Pub with Vanessa) one of my favorite music experiences.
