By Jon Plowman
How do you turn your passion for film into a profit? How does one take all that experience built up on non-paying indie projects, and turn it into a career? I’m glad you asked. Welcome to the second part of a two-part article on indie filmmaking.
It seems to me that a lot of filmmakers are chronically losing sight of a very simple fact: there has been a total revolution in the film industry in the last few years.
By Jon Plowman
Ted asked me for this article last year. I agreed, because there are a couple of important points I’d like to put out there to encourage filmmakers in the same kind of position as I find myself. But before I could actually get around to writing the damn thing, I found myself retrenched. That’s “laid off” to most of you. I lost my job. Yeah, you know the one I mean, the one that actually pays the bills while I work on movies. My boss gave me a sob story about how he couldn’t afford to keep me on because the business was struggling. He has a wife and two small kids, and his business was their sole income. I couldn’t blame him. We feel the global recession here just as keenly as the US or Europe. So there I was, out on the street with R150 in my pocket. To put that in perspective, R1 = US$0.15, give or take.
Welcome to life as an indie film maker on the southern tip of Africa.
The always stimulating Lance Weiler has launched a new podcast, and this morning I was his first guest. Check it out here. We had a lot to talk about.
If you were going to give an award to the “Best Short Film Director”, what would be the criteria? I think the director would have to have made at least three shorts. Maybe over a five year period. If a director only has made two shorts, my sense is that they aren’t doing it for the love of the short, but more for their “career”. Three shows a commitment to the form. Making one great, or even two great short films does not detract from the strength of those shorts, but again it does not show the devotion to the form.
Now, as I believe that the dominance of the feature film form is on it’s last legs, and that ending it is TGHOTFOC, I think we will see even more great short directors in the years ahead. Presently though, I am a bit at a loss to nominate multiple directors who have made three or more excellent shorts. Nonetheless, that limitation does not reduce my enthusiasm for my nomination.
I had the good fortune of being asked to be a judge at TropFest NYC this year. It was an incredible program, and in the highlights of years passed, I was reminded of how great Nash Edgerton’s short work is (I also dig his feature The Square). Can you name a filmmaker who has made three shorts stronger than these:
People once hid in their office. If you knew them from hanging out at the bar you had a unique relationship. Still it was damn hard to make connections, no matter where you were on the totem pole. But now those totem poles have been burned down to the ground. The old ways are over and 1000 phoenixes rise from the ashes daily.
The fact is we’ve learned how to speak to each other. We may not always speak the same language but we speak. And that’s fucking awesome.
My case is point is how Zodiac Motherfucker shares his love for Collaborator with writer/director Martin Donovan on Twitter:
Yes Dark Horse in galloping around the bay this weekend. And I know you want to know where you can meet our jockey. Put on your pink polo and bring your action figures.
TODD SOLONDZ IN PERSON: filmmaker Todd Solondz will speak at select opening weekend shows:
Q&A Friday (7/20) at the EMBARCADERO after the 7:35
And an intro prior to 9:40 pm
SATURDAY , 7/21 , at the CAMERA 3 in SAN JOSE ( Q&A AFTER the 3pm only )
SATURDAY , 7/21 , SHATTUCK in BERKELY Q&A after the 5:40pm show and
Intro to the 7:50pm
SUNDAY , 7/22, the San Rafael Q&A After the 7pm only.
PLEASE JOIN US!
