We all have unique talents, right? It takes a little training to bring them out though.
via Nickyskye @ MetaFilter
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Author: Ted Hope
Well, this is the next best thing…
Is it only me, or does everyone else always hear the James Bond theme when I walk into a room?
By Lydia Dean Pilcher
We’re nearing the end of an ambitious Kickstarter campaign for an independent film, “The Sisterhood of Night.” Adapted from a short story by Pulitzer prize-winning author Steven Millhauser, our movie is a modern twist on the Salem witch trials. It deals with teen girls and the wild west of the Internet, its potential for casual, breathtaking cruelty, and its capacity to connect and share – all slippery new challenges to this transitional generation. "The Sisterhood of Night" is about holding close what makes you different, through diversity of thought and culture. It shines a light on the dangers of cyberbullying, but it also suggests that there are ways of using the Internet to find your inner creative spirit and tap into positivity.
But this journey began a few years ago. When my producing partner, Elizabeth Cuthrell, and I first met director Caryn Waechter and screenwriter Marilyn Fu, we fell in love with their irrepressible energy and their quest to find beauty, fun, and meaning in the dark edges of life. We worked for a couple of years with Caryn and Marilyn, further adapting the original material from an 80's setting to our contemporary digital world.
Despite our passion–having a first time feature director and deeply female material, and a teen cast with no vampires–we found it hard to gain traction with the conventional ways of financing. It’s no surprise that women are more likely to green light women's pictures, have more confidence in women directors, and be more interested in stories about female characters. The scarcity of women at the top of the business-end of the film industry could have a lot to do with the fact that women made up only 5 percent of directors in Hollywood in 2011.
In addition, the issue of entry and retention in our industry for independent filmmakers, women filmmakers, and diverse filmmakers is a very serious matter. It takes someone with real vision in the studio executive's chair, and strong-minded passionate producers, to push back against the mediocre middle ground which studios tend to feed.
With crowd funding, audiences now have a vehicle to push back as well. Kickstarter and other crowd funding sites provide an opportunity for individuals to influence the development of independent film projects at the ground level, and give these films the momentum they need to go into or finish production, with or without Hollywood’s consent. Audiences can vote with their dollars and contribute to the development of projects, rather than just be mere consumers at the end of the line.
Last year saw Dee Rees’ Pariah break out of the pack at Sundance to be picked up by Focus Features, making it the first film in Kickstarter’s two year history to do so. The 2012 Sundance festival unveiled a total of seven out of fourteen Kickstarter narrative and documentary film projects by women directors and co-directors, including Aurora Guerrero’s Mosquita y Mari, Alison Kayman’s Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry; Lisanne Pajot’s Indie Game: The Movie; Erin Greenwell’s My Best Day; Katie Aselton’s Black Rock and Valerie Veatch’s Me.
And for The Sisterhood of Night, beyond getting financial momentum for the project itself, the biggest reward of our campaign has been the community we are building around our movie.
We’ve been impressed by the number of women directors backing us in order to help another woman director. Katherine Dieckmann, director of “Motherhood,” emailed to say, “I absolutely want to back this, so count me in, and I’ll pledge right now… I teach so many amazing young female filmmakers at Columbia (and they are super-diverse, often coming to me from everywhere from Russia to Laos) & it breaks my heart when they can’t get their projects made.” Other women directors who are backing Sisterhood include Mary Harron, Mehreen Jabbar, Katja von Garnier, Maggie Greenwald, Gina Prince Bythewood, Mira Nair, Tina Mabry, Pamela Yates, Sara Terry, Lilly Scourtis Ayers, Angela Tucker, Stephanie Wang-Breal, Ursula Liang, Suzi Yoonessi, Joyce Dragonsky and we’re still counting!
While our director, Caryn has been tirelessly shooting and editing videos for our campaign updates (you can see them all on our Kickstarter page), our screenwriter Marilyn Fu tapped into her Taiwanese-American community, and they in turn showed huge support for Marilyn’s unique voice as well as for positive cultural images in the media. One of the Sisterhood characters is Taiwanese American, loosely based on Marilyn’s teen years growing up in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.
Through this Kickstarter campaign and a teen art contest we’ve created called Wanna Know A Secret?, we’re using social media in a way that wouldn’t have been imagineable a few years ago. And because of this, we have no doubt, our movie will be deeper and evermore far reaching.
Kickstarter has filled a real need in bringing people together to fund the projects they want to create, and the results have been — and continue to be — amazing. Kickstarter is expecting to bring in a total of $150 million in funding this year – more than the $146 million provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Last weekend we surpassed our goal of $100,000 and we will continue to receive pledges thru March 10th, the last date of the campaign. Now we want to keep building our Sisterhood community, reaching out to our audience, and discovering new supporters. We plan to start shooting this summer, and the funds that continue to come in during this final week will get us that much closer to the final film. By pledging as little as a dollar you can become a member of the Sisterhood, privy to all of our progress updates as we bring this movie to your screen -whatever size that may be! Every pledge at every reward level proves that we are a fan-funded film that has found an audience before the director has even called "Action!"
Feel free to share wildly. Who knows what other discoveries we will continue to make together?
Lydia Dean Pilcher is founder of Cine Mosaic, a production company making independent feature films with an energetic focus on provocative and entertaining stories that promote social, cultural and political diversity. Pilcher has produced over 30 feature films and is currently in post production with The Reluctant Fundamentalist, directed by Mira Nair, based on the highly acclaimed novel by Mohsin Hamid. Also upcoming for production is Fela: Music is the Weapon, which she developed at Focus Features with Steve McQueen set to direct.
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WOW! What Can YOU Do?
When you look at an artist, an athlete, a leader, sometimes your jaw just drops at their incredible talents and skills. I can not even fathom how someone does what Marcell Endrey does in setting this World Record For Blind Folded Rubik’s Cube Completion…
Hi Film Friends,
I know, it’s been awhile since I invited you to a screening. My apologies.
In my efforts to make the world safe for Indie Film, I am pleased to invite you to a new venue: no less than the Film Society at Lincoln Center’s re-born Indie Night series, now at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center. We’ve got more seats, and more comfortable ones too! We will be taping & streaming the Q&A with the director!! And now we are also going to be able to pay the filmmakers a small fee (yay!)!!!
I want you to come see Mark Jackson’s WITHOUT. It truly is one of my favorite films of the past year and I am thrilled I can show it to you. WITHOUT has won numerous awards, including most recently, the Indie Spirit Someone To Watch Award. It is a remarkable film, made even more remarkable by the fact that it is a first feature, and one made for a micro, micro budget. Not only is Mark a directing talent to watch, so is the star Joslyn Jensen, and the DP & Producer Jessica Dimmock.
Like all good movies, it’s complicated to describe. At its heart, is a one-sided love story about one of the most powerful emotions in both life & cinema: longing — a desire capable of altering both the perception & interpretation of our experiences. Few films, of any scale, have captured the essence of longing as well as Jackson’s debut feature, WITHOUT, does in both its form and content. The film’s economy of means helps to deliver a rare truth throughout its beautiful images, precise framing, quiet tone, & the mesmerizing introduction to star Josyln Jensen. Long after it has ended, even long after having watched it, WITHOUT still resonates: did we just live a love song, a ghost story, or a quiet thriller? Jackson delivers with his first outing what filmmakers strive for decades to obtain: the realest of real, the beauty of beauty, & the sweet pain of a never-ending early love. What more could one want?
There are few times when you can recount “I was there when”, but I do think you will want to say it about this trio of talents, collaborating so well, and presenting it at this citadel of cinema, Lincoln Center. The fact that they will inaugurate this new series, which will bring you the faithful, the latest of the greatest of true indie work, is just more icing on the cake. When the lights come on, we will discuss the work with them, and then celebrate with drink and more discussion. Seriously, vote with your dollars for the culture you want. This is it. Trust me. Occupy the seats. Don’t settle for pale corporate approximation. This is where cinema lives, survives and thrives. For real cinema, truly free film, is a dialogue with the audience, a pledge by the community, and a reminder that we won’t settle for culture that doesn’t reach higher, speak truth, innovate form and process, and deliver us honest and original beauty. WITHOUT honors us with all of this and more.
Check out all the great reviews and awards at: www.rightonredfilms.com
Order tickets now at: www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/without
And please come see the film Tuesday March 6th at 8P at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and then stay as I moderate a discussion with the filmmakers.
Follow the film on Twitter @withoutmovie.
And follow DP/Producer @jessicadimmock and star @joslynjensen on Twitter.
Thanks for coming. Vote with your dollars for the culture you want. We can build it better together. We have to support the things we love. The future is up to us.
Ted
THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER KICKS OFF TWO NEW MONTHLY FILM SERIES DEVOTED TO DOCUMENTARIES, ART OF THE REAL AND THE BEST INDEPENDENT FILMS OF TODAY, INDIE NIGHT
AWARD-WINNING PRODUCER TED HOPE WILL GUEST CO-PROGRAM INDIE NIGHT FOR 2012.
FUTURE CO-CURATOR’S INCLUDE NOTABLE PRODUCERS CHRISTINE VACHON, JAY VAN HOY AND LARS KNUDSEN
New York, NY – (February 22, 2012) The Film Society of Lincoln Center is proud to announce two new monthly series spotlighting up and coming directors. Art of the Real, is a new monthly documentary showcase that will take audiences on a tour of the most innovative and consciousness-raising, non-fiction filmmaking being made in the world today. The series kicks off with March and April documentary selections, SHAKESPEARE HIGH and THEY CALL IT MYANMAR: LIFTING THE CURTAIN.
“Documentary filmmakers are the investigative journalists of cinema – showing us extraordinary feats, taking us places we’ve never been and introducing us to characters that could change our world. We’re proud to bring their untold stories to our screens and introduce them to audiences each month,” says Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Associate Director of Programming Marian Masone, who is programming Art of the Real with Programming Associate Isa Cucinotta.
Indie Night will spotlight the best and boldest new wave of independent cinema. In keeping with the tradition of supporting and showcasing emerging filmmakers, this new series will also be shaped by notable guest curators who hail from the American indie vanguard.
“The American indie film scene is going through a major renaissance right now, thanks to the low costs of digital filmmaking and the emergence of new distribution platforms,” says Film Society Associate Program Director Scott Foundas. “At the same time, this series can be seen as the latest permutation of the Film Society’s longstanding commitment to emerging artists, which dates back to the creation of the New Directors/New Films festival more than 40 years ago.”
Award-wining producer Ted Hope (MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE, ADVENTURELAND) has been announced as co-curator’s of the series for the next year, alongside FSLC Associate Program Director Scott Foundas. Hope will curate the upcoming 2012 series. Additional co-curators confirmed for the future include producers Christine Vachon (FAR FROM HEAVEN, BOYS DON’T CRY), Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen (BEGINNERS, THE LONELIEST PLANET, OLD JOY).
“It’s just not true that all great movies get seen. Filmmakers have never been more generative, ambitious, and skilled than they are today, but for all their talent, good work still slips by. We are in the midst of a film revolution & we all must occupy the seats if we want the culture we love to not only survive, but also to thrive. The Film Society of Lincoln Center is one of the most prestigious and best programmed screens, and it is an honor for me to be part of it,” says Hope. “Now with a re-born Indie Night, we have the potential to bring artists and fans together to create an engaged community that will work together to make sure all of this unique, thrilling, and exciting work will not be overlooked. The directors will be in the house, the films will shine, igniting our passions and mind, afterwards we will talk and debate, rant and rave, and the drinks will flow. The Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center will be an indie film salon once a month — and if people are fed up with film as usual, this is where the next fires will all get started.”
Both series will include additional in-person filmmaker appearances, panel discussions and more to engage audiences in discussion. Look out for additional announcements and updates on guest programmers and films for the year ahead.
ART OF THE REAL
Films, Descriptions & Schedule
Shakespeare High. Alex Rotaru, USA, 2011, Digital; 80m
Every year a wide cross-section of high school students prepare for the Drama Teachers Association of Southern California Shakespeare Competition. The unwieldy name of this contest belies the energy and excitement of the event, as well as the enthusiasm of the students who take part. Director Alex Rotaru’s lively documentary follows the ups and downs of many of the participants of this annual tournament, which claims such luminaries as Kevin Spacey, Sally Field and Richard Dreyfus as alumni (Spacey and actress Mare Winningham appear in the film giving some teens a pep talk). The tournament is team building at its finest, and the groups Rotaru follows are an appealing multicultural mix from former gangbangers to girls from a Catholic high school, who perform scenes from Othello, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, and other masterworks with gusto. While the tension of who will win is compelling, there is a larger story of how theater can save kids living on the edge. As arts education is being assailed as a luxury in schools, Shakespeare High proves that it is a necessity, and the students who perform–win or lose–are proof positive of that. A Cinema Guild release.
*March 7 at 6:30pm at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center
**Q&A to follow with director Alex Rotaru and subjects from the film
They Call it Myanmar: Lifting the Curtain. Robert H. Lieberman, 2011, USA, Digital; 90m
A rare glimpse behind the scenes of one of the most isolated countries in the world, Burma (or Myanmar, as the ruling military junta renamed it in 1989). Writer and filmmaker Robert H. Lieberman secretly filmed the everyday lives of ordinary citizens over a period of two years – lives defined by food shortages, power cuts, and a lack of health care and education. This land of countless golden pagodas that not so long ago was renowned as the “rice bowl of Asia” is now a place of terrible poverty, which has led to widespread child labor and trafficking. In a remarkable interview, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi talks about the recent history of Burma and her many years under house arrest for her political activities. Anonymous commentators talk about the character of this regime, which has absolutely no communication with its population, but uses physical repression to hold the country in its iron grip. The film explores how Buddhism has influenced the way in which the Burmese deal with difficult living conditions. This film is a portrait of a land where beauty and decay, and fear and courage, closely coexist.
*April 3 at 6:30pm at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center
**Q&A to follow with director Robert H. Leiberman
INDIE NIGHT
Film, Description & Schedule
Without. Mark Jackson, 2011, USA; 88m
Longing is one of the most powerful emotions in both life and cinema, altering the perception and interpretation of our experiences. Few films of any scale have captured the essence of longing as well as Mark Jackson’s debut feature, Without, does in both its form and content. The film’s economy of means helps to deliver a rare truth throughout its beautiful images, quiet tone and the mesmerizing introduction to star Josyln Jensen. Long after it has ended, this multiple prize-winning film still resonates: did we just live a love song, a ghost story, or a quiet thriller? Jackson delivers with his first outing what filmmakers strive for decades to achieve: the realest of real, the beauty of beauty and the sweet pain of a never-ending early love.
* March 6 at 8:00pm at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center
**Q&A to follow with director Mark Jackson
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Under the leadership of Rose Kuo, Executive Director, and Richard Peña, Program Director, the Film Society of Lincoln Center offers the best in international, classic and cutting-edge independent cinema. The Film Society presents two film festivals that attract global attention: the New York Film Festival, currently planning its 50th edition, and New Directors/New Films which, since its founding in 1972, has been produced in collaboration with MoMA. The Film Society also publishes the award-winning Film Comment Magazine, and for over three decades has given an annual award—now named “The Chaplin Award”—to a major figure in world cinema. Past recipients of this award include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, and Tom Hanks. The Film Society presents a year-round calendar of programming, panels, lectures, educational programs and specialty film releases at its Walter Reade Theater and the new state-of-the-art Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center.
The Film Society receives generous, year-round support from Royal Bank of Canada, 42BELOW, American Airlines, The New York Times, Stella Artois, the National Endowment for the Arts and New York State Council on the Arts. For more information, visit www.filmlinc.com
TRIBECA FILM ACQUIRES U.S. RIGHTS TO COLLABORATOR
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Summer Release Planned for Comedic Drama Starring Martin Donovan and David Morse
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Donovan’s Directorial Debut to Reach Nationwide Audiences After Well-Received Festival Run
New York, NY – February 27, 2012 – Tribeca Film announced today that it has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Martin Donovan’s directorial debut Collaborator, a comedic drama starring Donovan, David Morse, and Olivia Williams. Tribeca Film plans a summer release across multiple platforms for the film, which had its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where the film received the FIPRESCI International Critics’ Prize and Morse was awarded the Best Actor prize. The film also has screened to acclaim on the festival circuit at the Hamptons, Philadelphia, Flyway and Mill Valley film festivals. Entertainment One will handle select US home video distribution rights for the film.
Robert Longfellow (Martin Donovan, Insomnia, “Boss”, “Weeds”) is a famous playwright who has seen better days. His recent Broadway play landed with a thud and his marriage is being tested by the reemergence of an old flame (Olivia Williams, The Ghost Writer, Rushmore). But all of that pales in comparison to what happens when he crosses paths with a childhood neighbor, Gus (David Morse, The Green Mile, Dancer in the Dark, “Treme”). A right-wing, ex-con who still lives with his mother, Gus is Robert’s polar opposite in every way. The unlikely reunion quickly spirals out of control as Robert finds himself held hostage at gunpoint in his childhood home. The drama unfolds as social status, celebrity and the imminent threat of violence converge, building to a climax that will leave both men forever changed.
With an acclaimed acting career spanning over 20 years, including starring roles in a number of iconic Hal Hartley films beginning with Trust in 1990, Collaborator marks Martin Donovan’s first time behind the camera as a writer and director, and he makes the most of it in this riveting and insightful debut.
The film is produced by Julien Favre, Ted Hope, Luca Matrundola and Pascal Vaguelsy. Donovan wrote the screenplay.
“There is an undeniable intensity and intelligence propelling Collaborator, which is a trademark of Martin Donovan’s work,” said Geoff Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises. “The energy builds scene by scene on the strength of terrific acting by the great ensemble cast led by Martin and David Morse. We are delighted to be introducing this accomplished work to wider audiences through Tribeca Film.”
“The film is a tragi-comedy about America’s obsession with celebrity, violence and the class/cultural divide tossed into the pressure cooker of a hostage drama. David Morse and Olivia Williams embraced the humor and intensity of the piece and filled out the roles of Gus and Emma better than I could have ever dreamed,” said Donovan. “I’m thrilled to have Tribeca Film bringing Collaborator to American audiences. They’re on the cutting edge of 21st century film distribution and have both the resources and sensibility to make sure it is seen by as wide an audience as possible.”
The deal was negotiated for Tribeca Film by Nick Savva, Director of Acquisitions, with producer Ted Hope and Charlotte Mickie, Entertainment One’s EVP Films International.
