We are on the verge of a new film culture and infrastructure.
The Kitchen Sisters (Davia Nelson & Nikki Silva) are holding their Interviewing & Recording Workshop in New York City on Wednesday, September 17 from 10am to 1pm at WNYC Radio. The three-hour session is designed for people who want to acquire and hone their skills for an array of audio projects: radio, online, podcasts, storytelling, oral histories, audio slideshows, family histories, news, investigative reporting, documentaries and other multimedia platforms.
American TV is written for the most part by (white) men. The same applies to American movies, as well as European movies and European TV. Is it then a surprise that male characters outnumber females at least 3 to 1, even though females comprise over 50% of the population? Even more staggering is the fact that this ratio remains the same since 1946! According to Stacy Smith of the USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, 80.5% of all working characters are male and 19.5% are female – in contrast, of course, to real world statistics, where women comprise 50% of the workforce.
Indie filmmakers must change how they do things. Too many filmmakers’ actions are predicated on antiquated business practices. These old ways limit a filmmaker’s ability to build audiences and earn revenue. It is time for a serious change.
We now live in an era of cultural abundance and all of our practices need to take this into account. Audiences are overwhelmed with demands and options on their leisure time. It is harder than ever to get people to commit to doing anything. If you accept this is a reality why would you take your film to a film festival (other than the five leading market ones) without having your next steps well planned?
Film festivals have done an incredible job aggregating their local film loving communities. They have invested years into becoming trusted curatorial brands to that local audience. Yet festivals have many challenges — and I witnessed this first hand last year when I ran the San Francisco Film Society.
Most festivals have very limited bandwidth. They are committed to running their successful legacy programs. Even when they have experienced attendance drops or limited growth, they find it challenging to launch new programs and revenue streams for fear that their historic offerings might suffer. They can barely do all that currently do, let alone increase their capacity. Every non-profit suffers from financial limits, often operating with next to no cash reserves. How can they change with the times or expand their offerings?
Africa in film is on the rise. There is an explosion of filmmakers and storytellers emerging from the continent with a global vision that reflects the realities of contemporary life – rapid urbanization, internet-enabled mobile phones and satellite TV in middle-class African homes. These filmmakers have burning and powerful stories they wish to tell and share with the world and these stories are as compelling and diverse as the continent, its inhabitants and its history. Therefore audiences, eager for distinct content, are turning to Africa.
I have a lot to share with you. I also have a lot of hope for film — and I am not just talking about copies of my book for you to pick up. Anyway, you can hear it all directly from me as I will be on the road a lot over these next few months. Hopefully I will be coming to your town. If you happen to teach at a college, and I am coming through already, let me know, and maybe I can make an additional stop. If I am not passing through, and you’d like me to, let me know. Here’s a sampling of where I will be headed as well as the dates:
If the first two excerpts from my book have got you hooked, you can get a new fix courtesy of Variety.
