And I mean that with all the love I have for the world.
Let’s be frank:
What are you waiting for? Don’t ask for permission. Don’t wait to be discovered. And don’t expect to get any help. Who needs it?
Now in it’s 28th year, the Film Independent Spirit Awards recognize the achievements of American independent filmmakers and promotes the finest independent films of the year to a wider audience.
Regular deadline is tomorrow: September 18
SUBMIT TODAY
Final Deadline: October 16
For entry forms, rules and regulations, frequenty asked questions and to submit a film, visit SpiritAwards.com
Film Independent is now accepting submissions for the Wildfire Post-Production Sound Grant, a complimentary Sound Mix provided by Wildfire Post-Production Studios on a feature film project selected by Film Independent Artist Development.
To be eligible, applicants must be either Film Independent Fellows, alumni of the Los Angeles Film Festival or Spirit Awards nominees/winners. Film Independent will award this grant on or before November 1, 2012.
Value of services: $40,000. Fulfillment of services is to be scheduled anytime before March 31, 2013, with the exception of the month of January 2013.
To be considered for the Wildfire Post Production Sound Grant, qualifying filmmakers must apply on the Film Independent website. Applicants must complete the online application form, which includes:
DVD of the film (rough cut or final cut) must be received by October 8, 2012
Film Independent employs the following guidelines in making its selections:
Film Independent staff will select the winner of the award, oversee the administration of the award to the winning filmmaker and will monitor the services rendered.
If you have questions or need more information, please contact Jennifer Kushner, Director of Artist Development: jkushner@filmindependent.org
If we didn’t have the Indie Film support organizations, you wouldn’t have indie films in the theater. Cinereach, IFP, Film Independent, SxSW, Tribeca, Sundance, and yes, my new home, the San Francisco Film Society — it takes more than a village; it takes a freakin’ army.
The proof is in the pudding. Look at all the films in theaters this week. All these films were discovered at Sundance and supported by these various organizations. Where would they be without them? And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. And just the start. If you don’t go see them — and soon — our very culture will be threatened!
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD written by Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar and directed by Benh Zeitlin
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/beastsofthesouthernwild/
HELLO I MUST BE GOING written by Sarah Koskoff and directed by Todd Louiso
http://hello.oscilloscope.net/
KEEP THE LIGHTS ON written by Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias and directed by Ira Sachs
http://keepthelightsonfilm.com/
LITTLE BIRDS written and directed by Elgin James
SLEEPWALK WITH ME written by Mike Birbiglia, Seth Barrish, and Joe Birbiglia and directed by Mike Birbiglia and Seth Barrish
http://www.sleepwalkmovie.com/
COMPLIANCE written and directed by Craig Zobel
http://www.magpictures.com/compliance/
THE WORDS written and directed by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal
Today’s guest post is once again courtesy of Jon Reiss. Back before Jon wrote the book on DIY distro in the digi age (literally), he and I started brainstorming on the need for a marketing & distribution lab for filmmakers, somewhat modeled on the existing screenwriting & directing labs that many organizations run. We had some real specific goals on this and pitched it to several key entities. Everyone wanted to do it, and I believe everyone still wants to do it. Money and time still are limited supply though, and our dreams have been deferred. Yet, the initial steps have been taken by a couple of organizations, and most recently Film Independent put together: Seize The Power last weekend. Jon’s post below, is a bit of an extension from that remarkable collection of speakers and participants and information.
I heard a number of comments after this weekend’s LAFF Seize the Power Symposium that people where overwhelmed – that their brain’s had been fried by so many ideas and so much information. To me that’s a sign that we succeeded. When Film Independent and the Los Angeles Film Festival asked me to help them devise the Symposium (and accompanying Distribution Boot Camp for competition filmmakers) we were in immediate agreement that the event would focus on: 1. Nuts and bolts practical information for filmmakers. 2. Forward thinking thought leaders indicating what the future might be. 3. Practical case studies of filmmakers who were using the new tools of distribution and marketing. We wanted to avoid people sitting on a panel rehashing how we got here. I also get the same brain-fry feedback when I give my weekend workshops – and I’m delighted. This is what I suggest to people:
1. Focus on the Inspiration and Creative Potential
We are now treated to another Jon Reiss guest post. Jon holds the world record for the most comments on a single TrulyFreeFilm post, but he is one of our New Model Gurus, helping to pave the path to the emergence of a sustainable Artist/Creator Middle Class. We he speaks, I listen.
Two weeks ago I wrote a guest post here about the need to educate filmmakers on distribution and marketing their films. This weekend the Los Angeles Film Festival is hosting a truly wonderful event which I am proud to have developed in collaboration with LAFF and Film Independent (with strong push and support from Ted): Seize the Power: A Marketing and (DIY)stribution Symposium.
The Symposium is designed to focus on the nuts and bolts solutions to the current distribution and marketing malaise plaguing our industry. The intention is to provide an introduction to a wealth of new tools for filmmakers (and all artists/media content creators) as well as strategic guidance from many of the key practitioners and thought leaders in our field. It is an antidote to the concerns of too much talk talk talk on this subject with little true education.
In addition there is a non-public component that you can participate in via twitter. I will be giving a distribution and marketing boot camp to the LAFF competition filmmakers Friday June 18th 9am – 12:30pm and 2:30pm – 5pm and Saturday June 19th from 9am-11:30am. All times PST. We will be tweeting bullet points on #totbo We have done this in the workshops I have given in the past month – and we have found that people around the world start to participate and chime in – creating a global discussion around these topics.
The Symposium: Starting Saturday afternoon at 1pm – Ted kicks it off with a presentation on the need for the artist entrepreneur to encourage filmmakers to think expansively about their creative output in order to create sustainable careers.
Film Independent sent out the following email:
We have spent the last ten years making the Film Financing Conference an invaluable experience for filmmakers, and as the industry is swept by very significant changes, we want to rise up to meet those changes with programs that meet filmmaker needs at this moment. With that in mind, the Los Angeles Film Festival has created Seize the Power: A Marketing and (DIY)stribution Symposium, a new program specifically designed to help filmmakers navigate marketing and distribution in the growing age of new media and to promote an open dialogue on the impact and exciting possibilities the changes in our industry bring.
