Film Festival Secrets

“At festival screenings in the Palais, folks are deadly serious, dressed to the nines and behave with a generally austere manner befitting the most respectful film-going audience in the world,” League said. “Just 100 meters away, appropriately through the back door of the same building, dozens of tiny rooms are outfitted with 6-foot screens, cheap video projectors and home-grade sound systems. This is the Marche du Film, where I spend the bulk of my time. Instead of tuxedos, folks are wearing sweat pants and T-shirts. Buyers are talking at full volume on cell phones during the screenings. At any given time,�one-third of the audience will be either texting or snoring. If a film doesn’t deliver in the first�five minutes, half of the room clears out and buyers move on to the next room. I start watching about eight movies a day; I usually finish�three of them. If you are a filmmaker with a movie in the [Market], do not attend your screenings. It might break your soul.”

James Rocchi interviews Fantastic Fest director Tim League for an exploration of the fascinating (and terrifying) Cannes March� du Film (Film Market).

The Vimeo Festival and Awards invites video creators throughout the world to submit their finest original online videos and then come celebrate as we award the best of the best. All the details on how to submit your videos, and/or buy tickets to the upcoming events, coming soon!

I’m not usually keen on online festivals but it looks as if Vimeo will be holding “real world” screenings as well for their awards in Fall 2010. Keep an eye on this one.

LightCube Video is seeking video and experimental film works exploring the themes of Freedom and Independence and their relation to Sustainability: societal, economic and environmental.

Chosen, curated videos will be exhibited at Visual Voice gallery in Montreal, and given online exposure and sales potential on LightCubevideo.com. Online digital formats will be specially formatted for fine art collectors or film distribution.

The FREEDOM SPARKS VIDEO AND FILM Festival will open July 1 (Canadian Independence Day) and run through the 4th of July, (American Independence Day) for two weeks.

THERE IS NO ENTRANCE FEE. Works will be curated by selected independent curators.
DEADLINE: May 30, 2010.

After several years of flying under the radar and letting competing showcases take root, the Boston Film Festival is getting organized early and seems ready to take off for its 26th edition.

Translated: the all-volunteer Independent Film Festival of Boston has been kicking the older festival’s ass. (Apparently a 19-year head start didn’t help.) I don’t know much about the fall festival but it seems to me Boston is a town big enough to support (at least) two quality indie film events each year. The current Boston FF site doesn’t give any insight as to the festival’s past programming, so I’ll be curious to see what they come up with for their 2010 slate.

It is with an extremely heavy heart that we are are posting this. After struggling for the past 18 months since the economic crisis, Gen Art has finally succumbed to the recession.

During this challenging time we did everything in our power to adjust our business to these new business realities by cutting costs and seeking out alternative funding solutions. However when a major, new, corporate partnership unexpectedly collapsed a few weeks ago, we found ourselves without sufficient resources or time to overcome this sudden and substantial loss of revenue. Their decision had the unintended effect of pushing Gen Art over the edge. We have now halted all operations, have let go all of our amazing staff, and shuttered the business that we hope was in some small way  was as close to your heart – as it was ours.

Gen Art’s New York-based film festival served as a small but intense launching pad for independent filmmakers. This is a tough one for folks like Jeff Abramson who were the collective heart of a scrappy arts organization, the likes of which are rapidly disappearing in the U.S.

This puts me in mind of an article by William Osborne about the differences in public funding for the arts between the U.S. and European countries. I realize it’s difficult to argue for increased arts funding when we can barely get our government to help keep its citizens alive, but it’s a conversation worth having.

De Niro colleague Jane Rosenthal stated the ongoing intention of Tribeca to offer “a diverse group of films to a wide group of audiences”—in other words, something for everyone. As a guiding mandate, that declaration rings hollow, especially within the context of the program itself. In a sense, Tribeca indeed has it all, from midsize, star-studded indies to far-flung international selections. But the lack of connectivity makes it difficult to find the movies that are worth a damn, especially since even the good ones tend to divide people.

IndieWire’s Eric Kohn spanks the Tribeca Film Festival for trying to please everyone all the time.