You made a great film. Now give it a great run.
Sugar rush hour from Bianca Consunji on Vimeo.
This is admirable filmmaking: a documentary exactly as long as it needs to be, and not a second more. There are filmmakers out there who would try to make a feature-length doc out of this but documentarian Bianca Consunji sums up a man’s life in two exquisite minutes. I don’t know if this was submitted to film festivals but it could play a ton of them.
At some point in the near future I may write up a semi-serious response to this video, but for now – just watch.
A thoughtful, fascinating look at the history of creativity and innovation. This is part three of a series comprising four ten- (or so) minute episodes. See them all at everythingisaremix.info.
Ronen’s Adventure: Trapped in an iPhone from Ronen V on Vimeo.
Clever, clever stuff from Ronen V in New York. I quite like one of his other videos too: How to Cook Beef Stroganoff and Fight Off a Ninja.
Thanks to @rebfef for the link.
This documentary short was posted to YouTube about a year ago but it’s taken a while for it to reach my notice. In the film, doc filmmakers Steve Rosen and Terry DiBono chronicle what they expect to be an exciting and productive trip to the Swansea Bay International Film Festival to exhibit their doc feature, Boyhood Shadows. Unfortunately they (and other filmmakers depicted in the short) felt that the festival failed to deliver on its promises.
Of course this is the story of a festival as viewed through the eyes of these filmmakers, but it certainly seems like a haphazard event that doesn’t represent the good that festivals can do. There are always filmmakers who feel entitled to certain perks from festivals but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. The loss of both Michael Sheen and Catherine Zeta Jones as festival patrons doesn’t bode well either. It’s too bad – Swansea Bay seems like a beautiful place to attend a festival.
(Shameless plug – the 7 Days to a Festival Strategy Seminar includes a section on how to spot scam festivals.)
Audience reaction videos are common in Hollywood film advertising, but you rarely see them for indie films. With a little bit of preparation, however, you can use an enthusiastic audience fresh from a screening to build buzz for your film.
It seems to be working for my clients Joke & Biagio, who made Dying to Do Letterman – after their sold-out screenings at Cinequest they went on to win the audience award at that festival. Then they did it again at the Cleveland Film Fest. I hear they have more festival screenings on the way.
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Dying to do Letterman: Audience Reactions at Cinequest from Joke and Biagio on Vimeo.
The Ballad of Friday and June (2009) from Jollyville Pictures on Vimeo.
This was a big favorite of mine on the festival circuit last year. It’s short, funny, poignant, heartfelt, and other adjectives that mean “wonderful.”
Now you can watch it in its entirety online and see what I mean.
Jennifer Amman, Festival Production Manager for the Telluride Film Festival, leaves her position with this rather public message. I’ve never met Jennifer or been to Telluride, but the video provides a glimpse into the problems (and backstage tensions) that exist at many film festivals these days. Sponsors are harder to come by these days and money is tight all over. It’s tempting to side automatically with Jennifer, but as Sarasota Film Festival programming director Tom Hall rightfully points out:
. . . cutbacks to festival budgets are an absolute reality right now, and that one of the main issues facing any non-profit at this time is setting new, adjusted priorities and getting organizational buy-in for those changes. I don’t think there is anyone working at festival today, from a Board President to a volunteer, who has faced down a change to the landscape and hasn’t thought to themselves “This is the last straw.” I know I have, I know everyone has; it’s all part of being under-paid, over-worked and deeply passionate about the integrity of the event you’re putting on.
That said, finding savings in the morning meals of your volunteers (if true) makes you an easy target for ridicule.
Film Festival Secrets: A Handbook for Independent Filmmakers
Written especially for people trying to navigate the film festival circuit. Start reading now or buy a copy of your very own.