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How Filmmakers Can Beat the Recession
From freelance work to virtual tip jars, The Independent examines the different ways that filmmakers can put their creativity to use for financial survival.
June 29th, 2009 | Sean Jones
The Independent's Sean Jones investigates some innovative and useful ideas to help cash-strapped filmmakers survive through difficult times. From free distribution for films to virtual tip jars, The Independent examines the different ways that filmmakers can put their creativity to use for financial survival during the recession.
As the recession continues to cast a shadow on the American economy, Hollywood studios are emerging as one of the few success stories. Audiences seeking an entertaining reprieve from layoffs and pay cuts are bringing theaters increased ticket sales and revenue and giving the film industry a "recession proof" reputation.
Blogging CineVegas: From the Wild Weekend to Closing Night
An inside look at the films, Q&As, promotions and local flare at CineVegas 2009.
June 22nd, 2009 | Jessica Tripp
The Independent's Jessica Tripp bypasses the sold out 500 Days of Summer and opts for a screening of Patriotville (view a clip here), a series of locally-made shorts, which can be viewed online here, and Asylum Seekers (view the trailer here) and, after a crazy Vegas weekend, ends the festival, with a low-key drive-in screening on Fremont Street.
In grand Vegas tradition, CineVegas really heated up for the weekend. Theaters became more and more crowded as locals and visitors joined the press and film students that had been watching faithfully since Wednesday.
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Blogging SilverDocs: The Centerpiece Screening
Blogger Enette Ngoei attends the Centerpiece Screeing of AJ Schnack's "Convention."
June 18th, 2009 | Enette Ngoei
Independent blogger Enette Ngoei is forced to choose between the many nighttime screenings offered at SilverDocs this year. Going back and forth between AJ Schnack's Convention, Peter Greenaway's Act of God (view the trailer here) and Oded Adomi Leshem's Voices from El-Sayed (view the trailer here), she makes a snap decision to go with the Centerpiece Screening of Convention and gets an inside look at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
Limited by a day job, I was confined to picking one of the 122 nighttime screenings at SilverDocs 2009 and, not knowing much about any of them, my decision was a bit of a gamble.
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Blogging SilverDocs: The Filmmakers
Q&As with four of the filmmakers screening at SilverDocs this year.
June 17th, 2009 | Randi Cecchine
The Independent's Randi Cecchine talks to four filmmakers screening at SilverDocs this month, and with subjects ranging from extreme attempts to reduce a carbon footprint, to a Romanian teenagers run-in with Sacha Baron Cohen, this preview gives a taste of the subjects and variety that SilverDocs has to offer this year. Read interviews with the directors of No Impact Man, Off and Running (view the trailer here), Carmen Meets Borat (view a clip from the film here), and Long Distance.
This week I’ll be heading to SilverDocs Documentary Film Festival and International Documentary Conference in Silver Spring, MD outside of Washington, DC.
I interviewed four filmmakers via e-mail before the festival and I look forward to meeting up with them and asking more questions at SilverDocs.
Long Distance
Moritz Siebert
28 min. | United Kingdom
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Blogging CineVegas: An Introduction to the Festival
A look at the films, parties and panels at the CineVegas Film Festival.
June 15th, 2009 | Jessica Tripp
Las Vegas is known for being over the top, so of course nothing less can be expected for its film festival. This year CineVegas showcases films from all over the world as well as local talent, like Kerry Prior, whose horror film, The Revenant (view the trailer here), had its world premiere at CineVegas. The Independent's Jessica Tripp blogs from the festival for a Vegas tell-all, from the Q&As to the after parties.
A god lands in a Nevada Suburb. The mentally insane compete for the last bed in a fancy asylum. A dead man rises for a joyride in a Camaro. Yes, it's just another day at CineVegas at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas.
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The Write Way: An Interview with Pamela Cuming and Lee Ross of "Downloading Nancy"
Screenwriters Lee Ross and Pamela Cuming discuss their writing process, recent screenings and how the film has been recieved so far.
June 9th, 2009 | Joi R. Wheatley
After a film finds success, the industry usually lauds the miraculous execution of the director and the cast. Yet, often ignored are those who actually crafted the story: the writers. The Independent’s, Joi R. Wheatley, taps into the ingenious minds of Pamela Cuming and Lee Ross who wrote the dark, intense, drama Downloading Nancy, which was recently screened at the Seattle International Film Festival. The film, starring Maria Bellow and Jason Patric, follows a middle-aged wife who orders a man she met on the Internet to kill her so she can escape from her unhappy life (view the trailer here). Cuming and Lee discuss how the idea became a script, why it’s important to produce and direct your own projects, and what’s next for this writing duo.
After a film finds success, the industry usually lauds the miraculous execution of the director and the cast. Yet, often ignored are those who actually crafted the story: the writers. The Independent’s, Joi R.
Distributor FAQ: Udy Epstein of Seventh Art Releasing
Ten years since their last interview with The Independent, co-founder Udy Epstein talks about the changing face of Seventh Art Releasing
June 10th, 2009 | Emily Cataneo
In June 1999, The Independent asked Seventh Art Releasing where the company would be in ten years (read the original interview here). They answered, “Still open for business doing films we like.” And Seventh Art has done just that. And though there have been some changes, Epstein insists that despite the technological and economic turmoil of the past ten years, the company’s original vision has stayed the same. Exactly a decade after the last interview, The Independent’s Emily Cataneo sits down with co-founder Udy Epstein to find out what those changes are.
Seventh Art Releasing is a distributor and sales company founded in 1994 by Jonathan Cordish and Udy Epstein. The company is known for distributing award-winning documentaries and fiction films, many dealing with Jewish culture, lesbian and gay issues, human rights, music, and popular culture.
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