Seminars, Workshops & Events
Film Festival Scholarship and Professional Networks on the Rise
The Film Festival Academy and Film Festival Research Network are two examples of how scholars and festival professionals are sharing knowledge and tools.
February 24th, 2013 | Courtney SheehanAccording to Film Festival Academy co-founder Tomas Prasek, "I have seen so much useless competition in areas where collaboration would have benefited both parties...everybody says, ‘How do other festivals deal with that?’ and that's exactly what people should be asking through some kind of platform." He recently told The Independent's Courtney Sheehan why professionals could benefit from playing on the same team.
As international film festival circuits become increasingly visible online, scholarly interest in festivals as objects of study, particularly outside the US, continues to grow. At the same time, festival professionals are realizing the potential in forming collaborative partnerships through membership networks.
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Reasons for the Cutting Room Floor
Mike Sullivan learns some lessons from Hollywood editor Carol Littleton, at a new monthly film series in Boston.
December 19th, 2011 | Mike SullivanAn editor's technical toolbox may have changed since the 80s but there are still lessons to be learned from classic ensemble dramas like The Big Chill. All those adults in one kitchen, dancing? Editor Mike Sullivan caught up with editor Carol Littleton to ask how she cut that scene and about the significance of leaving Kevin Costner on the cutting room floor.
It’s not every day that you get an opportunity to speak with one of Hollywood’s premiere film editors. If you ever have the means, I would highly recommend it. For those in the Boston area, the means may be closer than you think.
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State of the Film Industry in Southeast Europe
Courtney Sheehan reports from the third annual Cinelink forum at the Sarajevo Film Festival.
September 19th, 2011 | Courtney SheehanTax incentives. Public and private funding. Transnational co-productions. During a year abroad to study regional film festivals and exhibition, Courtney Sheehan takes in Southeast Europe through the lens of presenters at the third annual industry Cinelink forum during the Sarajevo Film Festival.
For the past three years, film professionals from all over Southeast Europe have gathered at the Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) to discuss the state of the regional film industry during the Cinelink forum, the track of the festival established for that purpose.
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Beyond a Social Network
At SXSW, Steven Abrams explores the threads between technology, fundraising, and independent filmmaking.
March 24th, 2011 | Steven AbramsWhat's interactive to the third or fourth power? SXSW and its deepening relationship to all things tech and social media. Steve Abrams comments on how, at this year's fest, the intersection of social networking, fundraising, and technology affected the showcased films and which filmmakers are leading by example.
South by Southwest (SXSW) has become a convergence of film, interactive media, and music, as the lines between these media have increasingly blurred. So it's appropriate that David Dworsky and Victor Köhler's documentary, Press Play Pause, was chosen for an opening night premiere.
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Are Pitch Sessions the New Black?
Maddy Kadish investigates how not to swing and miss at your next local pitch session.
January 19th, 2011 | Maddy KadishPitch sessions are becoming the go-to attraction at film festivals and conferences.
Pitch sessions are becoming the go-to attraction at film festivals and conferences. How are filmmakers and expert panelists making the most of these meetings?
After attending a few sessions firsthand, The Independent asked film professionals for their input on how to maximize the pitch opportunity. Turns out the answers aren’t so simple. We spoke with:
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Greater Filmmaker Responsibility in the New Documentary Paradigms
Randi Cecchine challenges the documentary community to pull together, avoid the pratfalls of pleasing too many constituencies, and maintain open dialogue about the reality of getting docs funded and seen.
November 4th, 2010 | Randi CecchineIn anticipation of this month's Distribution U, hosted by IFP, The Independent's Randi Cecchine continues to investigate the changing landscape of documentary funding and distribution with notes from the field and a call for community.
Anyone who cares about documentary filmmaking wants to know: In the current post-financial crisis, insecure-industry environment, how can filmmakers fund projects and reach audiences when traditional distribution models have crumbled...when even established filmmakers can’t secure the kinds of distribution deals, broadcast partnerships or investment/foundation funders they used to rely on?
All Signs Point North
The Sixth Camden International Film Festival focuses on filmmakers’ growth as it grows in leaps and bounds itself.
September 29th, 2010 | Maddy KadishFor six years now Ben Fowlie has been luring the documentary world north to the Camden International Film Festival. They come for pitch opportunities, a seminar for film professionals, a semester-long partnership with the University Maine, and for docs that embrace an activist edge.
The Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) is a documentary-exclusive festival that takes place September 29th through October 3rd in a picturesque Maine coastal town. It’s a small, but growing festival founded six years ago by Ben Fowlie, who also programs and coordinates the event.
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Taking the Temp of SXSW 2010
Steven Abrams wonders if SXSW 2010 premiered Oscar's best picture, as it did in 2009.
March 27th, 2010 | Steven AbramsThis year's SXSW did not disappoint The Independent's Steven Abrams. Just in case you couldn't make it to Austin this year, he gives the low-down on which films grabbed coveted audience buzz, and which took home awards.
The fact that Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker made its US premiere one year ago at SXSW upped the intrigue this year, prompting me to wonder if one of 2010's 134 features or 126 shorts would achieve that rarefied status.
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Has the Drive to Fund "Social Issue" Docs Affected Their Form?
In surveying more than a year of films and filmmaker interviews, Randi Cecchine decides that yes, funding streams can influence form, and the difference between the US and foreign models may surprise you.
March 4th, 2010 | Randi CecchineUS docmakers may feel pressed by funders to change the world with every film. The Independent's Randi Cecchine asks how is that mandate influencing docs' form, and what happens when funding models drastically differ, as they do abroad?
Over the past few years, I've had the pleasure of attending a number of film festivals and conferences, some with a press pass blogging for The Independent, some as a filmmaker; and each time I watch films, attend panel discussions, and most importantly, speak to documentary filmmakers to learn about their creative practice and the realities of producing.
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The Future of Public Media: Talking with Pat Aufderheide
July 10th, 2008 | Randi CecchineAt SILVERDOCS 2008, writer Randi Cecchine talks with Pat Aufderheide, founder and director of the Center for Social Media at American University, about moving their Beyond Broadcast conference to SILVERDOCS, unraveling the complexities of fair use, and taking on the future of public media.
At SILVERDOCS 2008, writer Randi Cecchine talks with Pat Aufderheide, founder and director of the Center for Social Media at American University, about moving their Beyond Broadcast conference to SILVERDOCS, unraveling the complexities of fair use, and taking on the future of public media.
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