December 2007

Taking an Abstract Idea and Creating a Narrative

mike — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:00:00 -0600

King Corn is a slightly apocalyptic documentary that explores where we come from—or where our food comes from, at the very least. By interweaving a filmmaker-as-subject story of two guys, a cornfield, and some ammonia fertilizer with disparate elements, the film expertly tackles the complicated overarching issues related to farming subsidies in the United States.

A Loving Riff on Punk Life in Tokyo

mike — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 14:53:19 -0600

The first time Pamela Valente, 37, set foot in Tokyo, she was instantly swept away. The Brazilian-born filmmaker, who’d been living in France for more than a decade, loved Paris, but longed to return to live in a city where the pace was more frenetic. So in 2003, she up and moved to Tokyo.

The Doc Doctor's Anatomy of a Film: "Rock and a Heart Place"

michele — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Case Study No. 2

Rock and a Heart Place, produced by Nancy Sabino and Michael Sodano
Running time: 80 minutes

Film Vitals

Logline: Each Christmas, 400 volunteers band together to give the greatest gift: joy to the forgotten of society, the homeless, the seniors and the disabled of their neighborhood.

Understanding the School Market: From Astronomy to STDs

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:00:00 -0600

Running a family business. Keeping children’s education first. Staying independent through increased corporate consolidation amidst a radical overhaul of the way film and video is distributed. Given all of that idealism, it may seem that educational film and video distributor Landmark Media has its work cut out for it.

"Writer Interruptus" A Writers' Strike Screenplay

michele — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:31:30 -0600

INT. STUDY - DAY

A WRITER sits at his desk, hunched over a keyboard. He types in a few words; we see over his shoulder the words are FADE TO BLACK.

The Trailer for "Rock 'n Tokyo"

mike — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 14:58:40 -0600

Trailer for "Rock and a Heart Place"

michele — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 16:05:26 -0600

Trailer for "King Corn"

michele — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 16:02:18 -0600

A Filmmaker's Holiday Gift Guide

David_Tames — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 23:57:55 -0600

Still out there hitting the stores? If you haven't known exactly what to ask for this holiday season, if you haven't yet managed to find the perfect gift for the independent filmmaker in your life—or if you're taking this opportunity to shop a little bit for yourself, too—here are some ideas for gifts ranging from stocking stuffers starting at $23 to big presents priced as high as $2,600.