We’re excited to announce that FHTA will becoming to NYC this week for a special three day engagement. All 22 films will be screening. In addition to the theatrical screenings there will be a series of virtual screenings . When we set out to experiment with a “day and date” festival model, we hoped that the filmmakers would embrace the collaborative aspects of the concept. At the heart of FHTA …

Chris Holland author of the “Film Festival Secrets: A Handbook for Independent Filmmakers.” Holland’s new book takes readers behind the scenes of the festival process and offers some insight into the process. The book is available as a free PDF download, via a free online vieweronline and can also be purchased in print form.
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The following reading recommendations come from the newest addition to …

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Lisa Salem reports – When David Hastings’ play ONE SMALL STEP was taken up to the Assembly Rooms at the Edinburgh Festival this month – the festival’s most respected venue – the outlook was quite pragmatic: take the show up there, expect a financial loss but gather thy reviews and hope they harvest into eyeballs and cash in the form of a UK tour of the play over the …

Over the next few days we’ll be posting various videos from the DIY DAYS LA event. The day consisted of a number of keynotes (Robert Greenwald, Marshall Herskovitz), panels (Tommy Pallotta, Femke Wolting, Alex Johnson, Micki Krimmel, Mark Stolaroff, Ondi Timoner, Hunter Weeks, Saskia Wilson-Brown), case studies (M dot Strange, Arin Crumley, Lance Weiler), a series of special video presentations (Matt Hanson, Brett Gaylor, Brian Chirls, Christy Dena, Timo Vuorensola) …

This edition of TCIBR is brought to you by IndieFlix and Breakthrough Distribution – Our guest today is Ondi Timoner writer / director of the critically acclaimed doc DiG. Ondi’s most recent film, Join US is an intimate look at cults and mind control. Over the course of the discussion Ondi was very candid about the distribution of both her films and how the landscape for Docs has changed in …

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This edition of TCIBR is brought to you by IndieFlix and Breakthrough Distribution – Today we are joined by writer and director Steve Balderson. Often working from his home state of Kansas, Steve is a strong proponent of DIY filmmaking and the fact that movies can be made anywhere. He has written and directed narrative features (Pep Squad, Firecracker) and docs (Wamego: Making Movies Anywhere, Phone Sex). In our discussion, …

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Power to the Pixel is a conference that focuses on funding, producing and distributing films in the digital age. The next edition of PTTP will be held in Paris this coming June. Liz Rosenthal the founder of PTTP was kind of enough to share the following video. Please feel free to embed and spread.

The final Power to the Pixel session brings together five pioneering filmmakers who are reinventing the …

We’re happy to introduce another contributor to the Workbook Project. Steve Balderson is a DIY filmmaking machine. He self funds, produces, and releases his own films. Some of the films have been shot on 35mm and others on miniDV. He’s taken his work on tour and staged his own “freakshows” in cities across the country. We’re excited to have him join the project and if you happen to live in …

For those of you who don’t know FROM HERE TO AWESOME is an extension of the workbook project. In the spirit of bringing an open source philosophy to various parts of the filmmaking process, FHTA is focused on education, discovery and distribution. Over the next few months leading up to the festival’s kick off in Paris on June 3rd, FHTA is constructing a series of vids that detail the current …

Tom Quinn reports – The morning after our grand jury prize was announced at Slamdance was crazy. I woke up sick as a dog and had to clean the condo before catching a shuttle at 11. The place was a mess and I was coming down with a Park City flu. In my rush to pack, I foolishly used dish soap in the dishwasher and suds began …

Recently, I’ve found myself a bit obsessed with the concept of lifestreams. Granted the concept has been around for awhile but what I’ve found most interesting is how a lifestream could be applied to the discovery and promotion of films.
The term Lifestream is associated with creating a digital timeline of your life. They usually include blog entries that you’ve written, photos you’ve taken, text messages you’ve sent or received, bookmarks …

Scott Kirsner of CinemaTech talks with Brian Chirls (filmmaker, technologist, self-distribution pioneer and workbook project contributor) about building audiences and harnessing the power of the internet.
Scott writes “Last Wednesday, I had a chance to sit down for a few minutes with Brian Chirls, the tech guru who helped Arin Crumley and Susan Buice build an audience for ‘Four Eyed Monsters.’ More recently, he has been working with John Sayles on …

Tom Quinn reports – I flew home to Philly on Saturday and brought a wicked cold with me so am behind on this post, but we had some great news this weekend: The New Year Parade took the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative at Slamdance 2008!! We couldn’t be more thrilled or humbled. Some terrific reviews went up this week as well:
VARIETY: “Because Quinn …

This edition of TCIBR is brought to you by IndieFlix and Breakthrough Distribution – Over the holiday break we recorded two editions of TCIBR that looked back on 2007 and forward to 2008. In part one we took a look at the year in digital entertainment. In part two we focus on films and distribution trends. Mark Stolaroff of the No Budget Film School and Paul Harrill of Self Reliant …

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So, we’ve been in Park City for five days now and my head is spinning. We premiered the film on Saturday and had a great crew in town: Jen Welsh, who plays Kat, Greg Lyons, who plays Jack, my finance Beth, high school pal Tom Bilotta, and Greg’s ECC bandmate, Josh Ostrander. Of course, 10AM on a Saturday is a difficult slot – especially after a ton of great parties …

The news of deals being struck is beginning to filter out of Park City. But behind the deal making that has become legendary is the reality of having to deliver the film. Long after the buzz has dwindled producers will start the long haul of delivery. For some outlets it can be minor but for others it can be a labyrinth that will take money from you at every turn.
It …

Tom Quinn reports – I fell behind on the blog this week because we are working to get our assets together for Park City. Everything is lining up really well and the mounting interest has been exciting. It’s shaping up to be a great premiere on the 19th!
Most recent news first: My good friend and designer Matt Hanemann just sent me the poster artwork at 2AM. …

This edition of TCIBR is brought to you by IndieFlix and Breakthrough Distribution – Our guest today is doc filmmaker Don Argott. Don exploded onto the scene with his feature debut Rock School, an entertaining doc about the Paul Green School of Rock. Rock School was acquired by Picture House for a low seven figure advance out of the LA Film Festival. For his newest doc Two Days in April …

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We’ve been working on a new social experiment for the last six months and this coming Thursday it will take its first steps. From Here to Awesome is a discovery and distribution festival. The hope is that by bringing together audiences, films, promotional partners and distribution outlets, FHTA can create opportunities for filmmakers that enable them to control their own rights and receive a direct financial return from their work. …

Tom Quinn reports – When the call came in for Slamdance, we were initially caught off guard. I had submitted a very rough cut in September and assumed we’d be passed over. I planned to lock picture in December, affording a few months to mix the film and wrap any loose ends before the spring festival slate. Fortunately, the programmers saw through our rough cut and we found ourselves with …

Tom Quinn reports – With Slamdance only a month away, I thought it may be worth detailing the process of prepping THE NEW YEAR PARADE for its Park City premiere. Fortunately for us, the IFP Narrative Rough Cut Lab had prepped us on dealing with distributors, sales agents, and planning our festival strategy. But even with their guidance, I found myself initially overwhelmed by the tidal wave that hit last …

We hear this all the time. It’s about who you know. Most professions in life seem to benefit from networking, but in filmmaking it is about as important as it gets. And getting out to network can become very difficult when you are spending weeks and months in the edit room and have devoted your entire income – plus whatever you can muster up on your credit cards – on …

* PROJECTS
Esther Robinson’s debut feature, A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory is a touching and deeply personal cinematic journey. The doc centers on her Uncle Danny who was a talented filmmaker and Andy Warhol’s lover. In 1966, Danny mysteriously disappeared. The film’s subjects include Andy Warhol, Edie Sedgwick, Paul Morrissey, Brigid Berlin, Billy Name and what may be the earliest known footage of the …

One of the goals of the Workbook, is to create a “social open source” project that encourages content creators to share information with one another. Yesterday we held the first in a series of discussions around the current state of the industry. A group of filmmakers came together at the IFP’s NYC offices for some food and conversation.
Participants included: Josh Zeman, Zachary Mortensen, Esther Robinson, Doug Block, Ry Russo …

This edition of TCIBR is brought to you by IndieFlix and Breakthrough Distribution – Our guest today is Ira Deutchman, an industry veteran who founded New Line Features. While at New Line Features Deutchman aquired and released films such as; Jim Jarmusch’s “Night on Earth,” Robert Altman’s “The Player” and “Short Cuts,” Roman Polanski’s “Bitter Moon” and “Death and the Maiden,” Mike Leigh’s “Naked,” and the …

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If you’ve never dealt with trying to get into film festivals and that’s in the plans, go buy Chris Gore’s

This edition of TCIBR is brought to you by IndieFlix – Our guest this week is producer and co-founder of Ghost Robot, Zachary Mortensen. Ghost Robot has been producing independent features, shorts, and music videos for the last five years. In our discussion Zach shares his experience with producing, getting the most out of test screenings and the importance of building a solid web presence for your work.

Special Note: Today …

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This edition of TCIBR is brought to you by IndieFlix – Our guest this week is Scott Macaulay. Scott is a producer and co-president of Forensic Films in addition to being the editor of Filmmaker Magazine. Scott along with his producing partner Robin O’Hara have been a driving force within the independent film scene since the early 90’s. Forensic has produced films like Gummo, Julien Donkey Boy, Raising Victor Vargas, …

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This edition of “TCIBR” is brought to you by IndieFlix – Tiffany Shlain is a writer, director, and producer of innovative short form work. Her most recent project THE TRIBE, is an unorthodox, unauthorized short film about Jewish people and the Barbie doll. Tiffany and her team have been able to reach their audience in an interesting and unique way that is returning a profit and engaging audiences around the …

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This past weekend Arin Crumley of Four Eyed Monsters and myself did a panel about all things DIY called “Fast Forward – Filmmakers Seize Control.” The Vancouver International Film Festival held a special one week forum around the art and craft of filmmaking. Brian Chirls of FEM was kind of enough to man the camera – he had done a viral marketing panel earlier in the week.
Big thanks to the …

Tom Quinn reports – After an amazing week at the IFP Market and Conference, I am prepping my film for Friday’s Sundance submission deadline. The six days spent in New York were all remarkable thanks to months of hard work by the IFP staff, especially Amy Dotson who programmed the Lab and Emerging Narrative sections. Here’s a quick overview of our week:

Lab fellows with John Sayles …

Our guest today is filmmaker Jon Reiss. Jon has made a number of features, both fiction (Cleopatra’s Second Husband) and non-fiction (Better Living Through Circuitry and Bomb It). For his latest film, Bomb It he traveled to 5 continents to document graffiti culture. In our discussion Jon shares how he funded, traveled and is looking beyond the festival circuit to bring his work to audiences around the world.

To find out …

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Our guests today are festival programmers Doug Jones (LA Film Fest) and Matt Dentler (SXSW). Doug and Matt share their insights into the festival process and how filmmakers can best prepare for their journey on the festival circuit.

For more info on Doug and the LA Film Fest click here.

For more info on Matt and SXSW click here and here.

To listen NOW click the play button below.

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Today we are joined by writer / director Tom Wilson. Tom has made two feature films They Shoot Movies Don’t They and Sleep Across America. In our discussion we cover a wide range of topics such as mock docs, self distribution and working with sponsors.

For more on Tom Wilson and his work click here.

To listen NOW click the play button below.

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In this editon of “TCIBR” we are joined by two established documentary producers / directors – Esther Robinson (A Walk Into the Sea, Home Page) and Doug Block (The Heck with Hollywood, Home Page, 51 Birch Street). Today’s discussion is devoted to the art and craft of the documentary. A range of topics are covered such as; fundraising, producing, festivals, distribution and the importance of community.

For more …

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Cutting through the static
by Lance Weiler
Last November the internet hit a major milestone, over a 100 million sites with registered domain names and active content. The web is considered to be the great equalizer for filmmakers, one which promises cost effective promotion and distribution. But where do you start and what’s the best way to design a cost effective online promotional campaign that can help you build an audience for …

Today’s guest is filmmaker Joe Swanberg. Over the last three years Joe has made four features Kissing on the Mouth, LOL, Hannah takes the Stairs, Nights and Weekends and a web series for Nerve called Young American Bodies. He makes personal lo-fi films with a core of collaborators (Mark Duplass, Andrew Bujalski, Greta Gerwig, Kent Osborne, Ry Russo-Young, Kevin Bewersdorf and Todd Rohal) similar in approach to the way John …

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