Indie Films Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Survival Tips for the Aging Independent Filmmaker
Filed under: Classics », Drama », Independent », DIY/Filmmaking », Cinematical Indie »
No one likes to be called "aging" or, God forbid, "old," but it happens to the best of us eventually. The years go by and your mind gets a little fuzzy, the music gets a little too loud from those darn kids next door and if your an independent filmmaker, you might start to wonder why you struggle each year, barely making a living, producing or directing films most people may never see. At some point it has to hit you that doing this for the rest of your life is a much shorter trip than it used to be.A recent New York Times story takes a good look at the "aging" independent filmmakers out there who, with their work, and struggle to find work, help define exactly what it means to be an independent filmmaker. As the article states, many of them toil in virtual obscurity, producing films that are lucky to find a home on the festival circuit, let alone a place at the local multiplex or in your DVD player. Even the ones that have achieved some measure of success in the past are having a much harder time of it in the modern filmmaking world.
People like Hal Hartley, Mary Harron, Todd Solondz, Lisa Cholodenko, Jim Jarmusch and even indie-godfather John Sayles (his Lone Star and Matewan, both featuring the fantastic Chris Cooper, are two of my favorite films of all time) are having to make films for far less money than before, take jobs doctoring scripts for others (in Sayles' case) or they are forced to leave the business completely. Some directors, like Cholodenko and Harron, are even resorting to -- gasp -- directing TV to make ends meet. It's not exactly in keeping with their indie film street cred but heck, it pays the bills. And according to Harron, directing TV is also a great "corrective" for a director's ego. Something that many directors could probably use every so often.
Filmmakers on filmmaking - Indie Features 06
Filed under: Independent », Scripts », Distribution », DIY/Filmmaking », Movie Marketing », Cinematical Indie »
Filmmaker Sujewa Ekanayake has started Indie Features 06, a group blog for indie filmmakers with feature films
in (or soon to be in) distribution. The set-up is kind of loosely based on the indieWIRE blogs and GreenCine
Daily, two of our fave film sites. The idea is that the participating filmmakers can either write posts to Indie
Features 06, or point to posts in their own blogs. They'll be talking about film related stuff, the fun of getting
distribution, submitting to festivals - all the gut-wrenching work of indie filmmaking that you have to deal with after
you've done the fun, creative part of making your film.
The blog is spandy-new but looks like it has the possibility to be a interesting read. Angry Filmmaker Kelley Baker has a great journal going about how he's touring Europe, showing his films and teaching. Another blogger has kinda sorta found an agent, and is agonizing over festival rejections. And Magicfying films, which has a film showing in NY right now called September 12 (I bet you can guess what it's about, but it may not be quite what you think). Film Threat liked it, so maybe we'll have to see about getting little paws on a screener and checking it out ourselves.
[ via Filmmaker Magazine Blog, who found out about it over at Green Cine Daily ]
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