Stop waiting on Sundance

There are plenty of filmmakers who rush to finish their film for Sundance, fill out the paperwork, send off the DVD, and then... stop. There's nothing wrong with waiting anxiously to hear from what is arguably the world's most famous film festival, but if you're not submitting to other festivals while you wait you could miss out on the entire Spring season. Break out your list of target festivals (see chapter one of Film Festival Secrets for more on this) and get cracking. Here's a handy (but by no means complete) list of festivals with upcoming deadlines. Check each festival's web site for their late deadlines, submission rules, etc.

Edit: I should point out that I picked these festivals for their relative prominence and for the fact that their deadlines come before the Sundance notification date (around Thanksgiving). If you're a festival director and would like to post your own upcoming deadline in the comments, please feel free.

• Slamdance - October 30
• Dallas International - October 30
• Phoenix - October 30
• Cleveland - November 30
• Gen Art - October 31
• South By Southwest - November 5
• Florida Film Festival - November 20

The CineVegas "hiatus" and what it means

A couple of weeks ago, while we here in Austin were enjoying the film frenzy that is Fantastic Fest, the word came over the intertubes that CineVegas, Las Vegas' well-respected and much-gabbed-about summer film festival, will put its annual event on hold for 2010.

“Given the current economic climate and the pressures it has created, we made the difficult decision to put CineVegas on hiatus for the coming year. CineVegas has become such a well respected film festival, and rather than allow the economy to affect its level of quality we have opted to put the event on hold,” said Robin Greenspun, Festival President.

While none of the CineVegas reps in attendance at Fantastic Fest seemed particularly eager to go on the record about the festival's woes, there was plenty of tongue-clucking, head-shaking, and speculation to go around. CV is a top-notch event with a great venue (a cineplex inside the Palms Casino), a sexy hometown, some of the best staff in the business, and a celebrity backer (Dennis Hopper). The festival's contraction to five days in 2009 (down from ten days in previous years) even seemed like an improvement and a smart move in a down economy. How could this vibrant and apparently healthy festival hit the skids so quickly?

While much of the conjecture revolved around the lavish parties and apparent "industry vacation" aspects of the fest, the stated and simplest reason for the hiatus is probably the truth: in a troubled economy, corporate sponsorship dollars dry up fast. It doesn't take a financial wizard to look at the festival's four largest sponsors (the Palms, Vegas.com, The District at Green Valley Ranch, and Greenspun Media Group) and notice that they're all in industries (tourism, retail shopping, and print media) that have been hit hard by the financial downturn. There are very few festivals that can run on ticket sales alone, and none of them are of CineVegas' size and stature. Greenspun and the festival's Artistic Director Trevor Groth (also head programmer at Sundance) made the difficult decision to try to weather the storm and hopefully come back with a bang rather than risk sinking the CineVegas ship entirely. It's a disappointing move (especially for those staffers who were laid off) but ultimately a smart one. Trying to put on the same level of show without the same level of backing would spell disaster.

Will CineVegas be back? I sure hope so. In the meantime, the writing is on the Palms Casino wall for every festival that relies primarily on corporate sponsorships to operate each year: it's time to implement (or further develop) your membership and individual giving programs. Diversifying your "portfolio" in this way not only provides a bit of a cushion in the lean times, but it also strengthens your ties to the community and can lead to more corporate sponsorships when times are good. There are a number of good resources out there about fundraising during a recession, but it boils down to tapping into your fan base and offering them something they can't get elsewhere: recognition, exposure to unusual movies and experiences, the satisfaction of making a difference to the independent film scene.

This isn't a cure-all; even the greatest individual giving program won't replace corporate sponsorships, but it's a heck of a hedge against those famine years. The Seattle International Film Festival has one of the most comprehensive and successful film fest membership programs I've ever seen – if you want an education on how to do a membership program right, invest the $55 in a basic membership and watch them go to work.

Be sure to tell me all about your successful new membership program at CineVegas 2011.

Indie Memphis - come hear me gab on a coupla panels

I'm currently in Memphis, Tennessee for the Indie Memphis film festival. The festival staffers have kindly invited me to speak on two of their "Café Conversation" panels. Both talks take place outside the Malco Studio theater at the Festival Café tent. The events are free to the public so even if you weren't planning to attend the festival itself (and you should), you can stop by and soak up a little knowledge without spending a dime.

The Film Festival Circuit, Saturday October 10 at noon with Heidi van Lier

Distribute Me: A Conversation On Getting Your Film Out To The World, Sunday October 11 at noon with Steven Beckman.

OpenIndie Hopes to Bring Theaters within Filmmakers' Reach

Eric Kohn's article in indieWIRE explores a new startup concept from Arin Crumley and Kieran Masterton.

OpenIndie.com will allow filmmakers to input their e-mail lists and discover locations with high audience demand. The grassroots strategy allows movies to reach their intended audiences with a community-based approach. Because the site is open-sourced, anyone can enter a location into the site and figure out the level of interest for specific movies.

Read DIY With a Little Help: OpenIndie Hopes to Bring Theaters within Filmmakers' Reach.

The Kickstarter page for OpenIndie has an explanatory video and a donation button.

The World As We Know It Is Over? 10 Insights on the Movie Biz - indieWIRE

I would say that only three of the ten "insights" are ideas that haven't been flogged to death in the indie film press over the last couple of years, but there are a couple of interesting quotes in there if you can wade through the redundant muck.

Every town has a film festival, there are film festivals of every possible genre, every possible niche that you can think of. And so now we’re kind of entering this world where nontraditional distribution platforms are starting to emerge and film festivals are definitely coping with and struggling with that new world. There’s real fear, I think, of obliteration. People think that technology will obliterate anything that came before it and I don’t believe that at all. I do think that film fess have to recalibrate, reboot, what their role is and why they’re important beyond simply promoting a sponsor’s product or beyond being a good junket for a few celebrities prior to the theatrical release of a big film. - Christian Gaines, Withoutabox

Read The World As We Know It Is Over? 10 Insights on the Movie Biz - indieWIRE.

Groth Named Sundance Director of Programming - indieWIRE

Trevor Groth is taking over the reins as Director of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival effective immediately. Groth takes the position after John Cooper, who previously held the position, was appointed Director of the Sundance Film Festival following the departure of longtime event head Geoff Gilmore to the Tribeca Film Institute in March.

No word yet on how this will affect Groth's duties as Artistic Director of CineVegas.

Read Groth Named Sundance Director of Programming - indieWIRE.

MovieMaker's 2009 List: 25 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee MovieMaker Magazine

MovieMaker has released their annual list again, and the results are... interesting. I'm very pleased to see my old home, the Austin Film Festival, listed – arguably the most prominent festival on the list. No time to comment more now as I'm packing for IFF Boston (see you there? I'm speaking on a panel) but I'll have the full rundown next week.

Read The 2009 List: 25 Festivals Worth the Fee in MovieMaker Magazine.

IFP searches for a Community Manager

IFP (formerly known as the Independent Feature Project) is on the hunt for a new Community Manager, someone with a strong background in marketing and web savvy.

Full-time position available immediately for high energy, organized individual with managerial, marketing and web experience. Must have excellent project management and strong social media expertise - this includes managing forums and online communities for at least 3 years and/or maintaining successful blog for at least 2 years.

BASIC DUTIES

The Community Manger is responsible for building an online presence for IFP and its publications and programs. Their primary job will be the maintenance and continuity of information about the organization both internally and externally, acting as a strong community advocate who represents the organization online and off, working to build IFP brand awareness in both directions. They will be in charge of all membership management, online content development and design, and management and marketing of IFP publications, programs and events. The position reports directly to IFP’s Deputy Director and works closely with IFP’s Programming staff members and Gotham Awards Producer.

Inquire with Amy Dotson, (212) 465-8200 x 203.

Fest Circuit 101 - A Guide to Fests

indieWIRE announced last week that it will be maintaining a guide to film festivals on its site. Presumably this will be a more formal effort to present information on particular festivals than its usual practice of simply covering festivals as they occur. Not that the coverage in and of itself was a bad thing, but it could be difficult to get a sense of indieWIRE's overall view of the festival world.

indieWIRE is rolling out a cross section of North American and international film festivals listings with dates and links to iW coverage when relevant. Big events such as Cannes, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin are listed along with other large fests as well as regional and specialty festivals. This list will continue to evolve and we hope it will be a useful guide for filmmakers, film fans and industry. We also plan to add further features to the list, so please check back in the coming weeks and months.

To get to the guide, hit "Quicklinks" on the indieWIRE navigation bar and select "Film Festival Guide."

The indieWIRE Guide to Film Festivals.

What's next for the film festival world?

The LA Times examines the recent shakeup in staff at several major film festivals and tries to put it all in context.

This recent surge of job switches was not set off by any single fracture within independent film (where a number of top distributors have closed their doors) or inside the festival world (which is suffering its own shakeout, with numerous festivals shutting down). But the moves do underscore how volatile the festival world has suddenly become and how programmers foresee leaner and more focused events in the months ahead.

"There's been more news in the independent film festival world in the last three weeks than I can recall ever happening in my life," says Nancy Schafer, executive director of the increasingly prominent Tribeca Film Festival, whose eighth annual get-together runs in New York from April 22 to May 4.

Says Trevor Groth, a veteran Sundance programmer who also serves as artistic director for the up-and-coming Las Vegas CineVegas Film Festival, marking its 11th edition this summer: "It's indicative of what's happening in the indie world -- there's a lot of change going on."

Read the full article at the LA Times web site.

Here comes SXSW 2009 - Book signing March 15, 1:30 pm

If you're one of the lucky few, uh– thousands headed to South by Southwest in Austin next month, please stop by the Southby Bookstore in the Austin Convention Center on Sunday, March 15th at 1:30 p.m. Go ahead, mark your calendar, I'll wait. Bring along your copy of Film Festival Secrets or buy a fresh copy from the bookstore and I'll sign it on the spot.

I'm really looking forward to this year's SXSW – they have a strong program this year and it's always fun to meet the filmmakers and tech types who come into Austin for this surreal celebration of entertainment, music, and technology.

If you're planning to attend SXSW interactive but think you might want to dip your toe into the waters of the film side of things, Agnes Varnum just posted a great article entitled A Geek's Guide to SXSW Film. (Did you know there are films that your Interactive badge will get you into even if you don't have a Gold or Film Badge? It's true!) Also useful is Jette Kernion's guide to SXSW film venues over at Slackerwood.

And finally, if you're lucky enough to be a filmmaker with a film in the program, here's a series of articles just for you: Last minute filmmaker tips for SXSW.

New Yorker Films closes its doors

It's lights out for New Yorker Films, the boutique distributor that brought international films and "difficult" cinema to the U.S. for over 40 years.

From the New York Times:

One of the most influential distributors of foreign and independent films, New Yorker has amassed a library of more than 400 titles, including Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless” and Claude Lanzmann’s epic Holocaust documentary “Shoah,” said Dan Talbot, who founded the company in 1965.

Mr. Talbot, 82, said in a telephone interview that the company was going out of business because its library was being sold. It had been pledged as collateral on a loan taken out by its former owner, Madstone Films, which bought New Yorker Films in 2002.

Lesson: Even if you sell the rights to your film to someone you trust, those rights can then be resold, traded, used as collateral, and foreclosed upon just like any other property. Think twice before you sign those rights away for more than a few years.

From the IndieWIRE article:

These are ‘difficult’ films, not popular mass-market films,’’ Dan Talbot told the New York Times in the 1987 profile. ‘‘They’re meant for a small, elite audience. And nothing has changed in 20 years; it’s still a very tiny, elite audience. There were other distributors who were bringing in these films, but I would say that our role was to introduce some of the more risky films that on the surface did not seem to have a wide audience. Distribution of that kind is a very financially masochistic business."

Lesson: There are distributors out there who love movies and who will help you get your movie in front of the audiences who want to see it. That doesn't mean that anyone will be getting rich in the process.

Mr. Talbot said he was crushed by the end of the company. “I nurtured this,” he said. “These films are like babies.”

Lesson: Distributors are people too.

Read the indieWIRE article and the NY Times article.

(Via John Merriman.)

Being a hit on iTunes doesn't matter - yet.

Over on the B-Side blog I've written a brief response to an in-depth article from TV By the Numbers about the relative place of iTunes in the world of consumer video consumption. We have a long way to go before traditional network TV is ever really "endangered" by alternate viewing methods. On the other hand, it doesn't take a genius to see the writing on the wall. Who wouldn't prefer to consume video entertainment on their own schedule, wherever they want, on whatever device they like?

Read my response to the original piece here, and find a link to the original essay there.

Oh, and here's a fun YouTube video promoting Joss Whedon's new series Dollhouse, which is used as an example in the original article.

Cinevegas gives away copies of "Film Festival Secrets"

If you're more of a Twitter follower than a newsletter joiner, you can get your free PDF copy of Film Festival Secrets simply by following Cinevegas on Twitter.

You've got 12 days to do it, so get cracking. Check out cvtwt.com for more info.

If you have a Twitter account, please spread the word by posting the following to your own Twitterstream:

Follow @cinevegas and receive a FREE copy of "Film Festival Secrets", a $25 value, at http://cvtwt.com.

Thank you!

What to do while "everyone else" is at Sundance

Feeling left behind because you're not going to Park City this week? Here are a few ideas on how to keep yourself occupied -- either by distracting yourself with other business or by taking part vicariously. In no particular order:

• Hold some test screenings for your own film. Chances are you haven't held nearly enough test screenings to really know how an audience will react to your film, so why not have a little festival magic of your own? Get a bunch of strangers together, show them your movie, and gather some opinions. It feels good and it's good for you.

• Plan your festival strategy for the rest of the year. January is just the first month of the year, and there are plenty of important and prestigious festivals going on in the other eleven months. (OK, maybe not so many in December, but still.) Hit the web sites and really dig deep into each festival's personality. Figure out what their previous lineups really looked like, and whether they are a festival of discovery or if they're just regurgitating the Sundance lineup each year. Submit accordingly.

• Fill in the gaps on your marketing material. Maybe your press kit isn't as strong as it could be, or your postcard needs an overhaul. Go back over all of your marketing material and figure out what you're missing. Chapter 3 of Film Festival Secrets (the book) covers this in depth.

• Stay tuned to the indie film news. Old stand-bys Variety and indieWIRE are good places to start, but you can find a wealth of coverage by meandering over to Google Blogsearch and typing in "Sundance" or "Slamdance." One of my favorites is the local Salt Lake Tribune, which has some really in-depth coverage and a sense humor. Also a great read: the back entries at Drea Clark's Slamdance blog, which has been a source of much entertainment and straight talk for months now -- hopefully she'll have time to keep blogging during and after the festival itself.

• Watch some Slamdance films online. Like Fantastic Fest in October, Slamdance is screening some of its films online as well as in Park City for the duration of the festival only. It's impossible to say how well it will work since right now all you can see is a preview video, but with any luck you'll be able to have your own little mini-Slamdance in the comfort of your own laptop. Pass the popcorn!

Slamdance 2009 Jury announced

The full slate of jurors for Slamdance has been announced; you can read it on the Salt Lake Tribune's Sundance blog. there are some really great people on the list, including David Redmon, Ashley Sabin, Kent Osborne, and Adam Roffman. If you're lucky enough to be a filmmaker at Slamdance this year, take some time to hang out with the jurors and hear about their own experiences in the indie film trenches.

Don't forget to check out the Slamdance schedule -- I'll be speaking on the DIY Marketing and Distribution panel.

Headed to Sundance? Check out the revised series of last minute prep tips.

About a year ago, I wrote a series of articles for filmmakers bound for South by Southwest -- I thought it was time to revisit the last-minute preparation tips and to make them a little more universally applicable to film festivals as a whole. So out go the references to favorite taco joints and in comes some updated info on how to manage your time and promote your film at a film festival -- whichever one you happen to be visiting.

Part one covers some general festival travel and basic marketing ground.

Part two encourages you to cover the basics online.

Part three makes sure you take care of a few things before you leave home.

Part four highlights the things you should be sure to do once you get to the festival.

For dessert, here's an article on the 6 essential things to do after attending a film festival.

AFI Fest Report from Austin Film Festival programmer Jesse Trussell

Special guest post by film competition programmer Jesse Trussell of the Austin Film Festival.

AFI Red Carpet - photo shamelessly ripped from Shaz Bennett's Facebook album.

A pimp is out searching for a kidnapper in a crowded neighborhood. He comes to an intersection, and his Jaguar slams into the car of an agitated young man, covered in blood. Is this the kidnapper, or just another disaffected member of Beijing’s claustrophobic sprawl? We want our hero to find his man, but even if his gets the girl back she will just return to a life of prostitution. What can be called justice here?

All this happens in Hong-jin Na’s The Chaser, an intriguing and often disturbing South Korean take on the thriller genre which screened during the annual AFI Fest that wrapped up after the first week of November. A keen and incisive take on current world cinema is really the hallmark of the annual Los Angeles based festival. The 11 day event, thrown by the American Film Institute, had special sidebars this year on recent films from such far flung places as Argentina and Kazakhstan, as well as a look at the recent production from 6th generation Chinese auteur Jia Ziang Ke’s company XStream. Internationalism is also felt in AFI main competitions, where Uruguian Frederico Veiroj's Acne and the Ugandan shot Kassim the Dream won the jury prizes for narrative and documentary features, respectively.

In addition to the diverse world cinema programming, AFI screened some of the year’s best American independent films. A real highlight was writer/director Mike Gibbiser’s moving Finally, Lillian and Dan. In an American indie scene dominated by the solipsistic bent of mumblecore, Gibbiser’s small tale of love between the two most awkward people in the world aims for a lyricism and feeling far beyond the character dramas that litter the festival world. Shot on gorgeous and grainy 16mm, and understanding brilliantly the use of silence, Finally, Lillian and Dan marks an auspicious debut from a director still in his 20s.

Filmmaker Trevor Anderson, Sundance programming coordinator Landon Zakheim, and AFI Fest's Associate Director for Programming Shaz Bennett. Photo shamelessly ripped from Shaz Bennett's Facebook album.

Another facet of AFI Fest greatly beneficial to their filmmakers is the Connect program. Now in its 8th year, AFI sets a one-on-one meetings between its filmmakers and over 100 industry professionals, in addition to a series of more informal cocktail hours and gatherings. This invaluable face time and advice is a fantastic bonus for any filmmaker, especially due to the caliber of industry participants the AFI is able to attract.

Overall, 2008 was an incredibly strong year for AFI Fest. From bold programming to a fun and friendly community, it is one of the real gems in the fall festival calendar.

NewFest artistic director departs, reflects on state of film festivals

Basil Tsiokos in indieWIRE:

Over the past several months, even before news of the financial crisis broke, it's been an open secret that many film festivals around the U.S. have been suffering - while some have managed to secure enough funding to stay in operation, others (like the recently shuttered Jackson Hole Film Festival) haven't been so lucky. While I leave NewFest in the capable hands of my Board of Directors and on good terms, chiefly out of a desire to move on to new challenges elsewhere (yet to be determined), it would be disingenuous to not acknowledge that the difficult realities of non-profit funding had some role in my decision. Running a film festival, in my experience, is hardly a standard full-time job - it's an all-the-time job.

I Heart Global Warming - November 12 10 p.m. e/p on Current

Current is establishing itself as a combination web/TV documentary powerhouse, and films like I Heart Global Warming are cementing that reputation. If you're a doc filmmaker and you haven't considered Current as an outlet for your material, tune in to I Heart Global Warming and see what Current is up to now.