My favorite newspaper in the world, The Guardian has a brief article about the continued hubbub over the so-called collapse of independent film here. But along with simply recognizing that the landscape is shifting away from theatrical domination, it ponders how this affects the future of filmmaking as an artform:

More than that, once a film is no longer being made to be watched on a big-screen (however small the audience), the question is what goes with it? After all, just as you imagine musicians are now tailoring their work to the fact it’s most likely to be heard on iPod headphones, so the film-maker who walks away from cinema for DVD is also leaving behind the physical gifts of scale and its hold over the viewer that make a movie so potent in the first place; a process only likely to quicken as DVD itself falls prey to the “third and fourth screens” of laptops and phones.

Read the whole article by clicking on the link above.

Every now and then I exhume an old fascination with every bit the fervor that I originally attacked it with. This month it’s been my personal Rainer Werner Fassbinder revival - having recently watched THE BITTER TEARS OF PETRA VON KANT, ALI FEAR EATS THE SOUL, THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN, and BEWARE OF A HOLY WHORE all over again (the revival will continue; Fassbinder’s output was more than 35 films in his very short life). Above, a very telling sketch of the man in his later years, by artist Sebastian Kruger.

So I made the hefty trip from Brooklyn to Glens Falls, New York, where John Yost and crew are in the middle of an 8-day shooting tear on THE BRAVE AND THE KIND. I (conveniently) showed up an hour after the day’s wrap, just in time to screen footage, talk schedule, drink some very cheap whiskey, and watch Rae and Randall bust out to painfully bad 90’s pop tunes. Mood on set is very loose — we’re on schedule, on budget, and John and Sean (the DP) are thrilled with the results. 60% of the movie is in the can at this point - we’ll probably be up to 80% by the time I head back to Kings County.

If you don’t know anything about what the heck I’m talking about, follow the link above. THE BRAVE AND THE KIND is one of the first films to emerge from the glorious confines of IndiePix Studios , a family drama that blurs the lines between fact and fiction in the life of one upstate New York family. Blogs, pics, and videos continue to chart our progress through pre-production, production, and eventually through the editing process. Keep tabs on the film’s official site, or ‘friend’ us (God, that’s a verb now…) on Facebook and MySpace. And check back in with the blog — I’ll do my best to keep you posted, let you in on why it takes being a wee bit crazy to make a movie.

The latest incredible documentary to grace the IndiePix universe, Socheata Poeuv’s multiple award-winning NEW YEAR BABY, is poised to place another trophy on its overstuffed mantlepiece as a finalist for the PBS Independent Lens Audience Award. The four finalists are culled from their entire season of incredible programming, and the producers are both shocked and honored at the unexpected recognition.

Voting is open for a scant few more hours (closing the end of the day today, Friday July11th) and the winner will be announced on Monday, July 21st. CLICK HERE for more information on the Independent Lens Series, or VOTE NOW for New Year Baby!

For more information about this powerful, highly-personal film, or to purchase the DVD, check out NEW YEAR BABY on IndiePix!

A few nights ago, hanging out on my lovely rooftop, I met a filmmaker named David Rosfeld. We started talking about, you know, what I always end up talking about — the state of the independent film industry — and the next day I sent him a link to Mark Gill’s
much-discussed Chicken Little statement, and received this articulate and inspiring response:

Actually, once I got past the bombast, he re-enforced a few things I
rarely say but actually think about indie film. Making these comments
is about like criticizing your own child, but none the less I feel
them. I think he alluded to a real problem, but that problem is not
so much distribution. We know the current and older models are really
dead. The biggest point I think he made is quality. For a long time
with the current distribution network, there has been room for indie
to also mean second rate. As long as you could find someone or some
company with deep pockets, you could get away with it. I hope that
doesn’t sound too harsh. But it seems indie producers and even
filmmakers have become too conservative.

I feel as though the films we make should stand up in the history of
art to anything ever made. There is no reason we shouldn’t work, or
at least strive to work on the level of Mozart, Shakespeare, Becket or
Melville. There is a resistance in indie film to great achievement
sometimes and that can no longer be supported.

Let’s take the Smiths for example. Not only were they left of center,
they were damn good. The albums that Morrissey and Marr created were
quirky and unlike anything we had heard. But they were also without
peer when it came down to the inventiveness of melody, the sonic
textures and the technical ability of Marr’s playing. There was no
slouching involved. And they weren’t for everyone, but they found a
solid audience. (more…)

It wasn’t enough that Mark Gill, The Film Department, got so much of the story mixed up in his high strung remarks at the Los Angeles Film Festival recently. We can let that go. But now the New York Times wants to echo those comments and grant them its sober imprimatur. That calls for some comment.

The lack of thoughtful analysis is equally striking in both reports and that’s really a disservice to artists who work in film and video as well as their audiences. We understand that perspectives can get influenced by experience and social settings, but one would expect thoughtful perspectives to rise above that. Personally, I am left with the sense that they really don’t have a very profound understanding of either filmed entertainment or the film business. But whatever happens, let’s not let what they are talking about be confused with the strength and vitality of independent film.

First, however, let’s note that this flurry of excitement in the press was preceeded by our first blog post “Fiddling While Rome Burns” (2008-05-14) and our second “What Theatrical Exhibition Tries To Do” (2008-05-26), both of which address the economics that these two articles studiously avoid. So let’s go back over the arguments … (more…)