FUTURESTATES Goes Hollywood

It’s official: FUTURESTATES has gone Hollywood. No, we didn’t sign a multimillion dollar deal with a studio for a trilogy of sci-fi features to rival Marvel Studios’s many franchises (but there’s always next year). We’re referring instead to a selection of five FUTURESTATES films presented in the posh screening room at the offices of top Hollywood talent agency CAA.

Last week’s screening was co-hosted by CAA and Film Independent (FIND), designed to promote the exceptional work these organizations are doing in both independent and commercial film and television circles to promote diversity in the industry, and also to celebrate the FIND fellows that were greenlit by ITVS for season 1 of FUTURESTATES: Ramin Bahrani (Plastic Bag), Tze Chun (Silver Sling), Amyn Kaderali (The Other Side), Aldo Velasco (Tent City), and Garret Williams (The Rise).
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Tags: CAA, documentary, FUTURESTATES, Hollywood, indie films, indielens, ITVS, PBS, short films

ITVS Greenlights Second Season of FUTURESTATES!

This spring, ITVS launched the first season of its innovative new web series of futuristic shorts, FUTURESTATES. And as the first season continues to screen online at futurestates.tv, pbs.org, as well as at film festivals around the world, ITVS is proud to announce that we just greenlit a second season of FUTURESTATES shorts written and directed by another batch of talented emerging and veteran filmmakers.

The second season is entering production this summer, and is planned to launch online this spring. Stay tuned to futurestates.tv for updates on the run-up to the second season, but in the meantime, we’re excited to announce the greenlit filmmakers and their projects!

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Tags: documentary, FUTURESTATES, ITVS, online exclusive, online video, PBS, second season, short films

The Future According to Hugo Perez

Director Hugo Perez

ITVS filmmaker Hugo Perez discussed the making of his latest work, the FUTURESTATES short Seed, with BTB. Watch the entire episode online and browse the site for a creative glimpse into the future.

What got you interested in the subject matter of Seed?

I am a lifelong sci-fi geek who has always been interested in the intersection of science and society and how technology, for good and for ill, affects the world. The first time I read about the way that companies wield their GMO (genetically modified organism) seed patents as a bludgeon to force farmers into licensing their product, I was appalled and intrigued. When companies can legally “own” nature, they can control aspects of our lives that we take for granted. So I became interested in extrapolating what could happen in the future based on what was happening today. And seed patents are just the tip of the iceberg. Before this century is over, everyone will be paying premium prices for the water they drink and the air they breathe.
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Tags: FUTURESTATES, hugo perez, ITVS, seeds, short films

Tip of the Day: Engage Beyond the Broadcast

The internet is completely revolutionizing all kinds of media by freeing creators from linearity and one-way paradigms. Here at ITVS, we’ve been working with filmmakers for more than a decade to create multifaceted and multi-platform projects that liberate the story from dusty old limitations.

It’s easy to get stuck in a familiar way of doing things, but when you begin to think of your audience as a collaborator, and technology as an ally, you break into new dimensions and open up fresh perspectives on your story. We have a large library of the interactive projects we’ve produced in the past 10 year, and encourage you to check them out for ideas and inspiration.

Tags: engagement, film festival, interactive, ITVS, PBS, public media, tips, tips of the day, web-original

Can a Human Being Be Illegal? Thoughts on Immigration through Film

"The New Americans" from Global Voices on PBS WORLD

The national dialogue on immigration has reached a fever pitch in recent weeks, with many municipalities declaring boycotts of Arizona over the recent enactment of a strict immigration law that critics say amounts to little more than institutionalized racial profiling. Some Arizonans, in response, have sworn to boycott the cities that demonized their state. Regardless of your position on the law, the truth is that immigration is an issue at the forefront of international debate and legislation, as the increasing mobility of humanity makes borders ever more easily crossable as people search for social and economic opportunity.

Even in the UK, Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s flippant retort to a citizen angry about Eastern Europeans flooding into Britain sparked a backlash that may have cost him the recent election there.

Much of the debate turns on what rights are afforded a person just for having been born in a particular nation, and what are refused to a person for not having been. Even that  is being parsed, as Arizona considers withholding citizenship and birth certificates to children born to undocumented immigrants on U.S. soil (although this contravenes the U.S. Constitution and may not survive the courts if passed).

"Tia and Marco" from the online series FUTURESTATES

Truly understanding the particulars of immigration requires a knowledge of individuals involved in the transformative process of emigrating or immigrating — often to a foreign land, often without knowing anyone or even possessing a familiarity with customs and language, and often either fleeing persecution or poverty. In turn, they often contribute to the rich cultural fabric of their adopted country. Some evidence indicates immigration boosts a nation’s overall economy, while there is similar data showing that some states absorb an uneven share of the costs for immigrants without healthcare or jobs.
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Tags: Arizona, Global Voices, immigration, law, PBS World, the new americans, tia and marco

Ask Programming: FUTURESTATES

ITVS programming staff answer questions from filmmakers about the funding process:

Q: I recently discovered the FUTURESTATES website, and I’m really enjoying the films. How did ITVS come up with the idea for this project?

A: The long answer could fill a chapter in a book. But here’s the short version. ITVS has a long history of supporting independent narrative filmmakers, from TV Families in 1993, to the more recent Goodbye, Solo by Ramin Bahrani (airing nationally on Independent Lens on June 1st – check local listings). Back in the day, American Playhouse broadcast independent narrative films on PBS, but over the years it has become a lot harder for narratives to find a home on public television. Independent Lens remains one of the only national series to broadcast independent fiction films on PBS. Without guaranteed distribution on public television, how could ITVS continue to support narrative filmmakers in a way that made sense in the world of public media?

To help answer this question, ITVS convened two “Drama Summits” in 2007/2008, one in Los Angeles and another in New York. We brought together key stakeholders: writers, directors, and producers; academics; distributors; and media arts organizations. We learned a lot from this process, with discussions focusing on funding models, distribution obstacles, and new media opportunities. But one lesson stood out: Because of the broad scope of ITVS programming, narrative filmmakers found it difficult to know how to approach us with projects that fit our mission. They wanted clearer content guidelines. They wanted more direct cultivation and funding of narrative projects. It was clear we all needed a new way of working to create films that fit everyone’s needs, including the new generation of public media audiences.

At the same time, along with many other public media organizations, ITVS was exploring ways to help filmmakers take advantage of the rapidly expanding world of online distribution. Already, a few full-length films were streaming on AOL True Stories and Snag Films. So it was perfect timing when the Programming Department proposed an online series, inviting narrative filmmakers to create short films specifically for the web. Eighteen months later, we have season one of FUTURESTATES streaming online, with season two in development right now. By asking filmmakers to explore the direction of our society by projecting their stories into the near future, ITVS was able to fulfill two important goals at the same time — creating a home to showcase the work of narrative filmmakers, and creating a place online for a wide audience to engage with the ideas that public media does best.

Tags: film fundding, filmmaking, FUTURESTATES, producers

ITVS screens FUTURESTATES in San Francisco

FUTURESTATES, ITVS’s new online fictional series, explores many of today’s complex social issues by imagining how they play out in the world of tomorrow. ITVS and media partner Next American City Magazine recently hosted a special invite-only, sneak-preview screening and panel discussion for FUTURESTATES at the Jellyfish Gallery in San Francisco. Panelist Tanu Sankalia, Assistant Professor of Art and Architecture at the University of San Francisco gives a recap of the event and his thoughts on the series.

FUTURESTATES panelists Piero Scaruffi and Tanu Sankalia. Photo: Sarah Kramer

ITVS and Next American City co-hosted a screening of two films from the FUTURESTATES series that explored the socio-economic and spatial future of the human condition within what can be called a hyper-privatized political order.

Silver Sling, by Tze Chun, poignantly narrates the plight of transnational migrant workers trapped within a future of corporate economic hegemony, where the human body is reduced to an object of exchange value, and interpersonal contact is exiled to hand-held video phones.

Tent City, by Aldo Velasco, reflects on the American dream gone awry where economic crisis seen through the phenomenon of foreclosure eviscerates the lives of suburban American families. The end of the film brings home the real plight of millions in the developing world consigned to the tragic reality of refugee camps, forewarning of the possibility of a deeply dark and dystopic future gripping our very own lives.

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Tags: future, FUTURESTATES, San Francisco, science fiction

In the News: The Latest on ITVS Programs

Principal Edward Tom of the Bronx Center for Science & Mathematics discusses his decision to leave a lucrative job at Saks Fifth Avenue to become a teacher and make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged students in Whatever It Takes on Independent Lens.
Watch now >>

“…[The FUTURESTATES episode Plastic Bag] from Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop, Goodbye Solo) featuring the mad/brilliant German director as the voice of a fluttering bag is just too good to miss.”
Read full review >>

“[FUTURESTATE's Plastic Bag] is a really endearing film. I was not expecting to care about a tattered piece of plastic with handles, but by the end of it, I did.”
Read full review >>

“As she explored the family’s secrets, [filmmaker Monika Navarro of Lost Souls (Animas Perdidas)], edited them into a film that reflects the frailties of every American family.”
Read full review >>

Tags: education, future, immigration, National Geographic, Ramin Bahrani

Q&A with ITVS Programming Manager Karim Ahmad About FUTURESTATES

FUTURESTATES – ITVS’s new online fictional series — recently launched and had its theatrical premiere at South by Southwest (SXSW). The San Francisco Film Society interviewed ITVS Programming Manager Karim Ahmad about the series, which it described as a “forward thinking initiative.” Check out the Q&A below from their blog SF360.org.

Greg Pak's Mister Green, created for ITVS's FUTURESTATES, is a parable about change.

When you think of public television in the United States, science fiction, or any type of fiction, may not spring to mind.

Independent Television Services (ITVS) is trying to change that perception by creating a series of 11 fictional mini-features on American society in the not-too-distant future. Launched March 8 as an immersive destination website to be available for free via streaming video with subsequent distribution on pbs.org, FUTURESTATES feautres directors such as Greg Pak (Robot Stories) and Ramin Bahrani (Goodbye Solo) thinking into the future while staying tethered to current events. The series dropped down on the South by Southwest and San Francisco International Asian American film festival this past month, and after viewing two of the mini-features at an event held at the Jellyfish Gallery in SOMA sponsored by Next American City magazine and ITVS, I sat down with FUTURESTATES programming manager Karim Ahmad to talk about the forward-thinking initiative.

SF360: You mentioned something at the event launching the series about only having the filmmakers project a little bit into the future, not going 100 years from now but more so 10, 15 into the future.

Karim Ahmad: Well, there’s definitely some variance from film to film. One film Plastic Bag which was directed by Ramin Bahrani . . . you follow a plastic bag as it goes home with its ‘maker,’ the woman who takes it home from the store. It lives with this woman for a period of months until it gets thrown away eventually. And then it goes to a landfill where it’s buried for years and years, an unforeseeable amount of time. And then when it finally becomes free . . . .

Read the full interview on SF360.org >>

Tags: fiction, online video, Ramin Bahrani, science fiction

At SXSW with ITVS Programming Manager Karim Ahmad

Held annually in Austin, Texas, South By Southwest (SXSW) is considered one of the world’s premiere festivals, recognizing the best of film, music and interactive projects. ITVS Programming Manager Karim Ahmad gives some of the highlights from ITVS’s participation –– including the FUTURESTATES theatrical world premiere.

Programming Manager Karim Ahmad.

Matthew Meschery, ITVS director of digital initiatives, discusses FUTURESTATES at the SXSW trade show.

Preparation for a trip to the SXSW film festival usually entails digging through their program guide jam-packed full of screenings and panels and the like, and trying to figure out how to fit it all in. Soon thereafter, you realize that fitting it all in is a Sisyphean exercise –– it’s just plain impossible. This year in particular was a real banner year for ITVS at SXSW because we had the great pleasure and privilege of presenting the theatrical premiere of FUTURESTATES, our new series of short films, at the festival.

The films premiered Sunday evening to a huge crowd and some very animated reactions in the Austin Convention Center’s 500-seat G-Tech Theater. For me, it was a real thrill after over a year of developing these projects with the filmmakers, to finally get to watch these films with an audience and see how people relate to these innovative new stories about life in a future America.

Of course, the hordes of people who attended our opening didn’t get there all on their own. We had our work cut out for us getting people to the screening (see the aforementioned scheduling impossibilities). Luckily, in addition to me pounding the pavement from screening to screening promoting the FUTURESTATES premiere –– a tall order, when one is pre-occupied with reaching out to the next round of prospective FUTURESTATES applicants –– I also helped out our communications team. They manned a booth at the festival trade show, which was decked out to the nines in full FUTURESTATES regalia. At the booth, we screened some of the films; had a “Predict-O-Meter” station, where folks could enter their predictions into the interactive timeline; and of course, a generous supply of FUTURESTATES-branded microwave popcorn (must-have for any trade show booth).

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Tags: Austin, film festival, SXSW, Texas