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Lessons from the Lab: Digital DIY and Distribution U.
Last month Indies Lab Director Davin Hutchins went back to school to learn about “do-it-yourself” (DIY) distribution and filed this report for BTB.
If you haven’t heard of the phrase “do-it-yourself” or “DIY distribution” then perhaps you have been too busy fundraising, shooting, or editing your latest documentary to notice. Or perhaps you live under a rock.
With traditional theatrical, broadcast and DVD distribution channels for independent docs in serious decline, everyone is talking about “DIY distribution,” also known as “hybrid distribution.”
Independent filmmakers in New York City debate the prospects of digital distribution of cinema at Distribution U.
The concept, coined most famously by Paradigm Consulting’s Peter Broderick, suggests that there is no cookie-cutter approach to the successful distribution of a film. Each approach should be tailored. Custom strategies like these were the main focal points at the east coast installment of Distribution U., a one-day crash course held by Broderick and journalist and CinemaTech blogger Scott Kirsner.
We here at the IndiesLab are sort of obsessed with the digital aspect of DIY distribution — that nexus where fan-building, advertising, and promotion intersect with online platforms like iTunes, Netflix, Amazon VOD, etc. We’ve been monitoring filmmaker conversations online and at events like Distribution U. to see if people are thinking seriously about digital DIY approaches.
› Continue reading
Waste Land Opens in New York
Artist Vik Muniz in the documentary Waste Land
Lucy Walker’s Waste Land, which is part of this year’s lineup on Independent Lens, opens this Friday, October 29 at the Angelika Film Center in New York.
The documentary tells the extraordinary tale of the Brazilian artist Vik Muniz and his journey to the largest landfill in the world to work with a community of people called catadores — pickers of recyclable materials — to create enormous portraits of them out of the materials they collect.
Amid the rubbish, Muniz encounters a group of inspiring characters that dare to re-imagine their lives through the creation of masterful works of contemporary art. Among many other accolades, Waste Land received Audience Awards at the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals as well as the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.
You can read more about the film and its subject Vic Muniz in last week’s edition of The New York Times.
Click here to reserve a ticket for Waste Land, screening this weekend in New York.
The Real Mad Men Come to Independent Lens
The real Mad Men (and women) are coming to Independent Lens tonight in the acclaimed documentary Art & Copy. Set your DVRs now or tune in the old-fashioned way at 10 PM on PBS (check local listings).
The legendary ad giants that brought you “Just Do It” and “Where’s the Beef?” are all on display in filmmaker Doug Pray’s profile of the Madison Avenue world. Whet the appetite for the film with our new ad slogan generator on the Independent Lens website.
Plus, enjoy an entertaining interview with director Doug Pray about all about Art & Copy. You can find that on the new Independent Lens blog.
Check out the trailer below and enjoy the show!
Note: Like last week’s premiere The Parking Lot Movie, Art & Copy is available on iTunes. Click here to download or rent it.
The Parking Lot Movie Plays Manhattan
The Parking Lot Movie will be projected behind the Eventi Hotel in Midtown Manhattan
If you missed The Parking Lot Movie last Tuesday on Independent Lens or have yet to download the film on iTunes, well, there is yet another way to see the cult-favorite documentary. This Tuesday, October 26 at 7 PM, Meghan Eckman’s film will be projected on a giant screen in Midtown Manhattan.
telegraph21, the online curated video magazine that focuses on non-fiction storytelling and art from around the world, recently announced a new season of films to air online and al fresco style in Manhattan.
Partnering with the Big Screen Project (BSP), a collaborative arts outfit through the Eventi Hotel, telegraph21 will feature The Parking Lot Movie and other films on a 30 ft. x 16.5 ft. HD Format LED screen in a 10,000 sq. ft. public plaza behind the hotel on Sixth Avenue between 29th and 30th Street in New York City.
Frederick Wiseman Puts the Gloves On
Boxing Gym directed by Frederick Wiseman
The ITVS-funded Boxing Gym by acclaimed filmmaker Frederick Wiseman starts its national theatrical run this Friday, October 22 at the IFC Center in New York. Wiseman’s hypnotic new film is about an Austin, Texas institution: Lord’s Gym, which was founded 16 years ago by professional boxer Richard Lord.
People of all ages, races, ethnicities, and social classes come to Lord’s — doctors, lawyers, judges, businessmen, and kids all learn to spar alongside fellow amateurs and trained professionals. Wiseman depicts the gym as a uniquely American melting pot and a microcosm of our society.
Opening week will feature a Q&A with director Frederick Wiseman, boxing demos, and much more. Click here for additional info and release dates.
Emmy Winner Geoffrey Smith on The English Surgeon
Filmmaker Geoffrey Smith won an Emmy Monday night for The English Surgeon
Filmmaker Geoffrey Smith has made more than 22 films throughout his career and has collected numerous awards for his work. On Monday night, he picked up an Emmy for The English Surgeon, his film about a British neurosurgeon who confronts the dilemmas of the doctor-patient relationship on his latest mission to Ukraine. The documentary was supported by ITVS International (speaking of, the deadline for our 2011 International Call has been changed to December 10, 2010). Smith spoke to BTB about the Emmy, the film, and the ITVS funding that helped from the start.
First off, congratulations on the Emmy! What can you tell us about Monday night’s event in NYC?
Thanks! It was very wet in New York City. Central Park looked very British and so I felt right at home. It was great to see all of my colleagues.
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Lois Vossen on Emmy Honors for the Fourth Estate
Lois Vossen, Vice President of ITVS & Series Producer of Independent Lens
Independent Lens Series Producer and ITVS Vice President, Lois Vossen, was on hand Monday night in New York for the 31st Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards. Earlier today she filed this report for BTB, on an evening that bestowed plenty of laurels on public television.
A warm September rain didn’t dampen the News & Documentary Emmy Awards. The most respected and recognizable faces in broadcast journalism, along with hundreds of independent documentary filmmakers, producers, and broadcasters gathered at Lincoln Center for this annual showcase to acknowledge the best in television journalism and reporting.
Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman — longtime friend of ITVS — was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award
A highlight of this year’s ceremony was a Lifetime Achievement Award for Frederick Wiseman. Independent Lens proudly premiered Fred’s narrative film The Last Letter on our third season (2005). Additionally, ITVS has worked with Fred and funded three of his films including State Legislature, Boxing Gym (broadcasting this fall on PBS), and his upcoming film on the University of California, Berkeley.
In his well-timed remarks, Fred thanked the people inside public television who have supported his work these many years including: Sandy Heberer at PBS, Tammy Robinson in her years at WNET, and Claire Aguilar of ITVS. Not just anyone can graciously accept a lifetime achievement award by effectively telling a morgue joke. Fred can. › Continue reading
Adoption Stories Front and Center on P.O.V.
Off and Running, directed by Nicole Opper
This month, P.O.V. presents two ITVS-funded documentaries about adoption including Off and Running and In The Matter of Cha Jung Hee.
Off and Running airs tonight on P.O.V. (check local listings) and follows Avery, an African American teenager and the adopted daughter of two Jewish lesbian moms in Brooklyn. On a quest to meet her birth mother in Texas, Avery begins to uncover the missing pieces of her identity.
Watch the trailer for Off and Running:
Check out some behind-the-scenes › Continue reading
In The News: The Latest on ITVS Programs
[Werner Herzog] the last of the great auteur directors voices the role of a plastic grocery bag in [Plastic Bag], a philosophical short film by much-tipped director Ramin Bahrani.
Read now >>
Old men with energy, high spirits and full capacities are inherently charming, and Pei, who has charmed his way across the planet and left a huge imprint on it, charms yet again [in I.M. Pei: Building China Modern].
Read now >>
Host Michel Martin speaks with Edward Tom, principal of the Bronx Center for Science & Mathematics, and filmmaker Christopher Wong [of Whatever It Takes].
Listen now >>
Whatever It Takes is strongest when it makes precisely this point: that however much we embrace the “tough love” idea, it is by definition a small-scale effort.
Read now >>
Lost Souls is the sort of documentary that approaches reality television terrain. Yet it seriously presents themes of personal responsibility and redemption.
Read now >>
Community Cinema Screens The Horse Boy in Brooklyn
Community Cinema recently hosted two screenings of the Independent Lens film The Horse Boy with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, who is presenting five Independent Lens documentaries with us this season. The film explores the Issacson’s family journey as they travel halfway across the world in search of a miracle to heal their son with autism. Neversee Davis, Recreation Director at Von King Recreation Center in Brooklyn, shares her experience:
Rupert Isaacson (Producer of The Horse Boy) talks to students at Von King Recreation Center
Yesterday we hosted two screenings of The Horse Boy and were honored to host Rupert Isaacson, the father who shares his family’s story in the film. The afternoon screening attracted dozens of students and youth who were moved by the film and realized that autistic children are just like regular teens — they need the love and guidance of a support system to thrive. The evening screening was attended by a diverse audience, including many parents that shared their experiences raising children with autism. After the film, Rupert was there to answer questions and to share his story in person.
I taught Special Education for 25 years and this film blew my mind. How far would you go to save a child, or save a loved one? The Horse Boy showed me that you need to keep pushing until you reach your dreams and goals for the one you love.
- Neversee Davis
Recreation Director, Von King Recreation Center, NY
The Horse Boy will air nationally on Independent Lens on May 11 at 10:00 PM on PBS (check local listings).
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