Making Films
Fever Dreams, Middle-Eastern Video Diaries, the Quest for Inspiration, and Memories on Tap
Neil Kendricks on the feature films from Sundance 2012.
February 1st, 2012 | Neil Kendricks
"The cumulative effect of both [5 Broken Cameras and ½ Revolution] makes you feel like you are there vicariously experiencing the events from the filmmakers’ subjective vantage points," writes Neil Kendricks about two standout features from Sundance 2012. He recaps fest highs and lows, including Grand Jury Prize winner, Beasts of the Southern Wild.
Utah, PARK CITY – For filmmakers, screenwriters, video artists and actors looking for inspiration or funding, or both, the 2012 Sundance Film Festival was the destination of choice. I started making the trek to Park City circa 2001, and I’ve been going, on and off, ever since, always on the lookout for undiscovered diamonds in the rough.
Alchemy Springs from the Striking Artistry of Sundance Shorts
From hand-drawn stick figures to real life pirates, Neil Kendricks describes the most captivating shorts from Sundance 2012.
January 26th, 2012 | Neil Kendricks
Lucy Walker’s The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom picked up Sundance's jury prize for short non-fiction and an Academy Award nomination. Hers is one of many shorts on Neil Kendricks' must-watch list from Sundance 2012.
Utah, PARK CITY – When it comes to challenging and adventurous short films, the 2012 Sundance Film Festival’s mojo was in top form as the nation’s most prominent tastemaker for the state of indie cinema, both in America and abroad.
Approaches to End of the World Docs
Courtney Sheehan compares and contrasts the filmmaking elements used by two anti-progress IDFA docs.
December 19th, 2011 | Courtney Sheehan
Voice-over or not? When to animate? And where to leave your viewers? Two IDFA docs, Four Horsemen and Surviving Progress tackle the consequences of progress by making different stylistic choices.
Two social justice docs at IDFA targeted and systematically attacked the same universal villain: progress. Four Horsemen and Surviving Progress are both "big picture" documentaries that tackle some of today's most globally pressing issues.
Reasons for the Cutting Room Floor
Mike Sullivan learns some lessons from Hollywood editor Carol Littleton, at a new monthly film series in Boston.
December 19th, 2011 | Mike Sullivan
An editor's technical toolbox may have changed since the 80s but there are still lessons to be learned from classic ensemble dramas like The Big Chill. All those adults in one kitchen, dancing? Editor Mike Sullivan caught up with editor Carol Littleton to ask how she cut that scene and about the significance of leaving Kevin Costner on the cutting room floor.
It’s not every day that you get an opportunity to speak with one of Hollywood’s premiere film editors. If you ever have the means, I would highly recommend it. For those in the Boston area, the means may be closer than you think.
IDFA 2011 - In Touch with the "Planet of Snail"
Randi Cecchine speaks with director Seung-Jun Yi about "Planet of Snail," which won best feature-length documentary at IDFA.
December 5th, 2011 | Randi Cecchine
"I think every doc director is an activist, their army is visual images," says director Seung-Jun Yi. His film, Planet of Snail, about the blind and deaf poet Young-Chan, just won the best feature-length documentary award at IDFA. Seung-Jun Yi has made documentaries for Korean television and is among a growing movement of filmmakers to break out and expand the form.
For two years South Korean director Seung-Jun Yi and his assistant director took a two-hour subway ride to the home of the deaf and blind poet Young-Chan and his wife Soon-Ho. The couple communicates through a technique of gentle finger tapping called finger-braille, developed by the Japanese deaf and blind professor Satoshi Fukushima.
Of-the-Moment Tips on Funding Indies, Social Media, Genre Films, TV Pitches and More
Katherine Brodsky distills what experts at the BNA Atlas International Film & TV Finance Summit had to say about how to get your indie film made and seen.
November 22nd, 2011 | Katherine Brodsky
"Self-distribution is not for the faint of heart," is just one of the most salient bits of commentary and advice The Independent's Katherine Brodsky overheard at the Annual BNA Atlas International Film & TV Finance Summit. Jodi Piekoff, Josh Braun, Warren Nimchuk, Ira Deutchman, Wilder Knight, Karrine Behr, Vinca Jarrett are mentioned.
The hot topic at this fall’s BNA Atlas International Film & TV Finance Summit, the 11th Annual in New York, was how to master the business side of film in order to even attempt the creative side. Discussions among those present, myself included, ranged from marketing to financing and distribution.
Postcard from Northern Ontario
John Charette reports from Sudbury, Ontario about the local films and filmmakers featured at the 23rd Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival.
September 27th, 2011 | John Charette
For 23 years, the Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival has come at the heels of the Toronto International Film Festival. But Cinefest has no red carpet, and the only big name you’re likely to see is on the screen. John Charrette introduces us to one Ontario filmmaker whose name you should know, Benjamin Paquette. His fourth feature, (Non) Fiction premiered at Cinefest over the weekend.
Filmmaker Benjamin Paquette stood stoically by the theater lobby with his crew, his friends and collages. He quietly greeted movie goers as they filed in to the premiere of his fourth feature film, (Non) Fiction, at this year’s Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival in Sudbury, Ontario.
Afghan Life According to Afghan Filmmakers
With limited access to stories from the Afghan point of view, filmmaker Michael Sheridan set up a workshop to give Afghan people the tools to make their own documentaries.
September 11th, 2011 | Erin Trahan
From the long walk between work and home to squeezing water from the desert dust, The Fruit of Our Labor depicts daily life in post-9/11 Afghanistan, as told by 10 Afghan filmmakers trained by Community Supported Film.
In the days approaching the 10th anniversary of September 11th, whose stories have you heard? Have they represented the full spectrum of experiences on that date and what has unfolded since? What was the language of their telling?
Overcoming Overemotion One Chocolate at a Time
Jean-Pierre Améris gets personal about facing social anxiety and how it influenced his latest film, "Romantics Anonymous."
September 8th, 2011 | Katherine Brodsky
"Especially for directors, writers or anyone that is an artist, being overemotional is actually both a gift and a curse. That’s your tool," says Jean-Pierre Améris to The Independent's Katherine Brodsky about his new film, Romantics Anonymous. In the interview and the quirky romantic comedy, Améris lays bare his own struggle with social anxiety, the loneliness all people face, and the universal appeal of chocolate.
No doubt that Romantics Anonymous is a very personal film for director Jean-Pierre Améris. He knows all too well the affliction that his film’s protagonists confront: social anxiety. The unlikely romantic comedy pairs two extraordinarily shy and, yes, emotional people.
Just Like Us: The Truth About Light
Writer Lisa Pegram considers her friend Ahmed Ahmed's new documentary, "Just Like Us," relative to her own journeys.
July 15th, 2011 | Lisa Pegram
What happens when a friend accomplishes something huge, like finishing his film, when you're still struggling to find your own artistic way? Ahmed Ahmed's new documentary about comedy in the Middle East inspired poet and memoirist Lisa Pegram in more ways than one.
Late one night in early June, I was devouring a novel by candlelight after forgetting, for the third time in a week, to buy bulbs. The room was dim and though it was hell on my eyes, the poet in me was charmed by the whole feel of it. I took a short break to make the book last and contemplate a shadow in a far corner, when the room brightened with the flash of a text message on my cell phone.
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