June 2009

The Independent's Sean Jones investigates some innovative and useful ideas to help cash-strapped filmmakers survive through difficult times. From free distribution for films to virtual tip jars, The Independent examines the different ways that filmmakers can put their creativity to use for financial survival during the recession.

In June 1999, The Independent asked Seventh Art Releasing where the company would be in ten years (read the original interview here). They answered, “Still open for business doing films we like.” And Seventh Art has done just that. And though there have been some changes, Epstein insists that despite the technological and economic turmoil of the past ten years, the company’s original vision has stayed the same. Exactly a decade after the last interview, The Independent’s Emily Cataneo sits down with co-founder Udy Epstein to find out what those changes are.

After a film finds success, the industry usually lauds the miraculous execution of the director and the cast. Yet, often ignored are those who actually crafted the story: the writers. The Independent’s, Joi R. Wheatley, taps into the ingenious minds of Pamela Cuming and Lee Ross who wrote the dark, intense, drama Downloading Nancy, which was recently screened at the Seattle International Film Festival. The film, starring Maria Bellow and Jason Patric, follows a middle-aged wife who orders a man she met on the Internet to kill her so she can escape from her unhappy life (view the trailer here). Cuming and Lee discuss how the idea became a script, why it’s important to produce and direct your own projects, and what’s next for this writing duo.