International

Tax incentives. Public and private funding. Transnational co-productions. During a year abroad to study regional film festivals and exhibition, Courtney Sheehan takes in Southeast Europe through the lens of presenters at the third annual industry Cinelink forum during the Sarajevo Film Festival.

What if your favorite band had separated and you could be the reason they reunited? What if you could convince Sting to sing and play guitar with you backstage? Music journalist Geoff Edgers dared to dream and from those dreams came his first documentary, Do it Again. He discussed the making of with The Independent's Erin Trahan.

In a special report for The Independent, Beth Brosnan speaks with students and staff of Ciné Institute, Haiti's only professional film school, about life after the region's devastating earthquake. Brosnan explores how, months later, they're using filmmaking techniques to cope with tragedy, rebuild, and even thrive in the face of adversity.

US docmakers may feel pressed by funders to change the world with every film. The Independent's Randi Cecchine asks how is that mandate influencing docs' form, and what happens when funding models drastically differ, as they do abroad?

Let's face it...social media is quickly taking over the world. With everyone and their mother – literally – on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, how can independent filmmakers use social networking to find and build an audience?

They come from all walks of life, and each has a different story to tell. Some have found success, while others are just beginning their careers. And although their filmmaking reflects this diversity, they all have one major thing in common (other than being on this list): talent. Be sure to take notes as you read...you'll want to remember these filmmakers.

The Independent's Patrick Pearce offers take two of highlights from Montréal's Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, this time with a focus on docs. Last month he served up narrative features.

Filmmaker Mercedes Stalenhoef thought she was filming a young woman with dreams of escaping her poor Romanian hometown for a better life. But then another film crew descended on Glod, Romania, to shoot scenes for Borat, forever changing the villagers' prospects and not necessarily for the better. The Independent's Randi Cecchine interviews Stalenhoef about the process of making and distributing her documentary, Carmen Meets Borat.

Filmmaker Valerie Weiss shares her experiences of financing, making, and marketing her first independent feature film Losing Control in this monthly film journal. In this installment, she writes about how she raised financing – a topic that is likely on every independent filmmaker’s mind.

The Independent goes behind the scenes of a start-up film festival in Northern Ireland as the director tries to revive independent filmmaking in the country. The Yellow Fever Independent Film Festival is the first independent festival in Northern Ireland, and founder and filmmaker George Clarke (view the trailer for his kung fu zombie film Battle of the Bone here) faces some large hurdles to get the festival up and running for its August debut. The Independent's Dante A. Ciampaglia discovers Clarke's motivations and hopes for YFIFF and how it can bring change to the indie-deprived nation.