July/August 2006

In the March issue of The Independent, we reported that AIVF faced a financial crisis and an uncertain future. As of this writing (June 2, 2006), AIVF is in the process of closing down operations and vacating its office space.

Dear Doc Doctor:
My documentary has three potential endings. How do I choose one?

False starts, fake endings, such are the tricks that storytelling—and life—plays on us. But it’s important to remember that endings are choices, even when documenting real events.

Alot of what AIVF did was to create an interface between very diverse communities of independent media makers and audiences that work structurally through the realms of public television. Not just public TV a la NPR and PBS, but also public access to media spaces like Collective for Living Cinema, Film/Video Arts, Millennium, and Anthology.

Indiepix and PixelTools Corporation recently announced that the 2,000 films available on Indiepix.net’s Download-To- Own system will be watermarked using a new technology called MPEG Escort. The invisible, digital watermark allows online purchasers to make copies, but prevents pirates from doing so, (the watermark makes it simple to trace who originally purchased and downloaded the film.)

It was while Matthew Jones was seeking cast and crew for his film projects at Columbia College that he realized the need for a “a distribution outlet for our work along with a network to recruit from.”

In 1975, when a small group of energetic filmmakers convened the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers in their living rooms and makeshift offices, the word “independent” didn’t yet conjure up a world of arthouses, busy film festival circuits, and documentary filmmakers with household names.

Dear Readers,

With more than 25 museums and research centers and a collection of more than 142 million objects, the Smithsonian Institution is a necessary treasure trove for anyone working on a project about American history and culture, anthropology, art, or science.

Ohio-based filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s 3-hour and 45-minute documentary A Lion in the House follows five families with economically and racially diverse backgrounds over six years during their fights against childhood cancer.

When I came to work with AIVF in February, I don’t believe the Board or staff could have predicted that AIVF’s situation would spark a debate about the possible meltdown of an entire industry.