by Gina Hall.

The recent passage of the JOBS act may be the shot in the arm the indie film business needs to reignite the lackluster funding in recent years. What’s exciting is that it’s opening up the crowdfunding market past your typical cadre of friends and family who are making a donation to Kickstarter or Indiegogo without any expectation of return.

Maria Bozzi, Director of Education at Film Independent, noted “The JOBS Act could help filmmakers get the interest of other individuals, unrelated to the subject matter or filmmaker, who might want to dip their toes in the waters of filmmaking by investing in projects that promise them a piece of the pie in the form of equity.”

So what can the aspiring indie filmmaker do in anticipation of attracting these new investors? The online crowdfunding world is a big, noisy place and it’s not always easy to make a splash. It requires something that Hollywood’s traditional development process doesn’t — followers. Fortunately you get to keep your fan base from project to project, kind of like rolling over your own digital 401k of people who like you. And like your 401K, it’s never too early to start building it.

Read the rest of this article from Moviefone.

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from IBN Live.

DearCinema brings to you a few voices that define the Indie scene in India today, ruminating over what independent cinema means to them. Straight from the horse’s mouth. Following Q, Shonali Bose, Onir and Shivajee Chandrabhushan, in the fifth in the series, filmmaker Nila Madhab Panda whose debut feature film ‘I Am Kalam’ won a national award and much critical acclaim speaks his mind on indie filmmaking:

Recently, I was at a round table discussion on ‘Managing and Protecting Creativity’ at IIM Bangalore. Alongside me were several legendary filmmakers and dancers. When their turn came, each of them said they were not great speaking in front of an audience. But I feel if our generation does not speak out, we will keep on having such seminars and talks, on Indie cinema, and on creating and protecting creativity, without any result ever.

So, I believe in speaking my mind, as I did at the round table. Because I strongly feel that if we have to take forward our cinema and our arts, we have to be proactive, to the extent that we look at even the otherwise routine-sounding seminars and conferences as a platform to take forward the movement and the struggle to create art work in consonance with the sensibilities of the modern times.

Read the rest of this article from IBN live.

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from Encore Magazine.

A first time feature documentary maker has struck a deal with Woolworths to distribute his film. Woolworths will stock DVDs of Australian Joe Cross’s healthy living documentary, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead in the produce section of its supermarket.

Cross’s story is the opposite to Morgan Spurlock’s Supersize Me. As an overweight broker, Cross sold his company and used a roadtrip across America with a cameraman, sound guy and a juicer as a way to get slim. While eating and drinking only fruit and vegetables Cross aimed to discover why people didn’t eat better.

Cross told Encore: “I did the deal directly. Woolworths are supporting the film as their view is this is a film that inspires people to eat more fresh food and they’re the fresh food people.”

Read the rest of this article from Encore Magazine.

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This article was written for Knowledge@Wharton.

Aspiring filmmaker James Kerwin had an image in his mind — a 1940s-era Lauren Bacall wearing Humphrey Bogart’s trench coat and walking through city streets at night. That image was the genesis of his first feature film, Yesterday Was a Lie, a black-and-white noir-style science fiction mystery starring Kipleigh Brown, Chase Masterson (who also served as producer) and John Newton. The independently produced film draws on myriad arcane influences ranging from Jungian psychology to quantum physics.

To fund the film, Kerwin used an approach that is uncommon in motion picture production: He established a tax exempt non-profit organization to raise the roughly $200,000 he needed. He was also fortunate enough to be awarded a grant from Panavision, which supplied most of his equipment.

Read the rest of this article from Knowledge@Wharton.

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This article was written by Katherine Monk.

“He’s probably one of the busiest directors in Canada, but for Carl Bessai making movies isn’t just work. It’s more like an addiction.

Bessai’s production averages at least one film per year since he made his dramatic debut with the intimate character study Johnny in 1999. Since then, several other portraits followed with Emile, Lola, Cole and Mothers & Daughters.

This year, Bessai has birthed two new films to join the celluloid brood: Fathers & Sons, which opens the Canadian Images program at the Vancouver International Film Festival today, and Repeaters, which screens on Oct. 9.

“It’s great having two films in the festival,” says Bessai. “For the actors, it’s especially important. The festival is really the prize.”

Read the rest of this article from the Vancouver Sun.

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This article was written by Destrybaldauf.

“Indie films, also known as an independent filmmaker, is much more creative than Hollywood productions and short films. The majority of indie film-making projects to bring in social issues and documentary-style projects that are less fictional or at least reality-based fiction of a kind.

An independent film can be anything you want it, and you need an inventory of your personal creative goals to meet in order to succeed in the film production. Low-budget filmsneed not be bad films. In fact, several of the best movies ever made be made with a small budget. You only need to know how to make an impression and you market yourself and your film.”

Read the rest of this article from Data Recovery New Jersey.

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This article was written by Brian Brooks.

“In an anticipated annual announcement, Filmmaker Magazine unveiled its “25 New Faces of Independent Film” today. The 12th annual list spotlights, in the words of the publication, “up-and-comers poised to shape the next generation of independent film.” The complete roster appears in the new issue of IndieWire and is available below.”

Read the rest of this article from IndieWire.

This article was written for Lifestyle, Entertainment and Movies.

“Independent filmmaking often takes place outside of Hollywood, or other major studio systems. An independent film (or indie film) is a film initially produced without financing or distribution from a major movie studio. Creative, business, and technological reasons have all contributed to the growth of the indie film scene in the late 20th and early 21st century.”

Read the rest of this article from jjdmthemovie.com

This article was written by Kevin A Terrell.

“Welcome to the world of independent filmmaking. You probably  are eager to get started. Whether it be for online or a local film festival, with these quick tips, you will  have a little better understanding on how to get ahead of the game. The following tips are going to show you just the basics on getting started. With time and experience, you will be a professional at it. Okay let go!”

This article was written by Mahogany J. Slide.

“Five hour night shoot. One primary service light. One handcam. No external audio. No camera operator. Total time of footage actually used after editing: 2 minutes and 20 seconds.

Just me and my BFF Katie Payne and for the sake of not having better words or enough sleep to think of any, We banged it Baby, totally banged it!

It was 10:30 PM yesterday when my long time friend/aspiring film actress KP and I plunged headlong into a dark and slightly nippy night shoot for the opening scene of one my feature films, Serial 65. I finally got to put into practice and try out some of the new techniques I’ve learned over the past couple months of hitting the film books hard and watching every tutorial and vlog about filmmaking posted on twitter and the like.”

Read the rest of this article from Junto Ink Films.