Features

With online distribution becoming a viable outlet for filmmakers, The Independent takes a look at how filmmakers are leveraging the growing audiences this election season to promote political films, from Michael Moore's Slacker Uprising (see trailer here) to David Zucker’s An American Carol (see trailer here), as well as strictly YouTube releases like this video by Noshpit Entertainment.

There are many ways to fund a film, but how do you know what is right for you? The Independent looks at three films: the documentary, The Linguists (see the trailer), the short, student film, The Abattoir (see the trailer) and the feature, A Good Day To Be Black & Sexy (see the trailer) to see how they went from ideas on the page to festival successes.

Guaranteed Completion Contracts (GCCs), otherwise known as waivers, prove to be a lifesaver for indie filmmakers as the SAG and AMTFG negotiations remain at a standstill. Here is a rundown of the issues at hand and how they might affect independent filmmakers.

Tourists flock in hoards to experience the literature, theatre, tango, and art of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Film can now be added to the list. Yet even with increased financial support from the Argentine government, Argentine-made films, particularly the indies, are struggling to find an audience big enough to sustain the industry. Kim Winternheimer reports on the latest developments for Argentine films both home and abroad.

If Hollywood is slow to make the leap online, independents are even more hesitant, fearing the gradual (or dramatic) shaving of their profit margins, which are low to begin with. What is the future of Internet film distribution? The Independent's Michele Meek takes a look the upstarts who are changing the way the distribution game is played, including Movieflix, EZTakes, Jaman, FilmOn, and, yes, Google Video.

The 5th Bangkok Experimental Film Festival kicks off in March at a time when the work of Thai directors such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Thunska Pansittivorakul is gaining worldwide acclaim. But even as Thai independent cinema reaches a creative pinnacle, it finds itself bumping up against serious new censorship at home. The Independent's Denise Burrell-Stinson recently travelled to Southeast Asia, and files this report. You can view a clip from Sud pralad (Tropical Malady), and trailers for Sud sanaeha (Blissfully Yours) and Sang sattawat (Syndromes and a Century), Weerasethakul's censored film, on our Watch page.

Sundance is growing in every which way, from the number of submissions (more than 8,000 this year) to the festival's online presence (which now includes a number of downloadable shorts). But as it gets bigger, is it getting better? That's the question that The Independent's Erin Trahan posed to upstarts looking for their big break this year, veteran filmmakers, Park City locals and more.

Mark Ruppert and Liz Langston, the founders of the 48 Hour Film Project, have developed a legion of devoted fans who churn out shockingly clever short films in shockingly short periods of time. Having expanded from Tulsa to Tel Aviv, the question is this: Can the partners find a way to pay the bills without selling out? The clock is ticking.... Nadine Heintz reports. (The photograph at left is of the crew of Maestro Percival, a prize-winning short that came out of the 48 Hour Film Project in Baltimore.)

Bring together a group of women for an evening to appreciate the rich legacy of Jewish humor by female comedians, and what happens? They think what they’ve seen and heard is too good not to be shared. So they decide to make a film. Then one of them volunteers to foot the bill and, before the laughter fades, the Jewish Women’s Archive and it’s director, Gail Reimer, are producing Making Trouble, and introducing audiences anew to the incredible talents of Molly Picon, Fanny Brice, Sophie Tucker, Joan Rivers, Gilda Radner, and Wendy Wasserstein.