SAGIndie

This past week I packed my bags for the North Woods of Michigan and Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival.  I had to select my tickets in advance so I went into the festival knowing I was seeing several documentaries including The Cove (winner of Sundance Audience Award,) Food Inc. (because so many people in LA are talking about it) and Burma VJ (I met the director at Sundance and absolutely adored him.)

With these films in mind, I packed my books for the accompanying plane ride, Julia Childs Memoir, “My Life in France” and Michael Pollen’s follow-up to the Omnivore’s Dilemma, “In Defense of Food.”  I also did some quick research to see what food stuffs were going on in Northern Michigan and was thrilled to find out there is a raging slow food and sustainable growing movement.

By the time I landed at Cherry Airport I was well into life at the Cordon Bleu with Julia. I would have given anything to find moules marinieres and a robust red wine to compliment this journey.  But instead having missed the opening night screening due to delayed flights, I walked over to the opening night party, an outdoor fest with at least a dozen food and wine sponsors sampling all their best fare, a blue grass band and about 200 patrons enjoying the warm Michigan night.  While I did not see Mr. Moore anywhere, I could definitely feel his hand in putting this all together.

The next morning was my first screening of the fest, The Cove. I knew it was going to be rough as I had read the reviews after Sundance.  Two hours later, I was devastated.  I can barely recount what I saw happening to dolphins and feel forever indebted to the supreme work the advocates against the abuses these beautiful creatures face.  I also don’t know if I can ever eat tuna, at least what I think is tuna.  Actually, just make that sushi or anything I don’t know comes from responsible sustainable wild fish farms again. In the past I have kept it in check, knowing about mercury levels and the over fishing of the worlds seas but this film drives it home and you just can’t turn a blind eye.

I was able to regroup, I spent a couple of chapters with Julia in the south of France, went to see “Everlasting Moments” a beautiful yet tragic Swedish film that premiered last year in Toronto, then walked over to dinner passing the outdoor projector they had set up next to the lake to screen Close Encounters of the Third Kind. We sat in The Cooks House garden, a perfect execution of a dream slow food inspired restaurant where the chef/owner who trained under Andre Rochat asked us if we were the table who had ordered the arugula as he picked it from the garden directly in front of us!

Little did I know I would go home that night to begin Michael Pollen’s book, “In Defense of Food” and realize how truly important that meal had been.  After breakfast and a couple chapters further along (as a solo traveler around the world, I tend to read at my meals) I loaded my suitcase in the rental car and headed to my final screenings of the festival, Food Inc. and Burma VJ.

Now, since one of my first internships helping to write the online outreach guide for MediathatMatters.org, I have been a true believer in films ability to act as a catalyst for social change.  After watching “Food Inc.” I don’t know how anyone could not drastically change almost every food choice they make.  Its nothing you haven’t heard whisperings of before, animals pumped with antibiotics and hormones that we intern consume and chickens that can’t walk because they are grown with extra large breasts as that is the meat consumer demand.  Somehow, we as a country and the world at large are making some tragic and deadly mistakes.

In a post film daze, I followed the crowd over to the local co-op that had sponsored the film.  Amazing that this little town in Northern Michigan has the best co-op I have ever seen (Brooklyn and Santa Monica included) where I found a completely locally and organically grown pesticide free vegetarian sandwich and eavesdropped on conversations around me of people deciding to plant their own gardens, commit to free range, grass fed, hormone free beef and give up soy products.

Michael Moore had done it again.  I’ve had the pleasure of clapping twice for more than half an hour for standing ovations at Cannes for the premieres of Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sicko, the audience overwhelmed at the power of the images and stories he had just told.  And here I was at the café in Traverse City, MI, figuring out how I was going to plant my garden, go to my farmers market, support restaurants like The Cooks House who are making informed, smart and political choices in the food they serve and give up sushi.

In essence, the third and most important standing ovation for Mr. Moore and his commitment to providing his audiences with such important food for thought.

For the last month, our friends over at indieWIRE have been keeping close tabs on the the lineup for the 34th Toronto International Film Festival. With at least 199 films announced, they predict that the final lineup is very close to being complete — especially considering the fact that last year’s program had 249 feature films.

Some of the films we’re excited about: The Road, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Jennifer’s Body, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, and A Serious Man.

Check out the article by Peter Knegt for more info on the films that have already been released.

Sometimes people ask me to compare Cannes to an American festival they might have attended. Is it like Sundance but on the ocean? Well, if you find yourself at the Grand Hotel between the hours of 12AM and 2AM and imagine everyone in a parka and snow boots, there would be many familiar faces and I suppose you could see how this could be Zoom transported across the Atlantic with thirty dollar bellinis, but no…its really not the same. What is so foreign to my US festival going peers is that Cannes is not only a world class festival with an extremely competitive line up and formal premieres that you have to pack a fancy dress/tuxedo to attend, but  at the same time there is an AFM plus sized market happening just behind the walls of the Grand Palais.

Imagine whatever the major exhibition center in your city is, the Javitz Center, Los Angeles Convention Center, McCormick Place and then put it smack dab into the middle of the largest festival you have ever been to in an extraordinarily beautiful place and that’s Cannes. If you procure the proper credentials (and the gendarme of Cannes are very strict) you veer left of the world famous red carpet you enter the Marche, a sea of booths with every major distributor and buyer that ever existed.  Now, this is not an entertainment conference, there is no one selling the new Red Camera or a fancy film stock (well, they are there but usually on a yacht outside).

What is most striking are the movie posters. Row after row, floor after floor of movie posters. If you’ve ever wondered about what you are going up against making your film or read the statistics of how many films each year get distribution, and not just theatrical but even DVD/VOD or online, when you walk these isles, you can’t help to be humbled. There are always booths that stand out, Spain’s design is simply beautiful and Canal + of course shines, but everyone else is mainly four walls filled with well framed and lit posters of the films they are representing. Beautifully designed posters with actors we all recognize but films we’ve never heard of.

Then my heart beats a little faster, the poster looks great and I know this actor has some box office draw…are they just waiting on a release date? Or gearing up for a multi-city roll out? Or is it what I fear most, is the life of this film right now, on these four walls, screening at Cannes but not the Cannes we all know. This is not Directors Fortnight Cannes where careers are launched, it’s the Marche at Cannes, where a bunch of buyers from small territories that don’t really pay that well will watch the first 5 minutes or actually not even want to take the time to sit in a screening room and request a DVD so the film will be relegated to 5 minutes in a hotel room on a lap top somewhere off the Riviera?

It’s painful to imagine and I do it to myself every year but this year on the last day of walking the Marche, I found solace upstairs in a booth tucked into a tiny corner where I saw my friends film title sticking out from a rack of about 20 different one sheets. All he got at Cannes was a one sheet. So I guess having a poster is actually pretty good…it could be worse.

Eh, we’re here, just busy.  The world of SAGIndie is a never ending barrage of work.  When the rest of the [filmic] world seemed to be slowing down, we were still going strong – spreading the word of low budget contracts.  I like to think of us as KUNG FU, going from town-to-town, helping poor filmmakers make films.

Only I’m not grabbing any hot pot with my forearms.  It’s summer and I want to go sleeveless.  (kudos and Geritol for anyone who gets that reference).

I can’t speak for the rest of SAGIndie’s staff, but I have been BUSY!  Let’s just start with June.  Somehow, June was a crazy month for us.  We usually have about 4 sponsored festivals in June.  This year, we had 8!  We attended 7 of them!  Crazy.  Here are the highlights:

We went to the Producer’s Guild of America’s “Produced By” conference.  Pretty cool.  Too bad they couldn’t get any big names to appear.  Once James Cameron stopped extolling the bright future of 3-D, they still had little people like Kathleen Kennedy, Laura Schuler-Donner, Norman Lear and Kevin Feige (Marvel Studios) chatting up the crowds.  I’ve decided that Kevin Feige is my hero.  He’s got IRON MAN 2, THOR(!), and CAPTAIN AMERICA coming up, and a slate that extends for years.  I can’t wait for them, as they all look and sound incredibly cool.  Of course, MY Kevin won’t know of my obsession with him until he glances out his window some night at 3am and sees me camping in his bushes.  I’m sure he won’t mind once he sees that I’ve made S’Mores.

CineVegas was a blast, as always.  The SAGIndie Filmmakers Bowling Party was, of course, a great success.  Not only was there raucous bowling from midnight until nearly 4 am, but the blatant campaigning from filmmakers for the oh-so-prestigious bobble-head trophies was, frankly, embarrassing.  You know who you are.  I finally saw 500 DAYS OF SUMMER and was so pleasantly surprised that it’s one of my recommend films (and I don’t have many).

The day after I returned from Vegas, I loaded up and headed back to the airport for the Maui Film Festival.  Yep, it’s a hard knock life for me.  Well, Maui just sucks.  The weather is perfect, the ocean is beautiful, and the beaches are pristine.  Movies?  Oh yeah, and they had some interesting movies.  SAGIndie sponsored the screening of 500 DAYS OF SUMMER.  Zooey Deschanel was there and when my daughter (4) accosted her in the bathroom to tell her she liked her dress (“A” claims she didn’t know who she was, but I’ve seen her sneaking glances at InTouch magazine in the supermarket), Zooey (I call her Zooey) was extremely gracious.  The festival gave a tribute to her (so early in her career?) and to Willie Nelson.  Would have like to have been in the room while they were planning that one.

You would think that, after partying in Vegas and Hawaii, I’d be too tired to do anything else.  Well, you’re right, but I went to the Palm Springs Shortsfest anyhow.  I’m glad I did.  My partner in crime, Mark Friedlander (also known as SAG’s Guru of New Media) and I were on panels that were very well attended.  We saw a few shorts, met a bunch of really cool filmmakers, and stayed at the Uber-cool ACE Hotel.  Clearly where all the cool cats hang out (and occasionally they let people like Mark and me in).  I especially like the “adult snowcones” they offer poolside.  Not that I was poolside.  Not like I had one (or two).  That’s my story, and I’m sticking with it.

So finally, June is behind me and July is, actually, half over.  Things are settling down to our usual two festivals a month.  And I’m not going to most of them.  So it’ll be up to the rest of SAGIndie’s staff to blog about their festivals.
And they will.  I haven’t fired anyone in a while and I’m starting to develop a tick.  Must. Fire. Someone.

This is a week or so overdue, considering SXSW was a while ago, but I do feel obligated to report on what was a successful festival for SAGIndie and the Screen Actors Guild.

First and foremost, our main responsibility while attending Austin’s renowned Film, Interactive and Music fest is to get the word out about SAG’s low budget contracts. To do this, we traditionally participate as an exhibitor at SXSW’s convention portion of the fest.

In coordination with SAG’s iActor casting service, we co-hosted a booth that had to be one of the most popular in the convention hall. While other exhibitors boasted flashy displays and expensive giveaways, we went with a more simplistic approach by luring passersby with a game of skill. We brought handmade, magnetic toys called “Throwies”, developed by the Graffiti Research Lab. They’re basically a small LED light that’s connected to a magnet and a small battery. On one of the booth walls, we hung a large piece of sheet metal that participants would toss the Throwies at for a chance to win a spiffy SAGIndie hat or an iActor t-shirt.

Feedback from this simple (union made) game was phenomenal and even garnered a little press in the LA Weekly. Even if people couldn’t win a fancy prize, they still walked away with a complimentary LED light and over the course of the week, we would spot these bright contraptions all over the place – at bars, on street signs, taxi cabs, etc.

As is tradition, the team always hits up some excellent Austin restaurants. My favorite goes to Iron Works, a BBQ joint with exceptional brisket and sausage links.

When our time at the convention center was over, I tried to get out to see some local attractions — mainly, the huge colony of urban bats that live under the Congress Bridge. Unfortunately, mid-March is still a bit early for them to be back from the warmer south so I didn’t get to see the millions and millions of bats that come billowing out at dusk. I did get to see a few, but I’m considering this a major Bat Fail.

The best film I saw at the fest was one I missed at Sundance, SIN NOMBRE. A truly remarkable accomplishment for first-time director Cary Fukunaga. The film is now in limited release and is a must see for independent film lovers.

We also hit up a ton of parties and networking events — the best of all had to be ours, which was co-hosted by the WGA and held on the upstairs patio of Lenai.

This was a great trip on so many levels. I’m really looking forward to what we put together for next year.

Okay, I’m going to put this out there right off the bat so we’re all clear…

2009 marked my first trip to Sundance.

Yep. That ‘s the honest truth. Hard to believe, right? Not really.  I’ve always told myself that I wouldn’t make that expensive trip unless I had a film in competition or had to attend because of some job. Well, guess what? The job came a callin’.  

So, how did it all go for me? In two words I would sum up the experience as exhaustingly educational. The great thing about being a sponsor of a major festival like Sundance is that you get all the perks that filmmakers in competition receive, but with a lot less work and headache.  Sure, I was there on official SAGIndie business, but compared to the countless press interviews, networking and general “marketing” that a filmmaker goes through, I would say I had it pretty easy.

I was fortunate to see many quality films (HUMPDAY and BRONSON were two of my favorites), attend numerous parties (the We Live in Public bash was off the hook), explore a gorgeous resort town that I’ve always wanted to visit, and see the historic inauguration of our 44th President (albeit on CNN at a condo in Park City).  I was able to experience all of this while getting the word out about SAG’s low budget agreements. It should be mentioned that our little brunches were quite successful, mainly thanks to our gracious hosts — Lee Daniels (Push), Justin Kirk (Against the Current), Anne Heche (Spread), Paula Patton (Push), Lynn Shelton (Humpday), Lynette Howell (The Greatest), and Cherien Dabis (Amreeka).  

According to my co-workers, this year was an excellent year to attend Sundance for two main reasons: (A) it wasn’t nearly as crowded as years before and (B) it wasn’t as cold as years before. Boy, they could have fooled me. Everywhere I went seemed packed to capacity and every time I stepped outside I nearly froze (yes I’m originally from Alaska, but the nice Cali weather has weakened me).

Needless to say, all of the activity left me exhausted and with a bit of a cold, but I suppose I wouldn’t have it any other way.  Just call me battle tested.