SAGIndie

The critically-acclaimed director of BOMB IT! and distribution expert and author will present a step-by-step guide into the Dynamic New World of Hybrid Distribution and Marketing.

Day One goes over how to create a distribution strategy and marketing plan unique to your film, the various available markets for your film’s release, how and why to engage your audience as early as possible, digital rights, and more. It ends with a networking happy hour with industry reps.



Day Two discusses advertising campaigns, and transmedia platforms, as well as live workshopping of a few films.

Special guest speakers include Lance Weiler (THE WORKBOOK PROJECT) and Caitlin Boyle (FILM SPROUT).

Finally, all attendees get a DVD-Rom toolkit to take with them.

June 5th and 6th, 2010
New York Film Academy, Union Square, NYC

Tickets are only $150 for the weekend for IFP members and SAG/SAGIndie members.

Also, to get your FREE COMMUNITY MEMBERSHIP to IFP (worth $35), sign up here: www.ifp.org/registration-form. Type in the code FORG10.

For more information, click HERE or visit IFP.org.

On June 6, 2010 Actor, writer, and film director Steve Buscemi will talk with Emmy Award-winning journalist and Co-Host of WNYC Radio and PRI’s The Takeaway, John Hockenberry, about creating unforgettable characters that ultimately drive a film’s narrative and impact. The afternoon will feature film clips from the actor’s career as well as brunch at an award-winning Brooklyn eatery.

It is our pleasure to extend an advance invitation to SAG and SAGIndie members. The event will be publicly announced this Friday May 14th, so please take advantage of this opportunity to secure seats to this intimate event.

Actor as Auteur Brunch To Benefit ISSUE Project Room
Presented in Collaboration With SAGIndie
Sunday, June 6, 12pm – 2pm
$125 Per Person ($95 tax-deductible, three-course brunch is included.)

SEATING IS LIMITED. BUY TICKETS
For more information please call 718-330-0313.

There are numerous iconic characters in film history, from The Little Tramp to Charles Foster Kane to Colonel Kurtz to Travis Bickle, all of them well drawn and directed. However, had Chaplin, Welles, Brando or DeNiro not played these roles would the film had the same powerful impact on our culture? Can a case be made for actor as auteur?

It is difficult to imagine Buscemi’s roles and their indelible effect on each film without his personal, stylized approach in bringing them to life. They emit essential energies striking a balance between deeply held neuroses and outward bombast. From lead roles in films like Fargo, Resevoir Dogs, Living in Oblivion, Trees Lounge, and Ghost World to supporting roles and cameos in films such as The Big Lebowski, and Barton Fink, his presence breathes life into every corner of a film. “Buscemi is a quiet tyrant of artistic fury who threatens to overrun every frame he’s in with the inner desperation he projects even in his most subtle performances,” says Hockenberry.

SAGIndie is a gentle and loving union between the hard working thespians of the world and the passionate filmmakers who buck the system. Since its formation in 1997, SAGIndie has been traveling to film festivals, trade shows and conventions spreading the word: Just because your film isn’t produced by a studio doesn’t mean you can’t use professional talent. www.SAGIndie.org

ISSUE Project Room, a registered 501(c)(3) organization, was established in 2003 by visionary artist Suzanne Fiol, and is a vibrant nexus for cutting-edge, multi-disciplinary arts in Brooklyn. ISSUE supports emerging and established experimental artists through more than 200 programs each year including music concerts, literary readings, films, videos, dance, visual and sound art, new media, critical theory lectures and discussions, site-specific work, commissions, educational workshops, master classes, and genre-defying interdisciplinary performances that challenge and expand conventional practices in art.  Support for ISSUE has been provided by CHORA, a project of the Metabolic Studio, a direct charitable activity of the Annenberg Foundation led by Artist and Foundation Director Lauren Bon. CHORA aims to support the intangibles that precede creativity. www.ISSUEProjectRoom.org 

Our Tribeca Film Festival Bowling Party was mentioned in this week’s print edition of People magazine. Check it out:

For those of you who aren’t familiar with his work, John August is one of Hollywood’s hardest working screenwriters. With substantial writing credits to his name (GO, Charlie’s Angels, Big Fish) he has also directed, produced, and worked within the industry for numerous years. Bottom line – the guy has been around. Not only is he talented, but he’s also super smart and wants to impart his knowledge on you.

His website, johnaugust.com, is one of the most amazing filmmaking resources on the ‘nets. I visit it daily and always come away with something useful. Topics of discussion aren’t just limited to screenwriting, they span the industry and can range from Releasing Micro-Budget Indies to Tips for using Index Cards. On occassion, John will even give his opinion on random, day-to-day issues like taking anxiety medication.

It doesn’t matter what level of the industry you’re in. Do yourself a favor and subscribe to his site. You’ll learn a lot.

Hi friends!

Independent Film Week is the oldest and largest forum in the U.S. for the discovery of new projects in development and new voices on the independent film scene. The Project Forum is a meetings-driven forum connecting filmmakers who have new narrative and documentary projects with key industry executives interested in identifying projects with which to become involved at the financing or distribution stage.

It is qualitatively and quantitatively the best opportunity for an independent filmmaker to connect with industry professionals – including producers, funders, distributors, broadcasters, sales agents and festival programmers. The Project Forum also furthers filmmaker and industry interaction with opportunities for networking at social events throughout the week.

Now accepting applications for all three sections: Emerging Narrative (for writers and writer/directors seeking producers and agents to develop, produce, represent and finance their scripts), No Borders (for U.S. and international producers with partial financing on new narrative projects seeking additional partners), Spotlight on Documentaries (for U.S. filmmakers with projects in production or post-production seeking financing partners, broadcast/distribution opportunities, and festival invitations.)

Deadlines vary by section – from April 23 (for Emerging Narrative) to May 21 (for No Borders and Spotlight on Documentaries). For deadline schedule, criteria for all sections, and online applications, go HERE.

If you live in Chicago and either love or hate Todd Solondz’s work, there’s an event happening tomorrow (Thursday, April 15) that you don’t want to miss.

Thanks to the news tip from our friends at Cinematical (via THR’s Risky Business), Spengler himself, Mr. Harold Ramis, will be debating Fred Miller, M.D., Ph.D on Solondz’s 1998 film, HAPPINESS, during Columbia College’s Cinema Slapdown. The series is described as “A wildly entertaining crossbreed of film discussion and knockdown, drag out debate.”

For more info on the event, go here.

Happy New Year!

Trying to figure out what to spend that holiday cash or iTunes gift card on? Why not head to the iTunes store and load up on some filmmaker friendly apps?

Our friends over at THE WRAP put together a list of the 10 “Hollywood” apps every movie lover or working professional must have for their iPhone. Some are more fun than practical, like the Space Odyssey inspired HAL 9000 app, which costs nothing, but provides hours of fun with endless Hal one-liners. Other apps are much more useful for the indie filmmaker on the go, like the Artemis Director’s Viewfinder, which costs $29.99, but allows you to plug in the shooting format, the aspect ratio, and the type of lens you’re using to preview an upcoming shot.

Check out the entire list HERE.
 

People have always told me that no place on earth is better than NEW YORK CITY during the holidays. Now I know why.

Over Thanksgiving break I was in Manhattan taking in the glorious sights and sounds of a city buzzing with holiday cheer. For the short time I was there, I pushed myself hard — hustling to see everything I could while getting a cold and blistered feet in the process. I’m happy to report that the pain didn’t stop me from journeying down the endless streets of the Upper West Side, Lower East Side, Midtown, Chinatown, Little Italy, Brooklyn, Tribeca, Central Park – the list goes on and on. I didn’t even get to do everything I planned, but I aim to be back very soon.

Oh, and I guess there was work to be done (if you can even call it work). As is custom, SAGIndie once again sponsored the Gotham Awards. Located at 55 Wall Street in the Cipriani Building, we watched as some of 2009’s best independent films were honored. Guests of SAGIndie included Krysten Ritter (Breaking Bad, Woke Up Dead), Ivan Sergei (Crossing Jordan, Once a Thief), Steve Schirripa (The Sopranos) and Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation, Funny People). All of whom were extremely delightful and fun.

The Hurt Locker won Best Feature and Best Ensemble Cast. Food Inc. won Best Documentary. Robert Siegel won Breakthrough Director for his amazing work on Big Fan. Catalina Saavedra won Breakthrough Actor for her work in The Maid. And the award for Best Film Not Playing in a Theater Near You went to You Won’t Miss Me, directed by Ry Russo-Young.

All in all, it was an amazing trip and another successful event for SAGIndie.

We’re extremely excited to be presenting Precious: based on the novel ‘Push’ by Saphire as one of this year’s AFI Fest Gala Films. We had the great priviledge to see this amazing film when it debuted at Sundance (in fact, it was called PUSH back then) and were even fortunate enough to have the director, Lee Daniels, co-sponsor our Sundance Filmmaker Brunch.

It’s a truly remarkable film and we’re so stoked for the world to experience it. It screens at the AFI Fest on Sunday, November 1st at 7PM.

Check out the complete list of nominees for the upcoming Gotham Awards that take place on November 30th at Cipriani Wall Street in NYC. BIG FAN and THE HURT LOCKER lead the nominations.