IFP » Dan Schoenbrun

Savoring the Small Moments at Sundance 2013

Dan Schoenbrun — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:04:41 +0000

This January’s Sundance Film Festival was my first, and though I came armed with a three-inch binder’s worth of printed out screening schedules, flight itineraries, custom made Google Maps, and much, much more, I quickly learned that it was the kind of thing that you just can’t quite prepare for. As soon as I hit the ground in Park City, many of my plans – films I couldn’t wait to see, parties I just couldn’t miss – were quickly rewritten as I adapted to the unique flow of Park City.

Sundance is a festival where you’re constantly checking your watch; stressing as one movie’s credits roll about how you’re going to get to the next one. At parties, it seems as if everyone is not so much socializing as jockeying to find out from everyone else which films are on the edge of a sale. It’s the kind of festival where when my colleague and friend Nick Dawson woke up one morning in intense pain, and called a taxi to take him to the ER, the Park City dispatcher responded, “I’m not familiar with that venue.”

Indeed, there’s an urgency and an intensity to the festival that’s all too easy to get sucked into. So perhaps the most valuable thing I figured out early on was to savor the small moments, and to just kind of zen out. Once I adopted this philosophy, I was able to settle down and really enjoy myself. Here are just a few of my favorite moments from the festival:

Films Coming to Fruition

At IFP, we support hundreds of work-in-progress films and young filmmakers each year. At Sundance this year, we were lucky enough to have twelve alumni projects premiering. Professionally, it’s always invigorating to see so many works that you’ve supported start their journey on the festival circuit and beyond. And on a personal level, it’s sincerely moving to see filmmakers who I know have been toiling away on projects for years finally introducing them to the world.

My first film of the festival was Shaka King’s Newlyweeds, a comedy about an aimless young couple in love with each other and with marijuana, but not necessarily in that order. IFP first supported the project back in 2011 when King attended our annual Independent Film Week as one of our Emerging Narrative screenwriting fellows. Back then, the script was still an early draft, but King’s charming and unique voice was already shining through. During Film Week, IFP put together a reading of a section of the Newlyweeds script in partnership with SAG Indie and casting agent Paul Schnee. I still have a very vivid memory of seeing King’s words come to life in front of an audience for the first time. And now, two years later, it was great to see that happen again on the big screen, with much of the same cast as first appeared in that screenplay reading two years ago.

Amari Cheatom and Trae Harris as Lyle and Nina in Newlyweeds

Similarly moving was Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, the sophomore feature from David Lowery, a wonderful young filmmaker who has been a friend of the IFP family for some time now (his micro-budget debut St. Nick came through our Filmmaker Labs all the way back in 2008). The script for Ain’t Them Bodies Saints was a part of our No Borders International Co-Production Market two years ago, but the screenplay only hinted at the majestic, ambitious, and wonderfully visual work that Lowery has concocted. Working to great effect with established actors such as Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, and Keith Carradine, Lowery has put together a meditative, haunting, and beautiful ode to the dying myth of the American outlaw. It’s a film that pays off years of hard work on Lowery’s part, one that should skyrocket him towards the top of the list of crucial American auteurs.

Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck in Ain’t Them Bodies Saints

Beyond these two films, there were so many other projects that IFP has been working with for years that were the talk of the festival: Stacie Passon’s complex character study Concussion (Narrative Labs 2012), which sold to Weinstein’s Radius for seven figures, Alexandre Moors’ Blue Caprice (Narrative Labs 2012), a dark meditation on the DC Sniper attacks, which received nearly unanimous rave reviews, After Tiller (Documentary Labs 2012), a controversial documentary about third-trimester abortion doctors that seemed to be the talk of the festival everywhere I went, and many, many more.

Making Time for Slamdance

Up the hill from the frenzied party hopping of Main Street, Park City’s Treasure Mountain Inn plays host each year to Slamdance. An indisputably smaller operation compared to the festival that most people descend on Park City for, Slamdance is still a vital facet of the independent scene. Showcasing work from emerging filmmakers, the festival has a bootstrappy, DIY feel to it that’s quite charming indeed.

This year I served on the Slamdance Documentary Jury, an opportunity that not only helped me to familiarize myself with the workd of many talented emerging storytellers, but also helped me to escape the constant insanity that is the Sundance Film Festival. There’s a sincerity and integrity to Slamdance – whether illustrated by the daring and unorthodox programming choices, the awesome parties (the opening night event featured a pop-up barber shop smack in the middle of the party), or just the fact that everyone at the festival – filmmakers, programmers, press, industry – seemed to be on a first-name basis with one another.

Still from Nicole Teeny’s Bible Quiz

As my co-jurors and I deliberated in the Slamdance main office, I couldn’t help but notice a wall of cubbies stuffed with backpacks and coats, as if everyone at the festival was part of one big grade school class. I dare you to find anywhere else in Park City that replicates such a vibe.

Festival Forum Progress

The programming team at IFP spends much of its time supporting storytellers, but we feel that it’s equally important to help those people who are dedicating themselves to helping storytellers. That’s been the mission of the IFP Festival Forum, an association and alliance of festival professionals that launched three years back at Independent Film Week. Since then, I’ve watched the group grow in scope, membership, and mission, as our very dedicated Executive Committee has put a plan in place to transform the group into an independent 501c3 run by and advocating for festival professionals.

It’s a lofty goal, and one that will take a lot of work to put into effect, but at the group’s annual brunch for festival leadership at Sundance, a resounding majority officially ratified a proposed set of bylaws and strategic plan for this evolution. Not only that, but the group also announced a set of exciting new recruits to the Executive Committee – including the San Francisco Film Society’s Ted Hope, the Hampton Film Festival’s Anne Chaisson, and Sundance’s Sarah Pearce.

Following the brunch, we all set to work with four hours of subcommittee sessions, where members of the Festival Forum convened to continue brainstorming and implementing next steps for the organization. Over these sessions, I watched representatives from festivals all across the world take time off from their packed Sundance screening schedules to convene and work together on strengthening their industry. Time will tell exactly when the Festival Forum completes its transformation into the organization that the Executive Committee has envisioned it becoming, but it was inspiring to see progress being made.

Producer Peter Phok on the job of being a Producer

Dan Schoenbrun — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 18:45:37 +0000

Producer Peter Phok talks to the National Film Society about his love of producing and his lack of sleep.

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Don Cheadle’s “Envision” Keynote Address on Sustainability and Activist Filmmaking

Dan Schoenbrun — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:12:51 +0000

Actor Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, Crash) delivers the closing keynote address from Envision 2012: Stories for a Sustainable Future.

Here, he discusses his career, issues of sustainability, and the merits of social issue filmmaking.

Envision 2012 was presented by IFP, the United Nations Department of Public Information, and the Ford Foundation on 4/17/12.

For more information, click here.

IFP Congratulates Its Alumni at Hot Docs

Dan Schoenbrun — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:29:42 +0000

IFP would like to congratulate its alumni filmmakers with IFP-supported projects at the 2012 Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival and Hot Docs Forum, taking place April 26th to May 6^th in Toronto:

Festival

Beware of Mr. Baker; dir. Jay Bulger

Brooklyn Castle; dir. Katie Dellamaggiore

Call Me Kuchu; dir. Malika Zouhali Worrell & Katherine Fairfax Wright

Finding North; dir. Kristi Jacobson

Herman’s House; dir. Angad Bhalla

High Tech, Low Life; dir. Stephen Maing

Inocente; dir. Sean Fine & Andrea Nix Fine

Laura; dir. Fellipe Barbosa

The List; dir. Beth Murphy

Low and Clear; dir. Kahlil Hudson & Tyler Hughen

The Queen of Versailles; dir. Lauren Greenfield

The Revisionaries; dir. Scott Thurman

United in Anger: A History of ACT UP; dir. Jim Hubbard

Welcome to the Machine; dir. Avi Zev Weider

Where Heaven Meets Hell; dir. Sasha Friedlander

Wildness; dir. Wu Tsang

Hot Docs Forum

Let the Fire Burn; dir. Jason Osder

These Birds Walk; dir. Bassam Tariq & Omar Mullick

For full festival schedule and more information, click here.

IFP Alumni at Tribeca 2012

Dan Schoenbrun — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:48:19 +0000

IFP would like to congratulate its alumni filmmakers with projects at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival, taking place April 18th to the 29th in Manhattan:

Don’t Stop Believin’, Everyman’s Journey, dir. Ramona S. Diaz

Fame High, dir. Scott Hamilton Kennedy

Future Weather, dir. Jenny Deller

High Tech, Low Life, dir. Stephen Maing

Joe Papp in Five Acts, dir. Tracie Holder

The List, dir. Beth Murphy

Nancy, Please, dir. Andrew Semans

Portrait of Wally, dir. Andrew Shea

The Revisionaries, dir. Scott Thurman

Una Noche, dir. Lucy Mulloy

IFP has also partnered with the Tribeca Film Festival to co-present screenings of two of its alumni films – Lucy Mulloy’s Una Noche and Stephen Maing’s High Tech, Low Life.

An alumni of the 2011 Documentary Labs, High Tech, Low Life tells the story of two rogue citizen journalists in China who challenge the status quo and push the boundaries of free speech by reporting on censored news stories. Premiering Thursday, 4/19 in Tribeca’s World Documentary Competition, more info on showtimes and tickets can be found here.

An alumni of the 2010 Narrative Labs, Una Noche is the harrowing tale of two Cuban teens tantalized by the idea of fleeing the confines of their broken-down country for a new life in Miami.Premiering Thursday, 4/19 in Tribeca’s World Narrative Competition, more info on showtime and tickets can be found here.

What is Indie Today? New Trends in American Independent Filmmaking

Dan Schoenbrun — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:14:52 +0000

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IFP at SXSW

Dan Schoenbrun — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:48:24 +0000

IFP proudly congratulates its 17 alumni films premiering at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, including five from our Independent Filmmaker Labs: Matt Ruskin’s Booster (Narrative Labs 2011) in Narrative Competition; Avi Zev Weider’s Welcome to the Machine (Documentary Labs 2011) in Documentary Competition; and Nir Paniry’s Extracted (Narrative Labs 2011), Tim Sutton’s Pavilion (Narrative Labs 2011), and Wu Tsang’s Wildness (Documentary Labs 2010) in Emerging Visions.

Additional IFP alumni screening at the festival: Spotlight on Documentaries alumni Annie Eastman’s Bay of All Saints, Jay Bulger’s Beware of Mr. Baker, and Caveh Zahedi’s The Sheikh and I in Documentary Competition; Katie Dellamaggiore’s Brooklyn Castle, Rebecca Richman Cohen’s Code of the West, Ashley Sabin and David Redmon’s Girl Model, Ben Shapiro’s Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters, and Kristy Guevara-Flanagan’s Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroes in Documentary Spotlight; and Mark Kendall’s La Camioneta: The Journey of One American School Bus (also fiscally sponsored by IFP) and Kahlil Hudson and Tyler Hughen’s Low & Clear in Emerging Visions. Also screening at the festival are Todd Rohal’s Nature Calls (No Borders) in Narrative Spotlight and Adam Leon’s Gimme the Loot (IFP/Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Emerging Visions) in Narrative Competition.

Also at SXSW, IFP’s Rose Vincelli is a part of the “Mentors: Artist Development” session at 11am on Saturday, March 10. She is also moderating IFP’s panel, “Tough Love: Why You’re Still Not Festival Ready” with hybrid distribution guru Jon Reiss and IFP Labs alumnus Tim Sutton, director of Pavilion. “Tough Love” is at 3:30p March 10. If you’re at SXSW, come say hi & glean from our knowledge! Follow IFP on Twitter @ifpfilm for updates from some of the 17 IFP alumni fest premieres and other news from the fest.

Congratulations to everyone – we’ll see you in Austin!

Applications Now Open for IFP International Fellowships

Dan Schoenbrun — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:35:33 +0000

CANNES PRODUCER’S NETWORK FELLOWSHIPS

Deadline March 6, 2012

As the sole U.S. Partner Organization for the Cannes Producer’s Network & Producer’s Lab, IFP is pleased to offer producers the opportunity to attend this prestigious week-long immersion program in May 2012. Running concurrently with Cannes International Film Festival, the Producer’s Network is specifically designed for experienced producers to build up the international networks and share expertise on the international production, financing and packaging marketplace. Cannes’ latest initiative, The Producer’s Lab, is open to all emerging producers with at least completed feature film credit.

To apply, please send a resume and one-page letter of interest to John Sylva, jsylva@ifp.org, by Tuesday, March 6^th. 5 producers will be selected to attend the Producers Network and 2 emerging producers will attend the Producer’s Lab. All applicants must be IFP members at any level to be considered for the program.

For more information: http://www.ifp.org/programs/international/international-fellowships/cannes-producers-network/

TRANS ATLANTIC PARTNERS FELLOWSHIP

Deadline March 21, 2012

TRANS ATLANTIC PARTNERS is an intensive three-week film training program for U.S., Canadian, and European producers seeking co-production/co-venture professional development. Module 1 begins in June 2012 in Berlin. Module 2 takes place September 2012 in Halifax leading into Strategic Partners (SP), Canada’s international co-production market. Directly following SP, Module 3 takes place at the Independent Film Week in New York, the oldest and largest forum in the U.S. for the discovery of new projects in development and new voices on the independent scene.

TAP offers a unique combination of intensive, hands-on training with effective networking and targeted project partner search. Topics covered in the program include an overview of the European, Canadian and US audiovisual market-figures, structure, and players; the financial landscape for European, Canadian and US feature film production; and current marketing and distribution realities.TAP application forms are available at www.coproduction-training.com, and the deadline to apply is March 21, 2012.

Please contact John Sylva, jsylva@ifp.org, or visit http://www.ifp.org/programs/international/programsinternational-programstrans-atlantic-partners/ for more information.

IFP’s Guide to Granting Organizations

Dan Schoenbrun — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:44:49 +0000

Do you know of a granting opportunity that isn’t listed on this page? Let us know by emailing dschoenbrun@ifp.org.

Chicken and Egg

A film fund and non-profit production company dedicated to supporting women filmmakers passionate about the craft of storytelling, as well as social justice, environmental and human rights issues. Funding opportunities available through partnerships with Working Films, The Fledgling Fund, Impact Partners, and Good Pitch.

Cinereach

Cinereach is a not-for-profit film production company and foundation that champions vital stories, artfully told. Created and led by young philanthropists, entrepreneurs and filmmakers, Cinereach empowers fiction and nonfiction filmmakers from all over the world through Grants & Awards, The Reach Film Fellowship, an internal Productions department, and through partnerships with the Sundance Institute and other organizations. Since 2006, Cinereach has disbursed close to $5 million in grant funds to more than 100 projects at the intersection of engaging storytelling, visual artistry and vital subject matter.

Film Independent

Each year, Film Independent awards a number of annual grants and fellowships to filmmakers and Felliows.

JAMESON FIND YOUR AUDIENCE GRANT

New in 2011. Awards $40,000 to a FIND associated feature film for marketing and distribution.

SPIRIT AWARDS GRANTS

Every year at the Spirit Awards, Film Independent gives out three Filmmaker Grants of $25,000. The three awards are:

Acura Someone to Watch Award: recognizes an under-appreciated filmmaker. Past winners include Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop), Marc Forster (Everything Put Together), Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha), and Larry Fessenden (Habit).

Truer Than Fiction Award: presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant attention. Past winners include Bill and Turner Ross, Adele Horne (The Tailenders), Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski (Born into Brothels), and Errol Morris (Fast, Cheap & Out of Control).

Producers Award: honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, produce quality independent films. Past winners include Karin Chien (The Exploding Girl), Gina Kwon (Me and You and Everyone We Know), Caroline Baron (Capote), and Effie Brown (Real Women Have Curves).

Sloan Producers Grant

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation awards $25,000 to one science/math-centric project from Film Independent’s Producers Lab. Past films that received this grant include Future Weather, The Man Who Knew Infinity, and Basmati Blues.

Sloan Fast Track Grant

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation awards $15,000 to one science/math-centric project from Film Independent’s Fast Track financing market. The first film to receive this grant was 2010’s Future Weather.

Ellie/Garnier Directing Fellowship

Film Independent awards a $10,000 production grant to one filmmaker from its Directors Lab. Former fellows include Jennifer Arnold (A Small Act), and Bridget Bedard (Operation June Black). Funded by ELLE and Garnier.

Elizabeth Pena Fellowship

A $10,000 production grant to a Latino filmmaker participating in Film Independent’s Project:Involve program. The 2010 fellow was George Reyes (La Muñeca Fea (The Ugly Doll). Funded by Target.

Kodak Film Grants

Each year, Film Independent awards a limited number of grants of Kodak film stock to filmmakers in production on their feature films. These grants are only open to alumnus of FIND’s programs. Former recipients include Amreeka, Circumstance, Dear Lemon Lima, Jack and Diane, Mississippi Damned, and Pariah.

Rooftop Films

Offers production, post-production, and short film grants. Open only to Rooftop Film screening alumni.

San Francisco Film Society

Offers documentary, screenwriting, and production grants to US-based filmmakers. Over $700,000 awarded in 2011.

Sundance Institute

Grants offered by the Sundance Institute can be divided into three categories – those with open applications, those offered only to Feature Film Program participants, and the Documentary Fund grants.

Grants with open applications:

Alfred P. Sloan Commissioning Grant

-Established in 2005 to support the development of screenplays with science or technology themes. The annual grant includes:

*A cash grant of up to $20,000 to provide support during the writing period

*A stipend of up to $5,000 for a science advisor

*Creative support during the writing process from a select group of Creative Advisors

*The possibility of a Fellowship to a Screenwriters Lab

*Strategic and practical support from the Feature Film Program staff

Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship

-Awarded annually to an emerging screenwriter to support the ongoing development of a narrative, feature-length screenplay with science or technology themes.

-The fellowship includes:

*Attendance at a Screenwriters Lab, Directors Lab, Creative Producing Lab, Creative Producing Summit, or Sundance Film Festival as a Fellow

*A stipend of up to $5,000 for a science advisor

*Creative and strategic support from the Feature Film Program staff

Grants offered only to Feature Film Program participants:

Sundance Institute Indian Paintbrush Fellowship

-Five or more filmmakers each year receive a grant to support the development, pre-production, post-production, distribution and/or marketing of their work.

-In addition, Indian Paintbrush underwrites a Producer’s Award with accompanying $10,000 grant to a producer whose film premieres at the Sundance Film Festival.

The Honda Power of Dreams Lab Fellowship

-An annual stipend awarded to participant in the Feature Film Director’s Lab.

Sundance Institute/Annenberg Feature Film Fellows Program

-An annual $5 million grant that provides financial support and ongoing creative and strategic support for selected participants in Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program toward the realization of their projects.

The Cinereach Project at Sundance Institute

-Started in 2010, a $1.5 million, three-year initiative, the Sundance Institute Cinereach Feature Film Fellowship awards grants to Lab alumni whose projects push the boundaries of conventional storytelling.

NOTE: This grant is also open to Documentary Program projects.

Time Warner Storytelling Grant

-A $5,000 grant given to select Lab Alumni. Fellows are chosen for the uniqueness and diversity of the project’s voice and narrative, and the particular timeliness of the story and its perspective. Fellows include Dee Rees (Pariah), Andrew MacLean (On the Ice), Elgin James (Little Birds), and Cherien Dabis (May In The Summer).

Lynn Auerbach Memorial Screenwriting Fellowship

-Provides concentrated support to one screenwriter being supported by the Feature Film Program.

-The Auerbach Fellow receives a cash stipend, dedicated yearlong mentorship from two Screenwriting Advisors, and a produced reading of her or his screenplay.

Maryland Film Fellowship

- Presented in partnership with the Maryland Film Office, the Maryland Film Fellowship provides a Directors Lab Fellow with a $10,000 bridge grant as a means to move his or her project forward during advanced development and preproduction.

Adrienne Shelly Women Filmmakers Grant

-Provides $5,000 to be awarded annually by the Sundance Institute to a female filmmaker from the June Directors Lab.

-Previous recipients have included Maryam Heshavarz, Dee Rees, and Liza Johnson.

Zygmunt and Audrey Wilf Foundation Award

-Provides a $15,000 annual grant to a Directors Lab Fellow. Past recipients include Fellipe Barbosa and Maryam Keshavarz.

Documentary Fund Grants

-Grants $1-2 million per year.

-Established in 2002 with a gift from the Open Society Institute, and is currently supported by grants from the Ford Foundation and Open Society Institute, among others.

-More than 500 awards have supported documentary filmmakers in 61 countries globally.

-This is an international program.

- A committee of human rights experts and film professionals make recommendations from projects submitted by filmmakers from around the world. The Fund reviews between 1,400 and 2,000 proposals annually, choosing 35-50 for support each year.

-Applications are accepted in two funding categories:

Research/Development funding is provided to projects that are between development and preproduction. Grant amounts for this category are up to $20,000.

Production/Postproduction grants provide funds to filmmakers in various stages of the production and postproduction stages.

Tribeca Film Institute

The Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund

The Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund provides finishing funds to feature-length documentaries which highlight and humanize issues of social importance from around the world. Funded films are driven by thoughtful and in depth storytelling, bolstered by a compelling visual approach.

-Grants range from $10,000 – $25,000. This grant must be used as finishing funds for production (and not for marketing, outreach or distribution).

-Applicants must submit a proposal/treatment, an artistic statement, and either a 7 minute trailer or rough cut of the project.

TFI Documentary Fund

-Starting in 2011, the TFI Documentary Fund will provide over $100,000 in fellowships and grants to “engaging, character-driven documentaries.”

-Three fellowships will be awarded to documentaries in development, production, or post-production:

1. The TFI/HBO “Documentary Screen Test” Fellowship – $50,000 awarded to an emerging filmmaker in production on his or her first feature-length documentary.

2. The TFI/HBO “House I Live In” Fellowship – $25,000 awarded towards the completion of a documentary focused on a filmmaker’s personal story.

3. The TFI/HBO “Outside Looking In” Fellowship – $25,000 awarded to a character-driven documentary.

-Additional grants of 10,000 will be given out to four other documentary filmmakers. These grants are sponsored by Insurgent Media (owned by Andrew Karsh, Erik Gordon, and Fischer Stevens.)

-The Fund will also arrange one-on-one meetings with key HBO Documentary film executives for recipients.

TFI Sloan Filmmaking Fund

-Provides grants of $10,000 – $40,000 in support of narrative feature film projects that explore scientific, mathematical, or technological themes in their storylines, or that feature a leading character who is a scientist, engineer, innovator or mathematician.

-In addition to funding, TFI provides guidance, introductions and industry exposure to help move the selected projects closer to completion.

TFI Latin America Media Arts Fund

-The TFI Latin America Media Arts Fund supports independent film and video artists who are living or working in Mexico, Central and South America.

-The Fund will administer $20,000 in grants to a minimum of two artists working in documentary or hybrid forms in 2011.

-In addition to funding, each grantee will receive a U.S. based advisor and guidance from the Tribeca Film Institute.

The following annual grants are open to TFI program alumni only:

Tribeca All Access Grant

-All projects selected for Tribeca All Access receive a $10,000 grant.

Tribeca All Access Ontrack Grant

-Two $5,000 grants to assist alumni with the completion of their TAA project or further development of a new work in progress.

-Recipients are accredited to the Tribeca Film Festival to take part in additional Tribeca All Access activities

Tribeca All Access Trans Media Award

-Two $3,000 grants to assist alumni in the completion a short media project that has the potential to activate audiences across multiple platforms.

-Grantees work closely with TAA staff and its partner organizations to explore new ideas for the marketing and sustainable distribution of short form content.

The TAA Adrienne Shelly Foundation Filmmaker Grant

-A $5,000 grant to a female alumnus to further her narrative project towards completion or distribution.

-Eligible projects can be at any stage.

The Games for Change Fellowship for TAA Alumni

-Games for Change (G4C) collaborates with TAA to provide one alumnus with strategic services to help refine their thinking around the creation of a game as part of their filmmaking process.

-Fellowship includes a preliminary consultation session with G4C’s Co-President, Asi Burak, as well as an introduction to one of G4C’s Advisory Board members.

Audience Activation Grant

-One filmmaking team works closely with the TAA staff and Push Creative, a full service-branding agency, to encourage audience development, fund raising, marketing, and/or distribution of their project through a media-ready newly designed website.

-Projects can be at any stage of development/production.

Managing and Agenting Your Career

Dan Schoenbrun — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:08:14 +0000

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Strategies for Documentary Post-Production

Dan Schoenbrun — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:39:22 +0000

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In Conversation With… With Geoffrey Gilmore, Rose Kuo and Keri Putnam

Dan Schoenbrun — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:45:29 +0000

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2012 NYC Spirit Award Screening Schedule

Dan Schoenbrun — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:19:36 +0000

The screening schedule for the 2012 New York Spirit Award screenings has been released. Read it below!

All screenings will take place at NYIT Auditorium on Broadway (1871 Broadway, New York, NY 10023). Talent from the many of the films will be on hand for post-screening Q&As.

Screenings are for IFP and Film Independent members only on a first-come, first-served basis. Member ID is required for admittance.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12
7:00 pm Bill Cunningham New York
9:15 pm Gun Hill Road

FRIDAY, JANUARY 13
6:45 pm Take Shelter
9:30 pm Margin Call

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17
6:45 pm Circumstance
9:15 pm Cedar Rapids

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18
7:00 pm Tyrannosaur
9:15 pm 50/50

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19
6:30 pm Albert Nobbs
9:15 pm SHAME

FRIDAY, JANUARY 20
7:00 pm Another Earth
9:15 pm Rampart

SATURDAY, JANUARY 21
2:00 pm The Redemption of General Butt Naked
4:15 pm Think of Me
6:45 pm Natural Selection
9:00 pm The Dynamiter

MONDAY, JANUARY 23
6:45 pm The Off Hours
9:00 pm The Kid with a Bike

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24
6:45 pm The Interrupters
9:30 pm Midnight in Paris

THURSDAY, JANUARY 26
7:00 pm Martha Marcy May Marlene
9:30 pm Win Win

FRIDAY, JANUARY 27
6:30 pm A Separation
9:00 pm The Descendants

MONDAY, JANUARY 30
6:45 pm Footnote
9:15 pm Terri

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2
7:00 pm Pariah
9:15 pm Drive

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3
7:00 pm An African Election
9:15 pm The Artist

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6
6:00 pm In The Family
9:30 pm Beginners

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7
7:00 pm We Were Here
9:15 pm My Week with Marilyn

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8
7:00 pm Hello Lonesome
9:15 pm Melancholia

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9
7:00 pm Bellflower
9:30 pm A Better Life

The Hot Button: Is Indie Filmmaking a Career

Dan Schoenbrun — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:55:49 +0000

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In Conversation With… Andrea Meditch

Dan Schoenbrun — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:21:43 +0000

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Q&A With John Finn, CEO and Founder of IndiePay

Dan Schoenbrun — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:18:44 +0000

The below is a sponsored post. Interview conducted by Kathleen Finn.

In this interview, John Finn, CEO and founder of IndiePay, an entertainment payroll company and JFA, a production accounting firm, talks about first-time filmmakers’ budgets and his aversion to triplicate carbon-copy timecards.

Q: A first-time filmmaker is focused on the big picture and doesn’t necessarily have experience with the finer points of budgeting. Tell us about the easy-to-miss details producers can be aware of that will keep them on budget.

A: Cost overruns can add up to big budget sinkholes. Make sure to budget for gas, shipping, messengers, allowances for realistic overtime, and loss and damage on rentals. These will come up during the course of your production, yet are often ignored or underestimated. These add up. Another big budget area that needs attention from the get-go is payroll – in particular fringe payroll costs and union Pension and Welfare (P&W). These figures can be easily miscalculated. If you don’t budget for the correct costs at the start, you will have to draw the funds out of another part of your budget. Know what your labor (and payroll) costs are up front and you won’t take a budgetary hit later on.

On the labor front, be choosy about who you hire. It sounds elementary, but if you are tempted to cut costs by hiring the cheapest labor possible, you will also pay for it in the long run. It might be tempting to bring in an inexperienced line producer or a non-union laborer to keep the labor costs low. Yet the true costs associated with having to replace an inexperienced employee or making up for a lack of quality in other ways can reverberate through your budget. Beware of spending too little on key personnel.

Q: You note a shift in the traditional payroll model within the entertainment industry. Can you comment on IndiePay’s role in this shift?

A: Payroll companies are releasing their firm grip on the Employee of Record (EOR) model, and are shifting toward giving the producers the mantle of EOR. This is a direct result of IndiePay being the first to offer that model, which we have dubbed the IndieModel.

IndiePay recognized that payroll companies could handle the administrative duties required of production. And that by making a simple shift in legal terminology and paperwork the producer becomes the Employee of Record. Hence, the IndieModel was born. When the production company becomes the EOR, this enables the producer to reap thousands of dollars in savings. In the traditional EOR model, payroll companies can all too easily inflate payroll fringe and worker’s comp rates. Traditionally, producers have shied away from EOR due to the purported added risk and administrative burden of being EOR. Yet that has proved fallacious.

The IndieModel makes a lot of sense for producers and payroll companies. We set the precedent back in 2006, and now it is considered a fairly common occurrence — it’s less strange to producers to become the EOR.

Q: In your opinion, what does this shift to producer as EOR mean for the entertainment industry as a whole?

A: The industry as a whole is a winner because monies are directed toward the creative process – what ends up on screen. The IndieModel’s arrival on the scene has also shattered the myth that somehow producers are more protected from liability if the payroll company is the EOR. A producer is liable regardless. As long as you have insurance in place you are protected regardless of EOR status. If negligence is involved, you can’t hide. The producer bears the ultimate responsibility.

Q: Can you comment on other notable shifts in entertainment finance?

A: Bundling of services is a burgeoning shift, as producers, insurance companies, accountants, and payroll companies are looking for efficiencies across the board. Insurance companies are combining producer packages with worker’s compensation or bundling producer packages with bond insurance. This makes sense to sweep it all together. Accounting and payroll is another obvious bundling scenario – something we do and the reason IndiePay was created – it made sense to offer payroll services as an adjunct to our JFA accounting services.

Looking ahead, I hope that the entertainment industry takes advantage of the available technology to streamline the finance side of production. Productions still use triplicate carbon copy timecards. Paperwork could be cut drastically with a paperless electronic workflow. For example, the location department can put in a check request, send it to the line producer who sends it on to accounting for processing. Similar to package tracking, this can let people know at any stage where the payment is in the approval process. This would rid us of the triplicate form, messengering paperwork, the 3-day waiting period between the timecard being filled out and the paycheck being paid. Let’s use the technology – I-pads, Smartphones, etc. — that’s out there to streamline and clean up the processes that get people paid and bills settled.

Q: What is the best part of your job?

A: Being a part of a creative industry and seeing the direct results of my work. Helping to get a film or television project wrapped up on the financial side is satisfying. I enjoy working on real and authentic projects as opposed to the smoke and mirrors of the corporate accounting world. And, I get to work in a vibrant, exciting city – one of the best in the world.

Master Class: How to Design a Winning Distribution Strategy

Dan Schoenbrun — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:01:05 +0000

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Paying the Bills

Dan Schoenbrun — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:39:39 +0000

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Walking the Line: The Fine Art of Self Promoting Your Film

Dan Schoenbrun — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:06:20 +0000

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Case Study: RED STATE

Dan Schoenbrun — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:52:06 +0000

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