Last Friday evening I was walking with Chantel Elassaad, IFP’s Development and Programming Coordinator, after the first energizing and exhausting week of IFP’s Documentary Labs. Approaching the Elephant, my film about a group of children at a free school where rules are created democratically and …]]>

Amanda Wilder’s “Approaching the Elephant”

Last Friday evening I was walking with Chantel Elassaad, IFP’s Development and Programming Coordinator, after the first energizing and exhausting week of IFP’s Documentary Labs. Approaching the Elephant, my film about a group of children at a free school where rules are created democratically and classes are voluntary, was one of ten documentaries selected for this year’s Labs. We stopped at a corner, waiting for a light to turn, and I said something to Chantel I’ve been mulling over since: “I haven’t felt this connected to my project since I was shooting it.”

Throughout the first week of IFP Labs and now in the week after I have had these déjà-vu sparks, this exciting connection to what I am making that brings me right back to how I felt during production.  I think I’ve figured out where this familiar feeling comes from. It has to do with connection and access.

When discussing the making of documentaries, filmmakers always talk about access as gold. When you have a connection with your subjects (mutual trust, understanding, even friendship) and are granted entrance into a world, well, anything and everything is possible. Yes, connection and access are the keys to everything in documentary filmmaking. No matter what your story is ‘about,’ it’s really about people, and getting as close to them as possible (and even when it’s NOT about people, but about dust or beetles or silence, it’s about a relationship, the filmmaker’s relationship, with dust, beetles, or silence – these relationships too need to be fully realized and felt). People find enlightenment and meaning through relationships and entrances into familiar and unknown worlds, and that’s what documentary filmmakers attempt to provide.

After the first week of IFP’s Labs I have realized that for filmmakers making their first films the importance of  connection and access do not end with production. As I sat in the 92Y Tribeca’s theater scribbling notes while listening to professionals, one after the other, talk about editing, sound design, outreach, distribution, sales and rights, transmedia, and more, I kept thinking, this is access. IFP provided this access by connecting ten filmmaking teams to essential information needed to make their projects the best they can be. To me, this feels as much a gift as someone opening their door and allowing you to film their life.

And so, I would encourage anyone who is making their first documentary film or even their first couple to think about connection and access in two stages: the first is with your subjects during production and the second is with experienced people, other filmmakers and professionals in the industry, who can navigate you through the wild world of post-production and beyond. How else will you figure out what Fair Use actually covers? What percentage of your budget should be put towards marketing and distribution? (A lot of it.) How to decide who your niche and core audiences are (what those words even mean)? Deliverables? Eh? There is a long distance between your footage and your audience; those individuals who can provide access to information you need during post and beyond are invaluable to creating that bridge. So seek them out!

All projects have been supported by the Project Forum of Independent Film Week and/or IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs:

12 O’Clock Boys, dir. …]]> IFP congratulates its alumni filmmakers with IFP-supported projects at the 2013 Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival and Hot Docs Forum, taking place April 25th to May 5th in Toronto.

All projects have been supported by the Project Forum of Independent Film Week and/or IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs:

Festival

12 O’Clock Boys, dir. Lotfy Nathan

After Tiller, dir. Martha Shane & Lana Wilson

American Commune, dirs. Rena Mundo Croshere & Nadine Mundo

Big Men, dir. Rachel Boynton

Brothers Hypnotic, dir. Reuben Atlas

Cutie and the Boxer, dir. Zachary Heinzerling

Gideon’s Army, dir. Dawn Porter

God Loves Uganda, dir. Roger Ross Williams

Good Ol’ Freda, dir. Ryan White

Here One Day, dir. Kathy Leichter

Let the Fire Burn, dir. Jason Osder

Lucky, dir. Laura Checkoway

Northern Light, dir. Nick Bentgen

Our Nixon, dir. Penny Lane

Remote Area Medical, dirs. Jeff Reichert & Farihah Zaman

Teenage, dir. Matt Wolf

These Birds Walk, dirs. Bassam Tariq & Omar Mullick

When I Walk, dir. Jason DaSilva

A Whole Lott More, dir. Victor Buhler

Hot Docs Forum

In Country, dirs. Mike Attie & Meghan O’Hara

The Peacemaker. dir. James Demo

Street Fighting Man, dir. Andrew James

Hot Docs Deal Maker

Tomorrow We Disappear, dirs. Jimmy Goldblum & Adam Weber

You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet! The Story Of Cinema Sound, dir. Midge Costin

Hot Hacks

The Life and Mind of Mark DeFriest, dir. Gabriel London

Tomorrow We Disappear, dirs. Jimmy Goldblum & Adam Weber

Late last week, after more than six months in development, my firm BOND Strategy and Influence officially launched BOND360, a new initiative that provides filmmakers with strategic consultation, marketing, public relations, financing, and technical support to help connect their films and related products directly with fans.

We created BOND360 to address the fact …]]>

Late last week, after more than six months in development, my firm BOND Strategy and Influence officially launched BOND360, a new initiative that provides filmmakers with strategic consultation, marketing, public relations, financing, and technical support to help connect their films and related products directly with fans.

We created BOND360 to address the fact that independent cinema is rapidly evolving, and new innovative approaches for connecting films and filmmakers with audiences is desperately needed. Our goal with BOND360 it to give filmmakers the expertise and resources to build community around their creative work. By deploying strategies previously not applied to independent films, we look to create a diverse set of revenue streams for filmmakers for years to come.

Today, change is coming not only from the disruption that’s being caused by new digital technologies. Most importantly, it’s coming from a profound shift in the mindsets of emerging filmmakers in how they approach their creative work. A young filmmaker entering the industry today views him or herself more as entrepreneur than as a “director” “producer” or “writer”. Increasingly, filmmakers want the flexibility and agility to make films as an extension of their overall creative interests, and don’t want to be labeled solely by their functional role. Because of this, filmmakers are increasingly looking for alternatives to the traditional systems that give them more control. As they see it, there’s no need to cede it.

The biggest barrier you hear from a filmmaker today as to why they didn’t “self distribute” was that they didn’t have the resources or time to do it. The phrase “self distribution” itself scares off a lot of filmmakers because it literally means doing it by yourself. But as I’ve said before, self distribution is a badge of honor that nobody wants to wear. Because of this, at BOND we prefer the term “alternative distribution” or, even better, “direct distribution.”

To fully embrace direct distribution, history tells us that if we truly want innovation in the digital space, we must first adopt an “open source” mindset.

If you followed the rise of “Web 2.0″ start-ups in the early 2000′s, you’ll remember that what fueled that fertile period of innovation was a collaborative culture where companies shared and gave away the underlining code to their software which then allowed others to build their own businesses faster, cheaper, and smarter. The result was one of the most productive times in recent history.

To survive, the independent film industry needs to adopt some of the same principles that the software industry discovered years ago: The more you give things away, the quicker you can scale and create a true digital marketplace. The real threat to industry stalwarts like iTunes, Hulu and Netflix will not come from other industry giants. Rather, competition will come from agile entrepreneurial start-ups who can offer storytellers access to more effective tools, ownership of their own data, and more transparency in their relationships with suppliers.

With BOND360, we hope to provide the community with that much needed repository and archive of available tools and case studies for filmmakers to use and iterate upon to reach their goals.

Recently, I was asked my thoughts on who where some of the most influential people in the independent film world. As I considered my answer, the first names that came to my mind weren’t the well known industry figureheads who had, in most cases, obtained their power by limiting access to what they controlled. Rather, they were people like Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky who, with Indie Game, completely gave away their knowledge, learnings, and expertise. True power comes from influence. And the best way to gain influence today is to give away your tools and your knowledge. Today, when someone asks me for advice on what they should be reading to keep up with the changes in the film industry, I tell them to read the Indie Game case study. Published in five parts, each loaded with incredible details, the Indie Game case study is the most comprehensive roadmap to understanding alternative methods to release your film but in building on top of what had been already achieved. And it was given away completely for free.

To be a truly independent film industry, we need to start collaborating as a community of storytellers, programmers, marketers, etc in an environment where we’re all willing to give away our “source code” for free so that others can develop new applications and strategies on top of them.  My hope is that BOND360 becomes a hub for that exchange.

For me, the realization of the need for a resource like BOND360 came from personal experiences on recent films that I’ve had the privilege to work on such as Exit Through The Gift Shop, SENNA, and The Imposter.

When it comes to building and nurturing community as a way to market our films, the current model is almost completely broken.

Today, if you release a film through the traditional distribution systems, the majority of the marketing budget that will be spent during the entire life of that film is spent in the week’s leading up to opening weekend. For someone like myself who believes that success or failure will come from how effectively we build community around a project, today almost the entire marketing budget for a film is spent when the community is at it’s smallest point, not it’s largest. Today people see films in lots of different ways (in theaters, on cable VOD, on iTunes, on Netflix or Hulu) and in a time frame of their own choosing.  As a marketer, I’ve learned that an active community around a film is at its highest not when the film is first released, usually in a limited amount of theaters, but rather many months – or even years – later when it its widely available on Netflix.  But by this time, all of the marketing for that film has ended, and nobody is attending to the community. Our goal with BOND360 is to continue to nurture and grow these communities throughout the entire lifecycle of the project so that the filmmaker can continue to have access to their fans and continue to update them with new content and creative work. Ultimately, the goal is to monetize the largest group of fans that we have taken years to build.

I hope that you will follow our progress and contribute to the dialogue. I encourage you to follow us on Twitter and share with us your experiences. Together we hope to shape a future for the independent film community that is vibrant, inclusive, and prosperous.

This year’s Envision topic is  Stories of the Global Health Challenge. You can watch the livestream TODAY April 11th from 9:00am – 6:00pm at www.envisionfilm.org

Dr. S. Jay Olshansky will be speaking at Envision 2013 and joins our blog network to address the global issue …]]>

This year’s Envision topic is  Stories of the Global Health Challenge. You can watch the livestream TODAY April 11th from 9:00am – 6:00pm at www.envisionfilm.org

Dr. S. Jay Olshansky will be speaking at Envision 2013 and joins our blog network to address the global issue and to shares a call to arms for filmmakers to join in on the global dialogue.

A paradigm shift in thinking about aging and disease is about to take place – it’s called The Longevity Dividend Initiative (LDI), and it will influence all of us. Much like President Kennedy’s moon declaration in the early 1960s and the widespread dissemination of antibiotics in the middle of the 20^th century, the LDI will change the face of humanity in ways that can only be imagined today.The Longevity Dividend is a call to scientists to embark on new accelerated efforts to slow the biological aging of our species. Stories about this new health initiative will be told for centuries to come.

During the last 120 years, humanity added an average of 3 decades to the lives of people living in most developed countries. For many, the added years have been healthy, producing strong economic growth and a particularly valuable resource—an experienced, often underutilized older workforce—that could not have been imagined when population aging first began decades ago.

But all is not rosy. Humanity appears to have entered into a Faustian trade. Our extended lives have come with a heavy price—rapid increases in the prevalence of chronic, fatal, and disabling diseases, as well as a dramatic escalation in related health care costs.

Cancer, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, the progressive loss of hearing and sight, and a large number of other maladies now common among older people are, in large measure, a product of the privilege of living long enough to experience them. Although no consolation to those who experience them, the disorders now commonly experienced at older ages should be thought of as products of success, not failure. Few would challenge that the trade-off of a much longer life has been worth the price of a rising tide of chronic diseases and their related costs. And yet, significant challenges lie ahead.

Here’s the dilemma. In today’s world of modern medicine we approach chronic degenerative diseases in much the same way infectious diseases were confronted more than a century ago: one at a time, as they arise. The underlying premise of this approach is that all diseases are treated as if they are independent of each other—having their own independent origin and etiology. Scientists now know that this assumption is false when it comes to the diseases common among older people; behavioral risk factors for chronic diseases such as smoking and obesity increase the risk of experiencing more than one adverse health condition. This means the infectious-disease model can be applied successfully to chronic degenerative diseases only up to a point, after which it faces diminishing returns (and even potential harm) in terms of health and longevity. There is reason to believe that this tipping point has been reached.

So, a challenge for filmmakers and storytellers. In this modern era of film, and the rapid dissemination of information, storytellers actually have the capacity to not just reveal what is about to take place – they can actually influence the extent and speed with which it occurs.

What story would you tell to make change?

S. Jay Olshansky will be speaking at Envision 2013 on April 12^th, 2013. For more information on Envision, April 10-11, 2013 in New York City, visit http://envisionfilm.org/

pleased to announce its call for entries for the 2013 IFP Cannes Producer’s Network & Workshop Fellows.

Running concurrently with Cannes International Film Festival, the Producer’s Network is held May …]]> CANNES PRODUCER’S NETWORK FELLOWSHIPS

Deadline Monday March 13, 2013

As the sole U.S. Partner Organization for the Cannes Producer’s Network, IFP is

pleased to announce its call for entries for the 2013 IFP Cannes Producer’s Network & Workshop Fellows.

Running concurrently with Cannes International Film Festival, the Producer’s Network is held May 16-22 and is specifically designed for established

Producers to build up their international networks and share expertise on the international production, financing, legal and packaging. The Producer’s Workshop, for emerging producers, is held May 15-22  and provides additional opportunities to producers with at least one feature narrative credit how to navigate Cannes and its international marketplace.

IFP annually selects and sponsors attendance for up to seven independent producers to participate in the Producer’s Network & Workshop’s

prestigious week-long immersion program.  Please send a resume and one-page cover letter explaining why you should be selected

to adotson@ifp.org by Monday, March 13^th 2013

“Through this initiative, IFP is proud to partner with Cannes Producer’s Network to continue to provide vital

opportunities for talented U.S. and international producers to collaborate,” says Amy Dotson, Deputy Director & Head of Programming.

“Applications to this Fellowship were up 50% from previous years in 2012 and we were thrilled to receive so many applications from

talented IFP members across the country.”

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

TRANS ATLANTIC PARTNERS FELLOWSHIP

CALL FOR ENTRY Applications live NOW for IFP’s premiere international producing program, TRANS ATLANTIC PARTNERS

Deadline March 25^th, 2013

“As a U.S. mentor, it was a real honor to work with such a knowledgeable and talented group. My work with TAP was truly an inspiring collaboration and will greatly inform my work as a producer in the years to come.” Jay Van Hoy, Producer,� Beginners

Erich Pommer Institut (Potsdam/Germany), Strategic Partners (Halifax/Canada) and IFP (New York/USA) proudly present a three-module, intensive training and networking Program for established film producers from Europe, Canada and the US.

Specifically designed for U.S. independent producers with more than five years of professional experience in the film and television industry (and at least one feature film or TV series produced),TAP offers a unique combination of intensive, hands-on training developing the specific creative and financial skills necessary to international co-production/ co-venturing. Featuring one to one meetings with key industry professionals, as well as networking opportunities, the program’s goal is to encourage production through the discovery of new international partners and projects throughout Europe, Canada and New York.

Recent IFP U.S. alumni producers include Ryan Zacharias (Matt Porterfield’s I Used to Be Darker – 2013 Sundance & Berlin), Alex Johnes (Eugene Jarecki’s The House I Live In – 2012 Sundance Grand Jury Prize Winner), Susan Lewis (George Tillman Jr’s The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete – 2013 Sundance), Nekisa Cooper (Focus Features Pariah), Guneet Monga (Gangs of Wasseypur and Peddlers-  2013 Toronto)and Ron Simons (Blue Caprice – 2013 Sundance  and the Tony Award winning revival of Porgy and Bess on Broadway).

For more information and to apply today : http://www.coproduction-training.com

IFP staff will be present throughout the festival, stay tuned for updates if you’ll be at SXSW and come say hi!

Below is a list of the filmmakers …]]> We’re so thrilled about the 2013 South by Southwest Film Festival’s line up and congratulate our IFP Alumni who will premiere at the festival!

IFP staff will be present throughout the festival, stay tuned for updates if you’ll be at SXSW and come say hi!

Below is a list of the filmmakers who have have participated in one of our IFP programs.

Congratulations to all of our filmmakers!

Before You Know It- WORLD PREMIERE

IFP Spotlight on Documentaries 2012
Director: PJ Raval

Three gay seniors navigate the adventures, challenges and surprises of life and love in their golden years.
(World Premiere)

Brothers Hypnotic- WORLD PREMIERE

IFP Spotlight on Documentaries 2009
Director: Reuben Atlas

Eight brothers, extraordinary brass musicians from Chicago’s South Side, test their brotherhood and their father’s legacy against mounting mainstream success.
(World Premiere)

Short Term 12- WORLD PREMIERE

IFP No Borders International Co-Production Market 2010
Director/Screenwriter: Destin Daniel Cretton

The film follows Grace, a young supervisor at a foster-care facility, as she looks after the teens in her charge and reckons with her own troubled past. An unsparingly authentic film, full of both heart and surprising humor.
Cast : Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Rami Malek, Keith Stanfield
(World Premiere)

12 O’Clock Boys- WORLD PREMIERE

IFP Documentary Lab 2011
Director: Lotfy Nathan

Pug, a young boy growing up on a combative West Baltimore block, finds solace in a gang of illegal dirt bike riders known as The 12 O’Clock Boys.
(World Premiere)

Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton- WORLD PREMIERE

IFP Documentary Lab 2012
Directors: Stephen Silha, Eric Slade

A documentary about embracing your passions and becoming the person of your dreams, disguised as an inspiring biopic about pioneering filmmaker and poet James Broughton (1913-1999).
(World Premiere)

Good Ol’ Freda- WORLD PREMIERE

IFP Spotlight on Documentaries 2012
Director: Ryan White

The story of Freda Kelly, a shy Liverpudlian teenager asked to work for a young local band hoping to make it big: The Beatles. Their loyal secretary from beginning to end, Freda tells her tales for the first time in 50 years.
(World Premiere)

Mr. Angel- WORLD PREMIERE

IFP Spotlight on Documentaries 2011
Director: Dan Hunt

Chronicles the extraordinary life of trans male porn pioneer and educator, Buck Angel. It’s a moving & provocative story of a man’s search for acceptance from his family and the world. An inspirational tale of an unlikely hero.
(World Premiere)

Our Nixon- NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

IFP Documentary Lab 2012
Director: Penny Lane

Recently discovered Super 8 home movies filmed by three of Richard Nixon’s closest aides – and fellow Watergate conspirators – offer an intimate and complex new glimpse into his presidency in this all-archival documentary.
(North American Premiere)

These Birds Walk- WORLD PREMIERE

IFP Documentary Lab 2012
Directors: Omar Mullick, Bassam Tariq

The film documents the resilience of a 6-year-old Pakistani runaway as he tackles one critical question: where is home? The streets, an orphanage, or with the family he fled in the first place?

Friday, February 1 Moonrise Kingdom – 7PM Silver Linings Playbook …]]> To Gain Access, Join IFP Today!

Use discount code SPRT13 to get 20% off Individual Membership.

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

Screenings Added at reRun Theater!

147 Front St. Brooklyn, NY 11201

Friday, February 1
Moonrise Kingdom – 7PM
Silver Linings Playbook – 9:45PM

Monday, February 4
Amour – 7PM
Rust & Bone – 9:45PM

Tuesday, February 5
How to Survive a Plague – 7PM
Keep the Lights On – 9:45PM

Wednesday, February 6
Gimme the Loot – 7PM
The Color Wheel – 9:45PM

Thursday, February 7
Beasts of the Southern Wild – 7PM
Middle of Nowhere – 9:45PM

All other screenings take place at NYIT Auditorium

1871 Broadway, New York, NY 10023

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16
7:00 pm Bernie
9:15 pm Gimme the Loot

THURSDAY, JANUARY 17
7:00 pm Sister
9:15 pm The Perks of Being a Wallflower

FRIDAY, JANUARY 18
7:00 pm Middle of Nowhere
9:30 pm The Waiting Room

SATURDAY, JANUARY 19
2:00 pm The Central Park Five
4:45 pm Amour
7:30 pm Silver Linings Playbook

TUESDAY, JANUARY 22
7:00 pm Compliance
9:00 pm Seven Psychopaths

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23
7:00 pm How to Survive a Plague
9:30 pm Magic Mike

THURSDAY, JANUARY 24
7:00 pm Your Sister’s Sister
9:00 pm Moonrise Kingdom

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25
7:00 pm Keep the Lights On
9:15 pm The Sessions

SATURDAY, JANUARY 26
12:00 pm Once Upon A Time in Anatolia
3:30 pm Celeste and Jesse Forever
5:30 pm The Loneliest Planet
8:00 pm Gayby

SUNDAY, JANUARY 27
2:00 pm Safety Not Guaranteed
4:15 pm Fill the Void
6:15 pm Here
9:00 pm Robot & Frank

MONDAY, JANUARY 28
7:00 pm Sound of My Voice
9:00 pm Killer Joe

TUESDAY, JANUARY 29
7:00 pm The Invisible War
9:30 pm End of Watch

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30
7:00 pm Valley of Saints
9:00 pm Return

THURSDAY, JANUARY 31
7:00 pm Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present
9:30 pm Four

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1
7:00 pm Beasts of the Southern Wild
9:15 pm Starlet

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5
7:00 pm Ruby Sparks
9:15 pm Smashed

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6
7:00 pm War Witch
9:00 pm Rust and Bone

George Gund’s support for the Sundance Institute, San Francisco …]]> The indie film world is mourning the loss of George Gund, and so am I.  This modest magnificent man often pretended to not hear or not see, yet he absorbed and adopted the interests and needs of thousands whose worlds he crossed.

George Gund’s support for the Sundance Institute, San Francisco Film Society, Pacific Film Society, and Cleveland Film Society is well known and documented, and it was heart-warming to see Robert Redford show up to honor his friend.  But what is less known, remembered by only a few of us, is that George played a crucial role in launching the American independent film movement by funding the filmmakers’ own self-help organization, the IFP, in its embryonic stage.  When American indie filmmakers were being viewed as scruffy and illiterate and irreverent, George was there. When the indie film movement was anything but Sundance-glamorous, George was there. When we composed the unheralded “Eastern Europe” of American filmmaking, George was there.  He helped us come out of the shadows just as he helped dozens of East European filmmakers come out of the shadows.

As Tom Bernard recounted at the memorial service in George’s honor on January 25, George inhabited many worlds.  Often they coincided.  Besides film, another of his great passions was hockey.  One year they were at Cannes together, and Tom was surprised to learn George had produced a film of his own, set in Czechoslovakia, that was hidden away in the Market section. The next day Tom called George to ask, “George, why did you make that film, because it’s not very good.” “That’s all right,” George said, “because we were able to smuggle out four hockey players while making it.” That was George at his skulking best, prefiguring ARGO.

George’s niece Catherine Gund gave a masterful eulogy, holding us spellbound for more than an hour with her detailed evocations of George’s hilarious and sometimes frustrating foibles.  While we sat in Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill in San Francisco, dwarfed within its towering dimensions, the afternoon light sparkled through the skyscraper-high stained glass windows just as George did.  In his deep silent burly fashion, under the famously bushy eyebrows, George sparkled too.

Catherine evoked George’s legendary generosity.  He would often shuttle filmmakers around the world in his private plane. I remember one trip home from the Munich Film Festival, a place where Eberhard Hauff & Ulla Rapp brought early practitioners of New German Cinema together with fledgling American filmmakers. It was one of George’s famous haunts. He treated us to late night dinners at his favorite hotel, and towards the end of the Festival would start to sort out who was going where next.  You could hitch a ride on his plane, even if he wasn’t on it, as long as you were willing to make some unscheduled stops along the way.  No one, the crew least of all, wanted to use the onboard bathroom with its folding cloth door, so that year we stopped to pee in Copenhagen.  After a delightful lunch with the pilot and his wife in the Tivoli Gardens, we continued across the Atlantic.  After I had set up the IFP in New York, director John Hanson had persuaded me to help him research and produce a movie on the Mesabi Iron Range, and we had settled in the tiny town of Eveleth, Minnesota, which happened also to be the home of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, one of the points on George’s compass.  That year, George’s pilot landed us in Hibbing, practically on our doorstep.

After the memorial, the party in George’s honor shifted to the Fairmont Hotel, where others rose to speak spontaneously. Touching and funny tributes came from his son, George Gund IV (aka Crunchy); his grandson, George Gund V; his brother Gordon Gund; and his widow, the indomitable filmmaker Lara Lee, whose Synthetic Pleasures poster is framed in my indie film archive.

Recollections about George have started to pile in. I cite just a few.  Joana Vicente, producer of many indie movies and current Executive Director of the IFP, writes:  “What a great loss for us all. I met George at a festival in Brazil many years ago. I won’t forget his passion for and dedication to our community.  He was unique and will truly be missed.”

Nicole Guillemet, longtime Vice President of the Sundance Institute, writes: “So many fond memories with George — from a trip to Prague to meet with Havel, to the Olympics in Albertville, to the cowboys’ poetry gathering in Nevada, to smuggling lobsters at the June lab and films at Havana Festival…An extraordinary friend, patron of the Arts, and film scholar.”

Rob Nilsson, co-director with John Hanson of Northern Lights and our early partner in New Front Films, writes:  “He was a hero to me, a man of the people who knew how to use his wealth for Art at the grass roots.  He and Jeanette Etheredge were instrumental in support of the Tenderloin yGroup which made the 9 @ Night feature film series with homeless, inner city residents, actors and all comers in the San Francisco Tenderloin.  I’ll always remember him, a man who didn’t say much but listened a lot, and who helped out countless ground level filmmakers, cowboy poets and visionaries of every stripe.  Okunrin Meta to George!”

I will be eternally grateful to George Gund for his early support of the IFP, and to his staff at the time, especially Barbara Katz, for finding a way to channel his enthusiasm into our specific programs. But what remains in my heart is George’s vision, especially his desire to champion the underdog; this will endear him to me forever.

Sandra Schulberg

IFP Founding Director

Matt Damon

Marion Cotillard

David O. Russell

Jeff Skoll

Bernie

Richard Linklater, director; Richard Linklater, Ginger Sledge, Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Liz Glotzer, Matt Williams, David McFadzean, Judd Payne, Dete Meserve, producers (Millennium Entertainment)

The Loneliest Planet

Julia Loktev, director; Jay Van Hoy, …]]> The stream begins right here at 7:30PM, Monday November 26th.

Hosted by Mike Birbiglia

Tributes

Matt Damon

Marion Cotillard

David O. Russell

Jeff Skoll

Best Feature

Bernie

Richard Linklater, director; Richard Linklater, Ginger Sledge, Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Liz Glotzer, Matt Williams, David McFadzean, Judd Payne, Dete Meserve, producers (Millennium Entertainment)

The Loneliest Planet

Julia Loktev, director; Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Helge Albers, Marie Therese Guirgis, producers (Sundance Selects)

The Master

Paul Thomas Anderson, director; Joanne Sellar, Daniel Lupi, Paul Thomas Anderson, Megan Ellison, producers (The Weinstein Company)

Middle of Nowhere

Ava DuVernay, director; Howard Barish, Ava DuVernay, Paul Garnes, producers (AFFRM and Participant Media)

Moonrise Kingdom

Wes Anderson, director; Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson, producers (Focus Features)

Best Documentary

Detropia

Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, directors; Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Craig Atkinson, producers (Loki Films)

How to Survive a Plague

David France, director; Howard Gertler, David France, producers (Sundance Selects)

Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present

Matthew Akers, director; Jeff Dupre, Maro Chermayeff, producers (HBO Documentary Films and Music Box Films)

Room 237

Rodney Ascher, director; Tim Kirk, producer (IFC Midnight)

The Waiting Room

Peter Nicks, director; Peter Nicks, Linda Davis, William B. Hirsch, producers (International Film Circuit)

Best Ensemble Performance

Bernie

Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey (Millennium Entertainment)

Moonrise Kingdom

Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban (Focus Features)

Safety Not Guaranteed

Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni, Jenica Bergere, Kristen Bell, Jeff Garlin, Mary Lynn Rajskub (Film District)

Silver Linings Playbook

Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher, John Ortiz, Julia Stiles, Shea Wigham, Paulie Herman (The Weinstein Company)

Your Sister’s Sister

Emily Blunt, Rosemarie Dewitt, Mark Duplass (IFC Films)

Breakthrough Director

Zal Batmanglij for Sound of My Voice (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky for Francine (Factory 25 and The Film Sales Company)

Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin for Now, Forager (Argot Pictures)

Antonio Méndez Esparza for Aquí y Allá (Here and There) (Torch Films)

Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Breakthrough Actor

Mike Birbiglia in Sleepwalk with Me (IFC Films)

Emayatzy Corinealdi in Middle of Nowhere (AFFRM and Participant Media)

Thure Lindhardt in Keep the Lights On (Music Box Films)

Melanie Lynskey in Hello, I Must Be Going (Oscilloscope Laboratories)

Quvenzhané Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You

Kid-Thing

David Zellner, director; Nathan Zellner, Producer

An Oversimplification of Her Beauty

Terence Nance, director; Terence Nance, Andrew Corkin, James Bartlett, producers

Red Flag

Alex Karpovsky, director; Alex Karpovsky, Michael Bowes, producers

Sun Don’t Shine

Amy Seimetz, director; Kim Sherman, Amy Seimetz, producers

Tiger Tail in Blue

Frank V. Ross, director; Adam Donaghey, Drew Durepos, producers

The …]]> Through its long-standing partnership with CineMart, IFP annually selects two producers to participate in the Rotterdam Lab, which runs concurrently with the CineMart co-production market, January 27-30, 2013. The Fellowship is open to producers with at least one narrative feature producing credit who are current IFP Members at any level.

The Rotterdam Lab, a four-day training workshop for producers, is designed to build up their international network and experience. It is an initiative of the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s CineMart in cooperation with its international partnering organizations. The Rotterdam Lab consists of panel discussions illustrating the process by which a project in need of financing is completed and brought to its audience, as well as speed dating sessions in which selected producers meet with industry delegates in person and receive advice about their own projects. In addition, Rotterdam Lab producers participate in all other aspects of CineMart, including networking lunches, cocktails, and other panels.

IFP’s recent past participants have included: Matthew Parker (Higher Ground), Adele Romanski (The Myth of the American Sleepover), Jason Orans (Night Catches Us), Nekisa Cooper (Pariah), Alicia Van Couvering (Tiny Furniture), Anish Savjani (Meek’s Cutoff), and Mynette Louie (Children of Invention).

For more information about the Rotterdam Lab, go here.

For selected producers, IFP covers the cost of accreditation and hotel accommodations; producers must cover their own airfare and additional expenses.

To apply for this fellowship, please send your one-page letter of inquiry stating relevant producing experience, as well as why you are uniquely qualified to receive this fellowship and resume to IFP Producer & Program Manager Rose Vincelli Gustine, rvincelli@ifp.org by Friday, November 16. We will notify all applicants of their acceptance status by Friday, November 30.