IFP Runs on Platform of Change

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The New York Sun

For those even casually familiar with America’s independent filmmaking scene, it’s clear that these are times of profound change. In fact, it’s so obvious to Michelle Byrd, executive director of New York’s Independent Feature Project, that she can’t help but draw parallels between the shifting sands of the movie industry and the “change”-oriented rhetoric that has come to define the current presidential campaign.

“This is a time of new models, of new ways of thinking,” Ms. Byrd said, adopting the language of the men and women who would govern our country. “Maybe this whole ‘change’ mantra that is floating around out there in politics is also affecting the independent film movement. Now, more than ever before, you see not just young upstarts or first-time filmmakers looking at what they can do differently, but instead it’s everyone who’s willing to think outside the box.”

Every year around this time, as the city plays host to the annual IFP-sponsored gathering known as Independent Film Week, there is a great deal of discussion about the successes and challenges that have punctuated the previous year in the independent filmmaking community. In years past, conversations have focused on emerging genres, evolving technology, and the ever-expanding number of film festivals. But this year, as Independent Film Week (independentfilmweek.com) rolls ahead through Thursday at multiple New York venues, the focus is a bit more global and the dialogues are a bit more intense.

First on the agenda is the matter of digital distribution, which involves more flat screens, fewer projectors, and quite possibly a new world without art houses. Just a few weeks ago, Michael Moore announced that his latest documentary, “Slacker Uprising,” would bypass movie theaters and instead make its debut on the Internet via a free download. Mr. Moore’s announcement was followed last week by the news that Wayne Wang’s latest film, “The Princess of Nebraska,” will make its premiere on YouTube as part of a larger distribution agreement between the Web site and Magnolia Pictures.

“It’s an exciting time,” Ms. Byrd said. “There are lots of people willing to explore entirely new ways of engaging audiences. More than just this trend toward using the Internet, we’re having Dennis O’Connor talk, the man who set out to spearhead the marketing of ‘Bottle Shock,’ and we’re talking about ‘Tell No One,’ which all of the theatrical distributors passed on at one time.”

Positioned primarily as an industry get-together — a forum “dedicated to discovering, showcasing, and supporting new independent film projects and talent” — Independent Film Week not only affords filmmakers the chance to network and collaborate with colleagues, but also to learn from those who have traveled this road before. An important part of Independent Film Week is the Independent Filmmaker Conference, a forum that features such prominent personalities as Tom Bernard (president of Sony Pictures Classics) and directors Ryan Fleck (“Half Nelson”) and Larry Fessenden (“The Last Winter”) in conversations that survey the evolving ways in which artists can produce, market, and distribute their content. Kicking off the conference this past Sunday was IFP alumnus Kevin Smith, whose newest film, “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” will be released nationwide on October 31.

It’s a safe bet that just about everyone attending or presenting at this week’s conference is well aware of a dire speech given a few months ago at the Los Angeles Film Festival — a “sky is falling” presentation given by Film Department CEO Mark Gill. “There’s a glut of films: 5000 movies got made last year. Of those, 603 got released theatrically here. And there’s not room in the market, as there used to be, for even 400 of those,” Mr. Gill told the gathered filmmakers. “Maybe there’s room for 300. So everything else just dies.”

It’s a safe bet that this year’s IFP gathering will serve as a rallying point for those artists who bet that Mr. Gill is wrong.

“You can see these new ideas that are catching people’s attention,” Ms. Byrd said, gesturing toward a panel that she will moderate tonight called “The State of Film Festivals,” featuring Geoff Gilmore of the Sundance Film Festival and Christian Gaines of Withoutabox, which helps independent filmmakers get their projects distributed.

“Companies like Withoutabox are exciting,” Ms. Byrd said. “People are trying to shrink this window between film festivals and when movies finally reach audiences. We see it all the time, where movies go to festivals and get all this great traction and then sit around waiting for a year.”

In addition to industry meetings and filmmaker conversations, Independent Film Week will also offer New Yorkers numerous opportunities to see the latest projects emerging from the IFP community. For the second year, the event is partnering with Rooftop Films to arrange two public screenings (Tuesday and Wednesday) of films by IFP alumni. Additionally, this year marks the beginning of a partnership between IFP and NextGenNYC, which will come together to organize a showcase of short films developed by CUNY graduates (fictional shorts will screen Tuesday; documentaries will screen Wednesday afternoon).

Ms. Byrd was quick to point to her organization’s anniversary as a sign of the enduring spirit of the independent film movement. Now celebrating its 30th year of supporting and spotlighting filmmakers, IFP (like its Independent Film Week) is grounded in the optimism that cinema’s endurance is not in question, regardless of how films are made or seen.

“I think it’s a poignant anniversary. Thirty years ago, there was the same sense of excitement among people who were making movies on their own, that there was a movement afoot,” Ms. Byrd said. “Today, clearly there are lots of people making independent films. It’s a mature art form. But now there is a new horizon: How are people going to see the work? How are filmmakers going to connect with the audiences?”

ssnyder@nysun.com


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