IFP Filmmakers Conference: You down with IFP? Yea you know me!
By Cameron Washington
The annual IFP conference and market took place from September 16th through the 21st in New York City. The event included panels, screenings, workshops, networking meet-ups, and brought together some of the worlds most innovative filmmakers, producers, and distributors. A staggering number of films (7,000) have participated in the IFP market since its inception, and many have gone on to become indie film classics, including Me, You and Everyone We Know, Maria Full of Grace, Mad Hot Ballroom, The Motel, and Born into Brothels.
This year's conference maintained a great buzz all week long, and was separated into a different theme each day, starting with Making Your First Feature, Filmmaking 2.0, The Global Marketplace, The Real Deal On Deals, The Truth About Non-Fiction, and the week finished up with a Fair Use In Documentary Summit.
The conference provided platforms for a wide variety of perspectives, and some of the best moments of the conference came from fiercely opposing points of view within the same panel. On the first day, musician/activist Moby repeatedly insisted that "of all industries, the music recording industry deserves to die," while sitting next to Doreen Ringer Ross of BMI who had actually released one of Moby's albums. The room of filmmakers immediately ripped up in applause. During that panel Moby also announced that he will give filmmakers a choice of 100 of his songs to use in their films for free. Writer/Director Tom DiCillo shot back with "artists can be just as much assholes as business people," referring to a bad experience he had trying to license music from a band. On the "State of Independents Panel," execs from Samuel Goldwyn Films, Magnolia Pictures, and Picturehouse made their point that filmmakers should make films according to the marketplace. To which director Michael Kang responded, "you shouldn't have to think about the marketplace as a filmmaker...The marketplace will change by the time you are finished with your film." And who would not be riveted by African-American director St Clair Bourne alluding to an all white panel, that he thought white documentary filmmakers should not be making films about black people. Not acknowledging, or possibly unaware, that the some of the other white panelists were in the process on working on some amazing projects about minorities.
Standout moments from the conference came from two indie film pioneers. Director John Sayles, and producer John Kilik. First up was John Sayles on the opening day of the conference, alongside his longtime producing partner Maggie Renzi. John Sayles was very generous with his information giving great insight into his way of making films and why it works so well.He started out simply and succinctly, "O.K., so you've got 4 weeks. Four weeks to shoot. How can you get the most out of it?" He then went on to provide practical insights and tips about the art of making movies. "To make movies cheaper...Think smart, and communicate." Sayles writes a bio for each one of his characters that he can give to the actors before they are even on set. He also insists that the first 3 to 5 times actors say there lines are when they will sound the freshest, and that can never be repeated. On the producing side of things, John Kilik opened with his history of how he got involved in the film world. It was a two pronged approach, working with college friends on their own projects, and working his way up from a PA to AD on big film sets in just six years. What came through right away was that Kilik sticks with projects that he loves. "If you find a project you like, it's hard to say no," in reference to the fact that he is currently balancing 5 films at the moment. Speaking about Do The Right Thing, he regales,"Spike Lee called and said John, I want De Niro, Paramount, 10 Mil, and we're gonna start shooting on June 30th at 6am...We'll we didn't get De Niro, didn't get Paramount, and didn't get 10 million, but we we're shooting at 6am on June 30th... Let your obstacles be your guide."
On the market side, over at the screenings at the Angelika theatres, there were many docs screened that have great potential. Some of the standouts we're: "Gotta Dance," a heartfelt and hilarious story of senior citizens forming a hip hop dance group. "The Mosque in Morgantown" chronicles a former wall street journal reporter who finds the mosque in her hometown of West Virginia has been taken over by extremists. "The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon papers, follows Daniel Ellsburg as he leaks a secret Vietnam War report to the New York Times in 1971, and a battle ensues between National security and the peoples right to know. Other standouts included Speaking in Tongues, Motherland, Stan and Adam, and Girls on the Wall.
Market awards were awarded on Thursday the 21st, with the top spot going to Eunhee Cho who received the inaugural Adrienne Shelly Director's grant for her film "Inner Circle Line". Landon Van Soest's "Good Fortune" and Yolanda Pividal each won $10,000 for their work, and Avi Weider received a pair of prizes for "Zeroes and Ones." The previous day at a film panel, Andy Ostroy, the founder of Adrienne Shelly foundation joked, "I wanted to pull an Oprah stunt, and give everybody grants today!"
Some of the overall issues and conclusions to emerge from the market were very important to the films of this year. The first was addressing new methods of distribution for indie filmmakers. The distribution game has changed, and it is now the "new wild west" for filmmakers. As an indie filmmaker now, you do not have to be locked into an exclusive 10 year deal with a sub par distributor for your film. With download to burn, direct DVD sales, streaming, and Video on Demand, a 2.0 filmmaker can get much more exposure, build a fan base, and make some sweet cash in the process, as shown by films like We Are the Strange and Four Eyed Monsters. Bill Block of QED international stated it simply, "My 7 year old doesn't watch TV...Just on the computer all the time...We have to shift to what they want."And rumor has it filmmakers will soon be able to place their films on iTunes.
Another theme that came up repeatedly is how now, more than ever, we are globally connected through media. There is a potential worldwide audience for your indie film. And who knows, your film might actually be funny dubbed in Japanese. The trick is getting the film exposed to those top markets around the world, either through a sales agent, self-distribution, or traditional distribution. On the flip side, there is also more worldwide competition, as Clare Stewart of the Sydney International Film Festival noted, "American indie films used to be a sellable brand. But now American indie is meaningless, and American indie films must compete equally with great filmmakers from around the globe."
With IFP on a roll like this, I can just imagine that the 30th anniversary for the market next year will bring in an unprecedented amount of great scripts, films, and filmmakers. IFP has a great track record of being on top of the zeitgeist of indie film in this country, and will continue to do so well into the future. With the dumbing down of big budget studio films nowadays, IFP and its indie filmmakers are a welcome creative ray of light shining brightly from New York City.