See you at SilverDocs, June 16 - 23

Monday kicks off the 6th annual SilverDocs, an international film festival honoring excellence in filmmaking, supporting the diverse voices and free expression of independent storytellers and celebrating the power of documentary to improve our understanding of the world. 

 Filmmakers from around the world will be showing their films.  Held concurrently with the festival is the SilverDocs International Documentary Conference,  presenting thought-provoking presentations and engaging a diverse group of over 1,000 filmmakers and industry leaders concerned with the future of non-fiction storytelling, production and distribution. 

With a slate of over 100 films, conference sessions and workshops, musical and other live performances, and a special event to honor Director Spike Lee, SilverDocs will, once again, be the premiere film festival event in the Washington, DC area.

If you attend the festival, stop by the press check-in desk in the registration area to say hello. I’ll be there each morning from 8 AM to 10 AM. 

 

Paulo Coelho turns his book into a feature film with MySpace users’ videos

This should be interesting. Author Paulo Coelho is going to collaborate with MySpace to make his latest book into his first feature film. The MySpace collaboration will center around creating a mashup of videos and songs created and submitted by MySpace users.  Coelho will choose the winning videos and songs to use in his film.

But here’s the rub: Coelho is going to own the film.  What do the MySpace filmmakers and musicians get?

Winners will enjoy significant publicity, and their work will be featured across MySpace worldwide including the homepage, MySpaceTV and an extensive banner campaign.

Well, exposure is always a good thing, right?  Not as sweet as a percentage of the gross, or residuals, but you have to start somewhere.

Oh, and the fine print says that if there aren’t enough videos and songs submitted that meet the required standards, the whole project will be scrapped.

It’ll be interesting to see what comes of this. [Via Publishers Weekly]

 

A Filmmaker Live Twitters Tribeca All Access

Full Disclosure: Double 7 Film is a client of mine.

I’ve convinced a busy Director and Writer to try Twitter .  I don’t usually bring my client work over to my blog, but I’m really excited about Pete Chatmon’s willingness to embrace the idea of reaching out directly to fans through a variety of Web tools, including Twitter.

Pete’s production company is in the midst of retooling their online presence, to include a total redesign of the corporate website and an expansion of their presence on YouTube (in addition to writing and directing feature films, Pete also directs music videos ). 

Pete has a lot of irons in the fire.  He’s in development on his next feature, he’s writing a couple screenplays, and preparing some commercial shoots.  However, he’s dedicated to the idea of finding new ways to connect with movie fans.  He understands the power of interaction and wants to join the conversation. 

He’s an invited participant in Tribeca All Access, and plans to live twitter his experience there today.

This should be an interesting experience and opportunity to get behind-the-scenes with a filmmaker. Check it out.

March 31 deadline for From Here To Awesome film submissions

Filmmakers, you’ve got until next Tuesday to submit your film to

 From Here To Awesome - a discovery and distribution film festival.

 If you’ve been struggling to find and build an audience for your film, if you’ve been unsure or unsuccessful with distribution alternatives, if you’re seeking new methods for building buzz about your film, then this festival is for you.  There’s no entry fee!

Short films and mobile distribution

In his review of an article about Robert Redford’s support for reviving the short film genre by distributing them via mobile phone platforms, M3’s Chris Thilk thinks the successful business model for mobile distribution of short films will be subscriptions for ad supported programming with carrier agreements. He may be right.

And, as it happens, mobile distribution is just one of the many distribution platforms available to filmmakers participating in From Here to Awesome - a discovery and distribution festival. So if you’re a filmmaker with a short film or two, submit your short to the festival and be a part of the cutting edge on mobile distribution of short films.