Tag: Independent Film

Gateway to Cinema – Digital Distribution Case Study

Here’s a video of a panel discussion that took place at the Cannes Film Festival this past May, at the UK Film Center. It’s a fascinating look at the various initiaves that are taking place to reinvent the theatrical experience by virtue of digital technologies. It’s a subject that, as you all know, is dear to my heart. And yes, I’m on the panel.

Gateway to Cinema-goers: A Digital Distribution Case Study from UK Film Centre on Vimeo.

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Video from Cannes Film Festival 1987

John Tilley sent me this great video he took with his brand new camcorder at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987. I edited it down, and added names for everyone John and I could identify. There are a lot of familiar faces if you’ve been in the film business long enough to remember that far back. Check it out. Maybe you are in there somewhere.

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More bad news about VPFs…or is it?

I ran into an exhibitor friend at the Toronto Film Festival (who shall remain nameless) and he went off about how unhappy he was about having signed a VPF deal in order to convert his theaters to Hollywood’s version of digital projection equipment. We talked about all the various implications of the deal, which I’ve outlined in a previous post. But he brought up another angle that I hadn’t realized before.

In order to be eligible for a VPF deal, an exhibitor has to guarantee a certain number of “turns” per screen per year. A “turn” is when you dump the film you are playing and bring in a new one, which then requires the distributor of that new film to pay a VPF fee. The more “turns” the more your equipment has been subsidized. Continue reading “More bad news about VPFs…or is it?”

Getting Ready for your premiere at TIFF

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to be the keynote speaker at the Filmmakers Bootcamp, an annual event at the TIFF Lightbox to prepare the Canadian filmmakers for their experience at the Toronto Film Festival. Given the nature of the event, I decided to emphasize practical advice about making the most of the experience. Since the audience was limited to Canadian filmmakers, the good folks at TIFF recorded the session and have made it available on line. Here it is in its entirety, with the hope that it might be of help to others of you who might be navigating Toronto for the first time.


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A Song to Cinema

With all the bad news floating around about movie theaters going out of business, this video, courtesy of the Traverse City Film Festival, stands as a reminder of why we need to preserve the theatrical experience. Kudos to The Treefort Collective for a great job creating the video, and for putting me in a starring role alongside Wim Wenders!

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Filmmaker Magazine on the Columbia Film Program

The following article by Charles Lyons appears in the current issue of Filmmaker Magazine. Click on a thumbnail to get started…

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Here’s a link to PDF of the piece.

(reproduced with permission)
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25 Years of the Columbia University Film Festival

As many of you know, this year marked the 25th Anniversary of the Columbia University Film Festival. We decided to mark the occasion with a huge celebration at Alice Tully Hall. As Chair of the Film Program, I had the honor of being the host. It was an opportunity to reflect on our history and to talk about who we are and what we do. While I would have like to have had my opening speech videotaped for posterity, the folks at Alice Tully make such an endeavor way too expensive, so instead I decided to share the text of my opening remarks. I welcome your comments.

Opening Remarks at Alice Tully Hall, May 4th, 2012

Good evening…

If you’re wondering why I’m dressed like this, it’s because we run a very democratic institution and the student committee (I’m told) voted to have me dress this way. So, who am I to argue?

The fact that I am standing here as Chair of the Film Program as we celebrate this momentous occasion, is an accident of fate. I am simply a representative of the amazing faculty of the Film Program, a group of groundbreaking writers, director and producers who have truly dedicated themselves to mentoring the next generation of filmmakers. I don’t have time to mention you all by name, but let’s have a round of applause for the Columbia Film Faculty. Continue reading “25 Years of the Columbia University Film Festival”

Let’s Focus on the Grown Ups

I just got back from a trip to Brussels, where I gave a master class at RITS on “New Business Models in the Digital World.” The audience, a combination of students and professionals from all over Belgium was managing to stay awake as I spouted off about all the various disruptive forces that were moving the film business in new directions. I talked about diminished windows, squeezed margins, pricing disparities, consumer confusion, conflicting technologies and much more.

During the Q&A period, a fellow raised his hand and challenged one of my earlier statements. I had mentioned that theatrical box office was trending upward only because of increasing ticket prices–mainly due to the premium paid for 3D–and in fact, the number of actual admissions had been trending downward for decades. Continue reading “Let’s Focus on the Grown Ups”

The Digital Transition & What It Means for Indies

With more and more studios moving away from 35mm prints, can art house cinema survive in a digital world?

This article was originally published on the Tribeca Future of Film web site, and was reprinted at Thompson on Film, among other sites. However, I decided to post it here as well, to make it easier to find and for archival purposes.

That sound you’ve been hearing over the last month that resembles the  opening strains of the soundtrack from Jaws is a collective moan from  true independent distributors and the mission-driven exhibitors who play  their films. The catalyst for this distress was a letter from Fox  Searchlight, which is now widely referred to as “the Searchlight  letter.” Continue reading “The Digital Transition & What It Means for Indies”

The Art House Convergence

Here is a video created by Doug Tirola and his team at 4th Row Films for the Art House Convergence. For those of you who don’t know, this is an organization of all the mission-driven art houses from around the country every year. It’s one of my favorite events because I get to hang out with other folks who are devoted to showing movies of all types on the big screen. I’m looking forward to being there again this coming January. If you are involved with a local art house, you should be there too! Oh, and extra points if you can find me in my little cameo, being my usual cynical self.


 

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