Tag: Sundance

Goodbye to Park City

Jonathan Demme, the Coen Brothers & me (up top) at the 1985 U.S. Film and Video Festival

For the last couple of weeks, I‘ve been chewing over my experience at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.  As one would expect, there was much written about the festival this year that focused on its status as the final edition to be held in Park City, and the first to be held after the death of its visionary founder. And on the ground in Park City, it was the most common conversation. “How do you feel about Sundance leaving Utah?” 

Side-by-side with that question was another one that was hovering over the festivities, having to do with the health, or lack thereof, of the film business, or more specifically the indie film world that Sundance has been more or less synonymous with since its founding.

I found myself having tremendously mixed feelings. As a long-time participant, of course there was a sense of nostalgia that a chapter in my life was coming to an end. But there was a palpable backlash on the street to the entire concept of nostalgia. The old indie film business, as represented by Sundance was dead. The only focus should be on reinvention. Continue reading “Goodbye to Park City”

Irwin Young – Godfather of Independent Film

Upon hearing of the death of Irwin Young at the age of 94, I wrote a heartfelt remembrance of the man who played such an enormous role in the lives of so many independent filmmakers. It was originally published in Indiewire. I am reprinting it here it its entirety.

When prominent people die, obituaries often declare the end of an era. In the case of Irwin Young, who died this past Thursday at the age of 94, there’s an added poignancy to seeing his death through that lens, as we are living through a time when everything he stood for is under threat. Anyone who lived through the modern history of independent film can tell you: much of that history could not have happened without him. Continue reading “Irwin Young – Godfather of Independent Film”

sex lies and a volunteer driver

It was 1989. I had recently set up shop as a marketing and distribution consultant, having parted ways with Cinecom and was heading to Sundance. In those days, the festival paid for film execs to attend; in return I would appear on a panel or two, ski a few days and go to some movies.

On my way from the airport, the volunteer driver mentioned he’d heard great buzz about a film called “sex and lies,” or “something like that.” I looked it up in the catalog that he had conveniently placed in the back of the van, and noticed there was a screening I could make if the driver brought me directly to the theater. I got to the Prospector Square just as the lights were going down and sat on the floor in the back of a packed house.. The crowd reaction was amazing; clearly, even before even checking in to my hotel room, I had seen one of the hits of the festival. Continue reading “sex lies and a volunteer driver”

Remembering Jonathan Demme

I heard the devastating news today that Jonathan Demme is no longer with us. I knew he had been ill, but the last time I saw him he looked like he was back to his normal self and seemed to be in quite good spirits. But then again, Jonathan always gave off the vibe of being in good spirits. I had the pleasure of working with him on two of his films, and then peripherally on two others, and in all that time he never treated me with anything but the utmost respect. 

Jonathan Demme & I at Sundance in the ’80s. That’s me up top and  Jonathan at the bottom-center, Joel & Ethan Cohn to the right. I have no idea who the other folks are.

I first met Jonathan shortly after the Cinecom team screened “Stop Making Sense” and we immediately decided we wanted to distribute it. The film had been financed by Warner Brother Records; from their perspective, it was merely a promotional film intended to broaden the appeal of Talking Heads. We saw the film differently, as Demme was already on our radar as someone we would love to work with. Yes, it was a great concert film, but the simplicity with which it captured a live performance and made it feel as immediate and exciting as if you were in the room–this was something new. This was pure cinema.

Jonathan was coming off of a few films that, while well received critically, had not exactly set the world on fire. Worse yet, he had just finished “Swing Shift,” a fairly big budget Hollywood movie he wasn’t all that pleased with, that tanked at the box office. The experience of “Stop Making Sense” seemed to him like a breath of fresh air at a time when his Hollywood stock was not exactly rising. Perhaps it was his publicity background kicking in, but he was unusually respectful of the work being done to market and distribute the film, and showered us with public praise when the film outperformed expectations.  Continue reading “Remembering Jonathan Demme”

The “Daily Buzz” at Sundance

The following is a podcast I took part in at Sundance as part of a program called “The Daily Buzz.” The other participamnts were:

Emily Best/SEED AND SPARK
Holly Herrick/AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY
Jim Brunzell/HAMMER TO NAIL
Ula Sniegowska/AFF POLAND
Tomris Laffly/FILM JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL

Comments after the break… Continue reading “The “Daily Buzz” at Sundance”

Art House Convergence Acceptance Speech

This past Tuesday night, I was honored by the Art House Convergence with the first annual Spotlight Lifetime Achievement Award. Since then, I’ve been asked by many people who were there if I could post my acceptance speech. Thanks to the good folks at 4th Row Films, who were there to capture it, here it is. They even were so kind to insert the video that was made by Spotlight Cinema Network. Thanks to one and all.

Ira Deutchman speech – Lifetime Achievement Award from Ira Deutchman on Vimeo.

Comments after the break… Continue reading “Art House Convergence Acceptance Speech”

Keynote from the Sundance Art House Convergence

Below is the video of the keynote speech I gave this past January at the Art House Convergence, an annual event that brings together many of the independent art houses from all over the U.S. and with some representation from the rest of the world. I used the opportunity to give a kind of personal history lesson about the distribution and marketing of indie films, and to draw some lessons for the world we currently live in. A big thank you to Russ Collins of the Michigan Theater for giving me the opportunity to speak, and to Doug Tirola and his team at 4th Row Films for recording it.

These video originally appeared on Thompson on Hollywood, part of the Indiewire network.

PART 1: Don Rugoff and Unplanned Beginnings

Continue reading “Keynote from the Sundance Art House Convergence”

Anyone speak Danish?

De små films store festival

Sidsel Nyholm | 15. januar 2011

Film om eksistensen En lille mormonsk skilandsby er hvert år vært for USA?s vigtigste filmfestival. Robert Redfords Sundance, der går løs i næste uge, har sat uafhængige amerikanske film på verdenskortet

Det meste af året er der stille i Park City, en konservativ mormonsk skilandsby i et lille hjørne af den vestlige amerikanske delstat Utah.

Men stilheden forvandles til et leben i 10 dage hver januar måned, når horder af filmbranchens lykkejægere vælter ind i de tilisede gader for at stå på ski, netværke, feste og – ikke mindst – se og vise film. Continue reading “Anyone speak Danish?”

Filmmakers: the New Breed

Filmmaker Magazine and the Workbook Project are doing a series of reports from Sundance/Slamdance on the new breed of filmmakers–the ones that are taking distribution of their work into their own hands. Below is one segment that the Filmmaker Blog describes as follows:

Filmmakers Zak Forsman and Kevin K. Shah of Sabi Pictures arrive at Park City with an intent to define the questions most relevant to independent distribution options. Insights from Brian Newman, Dan Mirvish, Jon Reiss and Ira Deutchman open a path toward discovering some real solutions.

Unfortunately the Workbook Project is no more.