With the official start of summer just days away, the countdown to the end of the school year  begins. The Reframe “Study Hall” blog recently compiled a diverse list of films which in one way or another encapsulate the “high school experience”.

It’s that special time of year when 18 year olds finally flee the nest and begin “real life”.  Every parent’s hope is that high school has provided their child with the intellectual tools to support themselves wherever the road may lead. Read the rest of this entry on re:frame

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Jay Smooth, creator of the hip hop music blog and founder of New York’s longest running hip-hop radio show, WBAI’s Underground Railroad gave a shout out to TFI Youth in his recent video http://tinyurl.com/ckm4tg

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Brian Newman, the CEO of TFI gave a presentation yesterday at Tribeca All Access, and it is entitled “Online Tools, making money and building audiences for film.” He has posted the presentation on his blog SpringBoardMedia. The presentation was given to an audience that had some beginners and some experts, so it’s nothing new for those of you really immersed in this stuff.

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LOS ANGELES, CA, January 14, 2009 – Crew Creative is excited to launch Crew Labs, a competition designed to encourage and promote independent filmmakers who have completed a feature length film for $5,000,000 or less.

The winning filmmaker will receive a professionally produced marketing package that includes a poster, website and trailer for their film. The approximate value of this package is $100,000 USD and is courtesy of Crew Creative. Read the rest of this entry »

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It’s with mixed feelings that I tell you this will be my last post here at Resources for the time being. I had a great time doing this blog. Reading other people’s thoughts and ideas and putting my own spin on it, alerting folks to new grants, programs and studies they may not have heard of, and on occasion, thinking about the art of filmmaking, are all pursuits I enjoy. But it was also a frustrating experience because talking about policy and technology issues to filmmakers is a little like banging one’s head against a wall. It was Ted Hope’s rant about NY film credits that reminded me of my frustration and why closing my chapter on this blog has been bitter sweet.

After tax credits, Hope goes on to list a lot of the issues I’ve been writing about here as things that filmmakers should care about but don’t. It’s so tough even in my own life to know what to do about all of this craziness. I tell myself that blogging about it is enough, though I’m not convinced that is true. So, it is with that in mind that I think it is time for someone else with a fresh perspective to take over this pursuit. Tribeca Film Institute is growing and expanding in new and exciting ways, and has the advantage of a wide creative community who have become part of the Tribeca family through funding, exhibition and workshops. That community, combined with others, like IFP and Sundance, could be a true force to be reckoned with, and when the time comes, or need, hopefully that kind of coallescing will happen. Read the rest of this entry »

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Ted Hope recently wrote a post on the New York tax credit stall out on the Tribeca Film website. We wanted to repost it here because it is an important issue for the entire film community in New York City.

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Independent filmmaker Ted Hope calls filmmakers to action on the first of many disasters the New York film industry MUST pro-actively attack.

I love New York City and hope I never have to call anywhere else my home. I am regularly reminded of all that I love about this town and the reasons why I first moved here. I never expected it to be easy to make movies here, but I did think it would be a positively progressive pursuit. Unfortunately, I am consistently reminded how all of us who make their living creating motion picture content are easily broadsided by that which we should be most cognizant of: the policies and regulations that affect our ability to earn a living (let alone create good work). Read the rest of this entry »

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Just a quick note from the Sundance Film Festival, currently underway in Park City, Utah, that the festival is making 10 shorts from the fest available for free on iTunes. From the home page of the festival (here), click on the banner on the right and you will be transported to their iTunes home. I’m going to watch them on my iPhone on the way back home.

Also, thanks to BadLit for the tip, you can watch Slamdance films online until January 23. Get over there quick!

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Infinicine has a comprehensive list of companys that will sell your film online and pay you. The list includes some obvious ones like iTunes, Amazon, Netflix and Jaman, but there are a few on there that were news to me, like BitTorrent and CinemaNow, which apparently has a deal with Blockbuster. They also mention TFI’s ReFrame. Full list>>

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Via The Chutry Experiment. Is it confusing?

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It’s a sad story behind the Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant – a filmmaker’s life was cut short by a heart attack. “His friends, family and colleagues established this development grant to help other emerging filmmakers reach their potential.” The grant funds travel and accomodation to attend the Full Frame Documentary Festival. Applications are due by February 6. The festival runs from April 2 – 5. Full criteria to apply here.

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