Swedish Film's New Wave...

Posted on sweden.se

Swedish film has long enjoyed international success, famous for auteurs such as Ingmar Bergman. A new generation of directors – such as Ruben Östlund and Lisa Langseth – are now making their mark; winning prizes and charming audiences internationally, with everything from small indie films to high-concept Hollywood movies.

Swedish directors to keep an eye on

Ruben Östlund is a writer-director whose early ski movies got him into film school. He made his feature debut in 2004 and has made two prizewinning fictional shorts and three feature films since, among others Play (2011) – which won the Nordic Council Film Prize, along with the Best Director Award at the Tokyo Film Festival and Coup de Coeur in Cannes. His most recent production Force Majeure (Turist, 2014) won the Jury Prize of Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2014 – Hollywood remake rumours abound.

Lisa Langseth is a cutting-edge director interested in themes of sex, class and power. Her debut Pure (Till det som är vackert, 2010), a film about power structures in the world of culture, launched the career of rising star Alicia Vikander. Langseth and Vikander teamed up again for Hotell (2013).

Lukas Moodysson’s breakthrough came in 1998 with Show Me Love (Fucking Åmål). He has directed a number of films since, such as Together (Tillsammans, 2000), Lilya 4-ever (2002) and Mammoth (2009), starring Gael García Bernal and Michelle Williams. His latest film, We Are the Best! (Vi är bäst!) won the Tokyo Film Festival Grand Prix in 2013.

Gabriela Pichler wrote and directed Eat Sleep Die (Äta sova dö, 2012), a humorous drama about a woman who loses her job. The film won a series of film awards, including the Venice Film Festival’s 2012 Audience Award. Pichler’s latest work is the play Red Card (Rött kort, 2014).

Tomas Alfredson directed the screen version of John le Carré’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011). His vampire drama Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in, 2008) won Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2008. He is currently working on crime film The Snowman and an English-language adaptation of Astrid Lindgren’s Brothers Lionheart.

Lisa Aschan directed a short film and a TV series before making her first feature She Monkeys (Apflickorna), about two competitive adolescent girls, in 2011. The film won Swedish film prizes as well as Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival and a Crystal Bear in Berlin. Her next film, White People (Det vita folket) is due for release in 2015.

Daniel Espinosa directed the film version of Jens Lapidus’ crime novel Easy Money (Snabba cash, 2010). The film gave Espinosa the opportunity to make the action thriller Safe House (2012), starring Denzel Washington. His latest film, Child 44, was released early 2015 and featured Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman.

Swedish starlets

Sweden is the birthplace of some of film history’s most iconic actresses. Sadly, Anita Ekberg passed away in January 2015, while the same year would have marked Greta Garbo’s 110th birthday – and Ingrid Bergman’s 100th – had they lived to see the day. The centenary of the latter’s birth is commemorated at the Cannes Film Festival 2015.

Ingrid Bergman would have turned 100 years old in 2015 (she passed in 1982). She is one of the most Oscar-winning actresses of all time and has also won a number of other awards, including two Emmys, four Golden Globes and a Tony. Ingrid is the poster girl for the Cannes Film Festival 2015, during which a new documentary about her will be premiered – Ingrid Bergman – In Her Own Words – starring Sigourney Weaver, Isabella Rossellini and rising Swedish starlet Alicia Vikander, whom the director Stig Björkman has called ‘The Ingrid Bergman of today’.

Ingrid is most remembered for her roles opposite Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942) or Cary Grant in Hitchcock’s Notorious (1946). She made her first major impression in the Swedish-language Intermezzo, 1936, which brought her to Hollywood for a 1939 US remake. Ingrid returned to Sweden for her last major film role; Ingmar Bergman’s (no relation) Autumn Sonata (Höstsonaten, 1978).

Greta Garbo was born ten years before Ingrid and was a major star in silent and early talking films of the 20s and 30s. A role in the 1924 Swedish film The Saga of Gosta Berling (Gösta Berlings saga) piqued the curiosity of Hollywood. After a number of successful silent roles, in which she used intense expressions and ground-breaking performances with restrained realism, she moved on to the talkies in 1930.

Garbo was nominated for three Academy Awards during her career, but only won one – the Academy’s Honorary Award long after her career had ended. The mysterious Garbo made her last film in 1941, after which she pretty much disappeared from public view.

Anita Ekberg came to Hollywood by way of winning the Miss Sweden contest in 1951 and participating in the ensuing Miss Universe pageant, earning a contract with Universal Studios. She is perhaps most known for her role, and the famous fountain scene, opposite Marcello Mastroianni in Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1960). Anita Ekberg passed away in 2015, aged 83.

Visual Special Effects

Special effects might not be the first thing that comes to mind regarding Swedish film. But ambitious efforts by post-production and production companies during the last decade have undoubtedly left a Swedish influence on international visual effects.

Filmgate started as a postproduction company in Sweden in 2006 and has worked on over 85 feature films in eleven different countries. So far. Credits include visual effects for Swedish films such as Mammoth and a five minute long avalanche shot in Force Majeure. Filmgate has also worked on international films such as Cloud Atlas (2012), Lars von Trier’s Antichrist (2009) and upcoming British werewolf film Howl (2015).

Fido film is one of Scandinavia’s largest special effects companies, specialising in the animation of characters and creatures. They were a big part of Swedish film’s foray into sci-fi and horror, working on vampire drama Let the Right One In (2008). They also received a 2014 BAFTA nomination for their contribution to David Attenborough’s Natural History Museum Alive.

Panorama film specialises in physical rather than digital effects, and has created every imaginable weather, fire and pyrotechnics effect since the company was founded in 1982. They recently produced the effects for Swedish drama-thriller Gentlemen (2014), and their expertise in bullet hit FX means that they’re hardly at risk of running out of a job – considering the amount of crime and police films produced in Sweden.

With the recent Swedish upswing for VFX, Sweden’s leading film award Guldbaggen will reintroduce the Visual Special Effects category to its awards list as of 2016.

Academy Award-winning Swedes

Sweden’s most prominent Oscar winner is Ingrid Bergman, who took home three Oscars in the course of her career, two for Best Actress (Gaslight, 1944 and Anastasia, 1956) and one for Best Supporting Actress (Murder on the Orient Express, 1974).

Three of Ingmar Bergman’s films won Best Foreign Language Film (The Virgin Spring, 1960, Through a Glass Darkly, 1961 and Fanny and Alexander, 1983) awards. In 1970, Bergman also received The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.

Other Swedes who have received Oscars include Arne Sucksdorff (Best Short Film for Symphony of a City, 1949), Olle Nordemar (Best Documentary Feature for Kon-Tiki, 1951), Greta Garbo (The Academy’s Honorary Award, 1955), Sven Nykvist (Best Cinematography for Cries and Whispers, 1974 and Fanny and Alexander, 1983) and Anna Asp and Susanne Lingheim (Best Production Design for Fanny and Alexander, 1983).

At the 2013 Oscars, Paul Ottosson (Zero Dark Thirty, 2012) and Per Hallberg (Skyfall, 2012) shared the prize for Best Sound Editing. Both had been awarded previously, Ottosson for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing (The Hurt Locker, 2009), and Hallberg for Best Sound Editing (Braveheart, 1995 and The Bourne Ultimatum, 2007).

The most recent Swedish Oscar winner is Malik Bendjelloul, who won the 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature with Searching for Sugar Man (2012).

Swedish auteurs

Their films and imagery have made a profound impact on the entire film industry. Ingmar Bergman and Roy Andersson are two of Sweden’s great auteurs.

Ingmar Bergman‘s career as a director and scriptwriter spanned almost 60 years. He remains one of Sweden’s most well-known cultural figures and his work continues to inspire audiences and filmmakers alike. By the time he passed away in 2007, he had directed over 50 feature films, including Wild Strawberries (1957), Persona (1966) and Fanny and Alexander (Fanny och Alexander, 1982).

The Bergmancenter – on the island of Fårö, where Bergman shot many of his films and built his home in 1967 – opens to the public every summer, and is especially popular during the internationally acclaimed Bergman week.

Roy Andersson made a name for himself in 1970 with A Swedish Love Story (En kärlekshistoria), about teenage love. Giliap (1975), was crushed by the critics, and it was not until 2000 that perfectionist Andersson completed his third feature, Songs from the Second Floor (Sånger från andra våningen) – a major success.

You, the Living (Du levande, 2007) and A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron, 2014) follow in the same theme and imagery – the latter won the Golden Lion in Venice 2014. Andersson’s unique visual style of shooting tableaux has had considerable impact on filmmakers all over the world.

Funding Equality

Swedish film policy supports the production, promotion and distribution of Swedish films through a collaborative process between the state, film industry, cinema owners and television companies. The latest Swedish Film Agreement, which came into force in 2013 and runs through 2016, provides filmmakers with greater freedom of distribution and also stipulates that ‘the funding shall be divided equally between women and men’ in the key positions of director, screenwriter and producer.

The Film Agreement will be terminated as a model in 2017 and the state’s new focus will be on quality, innovation and accessibility – aiming for a better balance between artistic and commercial interests.

Funds and other means of film support are allocated and administered by the Swedish Film Institute. In 2013, their contributions totalled about SEK 332 million. There are alternative means of distribution, however, as exemplified by 27-year-old Swedish rookie director David Sandberg’s success in online crowdfunding, setting a Kickstarter record with his martial arts comedy spoof Kung Fury.

Kung Fury premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, before being released on SVT (the Swedish Public Service Broadcaster), YouTube and other streaming media.

https://sweden.se/culture-traditions/swedish-film/

Filmmakers Take Risks with a Controversial Documentary That Blurs the Line Between Science and Spirituality...

 

Orginally distributed by ReleaseWire

Brooklyn-based independent filmmakers and husband and wife team, Joal Mejia and Katy Walker, are close to completing a three year project that documents a mysterious phenomenon called synchronicity, first discovered by renowned psychotherapist, Carl Jung. Their documentary film, Time is Art, follows the journey of a writer trying to make sense of the recurring symbols and strange coincidences that she began experiencing after 9/11 and the death of a loved one. 


The filmmakers did not set out to make another new age film, instead their film aims to merge science and spirituality, and to address the very real phenomenon of meaningful coincidences. What the filmmakers discovered is that around the world there is a growing ecosystem and culture inspired by synchronicity that is eager to make sense of a world ravaged by environmental destruction, corruption, inequality, and social unrest. Together with some of the leading voices in psychoanalysis, parapsychology, biology, and activism in art, the filmmakers explore a reality where time is transformed from a unit that can be measured and commodified, Time is money, to an experience of oneness with the natural rhythms of nature and the universe. It is here that the filmmakers discovers that time is, in fact, art.


The filmmakers aspire to bridge the gap between the format of the cult classic film like Richard Linklater's Waking Life and the documentary, What the Bleep Do We Know, by taking an unconventional approach that allows audiences to experience reality as Jennifer Palmer, a corporate IT specialist turned writer, begins to see it as one less concerned with linear storytelling, and more open to the cyclical patterns of nature, the hidden meanings of symbols, and the dreamlike overlapping of people, places, and moments. Visually captivating images of urban and natural landscapes, visionary art and street murals, excerpts of Jennifer's writing, and compelling conversations with fellow seekers and mystics like Toko-Pa Turner, Richard Tarnas, Ph.D, Graham Hancock, biologist, Rupert Sheldrake, and visionary artists, Allyson & Alex Grey, guide us through the underlying premise of the film: perhaps we can tap into a way of being that is not ruled by a finite sense of time, but rather by the ability to live in harmony with the true creative nature of our existence.


Inspired by visionary author and prophet, JosA_ArgAelles, who played a key role in the emergence of the 2012 phenomenon, the film is influenced by his work and books on the powerful teachings from ancient indigenous wisdom. The film explores the idea that modern humanity is immersed in an erroneous and artificial perception of time that deviates from the natural order of the universe. We have become disconnected from the natural rhythms of the earth by focusing our energy and intelligence solely on money, consumerism and exploitation while deep down inside, we crave the return to a foundation of culture, community, and creativity.


As Jennifer navigates the labyrinth of her own light and darkness, she opens herself to a new reality in which everyone and everything appear connected by a larger purpose. She is revealed to be part of a global movement of people challenging a linear and restrictive consciousness in exchange for one grounded in meaningful connection and action a€" a template for a new era where we are one with the earth and each other.


View the 2014 trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v4OWWxHqFk





 http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/2519435

15 Ways the Independent Filmmaker Will (Continue) to Change in 2015...

By Elliot Grove

With so many great prediction lists for 2015 around, I hardly felt the need to contribute. But the film industry is changing quickly and I wondered if filmmakers were actually changing along with it. Below are my predictions on how the role of the independent filmmaker will change in 2015. Do you see yourself fitting into any of these? In the film biz you have to evolve or die! What do you think?

15. Filmmaker as YouTuber

 

Filmmakers have traditionally shunned YouTube. This is going to change and change dramatically.

The big money is piling into YouTube. And the reason is two-fold: TV ad revs are dropping as quickly as their viewerships. And secondly, brands have no direct contact with individuals on the net. That’s where the YouTuber comes in pretty handy for a brand manager eager to connect with potential customers..

If you have a web series that appeals to, say, 24-35 year olds, you could be making money from advertising a brand trying to reach 24-35 year olds. Even crazier are the Vine stars –. make a series of 6 second videos on Vine, get a million followers and get between $1,000 – $10,000 per million subscribers for making a 6 second ad for a brand.

14. Filmmaker as sexual cultural advisor

 

Filmmakers have traditionally shunned sex, deeming it porn. But there is much filmmakers can learn from the porn industry.

Sex sells. I think this year we will see an increase in sex packaged up as movies—more of the 50 Shades of Grey variety. i’m not saying this is good, or even desirable. I’m just saying. Which means of course that filmmakers become sexual culture advisors.

13. Fimmaker as cause-related content creator

 

When I started Raindance, I thought movie making was about dramatic stories. Then documentaries started earning their keep as feature presentations in cinemas. And what are most successful ocumentaries? Cause-related, of course.

Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth is just one example of a cause related filmmaker. What about Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken? Or The Imitation Game with its theme of homophobia in the 1950’s here in the UK?

A filmmaker need not require the fancy budgets that these Hollywood types have mustered. What about the simple problem of domestic violence? Here’s how one filmmaker, a cop in this case, used a body cam to bring a wife beater to justice, and then edited with some ‘after’ shots. One way to change the world is to make cause-related films.

12. Filmmaker as business person

 

I used to think that artists of any ilk were above the crassness of commerce. Then I remembered that when I worked for the sculptor Henry Moore, he paid over £2,000,000 a year in income tax – and that in 1970’s dollars. Wow – that’s a shrewd businessperson!

There isn’t any reason why a filmmaker can’t be good a business too. In fact, that’s been one of the Raindance mantras since we started out in 1992. Why not hunker down with some good business books and see if you can apply classic business sense to your life as a (commercially successful) filmmaker?

With everyone moaning about the sad sad state of the independent film business, my bet is you are going see more and more filmmaker businesspeople in 2015.

11. Filmmaker as marketeer

 

One of my favourite filmmakers is Roger Corman. He was truly a master of marketing, and if you ever hang around me for a bit, or attend one of my classes, I will tell you what Roger taught me when he was a special guest of Raindance back in 1997.

Want to be successful as a filmmaker? Get really good at marketing, understand the basics of social media. Get really good at building your audiences.

If you want to look at a classic textbook case of filmmaker as marketeer, look at Ryan Koo’s NoFilmSchool.com. When you’ve had a good look at what he has done with his really busy website, scoot over to John Trigonis, the filmmaker/marketer at Indiegogo.

10. Filmmaker as teacher

 

I’m eternally indebted to a handful of teachers I had coming through high school and art school in my native Toronto. The way Wyn Lawrence, my sculpture teacher (and Henry Moore’s ex technician), showed me the basics of line and form have remained with me to this day. In fact, it informs how I teach others.

Sharing knowledge is the most important thing we mere mortals do. There’s no nobler profession than that of teacher. Filmmakers who know how to make great visual presentations will always get work. Like the creators of the Royal Society of Arts animate series. Or John Hess of Filmmaker IQ’s great film training videos. Or maybe you are just really good at explaining how things work by using the visual medium. 

9. Filmmaker as prophet

 

One of the reasons we go to the movies is to see what the future looks like. Have you a special vision of how we might be living in the future? Did films in the near future like Being John Malkevich, Fight Club and Her have any affect on you? Or have films in the far future like Interstellar changed your opinion of life?

As we become increasingly battered by political, economic and social unrest, to say nothing of the ecological disaster that is looming, people will increasingly turn to filmmakers and their stories to learn about what might be coming next.

8. Filmmaker as pollster

 

Filmmakers are supposed to be creative, right?

Not any more. Here is a scarey thought: that Hollywood is actually making movies-to-measure according to profile data gathered and distributed on devices such as Yougov app.

Filmmakers won’t come up with stories and then find an audience. Pollsters will come up with data about the consuming and story habits of target consumer groups and then find a filmmaker to make a movie to suit the profile.

By the way – want to jump one step ahead of the data crunchers and test your story out ahead of time? Download your free copy of the Yougov app here.

7. Fimmaker as brand ambassador

 

We’ve had this to a degree where a famous cinematographer like Anthony Dodd Mantle will hold up a Canon camera and swear by it. This is pimping, pure and simple, and my bet is that Anthony didn’t have to worry about beers for a few weeks.

What’s going to start happening more and more is how filmmakers will get funding from brands if and only if the message of the film ties into the brand values. This is really an insiduous form of censorship. Nonetheless, it is a funding source, and clever filmmakers will be able to dance the dance of artistic freedom while on the tightrope of slippery corporate ethics.

6. Filmmaker as an augmented realist

 

Filmmakers have always been on technology’s cutting edge. And the new one that everyone will be talking about really soon, if not already, is the role of augmented reality (AR) and movies. No longer will stories be confined to screens in cinemas.

5. Filmmaker and meta tagging

 

Gone are the days when a screenwriter simply wrote a script and a filmmaker filmed it. Meta-tagging is the new hot topic amongst filmmakers in the know.

It takes on several forms that filmmakers of the future will get really good at.

For screenwriters, using meta-tagging, as in the new script software Scrivener, allows you to tag scenes by character and mood. This helps the filmmaker as they are making the film.

For filmmakers, meta-tagging is a great way to get your film higher recognition on the internet. Dave Reynolds first short was a 42 minute film called Zomblies, before he realized it was too long to be a short and too short to be a long. Through clever meta-tagging, he has been able to monetize his film on YouTube, where each million views is worth between $3-5,000. See how many views Zomblies has.

Probably the most far-reaching departure for filmmakers is how meta-tagging can be used in digital distribution. Imagine this: a typical family breakfast scene where mom reaches for the breakfast cereal. What is actually filmed is a green screen cereal box. This allows the distributor to sell the ad. Perhaps in America it’s Quaker Oats and in Benelux it’s Kellogs. Scarey stuff.

4. Filmmaker as artist

 

Ah. Movies. A blend of art and commerce.

Sometimes, however, filmmaking goes straight to art. When veteran cult filmmaker Ate de Jong directed Mark Roger’s sassy message-genre Deadly Virtues: Love.Honour.Obey, he couldn’t understand why it wasn’t selling to a UK distributor despite the fact 150,000+ have seen the trailer.
De Jong decided to go straight for the artistic jugular and embarked on a deeply personal story, Intimacy, in which he will combine his vast commercial expertise with his artistic eye.

There will always be a place for the filmmaker as artist. Especially those able to lend their vast experience to the fine art of movie.

3. Filmmaker as Artisan

 

What do you prefer? Bread from a supermarket? Or bread made at a boutique bakery like my brother’s Royal Bay Bakery in Victoria BC?

So too with movies. Do you like the pre-fabricated Hollywood fare? Or the homespun movies made by independent filmmakers?

As fewer and fewer studio pictures get made, employing fewer and fewer filmmakers, I predict the artisanal home made indie fare will start to become flavour-of-the-month to discerning movie goers everywhere.

2. Filmmaker as gamer

 

Filmmakers traditionally viewed video games like Pong with distaste. The last ten years have seen huge advances in gaming technology. Most of these advances are now used by filmmakers. But this is where gamers fall down and will need to collaborate with filmmakers. It’s about story.

Can you as a filmmaker incorporate the multiple story entry points gamers use? Can you create modal stories where the action branches off into different directions? What if your movie is launched as a game?

How is this all going to work? Someone somewhere is going to figure this out and do to the film industry what the advent of sound and color did nearly a hundred years ago.

1. Filmmaker as visual communicator

 

When I started Raindance in 1992, a filmmaker needed to get about a million dollars. A feature film was made and distributed rather easily in today’s terms. Everyone was trying to make a feature film.

I don’t think this is going to work in 2015. With web series, viral content and documentaries all making their mark, the filmmakers of the future need to class themselves as multi-format visual storytellers and content providers.

What does it all mean?

 

There are so many prophets of independent filmmaking doom out there. We are told to look for answers to the film agencies in Europe and America. If your answer isn’t there, you are advised to go to the hallowed halls of academia.

I don’t think answers can be found there. I believe that the next wave of filmmaking, the next star of independent filmmaking, is most likely to be found right here. By a reader of this article. That person could be you. Can you contribute to these changes?

How have you seen your role as filmmaker change – or can you change?





 http://www.culturalweekly.com/15-ways-the-independent-filmmaker-will-change-in-2015/#disqus_top

Why Don't You Just Go Ahead and Kill Us? Please?...

Jeff Friday is Bringing Hollywood to Independent Filmmaking...

 

By Cedric Thornton

When your company’s mantra is ‘Because Hollywouldn’t,’ that’s a bold statement when it comes to setting a goal and making the world realize that the contributions of blacks aren’t on par in Hollywood. That’s been true in the past and even now, although some progress has been made. It can go for the movies, filmmakers, actors and most definitely the consumer and everything and everyone in between. 

No doubt Jeff Friday has influence as it relates to independent films being showcased to an audience a filmmaker or anyone involved in the making of an indie film needs and/or wants. Film Life, Inc., the umbrella company for The American Black Film Festival (ABFF), one of several entities that Friday helms, is instrumental in exposing the unexposed to the marketplace and is also a launching pad to the mainstream film industry that many hopefuls have their eyes on.

As this year’s ABFF [took] place in New York City, June 19-22, Jeff Friday, spoke to Black Enterprise (a premiere sponsor of this year’s festival) regarding the origins of the ABFF, the importance of independent films and what future plans are in the works.

Black Enterprise: What is Film Life, Inc. and why was it created and what does Film Life, Inc. do?

Film Life, Inc. is a multi-faceted entertainment company, founded in 2001 and headquartered in New York City. Best known for creating the American Black Film Festival (ABFF), Film Life, Inc.’s operations center on developing/licensing innovative content across all media platforms, as well as providing strategic advisory services to a wide range of companies in the entertainment, media and consumer product industries. The company was created to fill the gap from a distribution and event production standpoint. The company’s mantra is “Because Hollywouldn’t” which addresses the idea that Hollywood tends to ignore the African American consumer. The ethos behind Film Life, Inc. is to blend distribution, events and content. One of the many goals of the Film Life, Inc., one that is less commercial, is to promote African American people in multimedia, along with operating a profitable company with a clear business model. The ABFF this year was more than movies and we had high level sponsors, like HBO and Nickelodeon which are television companies. The idea is to stimulate people’s interest in black talent and to expand the ABFF/Film Life brand. One of the new projects we are working on are movie theatres in appropriate markets that will serve to distribute African American films.

What truly makes a film independent to you and why are indie films important?

An independent film is a story that a filmmaker tells free of restrictions and mandates that comes from major studio financing. An indie is a film that is self-financed or financed through nontraditional means. Films that are financed through crowdfunding, those films that are financed outside of the Hollywood infrastructure, allows the filmmaker to tell the story with influence, it frees the filmmaker.

​ How has the landscape of movie making change for black filmmakers?

For independent filmmakers, the landscape is more favorable because technology has made the process much cheaper. It is less favorable for filmmakers whose films are financed through the Hollywood system because studios have shifted from niche movies and reduced the number of movies they make. Studios make films with the widest appeal, like Spiderman, tent-pole movies, which leave little room for niche films like How Stella Got Her Groove Back or Soul Food, directed and written by African Americans. There are only a handful of Black directors hired to do non-black projects.

Could you give us a brief history of the American Black Film Festival?

In 1997, I went to the Sundance Film Festival, and what I noticed, was that there wasn’t a lot of diversity. The Audience Winner that year was Love Jones; Nia Long and Lorenz Tate were not well-known at the time. That’s when I realized that these themes were universal and that there was an opportunity to create a platform where Black films and Black filmmakers could be seen and celebrated. At the time the Mexico Government Tourist Office, a client of mine, invited us down as part of efforts to bring business to the area and the first annual ABFF happened in Acapulco, Mexico.

Talk to us about the 2014 American Black Film Festival taking place in New York City this year. What is the focus this year?

The theme of this year’s festival was, “Bringing Hollywood to independent filmmaking” – we always want to encourage more stories. For the first time ever last year , as a result of our relationship with Senator Chris Dodd, who is the Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, we were able to present an event at the festival called, “The Hollywood Trailerfest” which gave the six major studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney and Warner Bros. an opportunity to preview their upcoming theatrical releases to our Festival audience. We had senior level representation from these studios at ABFF last year and will continue this partnership for this year’s festival. We are also really grateful to have corporate partners like Cadillac and American Airlines that support the Festival and share our vision. We are going bigger and better by moving the festival to New York City. The energy is the City is amazing.

Who is Jeff Friday and what set him on this path and how did he get to where he is today?

​I am a family man first; I am also someone who is uncomfortable with the inaccuracies that we sometimes find in media as it relates to people of color. I consider myself a change agent. I have a belief in myself and I have had the support of many people who have come before me. I have the ability to focus on a task to completion; I am driven to make the world a better place. I value education and preparedness. I am very driven and focused.

What are you involved with these days and what are your future plans as it pertains to your work and what you do?

We launched the Miami Film Life Center last year. It is an arts institute that was created to enhance awareness and accessibility of films and filmmaking to the people in the Southeast Overtown, Park West, Omni and Midtown area. We are providing resources, programs and opportunities for networking with the hope of stimulating interest in and support for emerging filmmakers of color. We are also working on a new venture called “Brands and Personalities” which is Film Life’s talent procurement and celebrity endorsement arm that secures actors and filmmakers for commercial campaigns and promotional appearances. Brands that have utilized this resource have been Verizon, Cadillac, Macy’s American Airlines and Gold Peak Tea.





 http://www.blackenterprise.com/lifestyle/jeff-friday-is-bringing-hollywood-to-independent-filmmaking/

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Christine Lalla: Shooting a No-Budget Feature...

By Christine Lalla

When I arrived at the London Film School in 2006 to start a master’s degree in Filmmaking, there were a couple of things a film student could expect in their future career: 1. a feature film budget would likely exceed the cost of the property one was currently living in, and 2. film stock was the only acceptable format – the only question was whether to use Kodak or Fuji.

By the time I graduated as a cinematographer two years later – lighting two films shot on film stock and one on the Canon 5D – things had changed a little. With the exception of one short, every film I have shot since has been shot digitally, and with every passing year the HD cameras have got better, skin tones improved, dynamic range widened and highlights kept in check.

For low/no-budget filmmaking it became a no-brainer: film stock was no longer king. As a cinematographer I have embraced HD, but it is as a self-shooting director that I have truly reaped its rewards. Suddenly I was able to make corporate and promo films with little more than a DSLR, a couple of lights and a sound recorder. I was granted freedom by a benevolent sensor.

But it was the advent of the no-budget feature that really turned my head – suddenly there were features being made for less than £10K! Actor and director Edwards Burns has been doing it for years: a few actors, one or two takes, no wardrobe or hair & make-up, perhaps one light and of course, sound recorders. But it wasn’t until I met Ben Wheatley a few years ago, and he told me how he’d made his debut feature Down Terrace in just 8 days on £6K, that I considered it myself. It all seemed a bit like hard work but I thank him for all the encouragement he gave me that day, as three years later I have just completed my debut feature, The New Boy.

After I’d decided to pursue the no-budget feature route I realised I had to specifically write a script with only a few characters and locations and that could be set in the summer, giving me longer days of available light to film in. As for a subject, I’ve always been interested in the difference between love and obsession but couldn’t come up with a good premise until I stumbled across a scene in Gillian Armstrong’s 1994 version of Little Women. In one shot the character Jo is staring into her young neighbour’s house, wondering what he’s like. From this shot was The New Boy created.

“...this was a very bleak story that really needed cold, grey, light”

Pre-production

In March and April 2013 I finally wrote the screenplay. The main action would take place between two neighbouring houses and would feature a young cast as the leads. There was one problem: on a no-budget project one has to work extremely fast and little or no lighting set up was paramount to getting the film shot in 8 days. But this was a very bleak story that really needed cold, grey, light. Shooting in the summer would give me longer hours of daylight to shoot in, but the extra lighting I’d then need to achieve the necessary “cold” look would incur costs that would be far too prohibitive. So I took the decision to shoot the film in February 2014. We’d have less hours of daylight but it was a compromise that was 100% necessary for the look and feel of the film. I also therefore upgraded from a Canon 5D to a C300 for its superior dynamic range.

My whole pre-production process was designed to eliminate the problems I’d seen plague numerous other projects during my time shooting low budget shorts. Common problems such as actors not knowing their lines, directors having to produce their own films (even when there was a producer attached), rushes sitting on the hard drive of well-meaning editors who had to put films on hold when paid work came in.

Generally speaking other filmmakers didn’t laugh in my face when I told them I was writing, producing, directing, lighting and editing a feature film for £6K in 8 days.

Casting

I cast the film in October/November 2013, finding the actors through a mixture of Casting Call Pro, The Young Actors Theatre and word of mouth. I wasn’t just looking for good actors, I needed people who were reliable, could work efficiently and could rehearse in the run up to filming. And I got very lucky.

The film was cast by the end of November. I held the majority of my auditions over two days in the Directors UK boardroom. As a member of Directors UK I was able to use the office spaces for free, which was a huge help.

I really wanted the process to be collaborative, so I met with each cast member to individually discuss what they would bring to their character and to see how that would fit with my vision.

After a table reading in December I spent Christmas and New Year working on polishing the draft and creating the website for the film. We also had a Kickstarter campaign and though we failed to reach our target, enough money thankfully trickled in from other sources.

“...anything people don’t like about the film is solely my responsibility. And I’m very happy about that”

Rehearsals

We rehearsed from early January until two days before shooting. The most difficult part was dealing with everyone’s schedule but somehow it worked. I spilt up the scenes and our daytime rehearsals took place on the Directors UK 4th floor and the evening ones in the basement studios of The Actors Temple. Both spaces were kindly given freely which helped enormously with the budget.

I generally like to rehearse with actors in advance of filming anyway but in this case it was vital. I wanted each actor to understand their character and their relationship with the other characters as fully as possibly before setting foot on set. This was particularly important as we had so little leeway in the shooting schedule. A by-product of this working method was that a great camaraderie was built up over the weeks, ensuing we had very happy set.

I filmed the locations and sent links to all the actors so they would have an idea of the spaces they would be working in. We then blocked the action in rehearsals.

The last rehearsal took place at The Actors Temple where we ran through the entire film with final notes from me when necessary. This was extremely beneficial as I was able to see the performances come together and also see the film as it would cut as a whole, plus the actors gained confidence in their own abilities to master the rather strange method I was employing.

Principal photography commenced two days later on February 17th 2014 and I’m pleased to say the following 7 days were the most enjoyable time I have spent on any film set. Making The New Boy – from the first idea, through writing the script, location scouting, casting, rehearsing, filming, finding the soundtrack and score, to editing – was a total creative joy, which is a rare feeling in the film world. The rehearsal/blocking preparation really paid off on set as we could adapt quickly to any problems that arose.

After one pick up day in May, we came in on budget and schedule, and the film was completed on June 18th 2014. The experience has changed my attitude to filmmaking: I am currently turning my mid-budget sci-fi treatment into a graphic novel (not a screenplay) and although I have scripts requiring higher budgets, I will be making another film in the no-budget format in 2015.

Being such a low budget project, there was no creative interference from financiers, so anything people don’t like about the film is solely my responsibility. And I’m very happy about that.

http://www.directors.uk.com/about-us/news/christine-lalla-shooting-no-budget-feature

'Keep the Change': Interview with Rachel Israel

Posted on Film School Shorts

When casting a film dealing social disorders, there really are only two ways of approaching it: cast an actor  (Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man; Philip Seymour Hoffman in Mary and Max) or cast the real deal. Rachel Israel took the latter option. In Israel’s tender and authentic Keep the Change, she depicts characters with autism and social disorders as realistic, well-rounded people. At its core, Keep the Change is really a story about a couple of New Yorkers going about a mundane day.

Made at Columbia University School of the Arts, Keep the Change not only arrives to our third season of Film School Shorts, but will also screen at the SF Independent Film Festival (SF Indiefest) in the Shorts 1: Personals showcase at the Roxie Theatre.

These two lovebirds challenge the concept of normal in Keep the Change.

Hi Rachel! Can you tell us about yourself?

I am a New York filmmaker and film teacher at Rhode Island School of Design. I received my BFA from RISD and MFA from Columbia University .

 Tell us about Keep the Change.

 I wrote and directed Keep the Change as my Master’s Thesis at Columbia University.Keep the Change is a love story set within a community of adults on the autistic spectrum. The story stars real people, first-time actors with autism around whom I wrote the script.

How did you meet your lead Brandon Polansky?

Brandon Polansky has been a friend of mine for over 11 years. I met Brandon the summer before I went away to undergraduate college. I was taking a live model drawing class. In the center of the class was a nude model, surrounded by easels. During class break I noticed this young man circle the room, hitting on every woman in the class. When it came my turn to be “hit on” by Brandon, I declined a date but made a point of being kind, as I had heard such cruel rejections from other people in the class. Brandon asked whether he could still have my phone number anyway. I said sure. Brandon and I became good friends.

Brandon Polansky in Keep the Change.

Tell me about your writing and structuring process. How much of the film is improvised?

The story was fully scripted and went through many revisions. All the cast read the script so that they had an idea of the story but when we went into filming – they were encouraged to put the dialogue in their own words. So most of what you hear in the movie is improvised dialogue. That said, we kept to a tight story structure. In filming we were focused on nailing dramatic beats within scenes.

What was it like working with actors Brandon Polansky and Samantha Elisofon and how was it different from past experiences with your casts?

Brandon and Samantha are both naturally gifted actors – the amount of energy that they put forth in ordinary life to connect emotionally with others comes through in their ability to connect together on screen. In making this film together, they gave a lot of trust to me as a director. It was a privilege to work with them.

Brandon Polansky and Samantha Elisofon in Keep the Change.

Tell me about the production. How big was your crew and how many days did you shoot?

We shot for 5 ½ days. On larger production days our crew was as large as about 15-20 people, on other more intimate scenes we would be as small as 10.

I’m thoroughly impressed by the film’s cinematography. Given the improvised nature, can you tell me about your working relationship with your DP Ming Kai Leung?

Ming Kai Leung was a gift on set. He was tireless and sharp visually – his sensitivity to performance was essential as I needed to direct up close with the actors – I couldn’t reference a monitor so my trust in his watching the monitor was essential. As the staging was often different every take, he knew which performances to follow. Ming Kai Leung also has the patience and adventuresome spirit needed for this type of project.

Hardest part of the production? How about the surprisingly easiest?

The hardest part of this project overall was the screenwriting, getting a story that fit the actors. The hardest part of production itself was to initiate a few of the crew to the different mode of filming – using both a scripted story and improvised dialogue with non-traditional actors. The surprisingly easiest part of the shoot was keeping Brandon and Samantha energized. We had been concerned beforehand on how well they would keep up with the marathon of a 5 day film shoot – 12 hour days, etc. They were so excited to be on set – their energies did not flag.

A smiling Samantha Elisofon.

My favorite cut in the film, and for some reason it has just stuck with me, is when the film cuts from the pretzel truck to a tracking shot of the actors and David makes a racist joke. It’s a simple cut, but a perfect moment, even lyrical. In general, tell us about how much footage you shot and what I assume was a huge job for you and your editor Alex Camilleri.

We had about 48 hours of footage, which sounds like a lot but makes sense when you consider that we were working with two cameras and were getting a lot of coverage to give us options in the edit. Alex Camilleri is a very talented editor. He is intelligent, sensitive and precise. We worked together throughout the edit in one of the most purely enjoyable collaborations that I’ve ever had. When Alex came onto the project I had been working alone for awhile on a rough cut – assembled according to the scripted story – but built around what I considered the performance gems in each scene – the moments where you felt how real these characters were. There was a lot of material that was unusable in the footage – stilted bad acting moments where the actors were nervous and sounded wooden – most good, trained actors won’t ever give you material as unusable as this stuff – but then there were also these golden moments, so real, where our non-traditional actors completely forgot the camera was there. Those golden moments became the tent-poles of our film.

I saw this at the 2013 Columbia University Film Festival with the cast in attendance. I remember them cheering when you picked up your award. What was their initial reaction when you first showed them the film?

That was a great moment – the first time they saw the film was at the 2013 Columbia University Film Festival – a screening earlier that week, before the awards ceremony. So this was all very fresh and exciting to them. It was very special for them to see it on the big screen in such an elegant environment – and to be congratulated by so many people afterwards. I had been looking forward to seeing them see it for a very long time.

The ending still fills me with hope and anxiety. It also feels very methodically constructed and precise. Without spoiling it, did you approach this sequence differently than other scenes in the film?

The ending was one of a few key moments in the film that we knew had to land very clearly in order for the film to work. The ending is also one of the rare moments in the film where the characters are communicating with each other non-verbally, which makes it feel especially tense I believe. There was no place for that improvised dialogue in the ending. The actors really needed to connect without words.

Brandon Polansky during a tense scene.

You’ve said that David’s first day at the support group is essentially his ‘version of hell’. Can you elaborate on why that is and how you were able to communicate that to the audience?

The character David is not at peace with identifying as a person on the autistic spectrum. For him hell is being categorized with people that he views as low functioning and needy. He is terrified of being needy.

What’s the general response to the film? Have you ever had to ‘defend’ the film, given that the cast has social disorders?

The reaction to the film has been overwhelmingly positive in both the community of people with autism and the wider world. The only aspect of the film that I’ve had to explain at times is my lead character’s use of offensive jokes. Most people immediately get why we include the jokes. Others don’t. Brandon Polansky who was the basis for David uses offensive jokes as a crutch in social situations, as a script that will earn him a laugh, albeit an uncomfortable laugh. Since he has difficulty editing his impulses these jokes also package all of his social awkwardness in a package he mistakenly believes is socially acceptable because he’s observed others telling such jokes. I thought this crutch was very interesting, very sad and also very revealing about his character so I wanted to include it.
It was also important to me that our film not sanitize these characters just because they have disabilities. I find such portrayals offensive to people with disabilities. They are not saints just because of a disability. They are flawed and human.

A scene depicting the support group.

When did you know you wanted to be a filmmaker? Any particular filmmakers influence you?

I decided to become a filmmaker when I first touched a film camera in college – before that I had been a serious painter and avid reader. For some reason I had no idea you could actually major in film at college. It was exhilarating to be on the other side of that ride. Films had influenced me so strongly growing up. Films fed a lot of my social learning. A few of the filmmakers that have influenced me are Milos Foreman, Woody Allen and Mike Nichols.

You are currently getting funding to develop Keep the Change into a feature length film. What are some new challenges you’re facing in making a full-length film compared to a short?

Money. I funded the short film through personal Bank of America loans. Fundraising requires skills I’m having to learn as a shy artist. Just like my main character, David, I’ve never liked asking people for help. It takes confidence to ask. That said, here’s a link to our donations page: http://fs.artistspublicdomain.org/campaign/detail/3083

Samantha Elisofon and Brandon Polansky in Keep the Change.

What was your Columbia experience like?

Columbia was awesome, such a luxury to have that focused time to discover what moved me as a filmmaker. The faculty deeply and sincerely care about students reaching their highest potentials. The relationships that I developed with peers are priceless.

Who were your favorite professors and why?

I received great support from my advisor, a very accomplished filmmaker, Ramin Bahrani. His rigor and honesty about work are amazing. He taught me an ethos of inquiry and need for precision as a filmmaker. Eric Mendelsohn was a tremendous asset to my thesis work also. He encourages students to be fearless and seek the core emotion of a work. He’s a brilliant teacher. Other magnificent professors I experienced include June Stein, Tom Kalin and Andy Bienen.

What kind of feedback did you get from your professors and classmates regarding Keep the Change?

Constructive criticism all the way through. The atmosphere at Columbia is supportive, safe and rigorous. We want each other to succeed and we push for the best from each other.

Rachel Israel, second from the left.

What advice do you have for student filmmakers?

Follow the subjects that move you the most and don’t be afraid of looking stupid in the process. I come from a family of scientists and I’ve always appreciated the scientific attitude toward creativity, which is all about exploration and discovery. You can’t be afraid of failing.

What’s life like after film school?

It’s a difficult transition out of grad school but it feels good at the same time. It’s been vital for me to stay in touch with my circle of grad school friends who are going through the same transition. The grad school support network has been priceless.

Other than a feature in the works, what’s next?

I’m now teaching film part time at Rhode Island School of Design, which is such a joy and an honor. Teaching plus scaling the mountain of making this feature fill my life. I have a couple other projects in mind for after the feature of Keep the Change. However, from past experience, I know that big projects change you and affect what you will want to take on next. I’m looking forward to being changed by making this next film.

 http://blogs.kqed.org/filmschoolshorts/2015/01/30/keep-the-change-interview-with-rachel-israel/