Demarest Films and Cinedigm have entered into a co-acquisition and distribution to create a new co-acquisition and marketing arrangement that should greatly expand independent film acquisition, marketing and distribution opportunities for both parties.
[Editors Note: As has been widely reported, in recent weeks filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Steven Soderbergh have predicted that Hollywood will implode if the major studios continue to invest only in tent-pole movies and endless sequels. In a guest column Russ Collins, artistic director of the Cinetopia Festival, CEO of Ann Arbor’s Michigan Theater and director of the Art House Convergence, takes exception.] Steven Spielberg is a gifted filmmaker whose impact on the art and business of cinema is arguably peerless. Steven Soderbergh is a gifted and important filmmaker. The aesthetic and financial success of both Stevens is unquestioned. However, both of these cinema icons have come out with almost bitter assessments of the future of movies recently. I believe these assessments are wrongheaded. Maybe it’s because the pessimistic assessments come from these two cinema idols that it makes me sad and a little mad.
LA-based rental house Radiant Images announced the Radiant Novo Challenge filmmaking competition at the Palm Springs International ShortFest this week. The Radiant Novo Challenge will provide select filmmakers with the opportunity to create a short film using the new Novo digital cinema camera.
The Vermont College of Fine Arts has announced the creation of the Independent Filmmaker Production Grant, a thesis completion fellowship for students of the new MFA in Film degree program during their final year of study.
Colorflow recently provided color grading and other post-production services for Electric Ascension, a full-length concert film documenting the Rova Saxophone Quartet’s remarkable reimagining of John Coltrane’s legendary 1965 free jazz recording Ascension.
I usually use this space for announcements about projects I am shooting or screenings of films I have shot. But I have had so much interest in my camera tests for the new Sony F55, that I wanted to share my results publicly.
In the 1990s The Shooting Gallery produced some of the hottest indie films, including Sling Blade (an Academy Award for Billy Bob Thornton), You Can Count On Me starring Mark Ruffalo (Academy Award nomination) and a series of projects with now-famous actors, producers and directors. Not long ago, director/producers Whitney Ransick and Bob Gosse, along with DP/producer Gil Gilbert and his co-DP Derek Wiesehahn, chronicled the rise and fall of this industry icon in Misfire: The Rise and Fall of The Shooting Gallery.
TromaDance Detroit, Michigan's only free independent film festival is coming to the Tangent Gallery on June 22.
Mixed frame rate media has become a common headache in the post-production profession. With the abundance of affordable cameras now available on the market, and more filmmakers producing their own content using a variety of methods, post-production facilities must not only stay relevant, but also stay flexible to the clients needs when delivering projects. All of this was top of mind when Burbank based AlphaDogs Post Production recently completed post on the feature documentary FrackNation.
Cinedigm has announced a partnership with Slamdance that will bring a slate of feature programming to digital platforms.
