http://independent-magazine.org/2009/01/arisandel/
Obsessed with Independent Film Since 1976 
Obsessed with Independent Film Since 1976
Ari Sandel was nervous and excited when he arrived at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on the evening of March 5th, 2006 for the 78th Academy Awards that, for a moment, he forgot to breathe. His film, West Bank Story–a musical-comedy that explores a microcosm of the Israeli—Palestinian conflict through the competition between the fast… Read more »
Earlier this year, on a self-described “quixotic whim,” Oscar-winner Tilda Swinton rented an old Victorian ballroom named the Ballerina and set out to bring a film festival—complete with a quirky sense of imagination, beanbag chairs, and an unconventional lineup—to the seaside town of Nairn in the North East of Scotland. The Ballerina Ballroom website boasts… Read more »
Film Festivals. Whether it’s Sundance or Cannes, or something more obscure, the phrase conjures images of red carpets, artsy auteurs, and late night parties… for fans. But to filmmakers, and the often-unpaid program coordinators, film festivals are linked to getting organized, getting seen, and selling either your film, or enough tickets to do it all… Read more »
For decades, film festivals have partnered up with great independent films to give them a healthy life. Filmmakers have relied on the hard work of festival programmers and organizers to get our films out to audiences and to reach wider markets through press and distributor attention. However, as I re-enter the world of film festivals… Read more »
At SILVERDOCS 2008, writer Randi Cecchine talks with Pat Aufderheide, founder and director of the Center for Social Media at American University, about moving their Beyond Broadcast conference to SILVERDOCS, unraveling the complexities of fair use, and taking on the future of public media. You are involved with SILVERDOCS in a bunch of different capacities… Read more »
Each June, The Media That Matters Film Festival selects a group of 12 shorts by independent filmmakers designed to spark action and debate in twelve minutes or less. Unlike other festivals, MTM works to promote its selections year-round through online streaming, broadcasts and community screenings. Finalists from this year’s festival, which just premiered in New… Read more »
Sundance is growing. More submissions than ever–8,000 for 2008. More screenings. More countries of origin represented in both the feature and documentary competitions. More arms of the Sundance empire–institutes, labs, the Sundance Channel–at work. More categories to sift through than a sane film-goer can practically comprehend, let alone stand in line for. Then there’s the… Read more »
I first became aware of AIVF when Martha Gever was editor of The Independent. I marveled at this national organization that put out each month a magazine chock full of weighty, intellectual and critical articles on film and video. The magazine wasn’t glossy and was not determined to be a general “industry rag.” At that… Read more »
What happened at AIVF over the last 30 years? Coming up with a coherent and entertaining way to answer that question was not an easy task. Instead of recounting the factual history—which would put most readers to sleep—we decided to let the voices (of past and present) speak for themselves. What follows is a conversation… Read more »
For most people in America, “Sesame Street” warrants no introduction. The long-running PBS program and landmark, nonprofit children’s educational organization, Sesame Workshop (renamed from Children’s Television Workshop in 2000), has been viewed in thousands of homes across the country since 1968 when it first began changing the way we look at television with its smart,… Read more »