Features

The creation of the Independent Television Service in the mid-1990s as a source of funding for independent filmmakers was seen at the time as one of the great successes in the independent film movement. Today, the organization has a budget exceeding $12 million, and provides key funding to hundreds of films each year, including approving many outright grants in the six-figure range. All ITVS projects are supposed to completed and groomed for public television—but, in fact, one in three films funded by ITVS do not make to a major PBS series. Why is that? In more than a dozen interviews with filmmakers and people familiar with ITVS, some complaints emerge: namely, that ITVS is an overbearing funding partner that deploys "bulldog" lawyers and shrouds the funding process in secrecy. The Independent's Michele Meek takes a look at the organization and the independent filmmakers who rely on it, to find out what's going on.

We all love film festivals, but do we really know what goes into getting a festival up and running? The Independent takes a look at three young fests to see how they got their start, from the passion behind the festival to the funds that got them on the map.

Withoutabox has prevented a lot of headaches since launching its online film festival submission service in 2000. But lacking any significant competition, prices have gone up, and now the company is owned by a huge corporation. Where does that leave the indie filmmaker and the low- to no-budget festivals, now hooked on the Withoutabox system? The Independent talks to festival directors, including IFFB director Adam Roffman and filmmakers such as Ryan Gielen (see trailer from his film The Graduates) to find out their take on the popular festival tool.

With online distribution becoming a viable outlet for filmmakers, The Independent takes a look at how filmmakers are leveraging the growing audiences this election season to promote political films, from Michael Moore's Slacker Uprising (see trailer here) to David Zucker’s An American Carol (see trailer here), as well as strictly YouTube releases like this video by Noshpit Entertainment.

There are many ways to fund a film, but how do you know what is right for you? The Independent looks at three films: the documentary, The Linguists (see the trailer), the short, student film, The Abattoir (see the trailer) and the feature, A Good Day To Be Black & Sexy (see the trailer) to see how they went from ideas on the page to festival successes.

Guaranteed Completion Contracts (GCCs), otherwise known as waivers, prove to be a lifesaver for indie filmmakers as the SAG and AMTFG negotiations remain at a standstill. Here is a rundown of the issues at hand and how they might affect independent filmmakers.

Tourists flock in hoards to experience the literature, theatre, tango, and art of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Film can now be added to the list. Yet even with increased financial support from the Argentine government, Argentine-made films, particularly the indies, are struggling to find an audience big enough to sustain the industry. Kim Winternheimer reports on the latest developments for Argentine films both home and abroad.

If Hollywood is slow to make the leap online, independents are even more hesitant, fearing the gradual (or dramatic) shaving of their profit margins, which are low to begin with. What is the future of Internet film distribution? The Independent's Michele Meek takes a look the upstarts who are changing the way the distribution game is played, including Movieflix, EZTakes, Jaman, FilmOn, and, yes, Google Video.

The 5th Bangkok Experimental Film Festival kicks off in March at a time when the work of Thai directors such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Thunska Pansittivorakul is gaining worldwide acclaim. But even as Thai independent cinema reaches a creative pinnacle, it finds itself bumping up against serious new censorship at home. The Independent's Denise Burrell-Stinson recently travelled to Southeast Asia, and files this report. You can view a clip from Sud pralad (Tropical Malady), and trailers for Sud sanaeha (Blissfully Yours) and Sang sattawat (Syndromes and a Century), Weerasethakul's censored film, on our Watch page.