https://independent-magazine.org/2005/01/01/qa-david-russell-big-film-shorts/
Obsessed with Independent Film Since 1976
Obsessed with Independent Film Since 1976
David Russell is the go-to man for all things short film. In 1996, he started Big Film Shorts, a distributor which specializes in the unsung short form. Eight years later, Russell and his company are getting ready to partner with Canadian short film channel Movieola to launch the first short film cable channel in the… Read more »
Stanley Crouch is one of America’s most eloquent and original social critics. In the last three decades, Crouch has published several books and his essays have appeared in numerous national publications including Harper’s and The New Republic. In 1993 he was awarded the MacArthur “genius grant” in recognition of his work. Crouch has tackled cinema… Read more »
I met Spike Lee for the first time in the fall of 1989 at the University of New Hampshire, where I’d recently transferred from, at an event in his honor hosted by the Black Student Union. Do the Right Thing had come out the summer before, and I was sufficiently amped up about asking him… Read more »
Since founding Open City Films in 1994, producers Joana Vicente and Jason Kliot have earned a reputation for making unique and popular films that would probably not have received financing elsewhere. Whether they sold the film to a studio—like Down to You (Miramax)—or produced a gritty independent—like Chuck and Buck through their subsidiary, Blow Up… Read more »
What is the Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media? It is a fund that gives grants to video, film, and radio programs. How long has it been in existence? It’s been around since 1987. Originally it was called the Film Fund and in ’87 the name was changed. Was there a reason for that? Back… Read more »
What is the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund? It’s a fund to support documentaries in the US and internationally that deal with contemporary human rights issues, social justice, civil liberties, and freedom of expression. It used to be the Soros Documentary Fund. How long has the fund been with Sundance? It’s been here for two years…. Read more »
What is Standby? It’s a nonprofit media arts service organization that has been in existence since 1983. We provide post-production services to artists and nonprofits, provide technical consultation, and do publications to serve the media arts field. Why did Standby start? Basically, it was a small group of artists/editors who started the whole thing. It… Read more »
What is Wellspring Media? Lidell: It’s one of the only independent film distributors that has the capacity to distribute theatrically, on television, domestically, internationally, and on home video. It’s the successor company to Winstar and Fox Lorber. Guirgis: We also have a department that co-produces documentaries between acquisitions and international sales, so basically we raise… Read more »
What is Facets? Facets Multi-Media is an arts organization based in Chicago, Illinois. We also have the world’s largest and most unique collection of foreign, classic American, independent, experimental, documentary, cult, fine arts, and children’s videos and DVD’s. The Facets collection represents over fifty thousand individual titles. In addition we also do Facets Cinematheque, an… Read more »
What is GreeneStreet Films? GreeneStreet Films is a production and finance company. We mostly concentrate on films, but we do a little television as well. When did GreeneStreet Films start? It was begun in 1996 by John Penotti and Fisher Stevens. They both were interested in starting a company that could support artists who have… Read more »