Tom Festo’s Post

One of Hollywood’s biggest nights of the year is right around the corner! The Oscars are this Sunday and are set to spotlight the year’s biggest and most notable films. The requirements for an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nomination are high, and often big-budget movie companies are the only ones able to produce high-end films that meet the requirements year after year. For example, Warner Brothers and Universal Pictures have the financial means to produce films like “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” while smaller production teams struggle to bear the financial toll it takes to meet the Academy’s high-priced requirements. This issue cannot help but beg the question: How much privilege do Academy nominations reflect? The SOJC’s very own Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning Professor of Documentary and Film Studies Mitchell Block shares his commentary on the economics of film distribution and its role in Academy nominations in this article from Marketplace. “The small companies don’t have the resources to open the film in that many theaters in that many markets,” Block said. Read the rest of Block’s commentary here: https://lnkd.in/gcnFZc7j To learn more about Professor Mitchell Block, click here: https://lnkd.in/g4v9fjMK

Taking the pulse of the movie industry, director Richard Linklater ("Boyhood," "School of Rock") noted that after passing on a completed, film festival and audience tested, popular crime/rom-com genre movie with a new "A-list" actor ("Hitman"), the legacy film studios "...A[They]’re not interested in adult entertainment.” He states that the studios are so risk averse that they walked away from a first class product handed to them on a platter. In this Indiewire article, he posits that the studios now want only established intellectual property (read, comic books). So, the original content is going to the streamers where the exhibition risk is diversified by the streamer and the ability for the filmmakers to make an outsize profit is limited (nominal). Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gUfVc545

'Q&A: Producer Ted Hope Wants a New Indie Revolution'   From shaping the Nineties indie film movement to helping Amazon break into features, the producer has seen and done it all, he has despaired, and he is here to tell you there's hope...no, really.   Here are some teasers of what you’ll find inside:   “In some way, our love for the making of films destroys their chances to really connect deeply with audiences.” “They reduce our love to a transaction.”   “I think any corporation that either funds or acquires a film should take on the contractual necessity of making sure the film can readily be available anytime anywhere and in the proper context.” “No one really comes a-knockin’, asking how they can help you put what you have to offer to work in a manner that is rewarding. You have to strategize what that is and how it can happen. You have to engineer your own serendipity.” “We’ve been deprived of work that is willing to focus on aesthetics, deviate from the three-act structure or hero’s journey, counter naturalism, or display emotional truth. There is a price we pay for that.” “I think art, artists, and audiences evolve much faster than our businesses or markets do, and that there is incredible opportunity in that.”  

Recap: All the Breaking News Out of Sundance https://ift.tt/ycoHfhd As the Sundance Film Festival wraps up, the buzz is just beginning. From groundbreaking premieres to innovative storytelling that pushed the boundaries of cinema, this year's festival felt really special to us. And not just because we threw a fantastic party and gave away a camera. No Film School has been on the ground, soaking in every moment, from the electric atmosphere of opening night to the final, reflective hours of the festival's close. Our coverage has spanned across the board, offering insights into the latest in film technology, in-depth interviews with emerging and established talents, and first-hand reviews of the most talked-about films. Let's recap it together here. What Happened During Sundance 2024? The Festival No Film School @ Sundance 2024 Follow the Sundance 2024 Tag on No Film School NFS @ Sundance: Risks, Giveaways and What the Fest Tells Us About the Industry Check Out The Sundance 2024 Lineup What Does the Sundance Market Look Like in 2024 Community and Creativity at the No Film School Alumni Party What Sold at Sundance 2024? Who Won Sundance 2024? How to Survive Your First Sundance Watch Sundance 2024 Today From Home With Online Screenings What Are Some Practical Tips For Attending Sundance? The Biggest Challenges for 2024 Sundance Creators (& How They Overcame Them), Pt. 1 The Biggest Challenges for 2024 Sundance Creators (& How They Overcame Them), Pt. 2 The Biggest Challenges for 2024 Sundance Creators (& How They Overcame Them), Pt. 3 The Biggest Challenges for 2024 Sundance Creators (& How They Overcame Them), Pt. 4 Everything You Missed at the No Film School and Canon Sundance Party The Cameras The Cameras of Sundance 2024 Shed Light On How Indie Filmmakers Have Evolved Landing the Job to Boosting Morale: Sundance DP Roundtable Dives into Filters & More The Lenses Of Sundance 2024 Show That Filmmakers Love Variety Sign Up For These Sundance Collab Courses Just in Time for the 2024 Festival Party at Sundance with No Film School and Canon — You Might Win a Cinema Camera Register to Win a Canon R5 C Cinema Camera The Filmmakers The Best Advice from This Year's Sundance Filmmakers How Do You Win Big at Sundance? Ask Horror Filmmaker Masha Ko How Can You Make a Slasher Fresh? Learn from This Director Director Zoe Eisenberg Breaks Down Crafting An Inverse Coming-of-Age Indie Hit Elizabeth Ai Defies Odds with Her Counterculture Documentary 'New Wave' The Holdovers' Stunt Coordinator Reveals Her Path To Becoming a Successful Producer Learn How to Parody '90s Sitcoms with the Director of Sundance Hit 'Krazy House' ‘How To Have Sex’ Director Molly Manning Walker On Sundance and Festival Runs The Shutterstock Resources Filmmakers Should Know About Check Out What You Can Learn at the Canon Creative Studio During Sundance How This Team Captured a Live 'War Game' E-Girl Investigators of Sundance Doc...

We usually don't brag, (although as a professional, I understand how important it is). However, in this case, it's about the new direction of activity for the ART SANS FRONTIERES - PONT DE LA PAIX association. In this association, I am not only the director of the BRIDGE OF PEACE film festival but also the head of the film project development and analysis department. This direction was opened just a few months ago at the request of screenwriters who really need help in realizing their accumulated ideas. Specifically, we prepare film projects for pitching, which means presenting them to investors and potential partners for co-production. Recently, we received such a pitch request from American filmmaker and actor Dan Morgan. He is the author and director of a whole series of short comedy films made for American TV, but this time his project is a feature-length comedy inspired by the film "Back to the Future." Yesterday, we sent Dan a 20-page pitch project, and here is his feedback: "Overall, the pitch looks amazing! Thank you very much." But our work is not yet finished. Ahead is the development of the design for the video presentation, preparation of slides for the hall presentation, inclusion of a brief version of the pitch in our catalog, which the ASFPP association will distribute at the San Sebastian Film Festival in September (where we will also organize an independent event - a pitching session for festival participants). We will then participate in the Classic Film Market in Lyon in October 2024. If you also have an unfinished film project, you still have time until August 1 to get on our train, so we can publish your project in the mentioned catalog and present it at film festivals in France and Spain. An online version of the catalog will also be available. Our nearest events are here: https://lnkd.in/ePsFDy6S More about pitching: https://lnkd.in/ejeUPVRs

Please follow the link and read my article based on the short film Fading Echoes, directed by Toyosi Ige https://lnkd.in/ej_VVmJG

So even Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ Faces Uphill Battle for Mega Deal: “Just No Way to Position This Movie” The self-funded epic is deemed too “experimental” and “not good” enough for the $100 million marketing spend envisioned by the legendary director. I’m with Jonas Barnes on this one, like Taylor Swift’s direct deal with AMC Networks and A24 deal with IMAX, a new model is emerging, a more direct approach to distribution to its audiences. If they’re big enough and the numbers have been calculated, then to back yourself, your team and your project is definitely a bold step, but one that’s required to shake things up further. Here at Bad Blood Films we did just that, way back in 2019/20, approaching Cineworld Cinemas Ltd who gave us an opportunity to prove ourselves, to deliver a quality feature film, fit for the big screen, filmed in 4k, mixed in #dolbyatmos, approved by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) and IFCO (Irish Film Classification Office) a BIG world premiere and self-distributed our small indie film across 43 screens in U.K. and Ireland on the 6March20. Not a bad start to our debut feature roll-out. Unfortunately the big ‘C’ scuppered any further progress and the rest is history. However I do believe our ‘hybrid approach’ to distribution was revolutionary at the time and I believe this change was long overdue. One of the issues will be P&A spend and roll-out big enough to reach your audience and recoup your costs within the initial months release, we need something like the old DSN (Digital Screen Network) an indie network that participates in a tailored and flexible release schedule, away from the majors and who care about breathing new life into the industry. The power of all these smaller, boutique cinemas when we collaborate and work together will be more important and valuable than the bigger companies, allowing the stories and content that we want to see on the big screens. The residuals from my experience has been less than poor with a huge lack of transparency from many companies within the ‘old school’ framework of doing things. I’m happy to continue this discussion privately for anyone interested, but be careful who you work with, there few friends in business, especially when everyone’s backs are to the wall. What you agree to on paper doesnt really mean anything. I still find it quite difficult to except the way we have been treated by so called industry professionals, that’s not how I would treat any industry colleague (out of choice), the days of trust, respect, integrity and honesty are fading and we need to ensure there is no room in the industry for bottom-feeders, praying on the vulnerable, taking fees and ditching projects, this doesn’t help at the best of times, let alone during times of turbulence and troubles. We need a new blueprint for the next generation. The current model is broken and we need to find a new model and I know we won’t stop until we find it!

It doesn’t take £3m to make a first feature (as the heads at BBC Film and Film Four suggest) - and the idea it does makes it difficult for new voices to be heard. We spent (roughly) 1/30th of that budget to make Lapwing and had a UK cinema release and digital release across the US and Europe. If we had any more money it would have been spent on supporting our release which was the area most impacted by a lower budget. So yes, more money would have been great. But the idea it must cost millions to make a feature does not come from independent filmmakers - I can name multiple excellent films made for a fraction of that. So what are we optimising for? Better stories? More adventurous filmmakers? Developing talent? If we were doing that, we would make more, faster, and allow unique voices to develop in a space where risk and play is actually encouraged. I can tell you with certainty that Lapwing would never have happened if it needed £3m to get started and that would mean the talent involved would still be waiting for a chance to shoot something longer than a short. Show me someone with £3m to invest, and I’ll direct them to 10 exceptional projects that can be shot and still leave them with change. https://lnkd.in/edi-ybQD

Good films aren’t always a product of just actors because actors alone with no pretty story are just dancing without music on. Filmmakers within the film industry are like the music, they not only arrange the film or set, they bring it to fruition either through teamwork or every other available means and these are beautiful. We can’t accredit the success of the 2023 movie year to just the actors alone even if they were most in our faces. The filmmakers comprising of creators, producers, and Directors of the films that make it to our screens. I like to tag them the behind the scene guys coz really they might not be seen, but interestingly they are always there making the mark and making sure the story they try to tell is a beautifully worthy one. For the 2023 season, these legends did exceptionally well and it reflects in the movies that came our way this season as More filmmakers ceased the opportunity to stand out and deliver premium quality and movies all year long. In this article, we will be outlining for filmmakers that made the mark and stood out in 2023. #nollywood #filmmakers #filmindustry Read more: https://lnkd.in/dqbkrviX

Guy Burbidge: “It’s the first time since 2017 that a superhero film won’t be in the top three movies of the year” This year in cinema has been unlike any other. Records have been broken both locally and globally. We witnessed a resurgence in genre filmmaking which saw the box office driven by one of the most diverse slates from studios and distributors spanning action, family, comedy, horror, and even concert films resulting in the top ten films of the year so far comprising of five different genres. Brands have also capitalised on another strong year, with Cinema outperforming the market with the latest SMI data (Jan – Sept) reporting a 4.5% uplift in ad spend, the second highest YOY channel increase after Outdoor. Read the 2023 cinema recap from our Managing Director Guy Burbidge on Mediaweek Australia via the link below. #ValMorgan #Mediaweek