|
EDUCATION:
• Youth
Program
• Screenwriting
• Film
/ DV / Audio
• Photography
• Web
Design
• Instructor
Profiles
•
Conferences
 |
Become
an IFP MN member and start taking advantage
of the benefits today!
Click
Here |
 |
|
|
 |
A PERFECT WORLD:
Kristine Heykants
Evan Baden
Jan 22-March 20
Click Here |
|
|
|
|
|
 
2009 Independent Producers Conference: Solving the Distribution Mystery
April 18, 2009
Presented in partnership with Minneapolis Community & Technical College
Now more than ever, independent film distribution is a mystery, but one we can help you solve! The old system of distribution is crumbling and new distribution venues are multiplying. Producers have the chance to take more control of their film’s future than ever before – IF they understand the new landscape. This year’s conference promises to be more hands-on and interactive than ever, helping you, the filmmaker, to map out the best distribution path for your projects.
Hear renowned keynote speaker Peter Broderick of Paradigm Consulting lay out the geography of this new world of distribution. Apply to discuss your project and distribution needs one-on-one with representatives from cable, film, and Internet based distributors (guidelines & application, applications due April 15). Guests include:
We’ll also present two case studies—one narrative and one documentary—on current Minnesota-produced projects: Four Boxes (Wyatt McDill, Writer-Director/Megan Huber, Producer) and Our Wildest Dreams: A True Crime Documentary of Dolls & Murder (Susan Marks, Writer-Director-Producer/John Kurtis Dehn, Producer). The filmmakers will discuss the making of their films, with a focus on distribution, including a dialog with our visiting distributors.
Date: Saturday, April 18, 2009
Place: Minneapolis Community & Technical College, Whitney Hall, Rm. L.3000, 1501 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis (*Whitney Hall is the newer glass library building in the center of campus directly facing Hennepin. Parking is available in the ramp directly across the street for $5.)
Times: 9:00 am–5:00 pm (Detailed schedule here)
Price: $50 IFP Members* / $40 Students & Seniors / $75 General Public
Lunch: $10
Register: 651-644-1912 (Visa/MC accepted)
*IFP MN Fiscal Sponsor Clients receive 25% off the member price.
SCHEDULE
Keynote Speaker (9:30–11:15): The morning will kick off with keynote speaker Peter Broderick discussing the current state of indie film distribution, including 20-minute Q&A.
Distribution Marketplace (11:30–12:30): Guest distribution reps and consultants will be stationed at tables in the main conference room. This will be an excellent opportunity for filmmakers to make connections, provide overviews of their projects and distribution goals, and for those with projects at any stage to gather the information they need on a number of topics. The discussions are intended to be brief (5-10 min.) so that all attendees have a chance to meet as many of our guests as possible. [Note: this activity can continue until 1:00, as a lunch buffet will be provided onsite.]
Lunch Buffet – Catered by Rascal’s (12:30–1:15)
Includes croissant sandwiches (meat & veggie), pasta salad, fresh fruit, chips, cookies & brownies, raspberry tea and pink lemonade.
Case Studies: Two 45-minute script-to-screen case studies will be presented, one of a locally produced narrative film, another of a documentary. Both case studies will concentrate on distribution plans, and the directors/producers will have a public dialogue with you and the other participating distribution company reps on this topic for our conference attendees to observe.
-
Case Study I (1:15–2:00): Wyatt McDill and Megan Huber will discuss the making of their narrative film, Four Boxes. The film will be having its world premiere at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival.
-
Case Study II (2:15–3:00): Susan Marks and John Dehn will discuss their John Waters-narrated documentary, Our Wildest Dreams: A True Crime Documentary of Dolls & Murder. The film is in the final stages of editing.
Pitch/Consultation Sessions (3:15–4:45): Conference guest distribution reps will each meet individually with up to three conference attendees (25 min. each) who have completed films. Consultants will do the same for those with incomplete projects. Although the deadline to sign up for a pitch or consultation has passed, some guests may still have openings available to sign up for at the conference.
Reception: Immediately following the conference until 6:00 p.m. at Nick & Eddie, 1612 Harmon Place (one block from MCTC, next door to Joe’s Garage).
KEYNOTE: THE CUTTING EDGE OF DISTRIBUTION
Peter Broderick will give a comprehensive overview of the newest distribution strategies being used by filmmakers to maximize revenues, target and build core audiences, and boost their careers. He will reveal the distribution techniques that made a number of documentaries so successful. Case studies will demonstrate how filmmakers are implementing hybrid distribution strategies that include theatrical, television, non-theatrical, home video, educational distribution, and Web sales. Some independents have made more than a million dollars selling a single film from their Web sites, and some have partnered with national organizations to get their films seen widely by key audiences.
2009 IFP MN INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS CONFERENCE GUESTS
Peter Broderick is President of Paradigm Consulting, which helps filmmakers and media companies develop strategies to maximize distribution, audiences, and revenues. In addition to advising on sales and marketing, Paradigm Consulting specializes in state-of-the-art distribution techniques—including innovative theatrical service deals, hybrid video strategies (mixing retail and direct sales online), and new approaches to global distribution.
Broderick was President of Next Wave Films, which supplied finishing funds and other vital support to filmmakers from the US and abroad. He helped launch the careers of such exceptionally talented directors as Christopher Nolan, Joe Carnahan, and Amir Bar-Lev. In January 1999, Broderick established Next Wave Films’ Agenda 2000, the world’s first entity devoted to financing digital features.
A key player in the growth of the ultra-low budget feature movement, Broderick became one of the most influential advocates of digital moviemaking. He has given presentations on digital production at festivals worldwide and written articles for Scientific American, The New York Times, and The Economist. In 2004 Broderick launched Films to See Before You Vote, harnessing the power of film to impact the US presidential election. He is a graduate of Brown University, Cambridge University, and Yale Law School.
Now focused on the revolution in film distribution, Broderick gives keynotes and presentations internationally, most recently at Cannes, Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Brisbane, New York, and Los Angeles. He served as Program Co-Director of Digimart, the global digital distribution summits held in Montreal in 2005 and 2006. His seminal article, “Maximizing Distribution,” has been reprinted in publications around the world. His report, “Welcome to the New World,” is a concise guide to the latest distribution strategies. Read his articles and subscribe to his Distribution Bulletin at www.peterbroderick.com.
Marisa Bryce is a Co-Founder and CEO of ReelChanges.com, which built the technology behind ReelChanges.org, a way for filmmakers to find community-based funding for documentary filmmakers. ReelChanges.org is owned and operated by the Center for Media Change, Inc., a non-profit corporation based in Palo Alto, California whose mission is to enrich our culture by facilitating the creation and distribution of more high-quality documentaries.
Marisa is also the Co-Founder and CEO of TetherSphere, a software development company based in Chicago that offers customizable solutions to create and optimize online communities and social media. TetherSphere’s platform offers a greater ability to more rapidly extend a community’s online reach to a larger audience. “Crowdsourcing Communities” is a new funding model that has begun to impact the film industry, allowing a new funding option for filmmakers.
Marisa is the Founder of The Steppenwolf Theatre Auxiliary Council, which has raised $1MM for the Chicago-based ensemble theater company that was co-founded by Gary Sinise, Jeff Perry, and Terry Kinney, and whose members include Joan Allen, John Malkovich, and John Mahoney. She has spoken at other IFP conferences about crowdsourcing and community-based funding. She is very active in the philanthropic community in Chicago and sits on the Women’s Board of the Joffrey Ballet.
John Kurtis Dehn is a director, producer, editor and co-owner of Blue Moon Productions. For over 20 years, John has produced independent, corporate, non-profit, and broadcast programs. John partners with Susan Marks on many productions, including co-producing the independent documentary film, Our Wildest Dreams: A True Crime Documentary of Dolls & Murder. He is also musician and songwriter, contributing many original songs for the documentary’s soundtrack.
Matt Dentler is the head of marketing and programming for Cinetic Rights Management, a sister company of Cinetic Media in New York. Cinetic Media is a leading provider of strategic advisory services to the entertainment and media industries. Key areas of concentration include film finance, film sales, corporate consultation (strategy and finance), analytical data collection, research and digital rights management as well as talent management. The firm's clients range from multi-national media companies to individual motion picture producers and directors. Prior to that, he spent five years as the Producer of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference & Festival in Austin, TX starting in 2003. Dentler currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Austin Film Society and graduated with a BS in Radio-Television-Film from the University of Texas. He has participated on panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, the Cannes Market, the American Film Market, the IFP Market, and more. He is the executive producer of PJ Raval and Jay Hodges' documentary feature, Trinidad.
Gary Garfinkel is Senior Vice President of Content Strategy & Acquisition for Showtime Networks. In this capacity, Gary oversees Strategic Planning and Content Acquisition for Showtime’s 10 Pay-TV channels, which includes the evaluation, negotiation, and acquisition of more than 500 programs a year (feature films, episodic series, documentaries, reality/lifestyle, sports, and concerts) as well as studio Output and Library deals. In his 16 years with Showtime, he has been integrally involved in areas such as Programming, Business Development, and Digital Media. He also overseen development and production of series and specials such as I Can’t Believe I’m Still Single, Comics Without Borders, The Adult Video News Award Show, Look, Wild Things, and Live Nude Comedy. Prior to Showtime, Gary worked at Sony Pictures Entertainment as an International Business Analyst and in New York at Salomon Brothers Inc as a Foreign Exchange Analyst while also attending NYU Business School. Gary graduated from Boston University with a bachelor’s degree in Finance.
Megan Huber is a Minnesota-based, commercial, film, and television producer. She production managed one season of Let’s Bowl for Comedy Central as well as the recent South by Southwest doc, Dirty Country. She most recently produced Four Boxes, a social thriller starring Justin Kirk (Angels in America, Weeds), Terryn Westbrook, and Sam Rosen. She currently produces television ads for Peterson Milla Hooks in Minneapolis and is in preproduction on two features, Pinky’s Buffet and Snowbird.
Susan Marks is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, and Jerome grant recipient. She teamed up with filmmaker John Kurtis Dehn to make the documentary film, The Betty Mystique (2006) about branding icon, Betty Crocker. Susan also wrote a master’s thesis and a book on Betty. Susan is currently co-producing, writing, and directing the documentary film, Our Wildest Dreams: A True Crime Documentary of Dolls & Murder. Recently, Susan made the short list of “Five Filmmakers to Watch” in Mpls/St. Paul magazine.
Wyatt McDill has been a Minnesota-based filmmaker for ten years. Garbage Man, his most recent short, won a Jerome Foundation Grant and a Minnesota State Arts Board grant. Earlier shorts Shortwave and Have You Seen Me? showed respectively at Slamdance, on the Independent Film Channel, and at the Walker Art Center, among other places. He has written television scripts for FilmFinds and helped to found IFP MN’s Central Standard Film Festival. He wrote and directed Four Boxes, starring Justin Kirk, and is currently in preproduction on two more features, Pinky’s Buffet and Snowbird.
Andrew Mer is VP of Content Parterships for SnagFilms and has been instrumental in building the SnagFilms library of over 650 documentary films. SnagFilms’ library consists of single titles from individual filmmakers and producers to multiple titles from many of the most widely known and respected distributors, aggregators, and broadcasters, including Arts Alliance America, E1 Entertainment, Alive Mind, Cactus Three, PBS, ITVS, and IndiePix. Andrew has been an independent consultant to the film industry in development and acquisitions. His most recent client was AOL, where he served as Chief Acquisitions Consultant for AOL True Stories, an all-documentary broadband platform. He helped build and develop AOL True Stories’ slate of documentary films beginning with its launch slate. Previously, Elixir Films engaged Andrew to head its creative development efforts. At Elixir
he was responsible for developing all film and TV projects as well as scouting for new creative talent and project opportunities. Elixir Films' credits include the international nonfiction television series Long Way Round with Ewan McGregor.
Mike Mulry has spent the last 10 years helping content owners deliver their message. As a member of Media Distributors' Workflow & Technology Solutions Group, he has co-developed a revolutionary on-demand platform that allows content owners to self-publish and physically distribute their work by leveraging the power of emerging social networks like MySpace, Facebook, and others across the Web.
With an extensive background in optical disc publishing, digital asset management, and content delivery, Mike has been a featured speaker at numerous related conferences, forums, and trade shows. Mike is a member of the Minnesota Professional Videographers Association, a graduate of the University of Minnesota, and he resides in Minneapolis with his wife and two sons.
Liz Ogilvie is currently the Vice President of Marketing at B-Side Entertainment, an Austin-based company that uses technology to discover, market, and distribute independent films. Ogilvie is based in the New York office where she oversees all marketing initiatives for the company. She recently was the head of IndiePix Films where she was responsible for all marketing and sales initiatives for the company’s slate of fiction and non-fiction films, plus a catalogue of over 3000 films a year.
Previously, Ogilvie was the Head of Programming at Docurama Films, an independent digital distribution company dedicated exclusively to releasing cutting-edge, critically acclaimed non-fiction films into the home entertainment market place. She was responsible for a release slate of over 40 films a year, creating and implementing all sales and marketing strategies and acquiring content. For two years she ran DocuClub, a resource organization for documentary filmmakers in New York City.
Before her tenure at DocuClub, Ogilvie was the Managing Editor at Filmmaker magazine, where she managed the editorial and production departments and contributed to the magazine. Prior to this, she was Program Director at IFP New York, where she was responsible for programming numerous screening, panel, and event series.
Ogilvie is currently a member of IFP, IDA, New York Women in Film and Television and serves on the board of the New York Film and Video Council.
Linda “O.” Olszewski joined Shorts International in January 2006 to spearhead acquisitions of Academy live-action and animation short film nominees for distribution on iTunes, and to coordinate their theatrical and DVD release with Magnolia Pictures as well as their international television presence with various global TV partners. As co-head of global acquisitions, she acquires and leads Shorts on iTunes USA, UK, and Canada, and acquires films for Shorts TV, a unique entertainment channel in Europe fully dedicated to short films. The channel features the best of short films through a rich and diverse cinema programming. Linda also acquires films for global television, new media, and airline clients.
Linda has contributed to Sharon Badal’s Swimming Upstream: A Lifesaving Guide to Short Film (Focal Press). She can be found at international festivals scouting for cinematic gems in all genres, producing video podcasts for Shorts TV, and serving on juries and panels. She holds an MA in film. Her credits include co-founder/director of the DreamWorks Short Film Festival; member of Hanna-Barbera’s development team for What A Cartoon!; worldwide acquisitions director for Eveo; head of shorts for The Hatchery; senior programmer for the Palm Springs Short Film Festival; and world cinema screener for the Sundance Film Festival.
Her editing and associate producing credits for feature films include Shrek, The Road to El Dorado, Prince of Egypt, Reality Bites, and The Life of David Gale. She has worked as a documentary camera operator in Afghanistan and Huehuetla, Mexico; has written a screenplay, Until the Day’s End; and is a photographer for the World Peace Project.
Slava Rubin co-founded IndieGoGo to help independent filmmakers overcome their fundraising challenges. IndieGoGo is an online social marketplace connecting filmmakers and fans to make independent film happen. The platform provides filmmakers the tools for project funding, recruiting, and promotion, while enabling the audience to discover and connect directly with filmmakers and the causes they support.
Focused on bringing 'filmocracy' to the people, Slava frequently speaks at conferences and writes on the disruptive technologies impacting the media industry, from finance to distribution. Recent speaking engagements include Sundance, Berlin, SXSW, Slamdance, IFP Film Week, and Internet Week NY. Recent projects include producing the short, The Wonder of Seasaws. Slava also serves as an Advisor to the IFP Film Week and Film Labs. Prior to IndieGoGo, Slava was a strategy consultant working on projects from start-up go-to-market strategies to corporate execution plans. He offers expertise in audience building, marketing, and DIWO (Do-It-With-Others).
__________
Independent Producers Conference:
In partnership with Minneapolis Community and Technical
College, IFP MN launched the Independent Producers Conference
in 2000 to encourage and support the creation of independent
films outside of Los Angeles and New York City, something
which is absolutely vital to the future of independent
American cinema. Because the struggle to develop and maintain
film activity in the Midwest is constant and demands education
from and interaction with the greater film industry, IFP
MN invites some of the nation’s top independent
film producers to share their experiences, encouragement
and maverick vision with our community.
Guest producers such as Craig Rice, Christine Vachon,
Patrick Coyle, Zach Mortensen, Susan Stover, Matthew Greenfield,
Scott Macaulay, Effie Brown, Gill Holland, Susan Froemke,
Diana Williams, David Eberhardt, Matt Ehling, Melody Gilbert,
Ali Selim, James Bigham, Christine Kunewa Walker and Joel
Viertel have shared their expertise on a wide range of
topics, including the role of a producer, the producer-director
relationship, financing, casting, shooting on a microbudget,
shooting on location, marketing/distribution, producing
documentaries and more.
When the Director Speaks, We Listen:
Whenever possible, IFP MN will host an event for a visiting
director, who may appear at a preview screening of a new
film to benefit IFP or present an in-depth case study
on the making of a film. Our guest directors have included
John Sayles, Barbara Kopple, David Cronenberg, Chris Smith
and Sarah Price, Phil Morrison, Sarah Pillsbury, Niels
Mueller and Vincent Gallo. Most recently, Writer/Director
Ali Selim discussed the production of the award-winning
Sweet Land along with Producer James Bigham and
lead actor Tim Guinee.
|
|
Upcoming
Events:
McKnight Screenwriting and Filmmaking Fellows Show Their Work, March 3 and 10.
_______
The 2010 Spring Class Line-up Now Available Online!
................................................................. Get the latest E-Flash Newsletter!
    
|
.jpg){kind=logo}
