Hope for Film

COLLABORATOR NY Screenings

Ted Hope — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:30:00 GMT

This June COLLABORATOR will have two special screenings here in New York City before its July theatrical release. The first is June 18th at the IFC center, and the second is on June 19th at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens. Hal Hartley will be there to present on the 18th, and Martin Donovan, David Morse, and Ted Hope will be there to answer your questions on both nights. June 18th: IFC Center 7pm Buy tickets online. June 19th: Museum of the Moving Image Buy tickets online. Find out more about Collaborator on Prescreen. Collaborator premiered at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic, winning several...

2012 Vimeo Festival + Awards Announces Tickets, Judges & Schedule

Ted Hope — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:30:02 GMT

2012 VIMEO FESTIVAL + AWARDS PROGRAM GATHERS THE GREATS TO EXPLORE WHAT'S NEXT FOR CREATIVE VIDEO Tickets Now Available; Awards Voting Open To The Public; Complete List of Judges Released, Including Peter Greenaway, Mike Figgis, Casey Neistat And Alana Blanchard Vimeo®, an operating business of IAC [NASDAQ: IACI], today announced its program for the 2012 Vimeo Festival + Awards, featuring conversations with industry leaders; educational workshops for beginners, enthusiasts, and professionals; and a wide range of video screenings. Vimeo also released the complete list of Awards judges and opened up shortlist voting to the public. ...

Film Society at Lincoln Center and Double Hope Films Present: Indie Night Screening Series -- CARRÉ BLANC -- Wednesday May 2nd

Ted Hope — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:30:00 GMT

This will be our 3rd Indie Night at Film Society Of Lincoln Center, and although I have been programming movies for you for close to three years now, I have not yet been able to bring you any sci-fi films. That changes with this offering, and, man, it's been worth the wait. When first features work, as this one does, they can be remarkable displays, often representing what the director has long dreamed of expressing, free of the general self-censorship that market considerations bring. On their first feature, creators often feel a far greater pressure to demonstrate what their authorial voice represents; perhaps it is because of this pressure that it is hard to...

Film Society at Lincoln Center and Double Hope Films Present: Indie Night Screening Series -- A LITTLE CLOSER -- Thursday April 5th

Ted Hope — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:30:00 GMT

Hey Film Friends, Our debut screening at Lincoln Center last month was a great success and completely sold out. Everyone had a great time. I encourage you to order tickets to our next show right now, and use the "affiliate" code to save money when you order. The café in the theater has terrific food and drink so you can make a night of it as we did last month. And of course we have another great, truly indie, film for you this coming Thursday night. What with the bombast of Hollywood's regular fare, I find sanctuary in the true indie work that is committed to unlocking our present day reality. My next screening at The Film Society of Lincoln...

Trumping The Industry with Kickstarter: Women Support Women To Get Movies Made And Seen

Lydia Dean Pilcher — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:30:00 GMT

We’re nearing the end of an ambitious Kickstarter campaign for an independent film, “The Sisterhood of Night.” Adapted from a short story by Pulitzer prize-winning author Steven Millhauser, our movie is a modern twist on the Salem witch trials. It deals with teen girls and the wild west of the Internet, its potential for casual, breathtaking cruelty, and its capacity to connect and share - all slippery new challenges to this transitional generation. "The Sisterhood of Night" is about holding close what makes you different, through diversity of thought and culture. It shines a light on the dangers of cyberbullying, but it also suggests that there are ways of using...

Film Society at Lincoln Center and Double Hope Films Present: Indie Night Screening Series -- WITHOUT -- Tuesday March 6th

Ted Hope — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 13:30:00 GMT

Hi Film Friends, I know, it's been awhile since I invited you to a screening. My apologies. In my efforts to make the world safe for Indie Film, I am pleased to invite you to a new venue: no less than the Film Society at Lincoln Center's re-born Indie Night series, now at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center. We've got more seats, and more comfortable ones too! We will be taping & streaming the Q&A with the director!! And now we are also going to be able to pay the filmmakers a small fee (yay!)!!! I want you to come see Mark Jackson's WITHOUT. It truly is one of my favorite films of the past year and I am thrilled I can show it to you. WITHOUT has...

Official Press Release: Ted Hope To Curate Lincoln Center's "Indie Night" Series

Ted Hope — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:00:00 GMT

THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER KICKS OFF TWO NEW MONTHLY FILM SERIES DEVOTED TO DOCUMENTARIES, ART OF THE REAL AND THE BEST INDEPENDENT FILMS OF TODAY, INDIE NIGHT AWARD-WINNING PRODUCER TED HOPE WILL GUEST CO-PROGRAM INDIE NIGHT FOR 2012. FUTURE CO-CURATOR'S INCLUDE NOTABLE PRODUCERS CHRISTINE VACHON, JAY VAN HOY AND LARS KNUDSEN New York, NY – (February 22, 2012) The Film Society of Lincoln Center is proud to announce two new monthly series spotlighting up and coming directors. Art of the Real, is a new monthly documentary showcase that will take audiences on a tour of the most innovative and...

Tribeca Films Acquires Martin Donovan's COLLABORATOR

Ted Hope — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:30:00 GMT

TRIBECA FILM ACQUIRES U.S. RIGHTS TO COLLABORATOR *** Summer Release Planned for Comedic Drama Starring Martin Donovan and David Morse *** Donovan’s Directorial Debut to Reach Nationwide Audiences After Well-Received Festival Run New York, NY – February 27, 2012 – Tribeca Film announced today that it has acquired U.S. distribution rights to Martin Donovan's directorial debut Collaborator, a comedic drama starring Donovan, David Morse, and Olivia Williams. Tribeca Film plans a summer release across multiple platforms for the film, which had its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where the film received the...

My Latest Movie Collaboration

Ted Hope — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:30:01 GMT

Screening at SXSW: Sunday, March 11th, 7pm: Stateside Theatre Monday, March 12th, 11:30am: Alamo Lamar C Thursday, March 15th, 6:30pm: Alamo Lamar C

Bingham Ray On "How I Broke Into The Film Industry"

Ted Hope — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:30:04 GMT

“A Tree Falls In The Forest” and Other Ruminations on Social/Community-based Marketing…

Jeffrey Winter, Sheri Candler, and Orly Ravid — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:30:03 GMT

by Jeffrey Winter, Sheri Candler, and Orly Ravid. The old philosophical thought experiment "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" has never been truer for film distribution. With the incredible number of films available for consumption on innumerable platforms, getting some form of distribution for your film is no longer the core problem. The central issue now is: how will anyone know about it? How will you find your audience? And how will you communicate enough to them to drive them to the point of actually seeing it? Before we plunge into that question, let’s take one step back and discuss the term...

"Like Crazy" Co-writing On A Project Without A Script

Ben York Jones — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:30:00 GMT

It’s hard to describe to someone what your role was as co-writer, on a movie they read in the New York Times, “Was Filmed Without a Script.” There’s no succinct answer. I couldn’t Tweet a properly inclusive explanation. Well, I tried. This was after I received a Tweet that seemed to accuse me and by association, my co-writer (the film’s very talented director, Drake Doremus) of self-aggrandizing – for awarding ourselves writing credit on a reportedly script-less film. I remember feeling dismissed. Frustrated. Worse yet, I began seriously doubting my abilities when I read the offending Tweet: “Is it true the dialogue was all improvised...

A Future Of Film (And My Fave Film Of 2010)

Ted Hope — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:30:04 GMT

What can we do together? How can we collaborate better? What sort of value can we add to a film? STAR WARS UNCUT: The Director's Cut answers these questions. It is an entirely crowdsourced film and a total revelation. Watch it with the entire family and try to get through it without wanting to create something yourself. Watch it and create.

A Case for Truly Free Short Films

Matt Morris — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:30:04 GMT

We all love a success story. We'd hear more of them if we realigned our definition of success. For most emerging filmmakers, success will come from discovery. Movies need to be seen and certain practices limit that. I don't recall how I met Matt Morris. I believe it was through social media online. He thought I would like his short film, and he was right. He had a good sense on how to engage me without wasting my time or taking advantage of my availability. I have really enjoyed seeing how he has gotten his work done and seen. Today he shares some of what he's learned with everyone; sharing seems to be in his DNA. If only...

Two Great Films Need You

Ted Hope — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:30:04 GMT

There are two great films in need of completion funds screening as abbreviated Works-In-Progress. Come with your checkbooks out and know that you can save the world.

Why Filmmakers Must Stop SOPA

Rob Millis — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:30:01 GMT

Update: For more about SOPA please visit these links: Uk Guardian: Sopa and Pipa would create a consumption-only internet William Gibson Calls SOPA 'Draconian' Techdirt: Why All Filmmakers Should Speak Out Against SOPA Clay Shirky: Why SOPA is a bad idea For the past three months a couple of dangerous bills have been making their way through meetings on Capital Hill. The Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) have become famous for their dangerously reckless approach to combating online piracy. Worse yet, this legislation will do almost nothing to actually stop piracy but could cripple or crush online distribution. ...

Office Hours: Hope & Vachon's Killer/Hope Twitter Q&A

Ted Hope — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:30:02 GMT

This past Tuesday Christine Vachon and I did a Twitter Q&A. For one hour we answered whatever questions the community put forth. We tracked them under the unifying hastag: #KHQA (which also happened to be a radio station's call letters, but...). These sort of Twitter meet ups are not only a lot of fun but a great way to connect and share info. I think it should become standard operating procedure for any filmmaker who premieres a film or is about to. They can also then be repurposed into a blog post so it keeps generating new content! @KVPI (Christine Vachon) -- TONIGHT-- Ted Hope and I answering your questions from 8pm to 9pm EST here on twitter! -- Tonight's hashtag...

Martha Marcy May Marlene hits DVD and VOD Feb 21 With New Art Work

Ted Hope — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:30:01 GMT

All Your Distribution Options In One Image

James Franklin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:18:51 GMT

A picture's worth a thousand words, right? I mean that is why movies have so much impact, right? 2011 did seem like the year that data visualization went mainstream. I know I understand and I remember things much better when an imagistic way of expressing things is found. I was very excited to receive this chart from James Franklin. It's pretty complete. Click through to download the chart, and let us know if you have ways to improve it though. James Franklin is the creator of Moviesparx, the founder of Pixeco and Creative Director at the Channel 4 Britdoc Foundation. Over the last 7 years he's worked on the marketing for...

The Really Good Things In Indie Film Biz 2011

Ted Hope — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:30:04 GMT

2011 was a bit of a year of experimentation for me -- and I imagine it was for all others who state they are in the Film Business. How could it not be? Evolve or die it seems, doesn't it? I didn't produce a movie this past year, but I did premiere three. I managed to blog on a regular basis, and offer up my "column" as a soapbox for many others, hoping it would inspire more action and change from the community at large (the results still remain to be seen). I also did a lot of public speaking and consulting all over the world in 2011, telling myself that all of this was part of my personal attempt to move things forward towards a vibrant, diverse, and ambitious...

My Best Cinema Experiences of 2011

Ted Hope — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:30:02 GMT

The end of the year has become a bit overwhelming in terms of "Best Of" lists. We evaluate things so much in terms of quality (or at least attempt to), but I hear very few people speak of true pleasure. Quality and pleasure often are not the same, but these end of the year list camouflage that a bit. We don't go to or watch movies just because they are good. We love films because they are fun -- and it's never just the content that makes the experience so great. It's the company and the context. What was the most joyous experience of the year for you, for me? Since this blog is really only about film, I am going to have to leave out most of what's on my more...

The Letter 'D': Distribution, DIY, Dynamo Player

Orly Ravid — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:30:03 GMT

Dynamo Player is one of the many DIY options we've looked at with close interest over the past year, (See Felicia Ptolemy's Review HERE and Rob Millis' Introduction to the Dynamo Player HERE. Is 2012 the year that it takes off for the indie and artist direct communities? It may very well be, and if so, we can have Orly Ravid of the Film Collaborative to thank once again. Today, she sits down with Dynamo's founder and discusses further evidence of it's success and some of the do's and don'ts of the platform. The Letter “D” D: Distribution, DIY, Dynamo Player. I got educated more all about how it works, with owner Rob Millis who I...

Crowdfunding a Collaborative Film

Audrey Ewell — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:30:03 GMT

2012 is going to be the year of truly free filmmaker experimentation. 2012 is going to be the year of cross-platform collaboration. And 2012 is going to be the year of filmmaker to filmmaker collaboration. I don't know how much of this will be true, but I know I wish all of it will be, and so far, there is no clearer indicator that all will be true than The 99% Film. We've heard from Audrey Ewell, one of the film's collaborators, and we know she always has progressive and provocative ideas, so why should this time be any different. Today Audrey shares with other some of the new ways she and her team are making use of some of the plethora of options that are out there to enable...

"Academic Cinema": Merging Theory With Practice

Russell Sheaffer — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:30:01 GMT

Back in college when I wanted to lead a revolution, I studied political theory. I dropped out of college the first time because I wanted to put my ideas into action. I dropped out of college the second time -- this time film school -- for the same reason. I loved studying though, and I particular loved philosophizing about the process, but I was afraid I might talk so much, think so much, write so much, I could lose my capacity to do. I didn't want to deconstruct things so much that I may not be able to build them. Maybe I didn't need to fear it so much. Today, filmmaker/academic Russel Sheaffer blogs about the merger -- they type that makes us all richer -- where ideas -- the big...

Perseverance & Endurance: Necessary Elements For Every Film

Jane Weiner — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:30:01 GMT

No one ever said filmmaking was easy (at least I don't think so). That said, what is required to get a film to completion sometimes awes me beyond comprehension. I can not think of a better testament of faith to think we can reach the place where is our work is projected in front of an auditorium of people. Sometimes people I meet think it just comes down to the material. But when a beautiful inspiring work about one of cinema's key figures requires so much effort, even technology to change, it demonstrates the opposite. Without the courage and commitment of the artists behind the work, many great movies would remain incomplete. Today, Jane Weiner shares with us some of trials and...