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What Will the Future Look Like Indie Filmmakers?

Jeff Baena, “Life After Beth”:  We are going to see a lot more independent filmmaking and a lot
less Hollywood filmmaking, so that you’ll see pretty much what you are
seeing now where everything is very reductive, and either a sequel or
some kind of super hero movie from the studios. You are already seeing a
lot of dramas fall by the wayside. It’s pretty much massive broad
comedies and either sequels, remakes, or action hero movies. To
compensate, I think there is going to be a lot more independent
filmmaking, I just don’t know if there is going to be a venue for all
the films we’ll be seeing.

David Zellner, “Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter”: It seems like things are
evolving so much and so rapidly that who knows where it’ll all settle
out? It is something that is still taking shape.

Nathan Zellner, “Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter”: The
traditional challenges, as David says, funding and distribution, will
stay. With technology it is easier to make movies at different scales
and different budgets. That kind of evolution makes that part of the
process easier. Keeping up those changes, since they are happening so
rapidly, especially in the distribution part of it all, and being able to
adapt, I think that’s going to be the challenge that most filmmakers are
going to experience.

READ MORE: What’s The Biggest Challenge of Being an Indie Filmmaker in the Digital Age?

Malik Vitthal, “Imperial Dreams”: I think we are getting to a point right now where business-wise people
may be looking at the models of what’s working and they may re-shift
their focus. If you look at the Pixar model and how it works, I think
Marvel might look at that and say, “You know what, that’s working. They
are developing a team of storytellers, and they are developing their
artists.” I think this might be the next business model for these big,
spectacle films, to develop artists and let them tell stories. Going
through the process of being challenged and becoming a better
storyteller makes for a better end product.
 
As an independent
filmmaker, I can only speak from my own experience. I felt like I got
very blessed by going through the Sundance Institute and getting their
support, having them challenge me and help me develop. I wish that was
available to more independent filmmakers, because it is such valuable
opportunity where you get a chance to explore yourself and push
yourself. They are there to help you in a very unique way and in any way
you need to grow. It would be great if we could provide that to more
independent artists. I have a lot of friends who are trying to make
their films right now. It is somewhat difficult if you are trying to
make a film over a certain size. But if you decide to, you can make a
film with you and your friends and you have the access that’s needed to
get it out there.

READ MORE: What’s Next for Sundance NEXT Fest?

Adam Wingard “The Guest”: I think it all depends on where technology goes. Filmmaking is at the
point it is right now because of the advancement of digital technology,
the way the theatrical marketplace is and how the online world has
changed everything. I think technology is just evolving much quicker and
anything could happen. To me the real advancement forward would be
whenever film technology breaks out of the two-dimensional screen into
full 3-D and images are actually projected holographically. I think
that’s when we’ll see some real major changes, until then it will be
kind of a flux like we have now, until the tools are vastly different. I
think they will be. There is almost not doubt about it.

Ana Lily Amirpour “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night”: What could happen is that no matter how big the number of films out
there is, maybe the proportions of good ones to bad ones is still the
same. I don’t think is easy to make a good film, and I don’t think just
because you make it that means everyone has to be interested in it.
There is no sense of entitlement, nobody owes you their attention, you
are competing for it. How many inventors must there have been with ideas
and how many created something? That’s like the zeitgeist that you
can’t really predict or control. I think the inventor just has to
believe in their own invention and be attracted by his own idea, and
maybe other people will too but you can’t predict it.

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