IFP Announces The 34th Edition of Independent Film Week September 16-20, 2012

IFP Announces The 34^th Edition of Independent Film Week

September 16-20, 2012

Industry Activities, plus Project Forum Slate

Independent Film Week takes place September 16-20, 2012 at various locations throughout Lincoln Center and is a one-of-a-kind event that brings the international film and media community to New York City to advance new voices and projects on the independent scene. The event is purely focused on supporting the future of storytelling by nurturing and providing opportunities for both emerging and established artists to connect with the financiers, executives, influencers and decision-makers in film, television, new media and cross-platform storytelling that can help them complete their latest works and connect with audiences.  

Expanding from its core mission IFP's Film Week has been re-focused to ensure that artists, industry and audiences have the educational, networking and access opportunities necessary to create and enjoy work across a variety of platforms.

The Week provides multiple ways for the independent film and media communities to come together. These include:

·         Project Forum which facilitates over 2,000 meetings for talent with new projects in development; 

·        Future Forward Industry Initiatives allow established professionals to meet to discuss new opportunities in creative media, as well as debate key issues critical to the future of visual storytelling; 

·        FILMMAKER Conference Offering audiences the opportunity to discuss the future of film; 

·        FILMMAKER Magazine - Celebrating tomorrow’s filmmakers today through IFP’s signature publication, celebrating its 20^th Anniversary this year.

“IFP is proud to present this year’s Independent Film Week, which includes a truly original, exciting, and diverse slate of U.S. and international projects that are sure to pique the interest of our attending industry friends,” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director, IFP. “Not only does Film Week remain an important space for filmmakers with unique vision to connect with industry and peers, but it is also a destination for aspiring filmmakers and film fans alike to explore the art and business of 21^st century storytelling with the Filmmaker Conference.”

PROJECT FORUM

Under the curatorial leadership of Deputy Director/Head of Programming Amy Dotson & Senior Director of Programmer Milton Tabbot, IFP’s Project Forum has had a prolific history in the independent community supporting independent filmmakers at critical stages in their development processes. 165 U.S. and International projects have been selected for the 2012 Project Forum, evenly split between documentary and narrative features. Projects hail from the U.S., throughout Europe and Canada, as well Australia, Columbia, Dubai, Hong Kong, India, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey.

FOR A FULL LIST OF 2012 SELECTED PROJECTS:  http://www.ifp.org/resources/2012-project-forum-slate/

Narrative program highlights include new work from established independent producers John Baker (Dragonslayer), Siddiq Barmak (Osama), Jason Berman (LUV), Anne Carey (The American), P. Jennifer Dana (The Art of Getting By), Howard Gertler (World’s Greatest Dad), Steve Holmgren (Putty Hill), Lucas Joquin (Keep The Lights On), Guneet Monga (Gangs of Wasseypur), Katie Mustard (Night Catches Us), Josh Marston (Maria Full of Grace), Dave Saltzman (Shut Up and Play The Hits), Alicia Van Couvering (Tiny Furniture), Christine Kunewa Walker (Life During Wartime), Brock Williams (You’re Next), Steven Wolfe (500 Days of Summer) and Ryan Zacharias (Septien).

Acclaimed indie directors and festival favorites on this year’s slate include Deron Albright (The Destiny of Lesser Animals), Eleanor Burke & Ron Eyal (Stranger Things), Brian Crano (Bag of Hammers), Dustin Guy Defa (Bad Fever), Clay Jeter (JESS +MOSS), Eric Juhola (Off The Grid: Life On The Mesa), Malcom Murray (Bad Posture), Matthew Porterfield (Putty Hill), Tom Quinn (The New Year Parade), Dror Schaul (Sweet Mud), Martha Stevens (Pilgrim’s Song), Tim Sutton (Pavilion), and Musa Syeed (Valley of Saints).  

This year’s selection of docs includes a range of stories equally divided among - and embedded within - the American political and social landscape, the international scene, history, and the arts world – with new projects from Academy Award® winner Daniel Junge (Saving Face), Academy Award® nominee Sam Cullman (If a Tree Falls), Jennifer Grausman (Pressure Cooker), John Walter (How to Draw a Bunny; Theater of War), Grace Lee (The Grace Lee Project), Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt (Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel), Ben Niles (Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037), Academy Award® nominee Jennifer Redfearn (Sun Come Up),  Kelvin Kyung Kun Park (Cheonggyecheon Medley: A Dream of Iron), Emmy® Award winner Tracy Droz Tragos (Be Good, Smile Pretty), producer Josh Penn (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and a greater than usual number of documentaries from exciting new filmmakers.

In addition, SAG Indie’s Emerging Narrative Reading will highlight short excerpts from new work by up-and-coming writer/directors, featuring a live reading from leading independent actors cast by Paul Schnee and Alison Estrin of Barden/ Schnee Casting (Winter’s Bone, The Help). Featured scripts include:

·       Arrow Written and directed by Emily Carmichael

·       Brooklyn Flee Written by Devon Kirkpatrick, written and directed by Alexandra Roxo

·       The Price of Flowers Written and directed by Ashley Charbonnet

·       Papaw Easy Written by Martha Stevens and Karrie Crouse, directed by Martha Stevens

·       Taminex Written by William Gerard, written and directed by Anya Meksin

The organization championed the early work of pioneering independent filmmakers Charles Burnett, Todd Haynes, Mira Nair, Michael Moore, Joel and Ethan Cohen, Kevin Smith, and Todd Solondz. Recently, it has also played a vital role in launching the first films of many of today’s rising stars on the independent scene including Debra Granik (Down to the Bone), Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know), Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine), Amongst the many films supported by Independent Film Week alumni playing theatrically, highlights include Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight) and The Queen of Versailles (Magnolia).

FUTURE FORWARD INDUSTRY INITIATIVES

Film Week also consists of a number of initiatives aimed at expanding the networks and educating established film and media professionals on issues prevalent within the art and business of 21^st Century storytelling and audience engagement. These include:

·       The launch of IFP and FILMMAKER Magazine’s REINVENT: Media Arts for the 21^st Century - Consisting of a series of short talks by innovators who have radically rethought the art and business of media arts for the 21^st century.

·       IFP Producer of Marketing & Distribution Labs - IFP & director Jon Reiss (Bomb It!) have created the world’s first Producer of Marketing & Development (PMD) Labs, a six month fellowship providing select producers, marketing and digital strategists the tools and networks necessary to create a audience engagement strategy for select feature films from IFP’s 2012 Independent Filmmaker Labs.

·       IFP’s Festival Forum- Launched in 2010 at IFP’s Independent Film Week, IFP’s Festival Forum network is a bi-annual convening of over 45 top festival programmers and leaders from around the globe. The purpose of this two-day event is to create an infrastructure where festivals around the world can come together to discuss issues and trends affecting their organizations, audiences, and filmmakers, as well as discover new work by up-and-coming filmmakers to include in their upcoming festival slates.

·       New International Partners & Initiatives

IFP is pleased to announce new international partnerships and initiatives with a variety of funding bodies and cultural around the globe, providing a myriad of new creative and business opportunities for IFP’s emerging and established talent. This includes producers and executives attending on behalf of the Dubai Film Market, Torino Film Lab, Turkey’s Meetings On The Bridge, Columbia’s ProImagines will all be presenting partners of IFP’s No Borders International Co-Production Market.

FILMMAKER CONFERENCE

Held during IFP’s signature Independent Film Week, the Filmmaker Conference brings together the international filmmaking community to explore the art and business of 21st century storytelling. Whether stories are told through film, television, online, or new media, the Filmmaker Conference is the premiere place for to interact with experts on how to connect with audiences to make the most of your films. For the latest Conference schedule and to purchase tickets: http://www.ifp.org/conferences/filmmaker-conference

Highlights include:

·       New! Meet the Decision Makers – real meetings for Conference attendees with top distributors, agents & managers, and filmmakers’ grants and fellowships. Limited tickets available!

·       “Conversations With” legendary producers James Schamus and Christine Vachon, ARTE’s Michel Reilhac  and Ford Foundation’s Orlando Bagwell.

·       Zeroing in on specific films and storytelling as instructive models for filmmaking success, the Conference will also feature daily Case Studies on the hit indie films of the year, kicking off with Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight). 

·       In addition to these headliners, new media pioneers Steve Coulson (Campfire Media), Nicole Emanuele (YouTube), Eric Brown (Kornhaber Brown), Karol Martesko-Fenster (Cinelan); director Daniel Minahan (“Game of Thrones” “True Blood” “Series 7”); and distribution strategist Jon Reiss will also be on hand to offer advice to aspiring and working filmmaker on how to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Independent Film Week’s Premier sponsors are Royal Bank of Canada and HBO. Gold sponsors are A&E IndieFilms, Eastman Kodak Company and SAGIndie/Screen Actors Guild. Silver sponsors are National Film & Video Foundation of South Africa, Screen Australia and Telefilm Canada. Official Independent Film Week Partner is Film Society of Lincoln Center. Independent Film Week is supported, in part, by funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts.

ABOUT IFP

After debuting with a program in 1979 New York Film Festival, the nonprofit IFP has evolved into the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers, and also the premiere advocate for them. Since its start IFP has supported the production of 7,000 films and provided resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers – voices that might not otherwise have been heard. IFP fosters the development of 350 new feature and documentary films each year through its Project Forum of Independent Film Week, Independent Filmmaker Labs and projects in its fiscal sponsorship program.