Calling techynerdygeeky filmmakers! Today is your last chance to vote for your favorite SXSW Interactive panels. There’s some good stuff on there and a lot of it is very relevant to filmmakers. Have a look at all the panels listed under Digital Filmmaking for starters. But don’t stop there digital citizens! Filmmakers who go to non-filmmaking panels at SXSW always seem to learn the most and get really inspired so have a look at everything on offer and start getting…

If not, get thy butt to the cinema tout suite. There’s so much good indie fare to enjoy and support at the moment: Azazel Jacob’s Momma’s Man is playing at Angelika. I haven’t seen it yet but everyone I know who has raves about it – in the meantime let Manohla Dargis convince you. Tia Lessin’s and Carl Deal’s Trouble the Water is currently playing at IFC Center. This doc has been getting fantastic reviews but in case you need…

Another piece from Anne Thompson at Variety about the changing distribution strategies indie producers/distributors are pursuing: [F]ilmmakers with an easily defined niche and some marketing flair can still assemble a distribution plan. After doc “Beautiful Losers” debuted at SXSW in March, the filmmakers considered traditional offers from distribs but decided to release the doc on their own. Sidetrack Films partnered with Nike Sportswear to sponsor art workshops, and a shoe and apparel company helped pay for its Aug. 8 launch…

Cinemocracy invited short film submissions addressing the question: “what is democracy?” The top ten films were screened last night at an event at the Democratic National Convention. You can watch all the submissions online too. I rather like this one:

I’ve been meaning to blog about Anita Elberse’s Should You Invest in the Long Tail article for a while now because it highlights some key misunderstandings about what the long tail actually means for producers and aggregators/retailers of niche content ie. it absolutely does not mean that niche content is suddenly turning into blockbuster material and neither does it mean that niche content producers/aggregators no longer need to worry about big, mainstream successes. In fact the hits are vitally important…

The Independent Filmmaker Conference takes place during Independent Film Week in NYC September 14-19. The Conference covers lots of great areas: Making Your First Feature, Filmmaking 2.0, The Global Marketplace, Alternative Distribution, The Truth about Non-Fiction, Film and Philanthropy. Click here for full schedule. You can also hear conversations with Kevin Smith, Robert Greenwald (Brave New Films) and Rick Allen (SnagFilms).

Rooftop Films are a good reason to stay in hot, sticky NYC during the Summer months. They curate some incredible film programs (both shorts and features), coupled with great music and beautiful outdoor locations. They are also developing grant programs to help the independent film community that they are part of. Their latest grant is an Equipment Grant provided through a partnership with Eastern Effects. Filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung has been awarded a two-ton lighting and grip package for 30…

Well, yes of course it does. But this is a sticky, tricky issue that the independent film community is going to have to grapple with as new sources of funding become available and new partnerships are sought. I just finished writing an article for MovieScope Magazine in the UK about the possibilities for outreach around documentaries, focusing on the productive partnerships that Third Sector funding (NGOs, charities, social enterprises, voluntary organizations etc.) can help foster. However a couple of recent…

Scott Macaulay had some interesting things to say about how the way that we watch stuff affects our impression of it in the latest Filmmaker newsletter. He writes about a comment left in response to Noah Harlan’s post about new business models: Rather than debate business models, this poster said, why don’t filmmakers just focus on making a good picture? He (or, perhaps another anonymous poster) wrote, “I don’t see distribution as the thorn in indie’s side. I see quality…

Interesting New York Times article about how Bottle Shock Director Randall Miller is releasing the film himself, together with his wife and co-writer Jody Savin. Along with the expenses incurred if you go it alone there are other caveats to bear in mind: “You‘ve got to have the phone numbers,” said Tom Bernard, the longtime co-president of Sony Pictures Classics. “Self-distribution is good, it can work, but filmmakers who are so innovative in making movies have to channel some of…