Making the Movie Filmmaking tips, resources, reviews, news and links.

Indie Film Summit

Ira Deutchman has Ten Nine Responses to the Issues Brought Up at the “Indie Film Summit”.

1. There is no crisis in independent film! The crisis is for old white guys.

While I accept the well-meaning premise that we are in a business that is dominated by white males, it is hardly dominated by older people. And no crisis? Certainly there is no crisis if you have a well paying job doing something you like. But for the filmmakers who can’t work inside the current system either because of the types of films they make, or because no one has heard of them yet, no one has the answer to how to make a sustainable living, other than perhaps getting a foreign passport. One of the more outspoken and well-known producers in the room admitted that in spite of having 40 projects in various states of development and production, his company was always 15 minutes away from insolvency. And he is one of the more successful people in the room. Younger filmmakers indeed have the advantage of lower overhead, less responsibility to others and peers who are the cheapest labor available. Yes, there are all kinds of ideas around about how this may eventually be fixed, and I’m extraordinarily optimistic that all the tools are there for the taking. Times of crisis are times for opportunity. But first you have to admit there is a crisis.

About J. Ott

John Ott is a writer, filmmaker and futurist. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.