Monthly Archives: March 2011

When asked to define Indie films, Zeshawn Ali replies “I would say Indie film is like ‘Do-it yourself’ film making, it’s not so much about a style as it is more about the amount of resources you have…the type of movie you make is determined by your budget.” He pauses and says “It’s all about the new film makers.”

Ali can relate. The twenty year old Ohio native has made his way to the big city to follow his dreams in becoming a filmmaker. He currently attends Tisch School of the Arts in NYU.

Ali shooting for his newest film

Through his education at Tisch, Zeshawn says that they really emphasize a lot on helping the student make a film that you can continue to pursue outside of college. They call it “The Fifth Year Film.” “It helps prepare you for the real world” Zeshawn adds. This may just be true, considering Tisch has gotten a lot of attention lately from its most recent graduates, Luke Mattenu, having won an Oscar for his short film “God of Love.”

Ali claims that the students who are born and raised in New York City obviously have an advantage in showing these unknown and amazing locations in their films. Those who are not from the city focus more on being experimental and adding a “weird style” to their films. “At Tisch, there seem to be two types of filmmaking, there are those who are from the city and those who are not and it is so easy to distinguish between the two.”

That logic also seems to apply to even the most prestigious film festivals. Ali worked for the Tribeca Film Festival for six months, helping prepare for its opening in the spring of 2010. “They separate the films into the Hollywood alternative films versus the outreach films.” Hollywood alternative films are with first time directors who have big Hollywood figures star in their films. The outreach films are the low budget, indie films that make their way to this showing for a chance to be spotted by a big time director or producer to endorse their future projects.”I personally prefer the Hollywood films, only because its cool to see these big time actors, who probably aren’t getting paid much, help participate and work with a first time director.”

“We did a lot of research on films, I was part of the development department and did alot of market research  like collect exit polls, which are surveys viewers take after seeing the movie and use them as part of the research.”  Zeshawn also explained that when picking which films to place in the festivals, the department purposefully picks those that are different from previous award winners. “They’re really into foreign films this year” Zeshawn adds.

Though all films entered into the Tribeca Film Festival are from New York City, its filmmakers nationalities range from all over the world. Ali says that Brazil is the newest spark of interest for the festival and that most of its contestants have made films there.  “It adds a lot more diversity to the mix and therefore continues to make the film choices different from years prior.”

Zeshawn is most excited for his upcoming internship with Magnolia Pictures. The newest film that they have released is All Good Things, starring Kristen Dunst and Ryan Renolds. The film is inspired by a missing person’s case set in New York City in 1982. Robert Durst was suspected but never put on trial for killing his wife Kathie who mysteriously disappeared and was never found.  The film is also produced and directed by Andrew Jarecki, who was the director of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Capturing the Friedmans and producer of Catfish.

“I make movies about things I know and the things that people in my movie know” Zeshawn has made about 12-15 films within the past two years at Tisch, all incorporating what he calls real life elements. “I only use people I know in my films and I make sure to use what those people know as a main aspect of my film.  One of my friends was really into graffiti and I took his knowledge and love for the subject and incorporated it into my film. It makes it real.” You can check out Zeshawns work here.

When an indie movie theater located inside a bar states that a movie starts at noon on a Sunday, it’s actually more of a suggested time rather than set in stone. Especially when that Sunday marks the first day of daylight savings time, and even more so when the bartender who is running the movie is hungover. “The movie runs on MY time, basically,” Karla Allen, resident bartender and the lucky person in charge of running the movie at reRun Gastropub Theater explained. The reRun Gastropub Theater is located inside reBar, a bar/restaurant located in the heart of the Dumbo neighborhood in Brooklyn. For those of you unfamiliar with the term (don’t be embarrassed, I had to google it too), Dumbo stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, not after the lovable Disney elephant with the oversized ears.

The neighborhood is filled with lots of local businesses, and everyone seems to support each other. “I come into work with a Starbucks cup, and they nearly chew my head off!” Karla says, “But in the Bronx (where she lives) there’s nothing but chains as far as the eye can see.” This is not the case, here in Dumbo, Brooklyn.

The bar itself houses an independently owned coffee shop, the bar, and the movie theater, which only plays indie films. Paintings adorn the hallways which were painted by local artists and are changed once a month. Some of the movies played are directed and written by locals of the area, who come to the Friday screening of their films for a Q&A with the audience before the show. Even the decorations in the theater are comprised of old scraps from the local junkyard. The 60 seats themselves were taken from old minivans, and hubcabs are plastered on the outside of the bar.

An old fender hangs precariously above Karla’s head as she talks, her hands animated as she reveals these secrets to me. The way Karla explains these things to me, I feel as though I’ve tapped into a secret world all hidden here under the Manhattan Bridge. The owner of the entire place, Jason Stevens, used to be a VP at Morgan Stanley before he got fed up, quit his job, and opened reBar and then reRun last July. It’s a Cinderella story in reverse: from big business to small business, no fairy godmother required.

The entire place felt relaxed and personable, even the audience, which consisted of myself and five other people. “Six people on a Sunday is a GREAT turnout,” Karla clarifies, “Most people in New York have only gone to bed like five hours earlier anyway.” This is definitely true, although the audience seemed to have no problem nursing their beers at 12:30 in the afternoon. I couldn’t even stomach the thought of drinking again so early, so I stuck with coffee.

As exciting as the thought is of being able to legally enjoy a drink while watching a movie, there’s one huge overlooked problem: nature. And nature was definitely calling, as I sat there on the edge of my seat, for more reasons than one. The film that was playing was Brotherhood, (tickets were only five dollars!) an intense film about the sadistic side to fraternity hazing. The film starred Trevor Morgan, who is a “that guy” actor. Meaning, you watch the movie and say to yourself, “Oh! He’s that guy from that one movie..” but you never remember their names. The film was definitely more than I could handle on a pleasant Sunday afternoon, hopped up on caffeine.

The great thing about New York City is that even if you’ve lived here your entire life, there is still always something new to see, somewhere new to discover. ReRun was a great introduction to the subculture of local business owners that populate New York City and the treasures that lie under the Manhattan Bridge.

Michael Sladek enjoys to work in independent film, even though it is a tough business.

A college drop out, a “Plug Ugly” (slang for “tough guy”). Brooklyn based filmmaker Michael Sladek, sure knows how to present himself. His documentary Con Artist, that got a jury mention at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, is still being screened in theaters around the country and will be released on DVD later this spring. I decided to meet up with this “tough guy” and hear his story from the independent film world of New York.

According to US Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 99,000 people in the United States work as producers or directors, and an average of 20 percent of them are self-employed (year 2008). Michael Sladek, born in Denver Colorado, is one of them. Sladek started out working in the world of theater, both as an actor and director. Upon moving to New York over ten years ago, he felt it was time for something new. Plug Ugly Films was soon born, and so was Sladek’s first feature film, the no-budget narrative Devils Are Dreaming. Five years later, the documentary Con Artist got released, and Sladek’s name started to get know in the wold of independent film.

Con Artist is a documentary about the 80’s art figure Mark Kostabi, who made it big in his own controversial way. He hired up-and-coming painters to create art that he then credited as his own. Kostabi found his way to stardom, but was this enough to make him feel loved? Con Artist dives deep into the world of fame and glory – not leaving anything out, not even the uncomfortable truth.

This revealing documentary got immediate attention and praise from critics as big as The New York Times. I could not help wonder how a colorful person like Mark Kostabi was to work with.

“Working with Kostabi was a great creative collaboration and he was really open to most of what I wanted to do,” Sladek begings. He mentions, that working with an opinionated person instead of an actor can make things difficult. “You have to give your subject space enough to play and be themselves, even if you want something specific or know that what you’re shooting isn’t really relevant.”

While filming Con Artist, Sladek and Kostabi did not always agree on what was to be shown in the film. “We were both trying to manipulate each other in different ways,” Sladek says. Some people that Sladek would have liked to interview for the film also refused, because they just could not stand Kostabi. In the end, it all worked out well and both parties are pleased with the outcome.

After hearing Sladek’s side of the story and reading all the controversial reviews about Con Artist, I was eager to hear what Kostabi, the artist himself, though about the film. I contacted him and asked about his experience working with Sladek, and if Con Artist turned out the way he wanted.

"Con Artist" got praised by critics and will be released on DVD in June.

“Michael was a pleasure to work with because of his easygoing manner and sense of humor. He seemed to grasp the irony in my art, my public persona and his film,” says Kostabi. He continues: “He seemed much more casual than most of the filmmakers who have included me in their projects. Sladek knows a lot about film history and popular culture which I think gives him the confidence to be seemingly slacker as he films.” Kostabi even compared Sladek’s relaxed attitude behind the camera with Andy Warhol’s. Ironically Kostabi himself has been described as a “poor mans Andy Warhol” by Diego Costa from Slant Magazine.

Working in independent film might seem like an endless marathon. Con Artist took over four years to finish. During the interview, I wondered how someone has the patience, and Sladek shakes his head: “After four years on the same film I was ready to jump off a rooftop. I love the work, but it is just too long on the same project.” Still, he knows people who have worked on the same projects for twenty years. As one might suspect, the big “stop” for most independent filmmakers is financial problems. Plug Ugly Films was no exception.

Sladek explains that part of Con Artist was shot without any money, and that they still pay back investors. Also, the company, New Yorker Films, that is about to distribute the DVD, declared bankruptcy during the recession. Luckily, New Yorker Films got back up on their feet about a year ago, and Con Artist will be released on DVD in June.

So what is next for Michael Sladek? With Con Artist still playing in theaters, Plug Ugly Films are working on a bunch of new scripts. For now, Sladek would like to concentrate on fictional films. As a former actor he explains having a passion for working with professionals.

Before I let Michael Sladek get back to his work, I ask if he thinks he will keep doing his films here in New York. Despite the vague answer, I get the feeling that this “plug ugly” is here to stay.

“You can make good money and have a career,” Sladek says, pointing to the Hollywood-lifestyle. “In the independent world it is more like, everyday is a different day.”

In the confined office, filled with books, videotapes and other performing arts works, the BCC Director of the Media Technology program sat eager to chat. Professor Jeffrey Wisotsky, in his leather chair conversed on the award winning program that reaches out to the hearts and minds of upcoming filmmakers, editors and the like.

Beginning in the mid to late 1970’s, the Media Technology Program has changed quite a bit over the years. Starting as a vocational program that fixed 16-millimeter projectors, it then transformed into an audiovisual services for recording and splicing the old analog techniques that were used in the 1950’s and ‘60’s. In the early 1990’s it was changed to Television Technology and when Professor Wisotsky came in as Director from serving as an adjunct in 1996, the name was changed to Media Technology.

At that time the program made a major transition from analog to what it is today. To seek funding for the program, Wisotsky along with the program chair Debra Gonsher wrote ten successful letters for Carl Perkins vocational grants awarding the program over one million dollars. These funds were used to upgrade video and editing studio to be one the most cutting edge studios in the CUNY system today.

Professor Wistosky has worked some 18 years in CUNY along with other professors who according to Wisotsky are working professionals in the film industry. “The professors of the media technology program are here to teach and motivate the minds of our media technology students, some who go on to be promising filmmakers,” said Wisotsky.

Such inspired students as Fernando Gil and Daarina Herriott are prime examples of students who not only contributed a number of successful works through the program but on their own to further their skill, repertoire, and fulfill their passion for film.

“They teach you how to teach yourself,” said media tech student Fernando Gil, award winner of the Peter J. Rondinone Memorial Award and Avid Editor Award. “I’m sort of a starving artist,” as he regretfully labeled himself. Mr. Gil has engaged in a number of projects surrounding the subject of his own blend of film genre.

In a snippet of one of his filmed shorts called, “One More Cup of Coffee,” a young man finds he’s struggling with a man constantly asking for money. This is an interesting beginning to a filmmaking start. Taking an innovative approach at blending different genres in an unexpected sequence of events seems to show the ideal mind of a filmmaker that with practice could learn to keep his audience in the edge of their seats.

Daarina Herriott is another successful media tech student also being awarded the Peter J. Rondinone Award at the 8^th annual BCC film festival. She was awarded 2^nd place in the overall festival and her successful film short, “Run On” was one of few chosen to be in the 2011 United States Super 8 Film & Digital Video Festival.

“What I’ve learned is invaluable and I hope to continue to learn as much as I can about filmmaking in the future,” said Ms. Herriott.

The media technology program provides a number of opportunities for its small number of students; roughly 20 students per class being the cap size and approximately 150 students per semester. Being responsible for such a small amount of students there are a wide variety of career opportunities for the rising artists.

There are over 50 internships under such companies including Cablevision, MTV, NYC, and Madison Square Garden network for some. Including the vast connections of the media professors, as well as Wisotsky, who is a member of the Director’s Guild of America, there are many doors that lead to promising careers for the graduating media tech students, Daarina being one model student receiving an internship in Bronxnet.

At one point, the media technology program was exclusively contracted with NYCTV who took a number of media tech students under their guidance where they shot late night shows and were paid while doing it. Unfortunately the contract ended in 1997, but nonetheless many doors were made constantly available in vocational positions for the students.

A large majority of the students who graduate go on to either four year colleges such as City College for Fine Arts and Filming, according to Mr. Gil, while others take one the film positions in connection with the program. The few who don’t rush into furthering their education, take time off their rigorous film training to work on independent films to further the pursuits of this imaginative career.

At the center of the spacious, brightly lit room, lodged between the small circular tables encircled by empty metal chairs, are comfortably soft, brownish-red sofas below the light-reflecting hanging chandelier. It is a quiet, brisk Tuesday morning— a day like any other— in this downtown café at W. Houston St. and Mercer St. in the busy Soho district of New York City, just moments after its doors have been opened for another day of business.

Barely any sound can be heard at first, except for the occasional shuffle behind the café counter from its manager, Shamimur Rahman, a man with dark, penetrating eyes who pensively scans the emptiness before him, alert for any signs of life. Polite and soft-spoken with a slight accent that drifts into his speech only at times, Rahman, or “Rocky,” appears almost out of place behind the counter of vegan pastries, with a hoodie the color of his jet-black hair against the contrasting warmth of the café.

What really sets this café apart from others is not simply its vegan pastries or its community of customers— though diverse and equally unique— but its location. Found in the lobby of Angelika Film Center, an art house theater opened in 1989 that showcases award-winning films from festivals like Sundance, Cannes, Toronto International, and Tribeca, the café as well as the theater itself, caters to an eclectic mix of customers. Happythankyoumoreplease, an R-rated film directed by Josh Radnor from the television series, How I Met Your Mother, earned the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize nomination in the dramatic category during the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

The house manager of Angelika Film Center noted that Radnor’s involvement in the series garnered viewership from the “weird kind of people who watch that show.”

(Ed. Note: The house manager at the time of publication has since requested that his name and photo be redacted from this piece.)

Tall, lanky, and thoughtfully articulated, the house manager possesses an artistic side that is easy to miss, especially as his position overseeing business operations within the theater seems almost like an entirely new life. It is hard to imagine that two-and-a-half years ago, he had already graduated college as a French major and was an actor in theater and small indie film productions, when he came to a sudden epiphany that his “path was going more towards a business side.”

“It always changes depending on the film— if we had like City of God for example, which was a Brazilian film, it’s funny how many Brazilians that you see,” he remarked. He quickly added, “So it changes for whoever’s going to be involved and the film, but mostly we get more yuppies than anything— yuppies, hipsters, those kinds of folk— you wouldn’t see folk who go to Regal 42^nd Street or Union Square.”

During the busier days of the week, from Fridays to Sundays, Angelika Film Center, according to the house manager, can slowly accumulate 2000 to 3000 customers a day. On every other day, the theater is lucky enough to get 500 to 600 customers a day. Most of these customers are adults paying $13 or senior citizens paying $9 a ticket. At Angelika, which showcases more PG and R rated films that are not so family-oriented and kid-friendly, the presence of children is rare.

While Angelika Film Center is an established art house theater, however, it is not without its problems. “I actually started working here when the real owner— when the first owner of this place— was still running this theater and I saw a lot of changes since then,” remarked Rocky, who has been working at Angelika for ten years on and off. “It was the first independent theater, it actually had independent movies playing, and on top of it, they had a restaurant type of environment.”

In the first issue of indieWIRE, a daily news service for the indie community, published on July 1996, indieWIRE reported that Reading Investment Company was soon to purchase the theater, which would be operated by City Cinemas. In a press release from Jessica Saleh Hunt, the president of the Film Center, Hunt promised then that Reading and City Cinemas intended to “preserve the character and mandate of the Angelika.”

The house manager and Rocky agree that this is not the case.

“It brings in a more corporate atmosphere— there’s a hierarchy, almost like an army— you have a general on top and everything just trickles down from there,” said the house manager. “So it’s difficult for independent theaters, or the appearance of independent theaters, at least in the Angelika’s case, to be independent under such a hierarchy.” He added, “Anthology [Film] Archives is probably a little bit better— there’s no proven ground for the films, there is no filter that goes through there.”

For now, Angelika Film Center continues to struggle with its identity as an independent theater.

Arts Engine is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization created to promote and distribute the works of independent media artists. Designed to foster interest in the development and consumption of independently produced films, Arts Engine works hand-in-hand with the independent filmmaking community to expose both educators and the general public to forms of small-studio media that would be otherwise unavailable or unnoticed to those not explicitly seeking it. In their words, Arts Engine seeks to assist “…independent media makers [in] fac[ing] the dauntless obstacles in their efforts to introduce new perspectives into public debates.” These obstacles, AE notes, stem from the increasingly consolidated media outlets available to the mass market — be it in film, television, or radio.

Originally, Arts Engine consisted as the creative organization of filmmaking duo Katy Chevigny and Julia Pimsleur. Independent documentary markers themselves, Chevigny and Pimsleur developed Arts Engine and its subsequent partnerships to both publish their films and provide an outlet through which other independent media makers could share their ideas and get exposure for their works. Arts Engine’s film production sister, Big Mouth, has published 7 films and has won “prestigious awards, gain[ed] national recognition, and … reached audiences in the millions.” In addition to Big Mouth, AE also conceived MediaRights.org, a website dedicated to the promotion of social activism through indie filmmaking. MediaRights has archived over 7,000 films and has even spawned its own creation, Launchpad, a “youth-focused initiative” on developing and expressing ideas through personal media creation.

Arts Engine relies heavily on the ease-of-access that the internet and other virtual environments provide in distributing and making public materials for both the world of education and the casual, concerned consumer. For Arts Engine, the internet allows for a massive forum of discussion otherwise unavailable or impractical without the help of inexpensive communication that recent decades have produced. In addition to easy distribution, the internet has helped Arts Engine connect filmmakers with donators, via their Fiscal Sponsorship programs. Burgeoning filmmakers can make use of AE’s large audience to help find potential sponsors, and can even create their own 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in an effort to produce and distribute their films.

AE relies on both independent film distribution revenue as well as donations from a wide variety of businesses, individuals and production companies interested in the distribution of alternative media. Arts Engine’s widespread berth is immediately apparent after viewing their Funders and Supporters list: such prestigious donors as the Rockefeller Foundation, HBO, Sundance and even TimeWarner (as well as a myriad of others) have donated to the cause of independent filmmaking.  In addition to the online and brick-and-mortar distribution of films, AE has worked in conjunction with PBS’s “POV” and “Independent Lens” to show films to a television audience.

Arts Engine’s direct involvement with the independent media movement places it in an interesting and powerful position as the medium through which many social issues are spread through the art of independent documentary. In this especially turbulent and corporate-minded age, it is comforting to know that there is still a group concerned with the views of those who, due to inaccessibility of  larger publishing funds, would  be otherwise left abandoned. AE’s mission to fund, publish, distribute and discuss independent film and filmmakers sets it apart as one of the most impactful non-profits operating for the benefit of public media in existence today.

Pursuing a career in a highly competitive field such as filmmaking may seem strenuous, demanding, and overall impossible, especially with an absence of connections, right? Well think again, with a “make it happen” attitude and a never-ending drive to succeed anything is possible, just ask up and coming filmmaker Ryan Dunlap.

“I kept making things. It feels impossible from time to time but you take it one step at a time” said the award-winning director.

Dunlap was introduced to film at the age of nineteen when he assisted his friend edit a short film, sparking Dunlap’s passion. He then borrowed his father’s camcorder and put his filmmaking skills to the test.

“Looking back, the process was probably much more fun than the finished result. After that, I invested in a better camera and started writing more serious material and began to seriously study films,” said Dunlap.

He continued his new found passion at the University of Tulsa where he minored in film. Aside from formal training, Dunlap based his teaching methods on a “do it yourself” effort, teaching himself how to edit, film, direct, and more.

According to Vimeo.com, Dunlap’s success did not arise until 2009, when his three-minute short film Leave Me won the 2009 Christian Filmmakers 36 hour Contest. In Dunlap’s emotional and inspiring short film Leave Me, he illustrates a man’s struggle to cope with his wife’s death by adding a unique twist that helps him find relief through his wife’s camera.

“When Leave Me came out, I would get notes, comments, and e-mails telling me how they had recently lost their father and the film helped them heal. Or they were going to take their lunch break to go buy their wife flowers. It caused me to realize I had a new responsibility to the viewer. If I could introduce more love into their lives, then I needed to do that instead of leaving them with something that would leave them depressed or not affected at all” said Dunlap.

Dunlap returned to the Christian Filmmaker 36 hour contest in 2010 where he won first place again for his short film 12:01, a story about a young boy’s reaction when discovering his time is running out.

According to judge Wes Llewellyn from christianfilmmakers.org, “You have clearly mastered many of the skills needed to tell great stories and need to move up to the next level of production. I’d like to see what you would do with a descent budget and more time. This short represents a story with a lot of depth that could easily turn into an incredible feature. If I were you, I’d give thought to moving in that direction.”

A main contributor to Dunlap’s success over the years is his use of the Internet where he is able to display his short films and communicate with his supportive fans. Websites such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and various blogs have helped people become aware of Dunlap’s work. According to YouTube.com, Dunlap has 467 subscribers and an outstanding 87,855 views for Leave me and 9,090 views for 12:01.

Kelly Foronda, a Film Major at the College of Staten Island, was inspired to pursue her passion for film after discovering Dunlap’s short films on YouTube.com. “His uplifting stories captivates the mind while capturing each character’s precise emotion. His skill for filmmaking is something I hope to acquire one day.”

Dunlap is now in post-production of his first feature film Greyscale. In this film, he portrays the themes of love and death by adding elements of murder and mystery, taking a different approach while staying true to his roots.

Due to the praise received for both Leave me and Greyscale, Dunlap is now employed at Brightbulb Entertainment, a film company where he has just completed his first documentary, Export.

Has Dunlap had his big break yet? “Yes and no,” he says.

“I’ve not been offered budgets in the millions of dollars to direct projects with, but it’s all a process and I’ve definitely had a few great breaks because of hard work on prior projects. I’m excited to see where things go.”