Adventures in Independent Filmmaking

Join us as we screen Doug Block’s terrific documentary “The Heck With Hollywood”, about the trials and tribulations of getting an independent film marketed and distributed. The film follows three filmmakers for four years as they struggle to finish and find distribution for their films. Afterwards we’ll hold discussion, share stories and trade resources.

At the December Filmmakers Workshop, Lyda Kuth and Kathryn Ostermier from the LEF Foundation, made a presentation about the new LEF guidelines. The deadline for a letter of intent is January 30, 2009. Those selected to submit a full application will receive notification on March 1st. Aplications will then be due on March 27th. Final grant announcements will be made in May 2009. For more information about the Moving Image Fund visit their web page. The complete December session is available for viewing on the AIMM BlipTV website. Please note that it is in 10 minute segments- and you will want to make sure you start with Part 1.

We are delighted to be welcoming back to Boston independent film fundraising guru and consultant Morrie Warshawski.

Morrie will be coming to present three workshops on December 6 & 7, 2008 at our new facility at 93 Border Street in West Newton, MA.  Tickets for each workshop are limited and are now on sale.  You won’t want to miss this opportunity to brush up your fundraising skills and to jumpstart your career! Descriptions for all three workshops follow–registrations for each workshop are separate.

JUMPSTARTING YOUR CAREER: A CAREER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP
SATURDAY DECEMBER 6, 2008

9:30-10am  Registration          10am-4pm workshop

Tickets are $45 for members and $55 for non-members

REGISTER NOW
Where are you going professionally, and how are you going to get there?  This workshop helps participants develop powerful strategies, tools and approaches supporting long range career planning.  For this workshop, Warshawski draws on his extensive experience consulting on strategic planning to introduce a series of highly participatory exercises designed specifically for individuals.  Participants will work on:
·        Indentifying core values;
·        Defining a personal mission;
·        Examining professional strengths and weaknesses,;
·        Creating a vision for the future;
·        Identifying circles of influence;
·        Identifying significant goals, and strategies to achieve those goals;
·        Marketing with integrity.

THE FUNDRAISING HOUSEPARTY:
HOW TO PARTY WITH A PURPOSE AND RAISE MONEY FOR YOUR CAUSE

Saturday December 6, 2008

6:30-9pm

Tickets are $20 for members and $25 for non-members
REGISTER NOW
This highly participatory workshop gives a complete deconstruction of the Fundraising Houseparty – a very powerful and flexible way to raise donations from individuals for noncommercial projects media both large and small.  Topics covered include:

What projects are appropriate for houseparties;

• Finding and preparing the Host;

• Who to invite;

• Timeline for and design of invitations;

• Program sequence for the formal presentation;

• What type of program clip to show;

• How to make the “ask” and who should do it;

• Follow-up activities.

Participants are encouraged to bring in samples of their own houseparty invitations and pledge cards (actual or proposed).  For an audio clip about houseparties from Warshawski’s appearance on Marketplace Radio, just go to his website: www.warshawski.com

SHAKING THE MONEY TREE:
HOW TO GET GRANTS AND DONATIONS FOR YOUR FILM/VIDEO PROJECT

SUNDAY DECEMBER 7, 2008

9:30am- 5pm

Tickets are $45 for members and $55 for non-members

REGISTER NOW
Nationally recognized consultant MORRIE WARSHAWSKI returns to Boston to present his popular full-day workshop full of patented street-savvy, in-the-trenches advice on how to gets grants and donations for noncommercial independent film and video projects.  Looking for funding while maintaining a career as a media maker can be a competitive, elusive and overwhelming proposition.  Warshawski provides practical advice based on real experience to get filmmakers focused and effective at getting money for their projects.

The workshop completely demystifies the world of donations and grants by providing an introduction to all the basic principles of successful fundraising including:

• Ways to approach individuals for donations (houseparties, direct mail, etc.);

• How to get money from foundations and corporations;

• Designing your project to make it attractive to funders;

• Adopting the proper mindset;

• Laying the groundwork for and conducting research;

• Creating the perfect written grant proposal.

Warshawski’s class includes exercises, lecture, video clip examples, and an extensive handout packet full of information and references on fundraising.  A must for the beginning, emerging or experienced filmmaker who has any qualms about fundraising.

MORRIE WARSHAWSKI, noted writer and media consultant, is the former Executive Director of Bay Area Video Coalition and The Media Project, Inc.  His clients over the last 30 years include the American Film Institute, National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, MacArthur Foundation, WGBH-TV, President’s Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and many others.  Warshawski has served on numerous grant panels, has written over 500 proposals, and is the author of THE FUNDRAISING HOUSEPARTY, and SHAKING THE MONEY TREE: HOW TO GET GRANTS AND DONATIONS FOR FILM AND VIDEO- 2nd Edition.  You can find Warshawski and an audio clip on fundraising houseparties in cyberspace: www.warshawski.com.

QUOTES:
“I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your AFI workshop.  It really clarified and supported my thinking on grant writing and fundraising in general.  It was nice to sit down for a day and just have all the steps outlined and discussed logically!”
- Rusty E. Frank, Los Angeles

“Your seminar is really amazing and so incredibly full of such useful information.  We funders ought to have a preliminary requirement that applicants attend your workshop before submitting their proposals.”
- Mary Smith, National Endowment for the Arts

“Packed with good info; good speaker; receptive to questions; obviously very experienced.”
- Boston Participant

“Your presentation was just terrific.  I am truly impressed with the wealth of information, articulately and logically presented in just a few hours time.”
- Bill Goetz, Portland, OR

“I took your SHAKING THE MONEY TREE class at AIVF in New York about 3 years ago,  and I’m happy to report that my documentary is not only finished, but aired as part of a Father’s Day Special on Cinemax this year.  I know of at least one other student in that class whose film is now complete and was picked up by HBO.  Your class was very instrumental in getting the first grants and donations.  So thank you !!”
- Cynthia Syrett, NYC

“A note of thanks to Morrie for his Shaking the Money Tree workshops.  After attending one last year, I finally got the guts to approach my first private funder — someone wealthy who had funded a doc I’d worked on previously (one in which I was hired as co-producer in post, well after she’d funded it).”

“Using the chutzpah and the tools I gained in the workshop and from the book, I wrote her a heartfelt letter.  She immediately called, and wrote a check soon thereafter.  With a serious donation now in hand, I felt “legit” and then wrote a different heartfelt letter to 100 friends asking for tax-free donations.  I got a 20% return, with amounts ranging from $25 to $1000+.  A real lifesaver to the project.”
- Danielle Beverly

“Thank you for your excellent workshops in NYC this weekend.  It’s always good, especially for an old hand like me, to be reminded of what it takes and to be inspired anew.   I especially need that now as I’m working independently, on a film, and not for a performing arts organization and need to be prepared to get money from individuals. The Zen tools you worked through with us are tremendous.  Thank you, sincerely.
- Sharon Levy, Dovetail Productions, Inc, New York

Domestic & International Film Financing Tutorial
June 18 & 19 from 6-10 pm BOTH NIGHTS
Location: 93 Border Street, West Newton MA 02465
(The NEW temporary space of the Center for Independent Documentary and the Filmmakers Workshop)

This tutorial will be taught by Sandra Schulberg (sschulberg@aol.com), one of the pioneers of international financing for independent movies. Ms. Schulberg has been active in raising money for independent productions and nurturing indie filmmakers for more than 20 years. From 1998 to 2001, Ms. Schulberg worked as Executive Producer for the private German media fund, Hollywood Partners, and structured its financing in a slate of films (including the Oscar-nominated movie QUILLS, starring Geoffrey Rush and Kate Winslet), all of which involved multiple international production partners. From 1989 to 1996, she served as a senior executive of “American Playhouse,” the PBS drama series, charged with raising funds from abroad. During the last three years, she served as Senior Vice President of its movie production subsidiary, Playhouse International Pictures. Her production credits include SHADOW MAGIC, UNDISPUTED, THE LAST YELLOW, WAITING FOR THE MOON (Sundance Grand Prize winner), I’LL TAKE YOU THERE, SHIMMER, ROOSTERS, WILDROSE, BELIZAIRE THE CAJUN, NORTHERN LIGHTS, ALAMBRISTA. Additionally, she was involved in the financing and marketing of more than a dozen Playhouse films, including SAFE, I SHOT ANDY WARHOLL, ANGELS & INSECTS, THE MUSIC OF CHANCE, AMATEUR, SIMPLE MEN, etc., and she helped Barbara Kopple to raising finishing funds for her non-fiction feature, MY GENERATION. She has been a key figure in helping to create worldwide markets for independent films as founder and former president of the Independent Feature Project (IFP) and as creator of the IFP Market. In 1980, Ms. Schulberg co-founded the niche film distribution company, First Run Features, which is also still operating today. She was one of the first nominators to the Sundance Institute’s Filmmakers Lab, and served on the Sundance Festival Advisory Committee for 5 years. She also served on the Board of ITVS (Independent Television Service) for 3 years, during which it created a new world affairs satellite channel, Link-TV, in cooperation with Internews. She served as a founding director of the New York Documentary Center and its Docfest film festival. In 1994, Ms. Schulberg received the IFP Spirit Award for her contributions to independent cinema. Her movies have been showcased and have won awards at film festivals throughout the world. She does a limited amount of private consulting to assist both experienced and fledgling producers.

Session I: Domestic Film Financing

Combining For-Profit and Nonprofit Monies
▪ How a movie qualifies for tax-deductible contributions
▪ Understanding the notion of “mission” under non-profit law
▪ Appropriate use of a fiscal agent
▪ Obtaining a PRI, a Program-Related Investment, from a foundation
▪ Development loans from private individuals
Key Elements of a U.S. Investor Offering
▪ Determining the right financial instrument and when to form it
▪ What your offering plan tells investors
▪ Synopsis
▪ Cast/Crew Bios
▪ Chain of Title
▪ Summary of Talent Agreements (producer/writer/director)
▪ Production Budget & Schedule
▪ Financing Plan
▪ Deal Structure (description of investment units for sale and ROI)
▪ Marketing & Distribution Plan
▪ Risk Factors & Disclaimers
Session II: Foreign Film Financing
International Co-Production
▪ Official “treaty” co-productions
▪ Non-treaty co-financing
▪ Tax-driven funds
▪ Regional economic funds
▪ The key Co-Production Markets
Foreign Sales & Distribution
▪ Principles of pre-sale financing
▪ Selecting and contracting with a foreign sales company
▪ Structuring foreign sales and foreign distribution agreements
▪ The role of collection agencies

Session III: Project-specific guidance from Sandra Schulberg
During the final session, on the second night, Ms. Schulberg provides specific financing guidance for each participant’s current feature project (whether fiction or non-fiction), applying her sense of the domestic and international opportunities and illustrating how they might be combined where appropriate. This aspect of the Tutorial has proved to be extremely useful and popular. It is conducted publicly, so each participant gets customized guidance but also learns from the discussion of the other projects.

REGISTRATION BY POSTAL MAIL:

Domestic and International Film Financing Tutorial
June 18 and 19 from 6-10pm both nights

Please fill out the form carefully and make sure your phone number and e-mail are correct, it is very important that we be able to contact you.
First Name
Last Name
Company or Organization
Email
Phone
Address
City, State
Zip
What is your primary role? (Producer, Director, editor etc….)

Are you a member of any of these organizations? (check all that apply) If so, you receive the discounted registration price ($40)
( ) Center for Independent Documentary (CID)
( ) MPC (Massachusetts Production Coalition)
( ) AIMM*
If you checked AIMM, specify which AIMM member:

*AIMM consists of Filmmakers Collaborative, Center for Independent Documentary, Central Productions, The Color of Film Collaborative, the LEF Foundation and WGBH Boston Media Productions. If you are a producer with CID, simply check the CID box above.

Registration fees:

$60 (regular)
$40 (discounted- member of one of the sponsoring organizations)
Please return this form along with your check payable to:
THE CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY
And mail to:
680 South Main Street
Sharon, MA 02067

THIS WORKSHOP IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY SUPPORT FROM:

We hope you’ll join us on January 16 for a unique discussion and celebration as we celebrate 25 years of the Center for Independent Documentary (CID) with a special gathering. For most of those 25 years, CID has hosted FREE monthly meetings for filmmakers with the goal of building community, providing support and skillbuilding, and sparking creativity.

Though they’ve been called various names over the years (“First Wednesday” screenings, “the independent producer group”, the “CID/AIVFsalon” and now “Filmmakers Workshop”)- they’ve continually provided an antidote to that most pervasive of independent filmmaking occupational hazards- isolation.

Some of you may remember when these meeting were held in members homes or when they were in the CID office in Newton. Each meeting, screening or workshop has featured talk and socializing. On the 16th, we’ll do both as we look back and forward, as we explore the documentary then and now.

Have an artifact or a story to share? Bring it! Ready to talk about the impact of changing technology on the documentary form? What looks fresh, new and innovative to you? What inspires you that you are bringing to your new/next film? What are the forces that are at work changing how you work and how are you adapting? We’ll share our thoughts, musings and practical concerns as we delve into these and other questions salon style.

We hope you’ll join us for this special salon evening.

PLEASE RSVP!! This is a FREE event, but, we would appreciate an rsvp so that we can plan for food and chairs.

TO RSVP just reply to this email. While RSVP’s are not required for this event, we appreciate you giving us a count of how many to plan for.

As we wind up CID’s 25th Anniversary, we hope that you’ll join us at one of the upcoming screenings of our filmmakers new work:

Judith Helfand and Dan Golds new film: EVERYTHINGS COOL at the MFA as part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival on January 18th at 8pm

Marty Ostrow and Terry Kay Rockefellers new documentary RENEWAL which will have a run at the MFA in Boston beginning on Thursday February 21st, 2008

and TODAY THE HAWK TAKES ONE CHICK by Jane Gillooly at the ICA on February 9, 2008

As we launch into 2008, we would like to give a special word of thanks to the tireless volunteers who make FILMMAKERS WORKSHOPS possible. PLEASE THANK THEM: Julie Mallozzi, Tracy Heather Strain, Megan Gelstein and Randall MacLowry. We also want to give a special appreciation to Bernie Toale, who not only allows us to enjoy his beautiful gallery each month, but who also carries chairs, sets up tables and offers complete encouragement and support. This program truly could not exist without all of your efforts. Thank you so much.

Filmmakers Workshop: Trailers & Sample Reels
March 21, 2007 – 6:30 pm
Bernard Toale Gallery
450 Harrison Avenue, Boston’s South End

This workshop is FREE, but you must RSVP to susi@documentaries.org to attend.

One of the most challenging things about making a film today is raising money, particularly for development activities. Most funders want to see work samples before they will support media projects. So, the first part of the challenge for filmmakers becomes funding production for the sample reel even before their stories are clear. The next challenge is to determine what and how to present the material so that funders will respond with a check. There are so many things to consider: How long should it be? Show an entire cut scene or just samples of a variety of materials? Add music? What about graphics? Do they want a trailer or a rough cut?

At this month’s workshop, with the help of moderator Llew Smith (“Forgotten Genius”/Nova) of Vital Pictures, we present three filmmakers who are looking for input to refine their sample reel to raise money and to gain distribution for their documentary projects.

Far Out: Life On and After the Commune – Daniel Keller, Charles Light & Jen Gilbert
Using historical material, footage gathered over decades and frank contemporary interviews, Far Out: Life On and After the Commune will trace the story of several members of two sister communes founded in the summer of 1968, the Montague Farm in Montague , Massachusetts and Total Loss Farm in Guilford, Vermont. Co-Producers/Directors Daniel Keller and Charles Light are the founders of Green Mountain Post (GMP) Films (www.gmpfilms.com). They have been making films about social and political issues for over 30 years and were both connected with the Montague Farm. Co-Producer/Director Jen Gilbert is a first-time filmmaker who brings with her experience with several media projects as well as 10 years working in large-scale project management and fundraising.

Animas Perdidas – Monika Navarro
Animas Perdidas (Lost Souls) is the story of a young Latina filmmaker documenting the emotional journey of her uncle, a military vet deported to Mexico, and uncovering the secrets of her family’s past. Against the backdrop of increased attention to the U.S.-Mexican border, Animas Perdidas explores national identity and ties, the lives of immigrants, and what happens after deportees are sent to a homeland they don’t consider home. Producer/Director Monika Navarro is a Filmmaker-in-Residence at WGBH. This is her first documentary film, funded in part by an Emerging Artist’s Grant from the City of Ventura Cultural Council for the Humanities. Monika is a first-generation Mexican-American and was raised in Southern California.

Lorraine Hansberry Documentary Project – Tracy Heather Strain, Randy MacLowry
Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) is the author of the groundbreaking Broadway smash A Raisin in the Sun. This multiplatform media project includes the first feature-length biography about the trailblazing artist, activist and intellectual who became an international celebrity at 28 years old, and died just six years later during the run of her second Broadway play. Director/Producer Tracy Heather Strain and Editor/Producer Randy MacLowry are principals in Yellow Jersey Films, Inc. and The Film Posse, LLC.

March 21, 2007 Schedule
6:30 pm – 7:00 pm Refreshments & Networking
7:00 pm -7:15 pm Workshop Updates
7:15 pm – 9:00 pm Filmmaker Screenings & Discussion

Join us at this months Filmmakers workshop on January 17 for a rough cut screening of FOR THE LOVE OF MOVIES. VISIT THE FILMMAKERS WORKSHOP BLOG FOR COMPLETE INFORMATION.

Today, film criticism is everywhere, whether composed for newspapers, debated on TV, written up for magazines, typed up for blogs and websites. Surprisingly, despite its ubiquity, film criticism has been unexplored as a subject for film. Until now. For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism (working title) is the first documentary to dramatize the rich, sociologically fascinating history of American film criticism.

Produced by Amy Geller (Co-producer on Murder at Harvard, and The War that Made America) written and directed by veteran film critic Gerald Peary, For the Love of Movies offers a unique insider’s view of the film critics’ profession with commentary from America’s best-regarded reviewers, including Roger Ebert (Ebert & Roeper), A.O. Scott (The New York Times), Lisa Schwarzbaum (Entertainment Weekly), Andrew Sarris (The New York Observer), Kenneth Turan (The Los Angeles Times), Elvis Mitchell (National Public Radio) and the late Pauline Kael (The New Yorker).

This film has been funded in part by the LEF Foundation and produced in association with the Filmmaker-In-Residence Lab, WGBH Boston.

Writer/Director: Gerald Peary Producer: Amy Geller Editors: Aleksander Lekic Sabrina Zanella-Foresi

Read an interview with Gerald Peary on NEFilm.com

It’s the end of a busy year—and we hope you’ll take a moment to look back with us as we do a brief year in review—and have a sneak peek at the year ahead. During 2006, CID entered its 25th anniversary year…and we plan to celebrate that accomplishment in the coming months as we head into 2007. Keep checking back for news.

Two projects produced in association with CID will be broadcast in January on the PBS series Independent Lens- TWISTED (Laurel Chiten, producer) and A FISH STORY (Tim Gallagher & Courtney Hayes, producers). Judith Helfand and Dan Golds’ new documentary EVERYTHING’S COOL (formerly titled “Melting Planet”), will have its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Congratulations to everyone at Toxic Comedy Pictures! If you attended the filmmakers workshop in July, you had a chance to help filmmakers Anita Clearfield, Shoshanna Hoose and Geoffrey Leighton as they worked through the editing of their film THERE OUGHT TO BE A LAW (the working title was “Lethal Means”) – you can see how they utilized your comments by attending the films premiere on Sunday January 7, 2007 in Maine.

If you missed the June national public television broadcasts of WOODY GUTHRIE: AIN’T GOT NO HOME (Peter Frumkin , producer) and SMITTEN (Nancy Kelly, producer) you can check their web sites to see when they might be broadcast again in your area or released on dvd.

We are currently providing fiscal and advisory services for 66 active documentary projects which have received some (or all they need) funding, and an additional 9 projects that are currently in development. Of the projects with funding, 31 are with producers in Massachusetts, an additional 7 from Rhode Island, Vermont and Maine. The remainder are from other parts of the country, with most in New York or California. We are working with our producers to get all of the projects listed up on the new Alliance for Independent Motion Media (AIMM) web site. Please visit the filmmography section of the AIMM web site and set the search for CID films to review the listings to date. If you’d like to help make these films come to a screen near to you—please give generously through our online donation button in the sidebar.

FILMMAKERS WORKSHOP
The monthly workshops continue to attract between 40-70 attendees each month (depending on the topic of the workshop). Here’s a round-up of the past six months: In May 06 we hosted students from area film programs and their professors to share their work and to meet industry professionals. In June, John Kusiak, the composer for Errol Morris and other filmmakers offered tips on how to collaborate with a composer to create a great film score for films. In July we screened a rough cut of “There Ought to be a Law” (which will have its premiere in Maine in January 07). In October we featured a lighting workshop to help filmmakers make the most from a small lighting kit with special help from Rule Broadcast Systems. In November, blogging gurus Steve Garfield and Ravi Jain offered instruction on how to become a blogger and utilize video on the web. In January 07, we will kickoff the new year with a rough cut screening of Amy Geller & Gerald Peary’s FOR THE LOVE OF MOVIES. Please join us at one of our upcoming workshops in 07—and if you’ve got an idea for a workshop you’d like to see happen—PLEASE leave a comment below or send us an email. We very much welcome your ideas! These workshops are made possible through the generosity of many people. We would especially like to thank Julie Mallozzi, Tracy Heather Strain and Megan Gelstein for the many hours that they have contributed to organizing the workshops. The Bernard Toale Gallery has provided us with a beautiful space in which to meet (and has helped us with lugging more chairs up and down stairs than we can count! Thank you!) Shannon Bradley designed our terrific logo-thank you! Rule Broadcast has provided technical support as well as the expertise of their staff. Rule rules! Thank you, John! A very important portion of each workshop is the time that’s spent networking and relaxing together over refreshments. We greatly appreciate the contribution of Harpoon Brewery each month—our favorite beer! (Root beer too!)These workshops just couldn’t happen at all without the support of the LEF Foundation.

CID/KOPKIND FILMMAKERS CAMP
CID collaborated with Kopkind this past August to bring 11 filmmakers up to Vermont for a week of “radical relaxation”. The filmmakers who attended came from all around the country (though several were from Massachusetts) and shared a highly memorable week of intense discussion, film viewing, sharing , swimming, paper making , hiking and eating great food. We roughly followed the format that Kopkind has based their prior camp sessions for writers on…though we changed it somewhat to allow our morning sessions of each day to cover some specific information (such as having guest speakers from archival footage houses, a representative from First Run Features to speak about distribution and Lisa Simmons to talk about issues around diversity). We were thrilled with our first attempt at this workshop—and are beginning planning for summer camp 07. Check out the photos from our week at camp–and watch this blog for an upcoming post on that week in review. Watch for details on how to join us there next summer!

ADVOCACY
In addition to the work that we do with the producers on their projects, CID has been an active founding partner in two important new Massachusetts organizations- the Alliance for Independent Motion Media (AIMM) and the Massaachusetts Production Coaltion (MPC). AIMM is a network of several Boston area non-profits who are all committed to making it easier for independent producers to make their work and get it seen. The MPC is a membership organization of producers, businesses, non-profits—just about everyone-who work in the Massachusetts motion media industry. These two organizations have been working closely together to make Massachusetts a great place to make media…please take a few moments to read the year end report on the AIMM blog for a complete review of what has been done to date, what the plans are for the coming year, and how you can get involved.

Finally, we want to thank all of the Center for Independent Documentary board of trustees for their continued commitment: Tony Logalbo, Marion Burke, Vince Canzoneri, Martin Alpert and Leslie Hitch. Your dedication to CID over many years has been awesome! We would also very much like to thank our funders for their support. The Massaachusetts Cultural Council and the LEF Foundation continue to provide CID with important funding critical to our day to day operations. We are very grateful.

We wish you all our very best wishes for the holidays and a very Happy New Year.
Susi Walsh & Fred Simon