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On September 27, Josh Mingo and Tim Overbeck from Film LA joined Film Independent Members and Moderator Paul Cowling, Film Independent’s Associate Director of Film Education, for a full night of learning all about permits, prices, location scouting and more. The key takeaway? Permits are important and always necessary—so do your homework and keep reading… Film LA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to guiding filmmakers throughout the permit process. They also offer production-planning services....

To kick off the night, Festival Artistic Director David Ansen welcomed Sachs on stage by saying he remembered watching Sachs’ first film The Delta nearly 20 years ago at Sundance and knowing that he was witnessing the work of a promising director. Calling Love Is Strange his best film yet, Ansen insisted Sachs is one of those rare directors that keep getting stronger with every movie he makes. In a quick introduction Sachs thanked Ansen and countered with a similar reminiscence, saying it was Ansen who had written about The Delta for Newsweek and it was the one time, Sachs said, that he had made it to the pages of the American weekly magazine....

It’s not surprising that Mad Man creator Matthew Weiner—a man known for creating some of the most compelling lost souls television has ever seen—brought his penchant for existentialists to his feature film debut, Are You Here, which screened last week at Film Independent at LACMA. After the screening, Weiner and actress Laura Ramsey talked with Film Independent curator Elvis Mitchell about making the film, which revolves around the dysfunctional, co-dependent friendship between loony Ben (Zach Galifianakis) and playboy weatherman Steve (Owen Wilson)....

As #FiForum22 drew to a close on Thursday evening, the theme of the day was cautious optimism. Several of the speakers agreed that the world has changed radically in a very short time, and so has the ability to produce, market and distribute independent films. How can you know if you have the right story, the right cast, and the right budget to succeed in this new post-pandemic era? There is no one right answer, according to these panels of seasoned and rising filmmakers, as well as sales agents, and distribution and acquisition execs....

For indie filmmakers who are sprinting from festival to festival to festival—the New York Film Festival kicks off this Friday September 27, then Chicago on October 10, Austin on October 24— it may seem like there’s no time to come up for air, let alone to set aside the time and space to strategize the publicity for your film. Film Independent recently assembled a team of festival experts to offer some shortcuts for emerging filmmakers who might be struggling to put on those publicist hats, including Los Angeles Film Festival staffers Drea Clark, Festival Programmer and Filmmaker Liaison, and Doug Jones, Associate Director of Programming; Greg Longstreet, Senior Publicist at Polaris PR; and writer/director Todd Berger, whose film It’s A Disaster premiered at the LA Film Festival and was distributed by Oscilloscope this year....

Film Independent is now accepting submissions for our quarterly Canon Filmmaker Award. Four times a year, we select one filmmaker to receive a Canon Cinema EOS package loaned to the recipient. Only Film Independent Fellows, Los Angeles Film Festival alumni and Spirit Awards nominees and winners are eligible. Click here for complete eligibility details and to apply. Last quarter’s winner was Rodrigo Reyes, who recently wrapped production on his feature Lupe Under the Sun—a project that began as a documentary but evolved into a narrative using a neorealist-inspired approach....

In a recent New York Times profile on Jerry Seinfeld, the comedian shared one of the reasons why constant practice is so important. When asked why he still insists on getting up on stage every week to work on his comedy, even though he’s clearly an expert with decades of experience, Seinfeld responded, “I read an article a few years ago that said when you practice a sport a lot, you literally become a broadband: the nerve pathway in your brain contains a lot more information....

Based in both New York and LA, Schreiber continues to work on a wide range of projects, regularly lending her eye to documentaries (Woody Allen: A Documentary, Tab Hunter Confidential), features (Serious Moonlight, Your Friends and Neighbors) and TV (Better Things, The Client List). Schreiber has also been extensively involved in mentoring Film Independent Fellows through Project Involve and our Artist Development Labs, and has appeared on panels at the LA Film Festival to impart her experience and expertise....

We’re proud to announce that Film Independent has awarded the latest Wildfire Post Production Sound Grant, a complimentary sound mix provided by Wildfire Post Production Studios to writer/director Sydney Freeland and producer Chad Burris for Drunktown’s Finest, which will be premiering at Sundance. “Wildfire is thrilled to have opportunity to work with Sydney and her team on Drunktown’s Finest, said Daniel Medina, Wildfire VP of operations. “Film Independent’s unique ability to make these connections makes them an essential partner for us in our effort to support the community of independent filmmakers....

Growing up in the ‘80s, Rees loved the Indiana Jones movies, taping shows off TV and writing short stories. “I was a typical suburban middle-class kid and art felt like a luxury; it felt like an indulgence.” Being a writer seemed at the time like a flaky career choice, so Rees went into business instead, getting her MBA and taking on brand management gigs for companies including Dr. Scholl’s and Colgate Palmolive....

DAY THREE We all love to laugh, right? Well, I sure do. And what’s impressed me about so many of the films at this year’s LA Film Festival is (of course) their balance of poignancy and authentic storytelling—but also that they’re also just so darn funny. Take Friday night’s offerings, kicking off in Culver City with a film literally titled, Humor Me—you know, the film based on the website that became a play that became a book/lecture series—and ending with Lea Thompson’s directorial offering The Year of Spectacular Men in Santa Monica....

Whether you’re stamping your passport for 1920s New York, 19th century Europe, Mexico City in 195 or even WWII-era Soviet Russia, these remarkable stories of human intrigue, ambition and ingenuity are nevertheless timeless. No DeLoreans or Hot Tub Time Machines necessary. Speaking of time, you should very well know by know that the 2018 LA Film Festival begins next week, kicking off September 20 at the John Anson Ford Ampitheater in Hollywood with Echo in the Canyon and continuing until Friday, September 28—click here to learn more....

For this month’s #FiscalFridays, we’re looking at three very different projects. The first, an existential first-person travelogue in part inspired by Chris Marker’s Sans Soleil. The second, an intense relationship drama set amid the glitz of Broadway. The third, a witty short-form rom-com delving deep into the perplexing LA singles scene. Of course, the experiences and internal struggles of women of color are as complex, disparate and individual as anyone else’s, though you wouldn’t always know it to look at mainstream entertainment, which too infrequently ignores such interests and experiences in favor of a few narrowly-defined archetypes....

When working with a filmmaker for the first time, do you typically prefer to see a rough cut before signing onto the project? Absolutely. Very often, whatever you started out with in the script has not quite made it onto the screen for various reasons, and the music can help you get back to what you had hoped for in the first place. There may not be the right chemistry, or the excitement, or the tension that the screenplay seems to have or seemed to promise....

Opening title sequences are an integral part of visual storytelling, even if too frequently they occur as an afterthought—a thing to be tacked on last-minute out of grim legal obligation. In features, the elaborate title sequence has practically become an endangered species; often reduced to an abrupt single-frame title card or relegated, when they do exist, to the end of the film before the final end-credits crawl. Which, frankly, is a huge missed opportunity....

On July 10, Film Independent Members were treated to an intimate conversation between four seasoned indie film producers at the latest edition of our ongoing Shop Talk series. Attracting yet another inquisitive standing room only audience, it was an opportunity for the panelists to speak frankly—reminiscing about first projects, poring over lessons learned and lamenting the sometimes very long road to getting paid. Moderated by Ron Najor (Short Term 12, I Am Not a Hipster), the panelists included producers Jordana Mollick (Hello, My Name Is Doris, Life Partners), Kim Sherman (Wild Canaries, You’re Next) and Kelly Thomas (Spa Night, Arcadia Lost)....

Nope. She told me I won second prize: a Polaroid SX70 Land camera and five packs of film. I was confused. I was five and had no idea what that was. But I used it to take pictures of everything… and I haven’t stopped. I’m not alone. The consumer photo gear of the 1980s and ‘90s was the gateway drug that hooked countless kids on filmmaking. For this month’s Hacking Film, I reached out to a few different filmmakers to learn what gear got them started and combined that info with a brief history of how consumer camera gear evolved to the point that the distinction between amateur and professional equipment is no longer relevant....

Dive right in to these bold and exciting films and check out the Q&A conversations on YouTube. We’re sure you’ll walk away with more than a few insights for your own filmmaking journey! We have a long list of screenings already in the works for December – check out our calendar and sign up here! SALVATORE: SHOEMAKER OF DREAMS Guests of honor: Luca Guadagnino (director), Dana Thomas (writer) Synopsis: This year’s Spirit Awards nominee for Bones and All and alum for Suspiria and Call Me by Your Name, Italian auteur Luca Guadagnino tracks Salvatore Ferragamo’s life from his humble beginnings in Bonito, Italy, to California, to a storied studio in Florence, Italy....

“We liked the idea of two characters, especially in this particular world of gambling, that could get each other riled up,” said Boden. “By the end of the movie you’re like, ‘Please don’t bet it all. Please don’t do that.’ And to have these two characters who are able to convince each other to keep going in that moment is something that is fun to play with.” Boden and Fleck knew that to create that winning combination, they had to find just the right actors....

The witty and wonderful Iris Apfel captivated the audience at the Bing Theater Monday night, following a Film Independent at LACMA screening of Albert Maysles’ last film, an endearing portrait of her—the one and only Iris, whose grand collection of glorious vintage fashion and unrelentingly flamboyant personal style have made her a beloved and respected figure in the fashion world. KCRW’s Madeleine Brand, who moderated the conversation with Apfel and three of the film’s producers, had no choice but to start off with the inevitable, “What are you wearing?...