It happens to me every year right after the Raindance Film Festival and British Independent Film Awards I overhear and read a lot of terribly misleading and inaccurate information about the state of independent cinema.
What annoys me is that these negative comments are generally from know-it-alls who spend their time flirting around film festivals and never actually do anything except whine and complain.
Allow me to debunk the common misconceptions.
1) Distribution Deals Are Dead
Wrong – all the deals and more are there waiting to be had if your film follows the basic simple rules: that it tells a story, that it is reasonably priced, that you have cleared all the rights, especially the music rights, and if you have proper marketing materials. All films have an income potential. The trick is to ascertain what that income is, and then make your film for less.
At this year’s 30th Raindance Film Festival we saw an average of one in three of the 100 features shown get offers of distribution. One film had five offers, each one for well in excess of their production budget.
2) Best Filmmakers Have the Best Social Media Presence
Wrong – usually the best social media experts have the best social media presences – and ever so occasionally, one of them makes an average-at-best movie that grabs all the headlines. These debut filmmakers suddenly find themselves thrust under the glare of publicity everywhere from SXSW to Sundance to Cannes where they espouse their ‘secrets’ – usually never to make a film again.
3) Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity prove no budget movies can make a fortune
Wrong – both Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity had zillions of marketing dollars behind them. Which proves that any product, movie or otherwise, will be a commercial success if the marketing nous and budget is behind it.
4) Cult Status is earned
Wrong – it is manufactured. The success artists are the ones that learn how to tell anyone and everyone that they are outstandingly talented geniuses. And they learn to do it in a way that the gullible public mops up.
5) Conventional Wisdom No Longer Applies
Myths arrive from sweeping generalisations, as above, and show a common form of weak logic. Filmmakers who approach filmmaking with logic instead of blind ambition or emotion will be better placed to avoid the mythology surrounding the film industry.
Fade Out
As with any new venture, be it artistic or commercial, analyse your research carefully before venturing into a new project. Make certain any assumptions in your business plan are backed with data. Chances are musch better that you will land on your feet after you leap.
Did You Know?
- Raindance Film Festival is considered one of the top fifteen film festivals in the world?
- Raindance has a Higher Education programme offering HND, BA and MA in Filmmaking and Screenwriting?
- Raindance members support indie film, and enjoy a range of benefits
Photo Credit: Bertie Watson
I founded Raindance Film Festival in 1993 because the British film industry was closed, polite, and congratulating itself while shutting new filmmakers out.
I co-founded the British Independent Film Awards in 1998 because British indie film deserved more than a shrug, a pat on the head, and a Tuesday night screening.
Raindance didn’t start as a brand. It started as a rebellion: film training without gatekeepers, a festival without permission, and a community built by filmmakers who weren’t waiting to be invited in.
Later, we took it global: Toronto, Vancouver, New York, LA, Berlin, and Brussels, because independent film doesn’t belong to one city, one class, or one accent.
I’ve produced 700+ short films and seven features, including Deadly Virtues (2014) and ALICE, which won the SXSW Grand Jury Prize (2019) not because someone “discovered” us, but because the work earned its place.
I’ve written three books used by filmmakers worldwide because too many courses taught compliance instead of survival.
In 2009, I was awarded a PhD for services to film education, ironic, given that most of my career has been about tearing down the rules that education insisted you follow.
I don’t believe in waiting for permission.I believe in making work, building systems, and forcing the industry to catch up.
Specialties: Independent Film (the real kind) · Producing · Writing · Film Education · Festivals · Breaking Broken Systems
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