Energized Films

2008-12-02T11:03:00.001-05:00

Happy Holiday Season to one and all.

Here are the big items of the moment:

Firstly, I am finally practicing what I preach and will be including my personal short films in the Reframe Collection (www.reframecollection.org). A link to the page will most likely appear in the next newsletter. There is a process involved, and thanks to the kindness and patience of my previous collaborator, writer Carl Kelsch, I have been getting all the technical deliverables together to move forward. Room Tone (2002), my first directing project, and Bench Warmers (2005) have gotten positive feedback in the past so perhaps someone I do not know can find use for them as well. There will also be a compilation DVD of 4 shorts that will include these two plus Writing on the Wall, and Open Shutter, films I am excited about the opportunity of getting out more.

I am now officially a member of the American Library Association, and of the Video Round Table within ALA, and I am very happy about it.

The Reframe Collection is also looking for bloggers and curators from colleges and universities to provide each other peer-reviewed media that they have found useful. If you are interested in participating in such a venture, contact Teri Tynes at teritynes@hotmail.com. Tell her I sent you. She is good people and very open to ideas.

Reframe is sending me to the Mid-Winter conference of the American Library Association in January, which will take place in Denver. If you or anyone you know will be attending, I would love to connect with them. I have been asked by my brilliant friend Tom Ipri to talk about indie film and distribution at one of the meetings so I am looking forward to more interaction on this subject.

“Events” and film-specific announcements tend to thin out as the year comes to a close but I am extremely happy to report that The Gillian Film will be screening at the conference of Idaho Parents Unlimited, Inc, January 13-16 of 2009. The subject of the film, Gillian, and her mother/filmmaker Joanne Hershfeld, will be in attendance to speak with the film. You can learn more about the film by going to www.TheGillianFilm.com and the conference by going to www.ipulidaho.org.

Shooting People recently requested I write a blog for their tools section about non-theatrical distribution, so here is the first part of that essay. I hope you find it useful:

http://shootingpeople.org/tools/2008/12/01/a-primer-on-non-theatrical-distribution-part-1/

Thanks very much for your interest in independent film. As usual, you are welcomed to pass this on to whomever you wish, and if you would like to get knocked off the list, please tell me so gently.

With warm regards,

Rachel

Connecting indies to community - October 2008

2008-10-29T21:28:00.001-04:00

Hello Folks! Tons of interesting news…it has been a busy fall. This may not be as eloquent as usual because I am going to concentrate more on substance than language, but so many wonderful things have been going on that I think these things will speak well for themselves.

I produced, and am in the process of releasing, the new DVD by filmmaker Alice Elliott (The Collector of Bedford Street) called Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy, which chronicles a grand experiment in independent living for two disability advocates who have been living interdependently to pursue social action work for 38 years. This film was recently nominated as a Notable Videos for Adults by the Video Roundtable of the American Library Association. There were several screenings taking place this month – which is National Disability Awareness Month. You can find it by going to the following link:

http://www.newday.com/films/body&souldiana&kathy.html - if you are an institution or

http://dianaandkathy.com/purchase/homevideo.php - if you are looking for home video

Creating a DVD was not easy, especially as we were insistent that it have many accessibility features as it was the story of disability advocates that needs to be shared with the widest audience possible. I highly recommend anyone creating a DVD to look into these features – closed-captioning, audio description, and creating talking menus. It provides added value to what you are trying to sell and it also expands the audience you are able to reach. I recently produced and participated in a panel discussion about creating such features on DVDs for NYWIFT and I suggest perusing websites of companies like CaptionMax (www.captionmax.com) to learn more about the process and products that shape the ability to view a film.

In Good Conscience is really starting to make its mark, being reviewed by the Catholic Library Association and in nomination for Video Librarian’s “Best of 2008”. Check out their updated website at: www.ingoodconscience.com

Two of the films I worked with were positively reviewed by Spectrum Magazine, a magazine that provides insight and resources to families with children who have a disability. The Gillian Film was reviewed in their August/September issue and Freedom Machines was reviewed in the October/November issue.

I will be attending more conferences for the Reframe Collection (www.reframecollection.org). I have been asked to talk about independent distribution at a discussion group during the American Library Association Mid-Winter meeting in January (will experience Colorado cold) and have submitted a proposal for a panel discussion at the bi-annual ACRL (Association of College and Research Librarians) in Seattle in March. I am happy and honored to be a part of an apex of independent filmmakers and the communities they hope to have an impact on.

A fiction film I helped produce, called Under the Raven’s Wing will be playing at the Queens Film Festival on November 6 at 10pm! It also screened at the Dark Carnival Festival in Indiana in September. Susie is a really bold filmmaker who I also have the honor to call a dear friend and I deeply admire her for writing and directing a film that doesn’t get boxed into an easily capsulated genre. For more information, go to:

www.undertheravenswing.com

As for personal projects, I began taping the documentary series on homeopathy last month and will continue shooting next month, when I will put the focus on my own health and roll tape at the same time. I will most likely also be taping some of the naturopathy segment when going to Seattle in March.

I hope life is treating you well. As always, if you do not wish to be receiving this newsletter, please tell me gently to go away and if you think somebody else could use it, by all means pass it on.

Connecting indies to community - September 2008

2008-09-03T21:24:00.000-04:00

The summer came and went so quickly that I did not even realize I had the same newsletter in my “draft” folder for 2 months! I hope everyone enjoyed some good weather, or at least was able to relax at some point. And for those in Louisiana, I really hope things are progressing as they should be…

National re-broadcast of Freedom Machines!!!

Freedom Machines – a film I have been helping with outreach for almost 3 years, is getting a national re-broadcast, starting on September 9! You can check your local listings for the times and channels for your area by going to:

http://pov.org/tunein/2008/freedommachines/index.html

Recently, I was asked about digital delivery and independent distribution by a colleague of mine, Laure Parsons, for her new blog “infinicine”. Laure has a lot of impressive experience with distribution and now works with a distributor I hold in high esteem, Zeitgeist Films. I have a great deal of respect for her and I thought you all might be interested both in what she is doing, as well as my thoughts, so here is a link to that article:

http://infinicine.com/2008/08/interview-educational-market-rachel-gordon-energized-films.html

Upcoming Event!

On October 7^th, I will be participating in a panel discussion and screening event – which I also co-produced – for NYWIFT (New York Women in Film and Television). It is about creating accessible/marketable DVDs of films to sell to a variety of audiences. Included in the panel will be Alice Elliott (www.welcomechange.org), Kim McLean (Have, Inc. – www.haveinc.com), Donna Horn (www.captionmax.com) and myself. The panel will be moderated by Liz Ogilvie of Indiepix. I will spread details of cost and location as soon as I have them. If you have ever had questions about how to create a sellable DVD, this is an event to come to!

Also in October, I will be attending the CCUMC conference (Consortium of College and University Media Centers) on behalf of the Reframe Collection, which I can happily report has been getting much in the way of positive buzz since it launched in June. (www.reframecollection.org)

This month (September 22-26) I’m headed for my 3^rd year to the National Media Market (www.nmm.net) where I’ll be screening films from a variety of independent filmmakers.

Thanks for reading, and as always, feel free to pass on as you wish, or tell me to leave you alone if necessary! Also, if there are topics you’d like me to explore, or questions you’d like me to get answered, forward them over and I’ll put them in my next newsletter (which I promise will go back to monthly now that downtime is officially over).

Connecting indies to community - June 2008

2008-06-19T10:38:00.001-04:00

The most exciting adventure on the horizon is that I will be attending the annual conference of American Library Association in Anaheim, California from June 27-July 2. I am representing the newly launched Reframe Collection – www.reframecollection.org – which is a venture from the collaboration of Renew Media and the Tribeca Film Institute to enable educators and film buffs to explore and obtain films from a variety of sources at the same time. I truly believe this new project will do wonders to not only bring out some wonderful content that could have been forgotten but to also make it easier for people to obtain materials on a variety of subjects without going through an insane amount of websites. You can read more about the venture in this recent New York Times article:

Films With Limited Release Find a Home on the Web
By MICHAEL CIEPLY
The Tribeca Film Institute is joining Amazon.com to create a digital marketplace for films and videos that have been unavailable through conventional retail and Web outlets.

I will be also be attending the National Media Market again this year, which runs September 22-26, bringing independent films to educators from across the country.

As for current screenings of the films that I work with:

Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy is screening at the annual meeting of the Society of Disability Studies today, June 19, 2008. I will be there to represent the film. Read more about it by visiting http://dianaandkathy.com

Freedom Machines will be playing at the Assistive Technology Cluster Conference July 29-31 in Texas. You can find out more about the film by visiting www.freedommachines.com

I’ve been slowly starting to help out with a brand new disability inclusion film as well called The Key of G, which shows how a group of artists in San Francisco take care of a young man with disabilities so that he can maintain an independent life outside of an institution. You can read about the film by going to www.lateral-films.com

Future speaking event:

I am co-producing a panel discussion with NYWIFT (New York Women in Film and Television) that will discuss how filmmakers can produce accessible, marketable DVDs. The event is to take place September 18, 2008 and fellow panelists will include filmmaker Alice Elliott, a representative from Have, Inc. - the authoring company of her new DVD, and a representative from an agency that creates disability accessibility features for media. More details will be revealed as I have them.

Filmmaking Projects

I am also going ahead with my own film projects. I’ve started to request and gather headshots for a short video I intend to shoot towards the end of year, written by my brilliant friend/colleague Nadine Graham. It’s called In the Family Way and focuses on familial expectations.

The documentary series I’ve been developing on alternative medicinal routes is still in the works and I will begin to travel and film doctors and educational institutions this summer. Many people have thrown some fantastic ideas for coverage my way, and for that I’m very grateful.

I hope that the summer is treating you all well, and as usual, if you think information in this newsletter is useful to anyone, please feel free to pass it on. If you wish to be taken off this list, please let me know that as well.

Thank you for your support of independent films.

Connecting indies to community - March 2008

2008-03-21T21:53:00.001-04:00

Good news all around this month. I was waiting to get confirmation on some things before sending this out, so it’s a little late, but I think it’s exciting enough…

First a slight personal plug - My film got a nice mention in the lead critic’s blog for the Gasparilla Film Festival! It was not only great to see it on a real screen with my mother & stepfather (who flew down for the occasion) but also to share that with my grandmother and one of her oldest friends: http://blogs.tampabay.com/movies/2008/03/time-to-resurre.html

The most important announcement of all is that I will be heading to the enormous annual American Library Association (ALA) conference taking place in Anaheim, CA in June to help educate librarians about the renew re:Frame venture organized by Renew Media - which has recently partnered with Tribeca Film Festival to become the Tribeca Film Institute. You can read more about their new venture at www.TribecaFilmInstitute.org, it’s quite a massive project and I’m really impressed with what they’ve accomplished.

The Gillian Film screened at the Reaching New Heights Conference sponsored by the Developmental Disabilities Training Institute in North Carolina. www.TheGillianFilm.com.

Freedom Machines is being shown at the Assistive Technology Expo in North Dakota and I’ve also just received word that it will be part of programming at the National ADA Expo in St. Louis, Missouri. www.FreedomMachines.com

Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy played at the Cleveland Film Festival. More upcoming screenings include Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, during which we’ve also got a community screening sponsored by the Arc of Orange County, and Atlanta Film Festival. http://dianaandkathy.com.

Vito After has been programmed into the Rochester/High Fall Film Festival, taking place from April 30-May 5. www.vitoafter.com.

Mention in critic's blog for Gasparilla!

2008-03-15T19:09:00.002-04:00

Steve Persall, the lead film critic for the St. Petersburg Times in Tampa, Florida had these kind words to say (including "delightful") about Loose Ends:

http://blogs.tampabay.com/movies/2008/03/time-to-resurre.html

Check it out!

Connecting indies to community - February 2008

2008-02-06T18:50:00.001-05:00

This has been quite the pleasantly hectic month for the indie film world I've been cultivating and I have a bunch of exciting news to share:

Absolutely Safe had a theatrical premiere at the Museum of Fine Arts on January 27^th & January 31^st. It was also mentioned in the New York Times January 17^thin an article about breast implants. www.absolutelysafe.com

Freedom Machines will be playing at the Peak Parent Conference in Colorado tomorrow -- February 15^th, and presented by a wonderful self-advocating mother and son. You can look up the conference by going to www.peakparent.org, and you can see more about the film by going to www.FreedomMachines.com.

Body & Soul is playing at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival on February 18^th. Also, Alice's previous film, The Collector of Bedford Street was included in an article in The Jewish Week News about films that deal with disability inclusion. You can read about Alice's films at www.welcomechange.org. The article can be found here: http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c36_a3543/News/New_York.html

Vito After received a very positive review from Educational Media Reviews Online:

http://libweb.lib.buffalo.edu/emro/emroDetail.asp?Number=3076. You can read more about the film by going to www.vitoafter.com.

In Good Conscience will be showing at the Rainbow Center of the University of Connecticut at Storrs on February 26. Filmmaker Barbara Rick will be there for a Q&A. Her film will also be playing as part of the Blue Wave Film Festival on March 16 in Montclair , New Jersey . www.ingoodconscience.com

On a personal note, my short film Loose Ends has been programmed into 3 different film events in the month of March and I'll be going to all of them! It will be playing at the Gasparilla Film Festival - www.gasparillafilmfestival.com in Tampa, Florida on March 1, which is very exciting as I have family down there. My grandmother gets to see my name on a real film screen! Then it shows (but they don't have times up yet) at the Kent Film Festival - www.kentfilmfestival.org, followed by a screening with a Q&A at the Emerging Filmmakers Series at the Little Theatre in Rochester, New York on March 31.

In an exciting experiment, the filmmaker collaborative New Day Films has decided to attempt streaming their films for 14-day trials on a new website - www.newdaydigital.com. This is a test, and depending on the response, the catalog for it could grow.

Doing it for yourself!

As for an article, I'm happy to say that Peter Broderick (whom I do not know and who does not realize I am doing this but hopefully wouldn't mind) wrote an article for Nov/Dec issue Documentary magazine that reflects how I've felt since beginning to work with independent filmmakers individually - that it is possible to get your film out on your own to people who care to see it. You can read his cheerleading article by going to: http://www.peterbroderick.com/writing/page19/page19.html

Thanks, folks, and be sure to spread this around to anyone of interest!

Best,

Rachel

Connecting indies to community - January 2008

2008-01-01T18:59:00.006-05:00

Hello everyone and welcome to 2008!

As many of you might realize, the end of the year tends to be fairly slow, so I didn't want to toss a newsletter into the internet universe that people would only ignore in a rush for that special gift, or drink.

I can report, however, that I am now assisting with the following new film:

www.blinddogfilms.com/twisted/index.html - Twisted, a new film (which aired on PBS) that deals with the rather difficult disability - acquired and genetic - of Dystonia, a neurological problem that results in your muscles doing something different than you thought you were telling them to do.

Alice Elliott's film Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy continued the festival route this month, where it played the Palm Springs Film Festival. It was also the co-recipient of this year's TASH Image Award. You can communicate with the subjects, Diana & Kathy, by visiting http://dianaandkathy.com and learn more about Alice's work as a whole by www.welcomechange.org.

On a personal front, my latest short film - Loose Ends - will be playing in the Emerging Filmmakers Series run at the Little Theatre of Rochester, on March 31, so that's very exciting. There is a short Q&A afterwards, so that is always a wonderful experience. If you know anyone in that area, spread the word!

Instead of doing an article this month, as I did for my first mass email in November (which I will continue but nothing has been that serious/deep focused this year yet outside of primaries), I thought I would share 2 bits of interesting information.

The first is simply funny and a nice difference from your normal spam. One of my previous roommates, and a talented cinematographer I have worked with several times, have teamed up to “live in IKEA” for a week. Yes, you read that correctly. It's worth a moment's distraction. Seriously, go to www.MarkLivesinIkea.com.

The second is that I came across a notice in another listserv that I thought people might want to contribute to. I must state that I do not know this person and they have not asked me to include this. I merely read it and thought it a good cause:

Dr. Edna Tulloch, Director of the Bio-Ethic Family Living Institute based in Atlanta , GA runs/hosts a public access TV show called 'Re-education in the 21st Century.' Her hour long show focuses on alternative education systems and methods. She is in danger of losing her show after a number of years, as she is in need of content. Is anyone out there looking for a venue to screen material?
Please contact:
Charlotte Ingles, CEO - PTV Inc.
Phone number - 404-873-6712 ext. 201

In conclusion, as a wonderful, productive new year begins, please feel free to pass this on to anyone you think could find use for the information provided in these monthly emails. Also, if you ever want a previous newsletter sent to you (so far there has only been one) I also keep copies.

Thanks very much and hope you had a fantastic holiday season!

Best,

Rachel