Panel Discussion Focusing on the Benefits and Pitfalls of the Newest Online Distribution Models for Filmmakers and Film Watchers
San Francisco, CA -- The San Francisco Film Society will present SFFS Film Arts Forum: Digital Distribution Now,
a panel discussion focused on surveying, advocating and examining the
latest developments in the bold new world of film distribution, 7:30 pm, Tuesday, February 7 at Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street.
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December 2011's Film Arts Forum: Pitch Perfect panel
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It's no secret that online
distribution is changing the shape of the film industry. From giants
like YouTube, iTunes and Netflix to emerging, intriguing platforms like
Fandor, Distribber, Dynamo and Distrify, filmmakers are faced with a
distribution landscape that's evolving daily. As independent film
distribution has changed from DIY ("Do It Yourself") to DIWO ("Do It
With Others" -- i.e., crowdfunding), filmmakers are exploring new ways
to circumvent the middlemen and stream directly to audiences. The latest
SFFS Film Arts Forum will assemble a panel to debate, demystify and
debunk online distribution in all its varying forms. Panelists include
SFFS Executive Director and former consultant to the digital
distribution company SnagFilms Bingham Ray, online pioneer Jenni Olson, film attorney George Rush and filmmaker Tiffany Shlain. SFFS Manager of Filmmaker Education Michael Behrens will moderate.
PANELISTS
Bingham Ray
is the Film Society's newly appointed executive director. Prior to
coming to San Francisco, Ray served as the first run programming
consultant to the Film Society of Lincoln Center, executive consultant
to the digital distribution company SnagFilms and adjunct professor at
New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Before that Ray held two
posts during his three-year tenure at the Los Angeles-based production
company Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, president of Kimmel Distribution
and president of creative affairs; served as president of United Artists
during a period when the company acquired and/or produced many highly
acclaimed films such as No Man's Land, Bowling for Columbine and Hotel Rwanda;
and founded October Films and served as its copresident until its sale
to USA Networks in 1999. Some of October Films's credits include Secrets & Lies, The Apostle, The Celebration, Lost Highway and Breaking the Waves.
Jenni Olson
is director of e-commerce at WolfeVideo.com and one of the world's
leading experts on LGBT cinema history. As a queer media historian,
activist, author and online pioneer Olson has been a longtime champion
of LGBT film and filmmakers around the world. As an experimental
filmmaker, Olson's unique urban landscape films have been shown at film
festivals around the world, and have earned critical and popular acclaim
for their unique storytelling style. Olson's most recent short film 575 Castro St.
premiered at Sundance and the Berlinale in early 2009 and had its local
premiere at the San Francisco International Film Festival. In 1995,
Olson was one of the cofounders of PlanetOut.com, where she established
the massive queer movie resource and database PopcornQ, launched
PlanetOut Online Cinema, the first showcase for LGBT streaming media and
founded the PlanetOut Short Movie Awards.
Since 2000, the law offices of George M. Rush
have provided dedicated legal services to filmmakers in San Francisco
and elsewhere, specializing in the independent film industry. Rush
provides both transactional and litigation services for films, as well
as distribution advisory services on a case by case basis. He is
dedicated to supporting independent filmmakers, stewarding them in the
business and legal issues to make films both commercial and artistic
successes. His clients include producers, directors, screenwriters and
investors in development, production and distribution phases of
filmmaking. Rush recently represented several films at major festivals
including Michael Tulley's Septien (Sundance 2011), Megan Griffith's The Off Hours (Sundance 2011), Sofia Takal's Green (SXSW 2011), Cherie Saulter's No Matter What (SXSW 2011) and Barry Jenkin's Medicine for Melancholy (SXSW 2008). Rush also produces films including his most recent project 4th and Goal, a football documentary directed by Nina Gilden Seavey.
Honored by Newsweek as one of the "Women Shaping the 21st Century," Tiffany Shlain
is a filmmaker, artist, founder of The Webby Awards and cofounder of
the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences. A celebrated
thinker and catalyst, Shlain is known for her ability to illuminate
complex ideas in culture, science, technology and life through her
unique films and her dynamic talks and projects. She delivered a
commencement address at UC Berkeley and her films and work have received
48 awards and distinctions. Her last four films premiered at Sundance,
including her acclaimed new feature documentary, Connected: An Autoblogography about Love, Death & Technology.
Her team at the Moxie Institute is known for their groundbreaking work
combining their films, new technologies, conversational tools and live
events to engage people in new ways. They just have begun a new film
series called Let it Ripple: Mobile Films for Global Change. Shlain is a
Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, a visiting professor at the
University of Wales and a member of the advisory board of M.I.T.'s
Geospatial Lab. She was one of the technology leaders selected to advise
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on role of the Internet in society.
MODERATOR
Michael A. Behrens
runs the Film Society's Film Craft & Film Studies, Film Arts Forum
and Behind the Scenes programs. He has produced, directed, acted and
consulted for theater, film and television for the last 15 years.
Currently, he is in production on two social justice documentary films, My Garbage My Neighborhood and The Naked Company. Kuro 2010 and Climate Change 2009,
produced by Behrens, have screened at festivals around the world.
Behrens holds an MNA in nonprofit administration from the University of
San Francisco and a BFA in acting from the University of Idaho.
SFFS
Film Arts Forum is the Film Society's bimonthly information-sharing,
discussion, networking, professional development jamboree. It's an
opportunity for local filmmakers and cineastes to meet one another and
talk about their craft. SFFS gets the conversation started with dynamic
presentations, topical panels, works-in-progress screenings and trade
secrets. It's an entire conference in the span of a few hours.
Tickets $7 for SFFS members, $10 general. Box office now open: online at sffs.org and in person at San Francisco Film Society Cinema, 1746 Post Street (Webster/Buchanan).
San Francisco Film Society
Building
on a legacy of more than 50 years of bringing the best in world cinema
to the Bay Area, the San Francisco Film Society is a national leader in
exhibition, education and filmmaker services.
The
Film Society presents 365 days of exhibition each year, reaching a
total audience of 130,000 people. Its acclaimed education program
introduces international, independent and documentary cinema and media
literacy to more than 15,000 teachers and students and presents 120
classes and workshops annually. Through the filmmaker services program
essential creative and business services, and funding totaling millions
of dollars, are provided to deserving filmmakers of all levels.
The
Film Society seeks to elevate all aspects of film culture, offering a
wide range of activities that engage emotions, inspire action, change
perceptions and advance knowledge. A 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, it
is largely donor and member supported. Patronage and membership provides
discounted prices, access to grants and residencies, private events and
a wealth of other benefits.
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