Blog-o-STIFF

Experience! STIFF 8

Every year we come up with a clever tag line to promote the festival. Classics such as ‘The 5^th year is wood’ & ‘Get Lucky! STIFF 7’ have served us well in the past but this year we wanted to take ourselves a bit more seriously. In the past seven years we have taken for granted that it was hard to find the types of films we feature in other places. There are quite a few film festivals in the area that are great at promoting their niches and we feel we have done justice to the true independent filmmaker.

STIFF was started after the founders made a feature film called ‘Swamper’. ‘Swamper’ was made by a group of friends without a lot money, industry connections, fancy equipment or access to established actors. The filmmakers also wanted to explore alternative subject matters such as drug use, graphic violence and the sex trade. I know the story goes that because the film was not accepted in SIFF the team decided to start their own film festival out of spite. The reality is that the other mainstream established film festivals were not interested in the film either. The filmmakers found other filmmakers creating films under similar circumstances and they were receiving the same lack of interest at the established festivals.

STIFF was started to embrace these films. True independent means the films are financed independently often from the filmmaker’s savings, credit cards, friends and family but also that the subject of the film is created independently without regards to fitting in to established genres or offending the mainstream audiences. These days with the proliferation of film festivals and the internet true independent films are much more available to the general public. Thousands of films are posted to the internet all throughout the year and can be watched in the comfort of your own home without charge.

This year we feel the need to give you more than just great True Independent Films. We still will be sifting through hundreds of submissions picking out the best examples. In addition we want to provide you with a real experience when you see a film at STIFF. An experience you just can’t get at home.

The first few years of STIFF the organizers were amazed that filmmakers from other parts of the country would pay their own way to travel to Seattle to attend STIFF and their screenings. In the last seven years we have hosted filmmakers from all over the US as well as Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia. This year we expect 70% of the films to be represented by Directors, Writers, Cinematographers, Producers and Actors. We conduct Q&A sessions after the screenings giving the audience the opportunity to engage the filmmakers in a way impossible when you watch from home. Most of the filmmakers spend several days at the festival giving our audience opportunities for more in depth conversations.

 A lot of festivals have big name filmmakers in attendance but feel the need to keep the general public at a distance. STIFF is all about independent filmmakers networking and learning from each other and we invite the general public and fans of independent film to be part of the conversation. We offer no VIP access so everyone has a chance to mingle freely and meet the filmmakers whose films you admire. If you are the shy type and would like an introduction just let us know and we will be happy to make it happen.  New this year is our late night happy hours. Every night (Except opening and closing night because you are invited to STIFF parties) the STIFF staff will invite you to join us for a late night happy hour at our favorite spots for bargain price food and drinks. Seattle is famous for its happy hours and we will show you some of the best. Our hope is that film talk will go on late into the night.

As our festival has grown Clint out founding Director insisted on keeping the all access passes at  only $50.00. Even as we added days, additional venues, more films, bigger parties and special events Clint still kept the passes at $50.00. This year there is a lot of pressure from rising expenses and we have had to make a very tough decision. This year we will continue to offer the passes at $50.00 ($45 though our Kickstarter) but limit the quantity to only 100 so don’t wait until the last minute to get you pass.

9 Days of True Independent Film, Discussion, Networking, Parties, Food and More. May 4-12 2012

Experience !STIFF 8

 

Please Welcome Will Chase as STIFF 2012 Programming Director

When I found out the Spencer Fornaciari, due to his work schedule, would not be able to commit to the role of Programming Director I immediately thought of Will Chase as a replacement.  Will and I have worked together on several projects over the last four years and just this summer spent 20 days over in Eastern Washington working on Kris & Lindy Boustedt’s ‘This is Ours’. It was a bonding session for everyone involved but Will & I spent quite a bit of time together back set and we took on the role of Camp Counselors for the rest of the cast & crew setting up river tubing excursions and a camping trip for the entire cast & crew on our one day off.

Will is even more involved in the Film Community than I am and he recently made a full time commitment to the lifestyle leaving his day job and creating his production company MemeBlast Media. Will has been involved with STIFF as a filmmaker on a steady basis with multiple films in the festival for the last 3 years as an Actor and Producer so I am confident he understands our mission and will do everything possible to push it forward.

The Role of Programming Director sounds very glamorous but really requires a lot of coordination and hard work to make the process run smooth. We have put together a team of 30 programmers and screeners for him to manage and so far have received almost 250 submissions.  We still have some time to submit and expect at least 250 more films. If you are still thinking about submitting now is the time. Don’t forget local films submit free (Use waiver code INDIEWASH for films shot in Washington State). 

Spencer will continue to serve on the STIFF Board of Directors and help out as much as he is able with this year’s festival and hopefully into the future.

Also we are running a Kickstarter Fundraising Campaign to raise funds to get the festival up and running this year. We have opportunities for Sponsors Big and Small. Please take a look and help out if you can.  

 

Report from the 2011 American Film Festival

The 2nd Annual American Film Festival was held Nov 15th - 20th in Wroclaw Poland. Wroclaw was a German town before WWII and even though most of the buildings were destroyed during the war it was rebuilt to look like it did before the war and still retains its German architecture and charm.  AFF is the sister festival to the New Horizons International Film Festival that also takes place annually in Wroclaw in July and is in its 11th year.

Opening night featured Todd Solondz’s ‘Dark Horse’. Todd was scheduled to attend but due to the weather his flight was delayed and he did not arrive until the next day. AFF showed his almost complete retrospective (His first feature film ‘Fear, Anxiety & Depression’ is not available for public viewing.) Todd was available for Q&A sessions after most of his screening and I caught a few of them. His Q&As are very honest and gave me some excellent insight on this very accomplished filmmaker.

I really enjoyed getting to know Clay Jeter (Jess + Moss) and Matthew Lessner (The Woods) and hearing about there year since premiering their feature films at Sundance last January. Clay is the first filmmaker I have met that did not have a previous film in Sundance or any influential contacts to help him get in. He just made an interesting film and went through the standard submission process. Its is also interesting both CLay & Matthew are planning future projects but neither have sold their films for big money or been chased after by investors interested in financing their next films.

The festival also featured a new program called ‘Gotham in Progress’. The organizers selected 11 American films and screened rough cuts to European industry professionals with the goal to match European Sales agents and Finishing Houses with the American Filmmakers to provide funding to finish sound mastering, music rights, titles, color correction etc. I was able to sit on on several of the screenings. I am not allowed to write about them but I pretty much guarantee you will be hearing about them as they make their way through the festival circuit over the next year. A list of the films is available here- http://www.blackrabbitfilm.com/gotham-in-progress/2011-selection/. Next year they are planning on doing it again. If you have a film that can use the finishing funds it is well worth submitting (this year there was no submission fee).

The awards for best Narrative & Best Documentary were selected by the audience. 'Somewhere Tonight' Directed by Michael Di Jiacomo and featuring John Turturro won a $10,000 prize for Best Narrative. The film was made as a tribute to Director Theo Van Gogh and for a film where the two main characters never meet in person is able to keep the audience’s attention with its deep character development. ’Sing Your Song’ Directed by Susanne Rostock won the award for Best Documentary and a $5000.00 prize. The films is about the political and social activism of Harry Belafonte. The same day Susanne also received word the film had been short listed for the Academy Award.

My highlight was being able to be a part of the World Premiere for Joe Swanberg’s ‘Caitlin Plays Herself’. I was able to conduct the Q&A for the second showing of the film with Joe & Caitlin. The festival features a Retrospect of 10 of his films. Joe did Q&As for most of his screenings and he does some of the most entertaining Q&As I have ever seen. Joe will be teaching a Masterclass at the Northwest Film Forum on January 11th that I highly recommend http://nwfilmforum.org/live/page/workshops/85 

American Film Festival

While the STIFF programming team is busy screening films I am taking some time to travel and check out some other film festivals. I just arrived in Wrocław, Poland for the 2nd annual American Film Festival. The American Films Festival is a sister festival to the New Horizons Film Festival that has been happening here since 2001 and features and international program. The American Film Festival features a mix of classic American Films and Polish Premiers of American films that have had an impact on the international film festival circuit over the last year as well as the world premiere if the Joe Swanberg film "Caitlin Plays Herself". Joe Swanberg, Todd Solondz, Terrence Malick and Billy Wilder are all receiving retrospective screenings. AFF also has a strong Documentary section including Errol Morris's "Tabloid" and "Page One: a Year Inside the New York Times". Seattle ties include "The Oregonian" in which STIFF Programmer Meredith Binder has a small role, Amy Seimetz from the Seattle film "The Off Hours" is expected to be in attendance and "Holy Rollers" a Documentary about Gambling Card Counting Christians from Seattle with Seattle resident Dusty Wisniew featured in the film is expected to attend. I am here because my good friend Urszula Sniegowska is the Director of Programming. She attended STIFF last year while she was in Seattle for SIFF. She has promised me a chance to do a Q&A with Joe Swanberg, I will let you know how it and the rest of the festival turns out.

Sponsor a Filmmaker

Every day during our submissions period we receive requests from filmmakers that would like to be a part of our festival.

They tell us a little about themselves and their film. They usually include a link to the films website and often an online trailer.

The only problem is they have spent all of their funds making their film and have nothing left for the submission fees. Sometimes their films look amazing and we would like to be able to waive the fee but we just can't do it. We already offer to all Washington State Filmmakers free submissions. STIFF, like most film festivals, relies on the fees we collect during the submissions process to  operate our festival so we need to keep collecting the fees from out of state filmmakers. It really would not be fair to collect fees from some of these filmmakers and give others a free pass.

This is where you can come in and make a difference. Please sponsor a filmmaker. You can sponsor a filmmaker for only $45.00.

Sponsors will receive the emails we get from filmmakers asking for fee waivers (one email per day until you pick a film).

When you find a film you like, let us know and we will let the filmmaker know that you are sponsoring their submission fee and give them instructions on how to submit.

The film will still have to go through our Programming Team. Film are watched by at least 3 members of our screening team. We can't show every film submitted and are forced to reject more than half of the films submitted each year.

If we do accept the film you are sponsoring we will let you know and invite you to be a VIP at our opening night party and provide you 2 tickets for the screening during STIFF (travel and lodging not included).

If the film is not accepted we will still invite you to our opening night party and get you two tickets for the film of your choice at our festival.

STIFF is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit so we can provide you with a receipt for your donation which may be tax deductible (consult your accountant if you need more info).

Please contact timv@trueindependent.org to be a Sponsor or let me know if you would like more details.

Internship Opportunity with STIFF

STIFF is looking for an intern to help us with the festival this year. The internship is approx 10 hours per week from November 1st through May 12th. The intern will work directly under the STIFF Programming Director. The intern will attend weekly meetings with programming and festival staff, pick up DVDs from our PO box and log them into the Withoutabox system, be involved with filmmaker notification & correspondence, help plan & organize fund raising & events, distribute programs & posters to area businesses and other event planning duties as they arise. We would like you to be in attendance during the festival in May but we will keep your duties to a minimum to allow you to network with filmmakers and enjoy the festival. We are looking for someone that has an interest in pursuing film as a career but you are not required to be currently enrolled in a film program. Must be over 18. Please contact timv@trueindependent.org and compose a brief statement on why you would like pursue film as a career. STIFF is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and has an all volunteer staff so this is an unpaid position.

STIFF is looking for film Screeners

This year we are expecting to receive over 500 films for consideration. We take the process of screening films very seriously and it takes a very dedicated team to find the best films out of the bunch that we can present to our fans. We are looking for a few enthusiastic individuals to add to our team. We would like you to be able to watch a feature and 3-4 short films each week. Films are watched by at least 3 members of the team so don't feel like to need to be an experienced film critic to contribute. We would like you to attend 2 meetings per month between December and April so we would like you to be in the Seattle area. STIFF is a volunteer organization so there is no pay but we offer the opportunity to see cutting edge independent films before the general public, each screener gets 2 all access passes to the festival, be special guest at all STIFF parties and a STIFF T-Shirt. Please write a statement of why you would make a great screener and also your main area of interest (Narrative, Shorts, Documentaries, Horror, Animation, Comedy, etc.) Please apply to contact@trueindependent.org

STIFF 2011 Award Winners

Congratulations to the STIFF 2011 Award Winning Films

 

Film Challenge- David Falcon Ayala

 

Animation- Stanley Pickle (Dir Vicky Mather)

Runners Up- Sharfik (Dir Karina Gazizova) & Medusa (Dir Nick DiLiberto)

 

Student Film- Amanda (Dir Michael Tanner Cusumano)

Runners Up- A Lutefisk Western (Dir Eric Carlson) & Borderless Sky (Dir Sahar shakeri)

 

Most Kickass- Spaceship Terror (Dir Harry Tchinski)

Runners Up- The Right To Bear Arms (Dir Oliver Tuttle) & Rat Rod Rockers (Dir D.A. Sebasstian)

 

Audience Award- Breakfast of Champions (Dir Casey Chinn)

Runners Up- A Perfect Life (Dir Chad Ruin) & The Beekeepers (Dir Bryant Mainord)

 

Best Short- Mouth Babies (Dir Lisa Duva)

Runners Up- Connect To (Dir Sam Nuttmann) & AppleBox (Dir Rick Page) 

 

Best Documentary- Scrapper (Dir Stephan Wassmann)

Runners Up- Superheroes (Dir Michael Barnett) & The Bellman Equation (Dir Gabriel Bellman)

 

Best Narrative Feature- The Sandman (Dir Peter Luisi)

Runners Up- A Perfect Life (Dir Chad Ruin) & White Whale (Dir Dave Paige)

 

 

Opportunity for American FIlmmakers to connect with European Distributors

Gotham in Progress brings the best new US indie films to Wrocław in November Cannes, Monday, May 15th, 2011 For immediate release GOTHAM IN PROGRESS, a two-day market event targeted at American independents and European buyers will take place in the scope of American Film Festival in Wrocław, in the south-west Poland, in November. An initiative by New York and Paris based Black Rabbit Film is co-organized by New Horizons Association (organizer of the AFF, and the largest Poland’s International Film Festival – Era New Horizons FF) with the support of City of Wrocław and Polish Film Institute. GOTHAM IN PROGRESS is the first industry event devoted to US-indies in Europe. GOTHAM IN PROGRESS’ main focus is on the completion and European distribution of American indie feature films at the post-production stage. The organizers believe that even though there is a great artistic and cultural potential in American indie movies very few find their way to European audiences. We think that improving the presence of those works in European markets would lead first to a better comprehension of the diversity and wealth of the American culture and people and then to a deeper intercultural dialogue between Europe and the USA. The objective of GOTHAM IN PROGRESS is to gather European buyers and professionals (distributors, sales agents, festival managers, etc.) in order to expose them to a selection of American independent feature films at the post-production stage. This get-together will offer US independent feature films marked by the stamp of singularity and independence the opportunity to exist at European festivals and European cinemas through meetings with movie professionals. Members of the different links in the chain leading to the release of these films will be invited to discover them in ideal conditions with the objective to make a decisive contribution towards the success of these projects. The organizers offer a place of direct exchange with professionals as the stepping stone towards reaching new audiences. The event will take form of two days of intense exclusive screenings (behind closed doors, for the registered guests only) and one-to-one meetings on November 17-19, 2011. We aim to invite 30 key figures in European acquisition business and offer flights and luxurious hotel in the historical city of Wrocław for 10 producers and/or filmmakers from the US who wish to present their projects in the near-to-completion stage (feature length). Besides GIP will present a number of works-in-progress as 20-minutes presentations. Besides the deals resulting from the meetings our sponsors XDC and Studio l’Equipe offer post-production services to the best projects of GIP. Deadline for entries is September 15. The projects accepted and a list of buyers/co-producers present will be announced October 1,, 2011 onwww.americanfilmfestival.pl and www.blackrabbitfilm.com. Contact: Adeline Monzier/ Isabelle Obadia info@brfilm.com or Ula Sniegowska, AFF Director of Programming ula@snh.org.pl +48 602 316 900 Besides, the second edition of American Film Festival to take place in Wrocław on November 15-20 – the only film event in Central Europe focused on American cinema – will include two competitive sections for narrative and documentary features premiering in Poland (with audience awards of cash prizes of $10,000 and $5,000 respectively) and  retrospectives of (Polish-born) Billy Wilder and Joe Swanberg – a prolific talent of mumblecore. Contact: Ula Sniegowska, AFF Director of Programming ula@snh.org.pl +48 602 316 900

American Film Festival aff@snh.org.pl www.americanfilmfestival.pl © Stowarzyszenie Nowe Horyzonty 2011

 

2011 STIFF Schedule Unveiled

Sorry for the technical delays in getting our schedule online but we are finally ready to announce the film lineup for this year's festival. Tickets sales will begin early next week so stay tuned for an announcement about that.

We hope to see you at the festival and check back for further updates as things draw near.