48-Hour Film Project: Atlanta 2008 Screenings this coming week

This weekend another 48-Hour Film Project kicks off, this time in Atlanta. While the deadline to sign up for the competition has passed, you can see the results of this coming weekend's hard labor during mid-week screenings at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema (the same location where the Atlanta Film Festival is held each year). Screenings begin July 1st at 7 p.m. and resume on the 2nd and 3rd, also at 7 p.m.

The winning team from Atlanta will be invited to attend the Filmapalooza Awards weekend, and will go on to compete in second round competitions. The winning 48 Hour film of 2008 is expected to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

There's no guarantee that all of these films will be good, but if you're looking for the indie-est of the indie films in Atlanta, the 48-Hour Film Project is definitely the place to be this week.

Don't forget to check out the other cities on the 2008 tour -- your chance to shine as a 48-hour filmmaker may be coming soon!

I've long been an advocate of short filmmaking competitions. Even more so than local film festivals, such competitions encourage an interest in filmmaking where traditionally little has existed. 48-Hour is certainly the most prominent example of the form, but newer efforts like Filmmaking Frenzy and Rapid i Movement give hope to the idea that short form filmmaking is the dominion of more than just film school students and web cam dancers.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Couch Fest wants your butt to visit new, exotic sofas

In late September Craig Downing will unveil the inaugural Couch Fest Films, a "cozy shorts film fest" hosted by local homeowners in Seattle. Lucky attendees will be able to stroll from one house to the next, taking in a 30-minute program of shorts at each venue. If you visit every venue, by the end of the day you'll have seen about 200 films at 15 different houses.

I put a battery of questions to Mr. Downing, hoping to learn more about his inspiration and goals for Couch Fest, and I wasn't disappointed.

What's your background in film festivals?

I guess it all started when I pulled the trigger on a super 8 camera only to realize that I had accidently and instantly become a filmmaker. It was such a simple, powerful act and I was hooked. From here, I started working as a volunteer for a couple of super 8 film fests around Austin, Texas. One year, SXSW requested the public to make super 8 trailers for their film fest. Seeing my $15 super 8 SXSW trailer play on a 70 foot screen before films was quite a pivotal moment for me. The following year, I was a screener for SXSW. So, for a while there, I had Jenga stacks of VHS tapes in my living room to review. After I moved to Seattle, I resumed making films and connecting to the film community by teaching at the Northwest Film Forum and volunteering at the Seattle International Film Fest. I still go manic during the Seattle film fest trying to see too many Icelandic films all while surviving on Butterfinger candy bars and Capri-suns.

What was the inspiration for Couchfest?

Honestly, I don’t remember a specific epiphany that produced the idea for Couch Fest Films. Though, I am pretty sure I could have come up with the idea during a crappy job. I have discovered that the crappier the job is for me the harder I daydream. I suspect that the idea of Couch Fest Films came from some deep crappy-job daydreaming. I do know that I have been toying with the idea of actually following through with this film fest for a while. On a personal level, I’ve been thinking about going to graduate school again but, I kind of decided to just save the money and just produce what I wanted to be doing later--but now. I mean, I don’t think currently there is an available internship where a candidate can run a film fest. So, well, I kind of decided to just create that internship myself and then conveniently select me to fill that position. In the end, though, I really just like movies. I like sitting my rump on a good couch. I also like riding my bike to my friends’ houses. So, I figured this Couch Fest Films idea would be a good way to combine all of these elements.

How did you settle on the format? 200 films spread into themes across 15 houses seems awfully specific.

This is a good point. The reality is that the number of themes and number of houses will really be determined by the diversity of the films that smart-thinking filmmakers submit to Couch Fest Films. The goal is to have each house have its own theme for the program that is played at the house. But, if we receive, for example, an overwhelming amount of really great erotic sci-fi films, well, then we may decide to have two houses with this classic film theme.

Do you have your house venues locked down yet?

No, we don’t have all 15 houses yet. Do you have a couch, a TV and a DVD player, Chris? If so, I can sign you up. As of now, we have five houses that are signed up to host. We won’t be able to determine the overall map until we see what houses we have available. I really wanted to have houses spread over the city in all of the different neighborhoods. But, I also want the houses close enough that forward thinking film fest attendees wouldn’t feel rushed to make it to the next house on time.

I am asking residents to open their houses to other lovers of film who happen to also be strangers. This is kind of one of the goals of the fest. I want to see what happens in the community if people start opening up their living rooms in different parts of the city in order to come together to share the excitement of film. I’m aware that this idea is a little cheesy . . . but it would be too easy to just have my friends that live on my street open their houses for this film fest. The goal of Couch Fest Films is to have houses in neighborhoods that we wouldn’t normally think about going to visit. Let alone, walk into a stranger’s house and sit on their couch and watch a film. And, on the flip side, let’s not forget that houses in all different neighborhoods are opening their doors to their living room to complete strangers too. This will hopefully create new relationships, friendships and experiences. I don’t know…maybe I was getting a little a head of myself there. But, that’s the community goal and I am excited to put the pieces next to each other.

I will visit each location before signing them up to host. I will do this mainly to say hello to interested residents but to also confirm that they can accommodate 15 – 20 people in their house.

Why should a filmmaker submit to Couch Fest?

Who wouldn’t want to win the Golden Couch award? Actually, I have been thinking about this. I have obviously looked online and discovered there are so many film fests out there. This wasn’t really a surprise but, I was excited to read about all the different and unique themes. I am hoping that my idea is maybe clever, silly or different enough to draw filmmakers to be a part of this community film fest. Of course, having no submission fees for the chance at $1750 in prize money can’t hurt either.

Filmmakers with short films that are under 5 minutes can submit to Couch Fest Films by August 15th, 2008. There is no submission fee.

YouTube Unveils 'Screening Room' For Free Indie Movies

Good news for indie filmmakers - YouTube is opening its doors to long-form independent films. While it's not quite a free-for-all yet, it does bode well for those filmmakers who want to promote their films by giving them away as streaming video. As discussed previously, making your film readily available to view for free can actually increase your sales. YouTube also plans to sell advertising overlaid on the films, the revenues from which would be split with the filmmaker.

From the Silicon Alley Insider:

YouTube (GOOG) added some new details Wednesday night on its plan to make indie film and other long-form video part of the menu. Namely, a dedicated area within YouTube called "The Screening Room" that will host indie film, and offer tools to help producers build an audience and generate revenue.

YouTube will add four new indie films every two weeks--including some that have appeared in film festivals and others that have never been seen before.

Details on how YouTube plans to make money, or allow famously cash-strapped indie producers to make money, are thin. A press release said "The Screening Room" will include a "Buy Now" button allowing filmmakers to link to Web sites that sell DVDs and digital downloads of their films, as well as what it calls a "high quality" player to watch on the Web.

Read Read the full Silicon Alley Insider article.

Bowling at Cinevegas 2008

Kingpin Suite Party @ Cinevegas 2008, originally uploaded by stomptokyo.

Bowling's a big theme at Cinevegas. The Shoreline Entertainment party was held in the Kingpin Suite (pictured) upstairs at the Palms, and the Gold Coast hotel with its 70+ lanes plays host not only to most of the CV staff during the fest, but also to Filmmaker Bowling night on Wednesday.

More on Cinvegas upon my return to Austin.

Kustom Krispy Kremes at Cinevegas 2008

Kustom Krispy Kremes at Cinevegas 2008, originally uploaded by stomptokyo.

Now that's what I call festival branding.

Cinevegas Day 3

Big day and I'm at a terminal in CVHQ so I won't go on at length, but I will say that Hi, My Name Is Ryan and South of Heaven are the highlights of my Cinevegas experience so far. Ryan is just a charmer of a doc-- go to your local film festival now and insist that they play it. Heaven is the complete opposite (an ultraviolent collision of comic book saturation and noir storytelling), but just as compelling. I've seen Ryan twice in the last two days and will be seeing Heaven again tonight -- I think they will both reward multiple viewings. There's a party tonight at the Palazzo and probably a score of events I don't even know about (like any prestigious festival, Cinevegas grows a halo of unofficial parties and happy hours), but I think I need to return to the unpredictable world of Mad Dog and Nobody before I reach for that first cocktail.

Cinevegas 2008 Day 2

CV08 Happy Hour, originally uploaded by stomptokyo.

As is typical, I haven't left myself much time at the end of the day to write a lot about my day at Cinevegas, so let's do the bullet points:

» Shorts 1 - a lot of good shorts, and among my favorites: "Samantha," "Stars and Suns," and "Goldthwait Family Home Movies." Check out the Cinevegas site for descriptions.

» Last Cup: Road to the World Series of Beer Pong. Standard competition documentary stuff, but a great audience film. At midnight the after-party started up and many of the film's subjects were on hand to school us mere mortals at the sport of beer pong. Great fun.

» Your Name Here - Much respect to Bill Pullman, who pulls off this indirect biopic of / homage to Philip K. Dick with style to spare. If you like your movies messed up, stop right here.

» 10th Anniversary Cinevegas Party - You won't see go-go dancers in body paint at many festivals, but in Vegas it's de rigueur. Traci Lords (one of the co-stars of Your Name Here) lounged on a chaise by the pool, Dennis Hopper made an appearance, and over there -- is that -- Britney Spears? Yes it was and no you could not take pictures.

Pace yourself. There's plenty of festival left.