Thanks to our friends over that The Wrap, we bring you some of the most hotly anticipated films of this year’s Cannes:

“Behind the Candelabra” offers a look into the life of original glitterati, Libarace. Director Stephen Soderbergh told the Huffington Post, “We weren’t shy about the relationship. It’s pretty gay, but it’s also really entertaining.” Starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, “Behind the Candelabra” should be a wild glitter-filled ride.

A film getting early award buzz is Alexander Payne’s “Nebraska.” An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize. The film stars Will Forte (of SNL fame) and Bruce Dern.

You might be surprised to hear a Vampire film in this year’s festival but “Only Lovers Left Alive” starring fan favorite, Tilda Swinton isn’t your average Twilight tween-flick. A story centered on two vampires who have been in love for centuries director Jim Jarmusch has been responsible for other Cannes award-winners “Broken Flowers,” “Mystery Train,” and “Stranger than Paradise.”

“Le Dernier des Injustes” directed by Claude Lanzmann chronicles the Theresienstadt ghetto, created by the Nazis to fool observers and hide their real plans for the Jews. Lanzmann is known for his only other film “Shoah” a monumental work documenting the Holocaust.

Based on the true story of Oscar Grant, a young man who was shot to death by police officer Johannes Mehserle at the Oakland, California Fruitvale rapid transit station, “Fruitvale Station” won both the audience and jury awards at Sundance and is posed to be this year’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” The film is directed by Ryan Coogler.

By Scilla Andreen

I’m the founder and CEO of a seven, year old company, a single mother of two and
the daughter of a wonderful, mother with a big personality. I come from a long line
of strong women. My grandmother was queen bee and she ruled with a kind but
iron fist. Every morning I open my emails as if I were opening the days of an advent
calendar. I get so excited to see what the day will bring. I work in an extremely
positive environment and I am mindful at all times to be a good role model. My
friends call me Fortune Cookie. It’s important to me to bring smiles to the faces
of those around me. I can’t help it, after all, I am a woman and we are first and
foremost nurturers.

But I’ve learned the hard way that being a successful business professional that
also happens to be a female has its challenges. I’m not always accepted on the golf
course, in the cigar rooms or even in some of the board meetings. But, I don’t give
in or give up. Being strong is part of the job. I never want anyone to know if I am
feeling vulnerable. Over the years I have learned that being successful means being
confident, holding my ground and having compassion for all. While I strive to be
consistent and fair; I feel I might sometimes be misconstrued as being a bully.

Recently someone shared a horrific review that was posted online recapping what
it was like to work for me. It felt like a swift kick in the stomach. The commentary
was inaccurate and clearly the prose of a dissatisfied employee, but still it made me
stop and wonder if I really did emulate any of the qualities in the letter. Had I come
off as a bully in the workplace? This person didn’t know my story or the reasoning
behind many of my decisions. I in turn didn’t know their whole story because in the
workplace we have to be mindful of the professional boundaries. It’s a challenge.
How do we walk that fine line?

This kind of thinking immediately took me back to middle school and the many
memories I wish I could forget of other girls making me feel terrible, being pushy,
degrading me and being bullies. But, I also remembered, I was no better in that I
didn’t stand up for others when they were being bullied. I was silent afraid to speak
up which is as bad as being a bully because I didn’t do anything to stop it.

Are women born as bullies, or do we learn to be that way?

This is a tough topic to face, but one that I believe is critical to the future of women
in business and women in life. Female bullying cannot and should not be accepted,
or even exist. Yet it does. And it often rears its’ ugly head at the worst times. Can
anything be done to address this? If so how? As role models for our daughters
it must start with us. Is it as simple as acknowledging that we each have a story
and that the most important thing we can do is be kind? Could it be that simple?
Perhaps we shouldn’t be so quick to label and judge others but practice kindness
and compassion.

I’ve made it my personal mission to help create a better world for women. Part of
that mission is to drive awareness about female bullying, as well as offer solutions
for coping with it, and stopping it. For that reason my company has taken on the
task of spreading the word worldwide about this issue with a documentary called
FINDING KIND. FINDING KIND is a 77 minute, award-winning documentary that
takes a provocative look at female bullying through the eyes of children, adults and
even seniors, and the impact it has and will have on their lives.

In the past year FINDING KIND has been screened in over 600 schools and
communities across the nation and just in time for Mother’s Day, FINDING KIND
will make it’s exclusive online debut on my company website at indieflix.com/
findingkind and on the IndieFlix app on Xbox and Roku. I hope you will take the
time to watch this film with friends, family and co-workers and share your own
stories with each other. This film is transformative. I swear you will feel different
the minute you finish watching and two seconds later you can make a difference.

Bullying might just be a survival instinct we all need to work at keeping under
control. Recognizing when it happens and the impact it has on our future female
leaders, mothers, daughters and friends is something we must address.

About Scilla Andreen:
Scilla Andreen (CEO and Co-Founder of IndieFlix) is an award-winning filmmaker,
Emmy-nominated costume designer, and tireless champion of independent
film. Scilla is known as a nurturing disruptor and pioneer in the indie film space.
She is relentless in her mission to help filmmakers translate their artistic vision
into commercial success. Frustrated by complicated and one-sided distribution
deals, Scilla co-founded IndieFlix in 2005 and over the years it has become one
of the most meaningful global online streaming platforms in the industry. Her
latest innovation, the RPM model (Royalty Pool Minutes), jettisons antiquated and
complicated payment systems in favor of refreshing and transparent, simplicity: for
every minute watched, a filmmaker gets paid. Scilla travels the globe speaking to
filmmakers, film festivals and schools. She resides with her two children in Seattle
WA.

About IndieFlix:
For far too long, filmmakers have been forced to either sell out or starve. Thousands
of brilliant, creative minds submit their works to festivals, hoping to find meaningful
distribution yet fewer than 1% actually do. We’re here to level the playing
field. Founded by filmmakers, IndieFlix is part champion, part curator; our mission
is to democratize distribution and provide significant revenue for filmmakers.

Seattle based IndieFlix is a global community of independent filmmakers, film
festivals, film schools and fans. Through its membership-based streaming service,
IndieFlix gives film lovers access to high quality independent movies not otherwise
available. IndieFlix’s mission is to champion filmmakers, rethink traditional
approaches to distribution, and celebrate the artistry and impact of independent
film. Please visit IndieFlix at http://indieflix.com

For the first time ever, due to popular demand, IndieFlix is making the film available to the masses as special Mother’s Day treat.  The film can be seen on IndieFlix.com or through our XBox and Roku Apps. It is the quintessential documentary surrounding the recent rise in cases of bullying among elementary to high school-aged females and is a film to be shared by mothers and daughters alike.

See below for a shareable infographic detailing the effects of bullying and learn more about seeing this nationally acclaimed documentary.

Copy/Paste link to embed or share: http://cdn.indieflix.com/findingkind/fk-infographic-small.jpg

24^th Annual Dusty Film & Animation Festival

SATURDAY, MAY 4 – TUESDAY, MAY 7

SVA THEATRE, 333 W. 23 Street, New York, NY 10011

Producer: Annie Flocco

Co-producer: Meredith Engstrom

 The School of Visual Arts Dusty Film & Animation Festival, celebrating its 24^th year, showcases the work of emerging filmmakers and animators from the Film, Video and Animation Department, launching many of them into their professional careers. More than 3,000 people attend the Dusty Festival, which garners industry-wide recognition and is considered one of the top student film festivals in the country.

Award winners and participants of the Dusty Film & Animation Festival continue to excel in the industry. Rebecca Sugar, 2009 Dusty honoree for Outstanding Achievement in Traditional Animation, is the first woman to create a show for Cartoon Network called “Steven Universe” and was listed in Forbes Magazine’s prestigious “30 under 30 Hollywood” list.

Francesca Coppola, 2012 Dusty winner for Outstanding Short Film and Outstanding Screenplay, recently screened her film, “Flamingos” (trailer below) at MoMA/Film Society of Lincoln Center’s 2013 New Directors/New Films. New Directors/New Films, now in its 42^nd year, has featured some of the world’s most prominent filmmakers including Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Sally Potter and Wong Kar Wai.

Robert Kolodny, 2010 Dusty winner of the National Board of Review Human Spirit Award, recently won the Miro High Speed Challenge for his film “Fly on Out” (trailer below), which he worked on with fellow SVA students Bennett Elliott (2010 Dusty recipient of the New York Women in Film & Television Award), Ian Hoban (2012 Dusty winner for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography), Chris Cazavilan, Phillip Allison, and Justin Van Wie (2010 Dusty Festival participants).

Students’ work has also recently screened at Anthology Film Archives’ NewFilmmakers Short Film Program and appeared in many festivals around the world including; Sundance Film Festival, River to River Festival, Take Two Film Festival, Animation Block Party, Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival, FLIP International Animation Festival, KLICK! Amsterdam Animation Festival, California International Animation Festival, Midsummer Night Toons, HollyShorts Film Festival, Las Vegas Film Festival, Williamsburg International Film Festival and YouTube’s ‘Your Film Festival’.

As this year’s thesis students enter into the home stretch and their projects near completion, we are very excited about the work that will be screening at the 24^th Annual Dusty Festival. We truly believe this year’s festival is going to be our best yet! Enjoy these examples of work and trailers from filmmakers and animators who will be presenting their films at the festival this May.

We would also like to thank all of our 24^th Annual Dusty Film & Animation Festival Headlining Sponsors: AbelCine, Act Zero Films, Adorama Rental Company, AJA Video Systems, Animation Magazine, Avid Technology, Inc., B&H Photo, Bryan Singer, CAVA – SVA Computer Store, Channel Frederator, Emmett/Furla Films, Feature Systems/Kits and Expendables, Foto Care, Ltd, Gotham Sound & Communications, Inc., Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), Machimima, Inc., National Board of Review, New York Women in Film & Television, Nice Shoes, Offhollywood, Rota6, Scheimpflug and SCS Agency, Inc.

For more information visit:

Website: dusty.sva.edu

Facebook: facebook.com/DustyFestival

Twitter: twitter.com/DustyFestival

INDIEFLIX APP IN 6 COUNTRIES

Independent film makes its mark in the mainstream.

LOS  ANGELES  /  SEATTLE  – IndieFlix, the subscriber based streaming service championing independent films, has announced the launch of its new app for Xbox LIVE® on the Xbox
360 ® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand can now watch the IndieFlix library of film festival favorites and curated independent shorts, features, documentaries and web series through their Xbox 360. “We think the Xbox audience ‘gets’ independent film,” says filmmaker Scilla Andreen, IndieFlix CEO
and co-founder. “We believe they’ll love the original content and appreciate the raw creativity of these fiercely independent artists who work outside of the ‘system’ to make the movies they want to make – no need for permission or bowing to someone else’s editorial control. And the breadth of films – 2-minute shorts to full length features; action, animation, zombies, dark comedy, mockumentaries to serious political commentary – will satisfy any appetite.”

The IndieFlix app is being launched in six countries reaching millions of Xbox LIVE subscribers. “The sheer size of the Xbox market catapults indies into the limelight,” says Andreen. “Independent filmmakers will have unprecedented exposure for their work, and indie film lovers will have access to movies from film festivals around the globe.”

The global exposure will also have a financial impact for filmmakers. Explains Andreen, “IndieFlix shares revenue with our filmmakers through our Royalty Pool Minutes model – filmmakers get paid for every minute watched by a subscriber. More members = more revenue for filmmakers = more movies. We’re excited to see the world support independent film.”

The IndieFlix app will feature a rotating collection of movies that can be watched for free on Xbox, in addition to full access through an IndieFlix membership. IndieFlix subscribers using
Xbox LIVE* will simply link their memberships to watch on their home TVs.

About IndieFlix

IndieFlix is a community of independent filmmakers and fans. Through its membership-based streaming service, IndieFlix helps filmmakers translate artistic vision into commercial
success, and gives film lovers access to high quality independent films not otherwise available. IndieFlix’s mission is to champion undiscovered filmmakers, rethink traditional approaches to distribution, and celebrate the artistry and impact of independent film.

Please visit IndieFlix at http://indieflix.com

*Xbox LIVE Gold subscription required and sold separately. For additional details and availability, see http://www.xbox.com/live

As a filmmaker helping filmmakers, IndieFlix got the chance to ask Stathis about his recent success and the ins-and-outs of getting your project crowdfunded.

IF: Why did you choose Indiegogo over Kickstarter?

In our case there wasn’t much of an option, since Indiegogo is the only one of the two platforms that accepts international projects, while Kickstarter is limited only to projects originating from the US or UK.

The two platforms offer practically the same things with minor differences, so for a US or UK based project, to choose between them is a matter of comparing these small differences and see what fits better with the project at hand.

The major thing to be considered if you ask me, is the fee that the platform charges since the exposure you can get from the platform itself, is entirely up to you. You shouldn’t expect a film project to work better on Kickstarter just because it is on Kickstarter. You need to make Kickstarter or Indiegogo take an interest in your project, because it attracts attention, and it attracts attention by your efforts and your efforts only. And when I say “your efforts” I mean your team’s efforts, because it is simply impossible to run a high goal campaign all alone.

IF: Were you nervous setting your goal so high?

Of course I was nervous, but I had a project at hand that could only work if we set the goal high. And since me and the whole team decided that crowd-funding was the best option to fund our project, we really had to make it work, in order for all the consecutive steps to work. We had a lot of determination and knew where we were getting into, because we did a lot of research for almost 10 months before pressing the “Go live” button. This is essential for every campaigner. To look for tips, articles and case studies before he starts anything. The process of funding an independent project is very difficult and tricky on its own, imagine how tricky and complicated it can get when you have to convince hundreds of people of the value of your proposed project. Crowd-funding is difficult. People need to realise that before starting and they need to be prepared to cope with that. In the old times you had to convince one or two key people in order to find funding. Now you have to do the same thousands of times to thousands of people, which need to be convinced to part with their 5 or 100 or 1000 euros, just as the “key” investor would need to be convinced to part with his XXX.XXX euros. But if you are focused and truly believe that what you propose is worth happening, somehow things work out. At least in our case they did. There were huge obstacles, but we never let anything bring our psychology down and we kept on going forward, reaching out to people in any way we could. And it paid off. Now we have a 560+ fan base that funded us and that are part of the project. Together we are so much stronger than if we were alone with a couple of “key” investors. So yes, set your goals high if you believe in what you do. There is no point in settling for less than your actual dream. People respect that.

IF: Did you find anything particularly useful in promoting the Indiegogo? Ie. Using newsletters? Starting with Friends and Family? Etc?

In our research we saw that you start with friends and family, so we started this way. Way before the campaign started, we reached out to very close friends and family members and told them about the project. And this works! If you have a web series with thousands of fans or if you are Michel Gondry maybe it’s not important and you can jump right in, but if you are like us, an independent artists group with no concrete fan base, you really need to start this way! Only when the project acquires a “momentum” do the vast majority of supporters appear. When you are in the 1-20% mark, very few people who don’t know you will make the move and support you and you need to be prepared for that.

Newsletters for example started working very good for us when we were at 40-45% and over. The same with press coverage. We were lucky enough to have huge press coverage in Greece, because we reached out to them one month before the campaign started and they all loved the idea of the project, so a lot of blogs, radio stations and magazines became our media sponsors. But this wouldn’t pay off in actual contributions until the project reached it’s last two weeks.

What really helped and what actually did make people contribute, is reaching out personally. From the 560+ supporters we found, I can say I spoke personally with at least 450 of them, via email, phone or in one of the various presentations we organised. And in order to find this many supporters means we must have spoken to another 1500-2000 persons directly!

There was also a big particularity in our campaign. It was the first ever campaign for a feature film in Greece, and crowd-funding is practically an unknown term here. So we needed not only to promote and present our project, but educate the people at the same time as to what is crowd-funding and why it is something that we all need to know about. If you also take into account the fact that Greece is in it’s worst ever moment of economic and social crisis, you can imagine how hard it was to convince people to give even their 5 euros.

But this is another thing that worked to our advantage. We gave people hope. They saw in the project and in our approach a new way, another way of dealing with art but with life as well. They saw something positive and optimistic in this world of dark clouds and extreme poverty we are living in.

IF: Who was your target donor in raising this money? 

This is another thing that all future campaigners need to consider. Who might be interested in supporting your project. You can’t stand on top of a skyscraper and yell for everyone to hear you, because firstly you don’t have enough energy to do that and secondly, not everyone is interested in what you have to say.

We focused on people and groups that were in one way or another related to ancient drama, cinema, theatre, ancient history, mythology and political activism, since our story is inspired by an ancient myth, and at the same time moves away from all known and established ways of approaching cinema, while at the same time is an open call to artists and audience alike, so we can talk about the crisis. It is a way of taking a personal stance regarding what is happening to our country and to the whole of Europe. So we started contacting all related groups, societies, clubs, communities etc. one month before the kick off of the campaign, presenting them the project and asking to promote it in their circle when it went live. This requires a lot of preparation beforehand, and where the team effort is essential. One person cannot do it. It’s just too much work.

At the same time, because our goal was so high and because we couldn’t possibly predict what the response from the people would be, since it was practically the first serious campaign on Greek soil, we approached specifically people who could contribute larger amounts and that was a whole chapter on its own you might say.

Finally because of my personal relationship with producers, from my background in advertising and documentary filmmaking, I mobilised each and every one of the producers I knew so they would get involved in the project.

I can say that half of the money raised came from these “wealthier” individuals, while their absolute number is less than 20% of our supporters.

IF: Did you hear any response to your Tumblr? Has that been an effective tool in sharing your vision?

Tumblr and Twitter are great tools for promoting your campaign, but unfortunately in our case didn’t do much, because we simply didn’t know how to use them effectively. One thing that really worked is that we built our main web page on tumblr using a customised theme, and created a unique presentation for the project, without spending one euro. Tumblr is great for that. The feedback we got was amazing, everyone loved our main webpage because it was unique, it wasn’t the usual movie website you would expect. But I say again, tumblr can be much more than that if you know how to use it and take advantage of its community.

IF: Did you try anything for the campaign that you found unsuccessful?

This cannot be answered simply. At the beginning of the campaign, we thought that Facebook, newsletters, press and blog coverage was not working because it didn’t translate to contributions. But it wasn’t so, because it helped build an audience that was aware of the project and was following it’s progress. Only much later in the campaign, did it show how useful they all were.

What didn’t work at all was Twitter, but only because we weren’t familiar with it and didn’t dedicate enough time working with it. You absolutely must use twitter and actually you need to have one dedicated person on your twitter account. When we found someone for our Twitter, it was too late, our campaign was practically over. Hopefully now we can continue building our Twitter and engage with people through this channel as well.

As a general rule though, I would say don’t rely on social media and blog coverage alone. You need to actively engage with the people on a personal level. Go out, talk, call on the phone, send personal emails (I have two letters missing in my keyboard as I’m writing this), organise presentations and events. Have a real life contact and presence wherever and whenever possible. We organised many presentations in Athens and have toured all major cities in Greece, setting up presentations in bars, theatres, clubs, wherever we could find friends who would help us organise it. And this really worked. Personal contact. After all, crowd-funding is about building a personal relationship with your audience. You need to get in touch in real life with as many people as you can.

IndieFlix hits up SXSW in Austin, TX to catch up with the latest and greatest indie filmmakers and some familiar faces! Take a look at some of our interviews conducted by IndieFlix’s own CEO, Scilla Andreen from the ROKU LOUNGE.

Director Tim McCanlies dishes about his feature, “When Angels Sing”. The holiday film stars actor/singers Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Harry Connick Jr. and an entire cast of musicians from Austin — a fitting film for placement at the festival!

You may recognize director Alex Winter from his famous portrayal of Bill in “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” or as mulleted-teen-vampire, Marko in cult classic, “The Lost Boys.” Alex’s SXSW doc, “Downloaded,” chronicles the rise and fall of the original P2P website, Napster, and here he chats with Scilla about fitting distribution models for the film.

Director Michelle Savill talks about the semi-autobiographical nature of her film, “Ellen is Leaving.” The film surrounds a girl’s choice to find her boyfriend a new girlfriend as she departs for overseas.

The whole team came together for an interview on the SXSW horror short, “Child Eater.” Premiering at the Reykjavík Film Festival, there is talk of “Child Eater” getting bumped to feature status. Good news for horror fans as this one aims to scare!

The Glasgow Film Festival, the third largest film fest in the UK, is right around the corner and they have recently announced their most ambitious program to date.  This year, the Festival kicks off on Valentine’s Day and will run through the 24th of February.   The Festival will include  368 screenings, panel discussions, live performances and special events. It will take place at 27 different venues spread out across the city.

They have announced lots of exciting and unique programming this year including their The State of Independents strand: “Intensely personal visions, incredibly compelling stories and quirky, funny, cutting-edge, state-of-the-art joy from hot new American indie talent.” Films featured in the strand include ‘Bernie‘, a mockumentary you might have heard of starring famous actor and comedian, Jack Black. Bernie, a true story about a small town murder, is directed by Richard Linklater, famous indie filmmaker and director of a long list of notable titles including Dazed and Confused and Slacker. Other films worth noting are,  ‘An Oversimplification of Her Beauty,’ a complex love story that incorporates animated sequences and winner of Gotham Awards’ ‘Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You.’ ‘Now, Forager’, another film featured in the The State of Independents was nominated for Breakthrough Director at the Gotham Awards: Now, Forager offers sympathetic scenes from a marriage in crisis allied to some of the most beautiful shots of mushrooms ever seen on screen.  You can watch the trailers and see a full list of films featured in the “The State of Independents” strand here.

Also, be sure to check out the Festival’s website, where you can read more about this year’s programming, watch trailers, and buy tickets to attend a Festival not to be missed!

Take a look at the latest…

Jordana Spiro, better-known as her character P.J. Franklin on the TBS series, “My Boys” talks about the short film she directed, “Skin” a Sundance official selection.

Jason Willis and his film, “Catnip: Egress to Oblivion” is proving to be an audience favorite as it uses the genre of 1970s classroom educational films to explore the facts and concerns surrounding catnip and its uses within feline society.

Alvaro Delgado-Aparicio talks about his Sundance short, “The Companion” and the discovery of his most interesting cast member, a talking cat.

Writer and Director, Sophie Goyette talks about her short drama, “Le Futur Proche”. This ambitious short is Sophie’s fifth short film and most personal project.

For festival-goers and those of us following at home it can be hard to know when and where your festival favorites are going to be accessible. IndieFlix FilmAlerts allows you to tag your favorites and get alerts on their availability.

Here are the films I tagged while I was at Sundance, the ones I want to catch up with later on.

IndieFlix CEO, Scilla Andreen FilmAlert List:

Kill Your Darlings
Lifeguard
Austenland
After Tiller
Touchy Feely
Sound City
Don Jon’s Addiction
Lovelace
Google and the World Brain
The Square
The Way, Way Back
The World According to Dick Cheney
May in the Summer

You can tag based on your personal picks or get recommendations from other websites like Kickstarter which has helped to raise over $100 million for independent film. Also, take a look at the best of the festival and tag based on award status. The possibilities are endless — don’t miss out your favorites of festival circuit, after the festival.

Kickstarter Funded Picks:

Boneshaker
I Am Not a Hipster
Charlie Victor Romeo
THIS IS MARTIN BONNER
I USED TO BE DARKER
American Promise
Blood Brother
Linsanity: The Movie
The Cub

Sundance Award-Winners:

Fruitvale
Blood Brother
Afternoon Delight
Cutie and the Boxer
In a World…
Gideon’s Army
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
Mother of George
Dirty Wars
The Spectacular Now
American Promise
Inequality for All
Metro Manila
This is Martin Bonner
Crystal Fairy
A River Changes Course