Years ago the president of the KC Independent Filmmakers Coalition described his job as “trying to teach cats to march.”

We may never get moviemakers to move in lockstep, but perhaps through the efforts of some local film supporters they all might be nudged in the same direction.

That’s the idea behind CinemaKC, a new not-for-profit described by its organizers as an umbrella under which all aspects of the regional film industry can gather to share information and ideas.

CinemaKC will have its first public meeting at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 16 at the Screenland Crown Center.

Read more on the KC Star website.

Visit the Cinema KC website at http://cinemakc.com/.

2008 Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee guest Peter Broderick has just released the latest edition of his e-mail newsletter, The Distribution Bulletin, offering an analysis of the film Lioness.

#13 is available on Peter’s website, peterbroderick.com. Subscribe to Peter’s newsletter.

More information, including specific recommendations for filmmakers from the US Copyright office, is on the International Documentary Association website.

More information is also available on the USC Law website.

Healing through Films Festival was established to utilize the power of film to bring healing, peace and joy to individuals and urban communities. Healing through Films will present films from around the world that highlights triumphs over adversities. We will watch films that touch the heart and transform lives.

Submit your film(s) to The Healing through Films Festival today. The Healing through Films Festival will take place July 16, 2011 in our nation’s capital Washington, DC. To find out how to submit films visit http://www.healingthroughfilms.com/entry.

You may remember us as The Independent Film & Video Monthly. Now we’re The Independent, an online magazine that informs independent, grassroots, and activist media-makers and creates connections to the larger independent media community, including filmmakers, exhibitors, distributors, scholars, and students.

Subscribe to The Independent, a FREE online magazine. Create a free account. Just choose a username and password and we’ll send you 1-2 email newsletters each month and promise NEVER to share or sell your email to anyone. Read The Independent’s latest stories at www.independent-magazine.org.

Here’s what some of our readers told us in the last few weeks:

“Excellent, one of the best overviews of the issues facing doc filmmakers I’ve seen recently.”
-Sean Farnel, director of programming, Hot Docs, on “Has the Drive to Fund ‘Social issue’ Docs Affected Their Form?” by Randi Cecchine

“I always point my students in the direction of The Independent. Keep up the good work.”
-Blis DeVault, assistant professor of Communication Arts and director of the Television Center, Xavier University

“Enjoyed your ‘No Thanks, Take Back Manifesto.’ And very much appreciate your gung-ho spirit.”
-Janet Pierson, film conference & festival producer, South by Southwest (SXSW)

Your free subscription can help The Independent continue to be an invaluable resource for the independent filmmaking community. If you’re already a subscriber, please spread the word! Because we’re nonprofit and run on the dedication of key volunteer film journalists and a core of individual donors, we also invite you to make a tax-deductible donation on our site.

Thank you for taking action on behalf of independent film,

The Independent

Laird created the comedy web series in an effort to showcase her work as an emerging director, choosing the internet as her medium.

“Getting a foot in the Hollywood door is an enormous challenge,” she said. “The internet has become a way for some to slip in through the back.”

Laird partnered with T2 + Back Alley Films owner Teri Rogers as Executive Producer and VEMO’s Nicholas E. Vedros as producer to create six, six-minute web episodes.

“It’s a faux reality series,” said Laird. “It’s a fictional realty show that tracks the trials and tribulations of real-life casting director John Jackson.”

Jackson, who is the primary casting director for the award winning director Alexander Payne (Sideways, Election, About Schmidt), also has a long acting resume under the stage name of “John Durbin”.

Other Kansas City companies who lent production support to the project include Liquid 9 and Wheeler Audio.

A Hollywood mainstay, NATPE is dedicated to the “creation, development and distribution of televised programming”. The annual NATPE Market & Conference is considered to be the largest trade show event worldwide for buying and selling television and new media content.

The Best of Fest from Kansas City FilmFest is screening as part of the KC Fringe Festival. Tickets are $8, plus a one-time festival button fee of $5 which funds the festival and allows you to buy tickets for any performance for the rest of the festival.

Screenings are Wed. July 28th at 6pm and Saturday, July 31st at 2pm and 7:30pm.

The Line-Up (90 minutes):

LoopLoop / US Intl Best Experimental
Patrick Bergeron
Experimental • 0:05:00 • Canada

Using animation, sound warping and time shifts, this video runs forwards and backwards looking for forgotten details, mimicking the way memories are replayed in the mind.

LoopLoop is made from a sequence captured in a train going to Hanoi in Vietnam. The 1000 images of this sequence have been stitched into one long panoramic image. Into this long still image, other moving elements were integrated and smooth transitions built over it. LoopLoop is a video loop.

Sebastian’s Voodoo / US Intl Best Animation
Joaquin Baldwin
Animation • 0:04:07 • U.S.A.

When I’m Not Alone / won Best of Fest short / Best US/Intl Doc
Rhianon Gutierrez
Documentary • 0:20:33 • U.S.A.

Born female but raised as a male for twenty-eight years, Sam Durbin experienced unspeakable abuse, never learned to read or write, and drifted in and out of institutions. His uncontrollable behavior and disheveled state led doctors to declare him a “hopeless case”. When he found Integrity House, a clubhouse for people with disabilities in Orange County, he learned to read, write, and advocate for himself, eventually becoming a published author and nationwide advocate for people with disabilities. Despite his successes, his past continues to affect him in profound ways—from how he trusts people to his own self-image.

Neither Here Nor There / Best Heartland Doc

Neither Here Nor There documents the growing Bosnian population making Missouri their new home. More than 50,000 refugees have made Missouri their home since the war in Bosnia. Neither Here Nor There follows a widow, Fatima Selimovic, and her family living in Columbia, Missouri. For each family member, their new home provides different opportunities and their sense of home differs. This all comes to a climax when the family returns to Srebrenica for the 10th anniversary of the fall of Srebrenica where they will bury their relatives that had been identified in mass graves. Would it be better if they just stayed in Bosnia? Or is America truly the land of opportunities? Sometimes a refugee’s home is neither here nor there. It’s somewhere in between.

Watch the trailer on YouTube.

NDX will be showing features and shorts from all genres; representing all cultures and perspectives. For our more sophisticated movie goers we will have Coury Deeb’s documentary The New Sudan or Jeffery Goodman’s acclaimed drama The Last Lullaby starring Tom Sizemore, also one of the festivals more prominent indie features budgeted at $20 million. For our late night crowd you can attend the Midnight Matinee Series, featuring specially selected horror films. Don’t miss your opportunity to be experience our Live Social Networking area. A venue created specifically for indie filmmakers. Giving them an exclusive chance to promote their films and talents all while networking with their peers. With such a wide range of indie fare coming from all over, there will be something for everyone.

With the expansion of the downtown initiative comes a fresh new face of Owensboro and NDX aspires to help mold that new perspective by offering the community and region something they can’t get just anywhere, to experience Hollywood in Owensboro. The influence of film can be seen all around us and in 2010 has been ingrained into our lives like never before. Stories of success from the sons and daughters of Kentucky are begging to be heard, let’s give them a reason to return home and tell their story. Let’s give them an opportunity to inspire Owensboro’s youth by expanding their views through educating and informing. NDX will be the doorway into the lives of Kentucky filmmakers as well as filmmakers from surrounding states. Talent that can only be accessed by attending the Independent Experience Film Festival, coming October 2010. For more information or to contact festival staff visit the official website at www.ndxfilmfest.com.

October 8th – 9th, 2010

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