Gone Filming

So the bag is packed, batteries are charged and my train ticket (print out) is wedged in my wallet. In a few hours I will not be bright eyed and bushy tailed nonetheless I will be on my first train ride from Canberra all the way to Dungog. From May 29- June 1 I will be in Dungog attending the Film Festival while Phil stays home editing.

I heard on a radio interview today, the director of the festival say something like, 'we need more venues that screen Australian films'. What do you think? Do our exhibitors need to support Australian films better or do Australian filmmakers need to make better films? Have Aussies lost the love for Aussie cinema? If you think 'we' have can it be revived?

Pollack has died

Phil and I love cinema full stop, so when I heard that a great film director died I thought it was relevant to add. After all great filmmakers breed great cinema.

Pollack died of cancer at his home in Pacific Palisades today surrounded by his family, his agent Leslee Dart said.

Pollack's biggest success was the 1985 film Out of Africa starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep, which won Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture.

Read more here.

-Andrew

Dungog count down

As the new week breaks I am getting ready for the most exciting film festival on the Aussie calendar...Dungog!

Its only in its second year but it is already attracting great aussie films and a following.

Interested to know more about the festival? Find out here.

Interview with Honourable Peter Garret

After a few changes to dates and times I had secured an interview with the relatively new Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts - The Hon Peter Garrett AM MP and at 5am on Thursday morning Phil and I packed up the old Honda and headed off to Sydney. As the sun rose a new day dawned for Into the Shadows as we decided this would be the last day Phil would shoot any more interviews. He will now go into post-production hibernation with the goal of having a fine cut of the film mid July 2008.

While waiting in the nearby cafe Encore Magazine called us and we did our first 'over-the-phone-interview' we are not sure when the story will be published but we are told there will be one written so we will keep you updated on that later.

Shortly after, we met Peter and interviewed him for the film. He was very gracious with his limited time and I want to thank his team for helping to make this happen. We then took advantage of the beautiful Sydney weather and shot some overlay of the Harbour surrounds before heading back home.

More Variety the better

There is a great article in Variety on the possibilities that are emerging for indie filmmakers or DIY filmmakers. The article talks about the models for online distribution giving an outline of the challenges that lie ahead before it can fully function. It also comments on the hard realities that most filmmakers are facing, in that they are still having to mix between traditional media and online media to promote themselves.

I think it is clear that there are no either/ors anymore. It seems that it is all about deciding what best suits you as a filmmaker (what are your constraints and advantages) but also and maybe more importantly what medium suits your film?

Check it out here and let me know your thoughts,

Andrew.

Into the Documentary Australia approved list

I know Andrew blogged about this before, but now Into the Shadows is actually on the list!

Click here for more information about the approved list and the awesome Documentary Australia Foundation website.