On Saturday January 23rd from 11am to 2pm (Mountain Time) the world will tune into www.slamdance.com/summit to engage in a global discussion on the future of filmmaking. The Filmmaker Summit will gather some of the most innovative thinkers in the industry for a day of discussion and debate. The Filmmaker Summit’s mission is to collectively craft a new charter for filmmaking, storytelling and content distribution, with and by the global filmmaking community. Free to attend and born out of a reaction to the current state of turmoil the independent film industry faces, the Summit aims to provide filmmakers with a better understanding of opportunities afforded to them by the democratization of new tools and technology.
Throughout the day, discussions will center on what the filmmaking community would like to see the industry become – a chance to focus on the future and not worry about the trappings of the past. Today¹s reality is that filmmakers must now expand their role and take charge of reaching and engaging worldwide audiences across all viewing platforms. In this direct approach, the viewer becomes collaborative, less passive and more connected then ever before. New business models will emerge as a direct result of experimentation and transparency around process. The Filmmaker Summit is an attempt to chart a course towards sustainability – one that is by filmmakers and for filmmakers, while being inclusive of the audiences that support them.
“The democratization of the tools is disrupting how films are funded, produced, distributed and discovered,” says Lance Weiler, filmmaker and founder of the WorkBook Project. “The empowerment of filmmakers is a vision that the WorkBook Project shares with Slamdance and the Open Video Alliance. We’re bringing together creative people from all over the world to join in a summit that has no borders – to have a conversation about what is working and what is not on a global level. By opening up dialogue we hope that we can foster an international filmmaking community that is willing to experiment while sharing the results.”
“The web creates lots of turmoil for the industry, but also ample opportunity,” says Ben Moskowitz, director of the Open Video Alliance. “The Filmmaker Summit is an excellent opportunity for us to discover how to harness the web for distribution and creative experimentation.”
Slamdance President & Co-Founder and filmmaker Peter Baxter says, “Slamdance believes that as a community, filmmakers can band together to develop and implement some actionable solutions towards a sustainable independent film community. We are excited to present the Filmmaker Summit, which we believe will help create a strong sense of what is possible for this new era of independent film.”
To join the discussion now, visit http://discussion.workbookproject.com.
Summit speakers include: Peter Baxter (filmmaker, founder Slamdance); Khavn De La Cruz (filmmaker); Christy Dena (crossmedia specialist) Jamie King (filmmaker and founder of Vodo.net); Brian Newman (film theorist and writer); Jon Reiss (filmmaker and writer); Steven Soderbergh (filmmaker); Timo Vuorensola (filmmaker and founder of wreckamovie.com) and Lance Weiler (filmmaker and founder of WorkBook Project).
More information about the summit can be found at www.slamdance.com/summit.
The Filmmaker Summit is made possible thanks to our sponsors: IndieFlix, XMission, Flumotion, and thanks to a large collaborative effort produced by Saskia Wilson-Brown, programming by Lance Weiler (WorkBook Project), technical assistance Ben Moskowitz (OVA), overall support Peter Baxter (Slamdance), streaming services George Chriss (openmeetings.org) with additional support from Greg Urich and Josh Levy. Logo design by Michael Beynart, and further design work and consultation from Micah Hahn at Autumn Seventy.
About Open Video Alliance
The Open Video Alliance is a coalition committed to the idea that the power of moving image should belong to everyone. OVA produces the annual Open Video Conference, a two-day summit to explore the future of the online video medium. OVA members include Mozilla, Kaltura, and the Participatory Culture Foundation. For more, visit http://openvideoalliance.org
About The Workbook Project
The WorkBook Project is for those who want to be creative in the digital
age. An open creative network that provides insight into the process of
funding, creating, distributing and sustaining from one’s creative efforts.
About Slamdance
As a year-round organization, Slamdance serves as a showcase for the discovery of new and emerging talent and is dedicated to the nurturing and development of new independent artists and their cinematic vision. For the 2010 Festival, Slamdance received a record number of over 5,000 submissions. Slamdance Film Festival, presented again by Kodak, will run concurrently with the Sundance Film Festival, January 21-28, 2010 in Park City, Utah. Slamdance lives by its mantra: “By Filmmakers, For Filmmakers.” No other festival is fully programmed by filmmakers. Slamdance counts among its alumni many notable writers and directors who first gained notice at the festival, including Christopher Nolan, Marc Forster and Jared Hess. Oren Peli’s “Paranormal Activity” originally acquired from Slamdance has since grossed over $100 million at the Box Office and become Paramount’s most profitable film ever. New filmmakers and writers today realize Slamdance is a great place to launch their careers. For more information, log onto www.slamdance.com and follow Slamdance on Twitter and Facebook.
