IndieGoGo and SnagFilms Join Forces To Give Documentary Filmmakers More Filmanthropy Opportunities

IndieGoGo, which houses The Film Panel Notetaker, as a resource, made the following announcement today about its new partnership with SnagFilms. Check it out!

IndieGoGo and SnagFilms Join Forces To Give Documentary Filmmakers More Filmanthropy Opportunities

Berkeley, California, August 3, 2009 – Indiegogo.com, the most trafficked website for film funding,announced today a partnership with SnagFilms, the online documentary film site, to give documentaryfilmmakers access to more fundraising and exposure opportunities.
Starting in mid-July, select IndieGoGo works-in-progress have been featured on SnagFilms. Inauguralworks include:

• Connected - by Tiffany Shlain- Connected takes audiences on a stream-of-consciousness ridethrough the interconnectedness of humankind.• Pelotero – by Jon Paley - A Dominican baseball story• Tapestries of Hope – by Michaelene Christini Risly - Two activists from two corners of theworld take on a government and an urban myth to protect young girls from rape and abuse.

“SnagFilms gives documentary filmmakers an opportunity to be discovered”, said Slava Rubin,Founder of IndieGoGo. “We want to give filmmakers the tools and access they need to be successfuland Snag Films shares the vision of DIWO (Do-It-With-Others) filmmaking.”

Since launching the partnership, IndieGoGo works-in-progress have been promoted on SnagFilms andits promotional partner sites, resulting in over half a million impressions.

SnagFilms already has a library of more than 840 documentary films including many award winnersand festival favorites. “At SnagFilms we strive to bring the best documentaries to the largest globalaudience online and to support independent filmmakers and the causes their films highlight,” saidStephanie Sharis, Executive Vice President, SnagFilms. “Partnering with an innovative company likeIndieGoGo to distribute works-in-progress gives our documentary fans the chance to discover andsupport these promising projects.”

Interested filmmakers can get their work featured by sending a note to info@IndieGoGo.com

Thompson on Hollywood Moves to indieWIRE

Hope everyone is having a fantastic summer. You may have noticed a lull in posts since last month. The Film Panel Notetaker is on a semi-hiatus for the summer, though you may be seeing a post or two here and there. This morning, I received word that Anne Thompson's Thompson on Hollywood blog will now be housed at indieWIRE. I've been an admirer of Anne's work at her former haunt Variety, not to mention she has linked to this here blog a few times :)

I look forward to reading her over at iW come Monday morning. Below is the press announcement from SnagFilms.

I’s Official: Top Film Industry Journalist Anne Thompson Will Bring Her Blog, Thompson On Hollywood, from Variety To IndieWIRE

July 31, 2009- SnagFilms announced today that Anne Thompson, one of the most respected journalists covering the film industry, will move her widely-read Thompson on Hollywood blog from Variety.com to the indieWIRE network, beginning Monday, August 3. Thompson brings to indieWIRE more than two decades of experience covering the entertainment industry.

At indieWIRE, Thompson will retain her focus on all aspects of the film business, while also expanding this coverage and analysis to entertainment and cultural trends. Her blog thompsononhollywood.com will re-launch Monday as part of the indieWIRE blog network; and will be featured on indieWIRE.com, at SnagFilms.com and through the company’s distribution partners.

“Anne Thompson has long been one of the most insightful writers covering the film industry – from the boulevards of Hollywood to the canyon roads of independent film,” said Rick Allen, CEO of SnagFilms LLC. “Starting at Sundance and throughout this year, indieWIRE has consistently scooped its competition, particularly among large publications that have scaled back their coverage of independent film. With Anne’s arrival, and by incorporating thompsononhollywood.com within the indieWIRE network, we’ll be able to take our leadership to a new level, and bring an even broader scope of information and analysis to industry insiders and fans.”

Anne Thompson has done more than just break news in her more than two decades of covering the film industry – she has provided an insider’s clear-eyed analysis of a business that defines American culture at home and abroad. Born and raised in New York, she has been a contributor to The New York Times, Washington Post, The Observer, and Wired. She has served as film columnist at Variety, and deputy editor of Variety.com, where her daily blog, "Thompson on Hollywood," has run since March 2007. Anne was the Deputy Film Editor at The Hollywood Reporter, the West Coast Editor of Premiere, a Senior Writer at Entertainment Weekly, and West Coast Editor for Film Comment. She wrote the film industry column "Risky Business" for L.A. Weekly and the Los Angeles Times syndicate. She is a graduate of the Department of Cinema Studies at New York University, hosts the fall semester of "Sneak Previews" for UCLA Extension and teaches film criticism at USC.

“I couldn’t be more pleased to be working with indieWIRE and SnagFilms which have both proven to be innovative movers and shakers in the online space. For thirteen years, indieWIRE has been the authoritative voice on independent film. Launching the new and improved Thompson on Hollywood as part of the indieWIRE network offers an opportunity for me to reach a new audience and undertake a new approach to covering the entertainment industry,” said Anne Thompson.

IndieWIRE editor Eugene Hernandez said, “Anne is the leading voice from Hollywood and she has such a strong sense of how journalism about movies and the industry is evolving. She is an informed veteran with a topnotch editorial track record and a powerful rolodex. She offers expert analysis of the trends and issues affecting movies today. I expect her new web home within the indieWIRE network to be a go-to spot for news, insight and perspective on the industry, festivals, awards season, and the latest movies.”

IndieWIRE is the leading news, information, and networking site for independent-minded filmmakers, the industry, and moviegoers alike, and is wholly owned by SnagFilms. SnagFilms brings the best nonfiction films to the web audience, promotes viral web distribution through virtual movie theater widgets, and engages viewers to assist in charitable and community efforts.

SnagFilms Acquires indieWIRE and Partners with Indiepix

Congrats to indieWIRE, which just got snagged up by SnagFilms, a new social networking website that offers free instant streaming and viral sharing of hundreds of documentary films. indieWIRE will provide archival and news content for SnagFilms and the company’s virtual movie theater widgets, including breaking news from the indie sector, comprehensive film reviews and analysis, and the top relevant blogs. iW Editor-in-Chief Eugene Hernandez offers a detailed look into this new venture. Read it here.

And that's not all. Indiepix just announced that it is partnering with SnagFilms. IndiePix's 40 non-fiction films are available through SnagFilms' website and via its widgets free-of-charge, as the service is fully advertiser-supported.