Ryan Harrington Heads Up Indiepix Studios

IndiePix has hired Ryan Harrington to head up Indiepix Studios, the world's first virtual studio for independent filmmakers that provides a major new production and distribution outlet. Harrington will be responsible for overseeing all of the filmmaker relations as well as managing the productions which IndiePix has invested in - by taking on executive producer responsibilities. In addition, he will coordinate the DVD and digital acquisitions and help to develop individual and tailored distribution strategies for movies submitted. He will also oversee film sales and acquisitions to broadcasters both domestically and internationally.

Harrington brings significant industry experience to the role, with extensive production credentials including Emmy winning programmes "Stars on Ice", "Horatio Hornblower" and "Shackleton". Ryan has also overseen production for A&E IndieFilms, the feature documentary arm of A&E Network. Whilst there, he championed the Oscar-nominated films "Murderball" and "Jesus Camp"; the Sundance hits "My Kid Could Paint That" and "American Teen" (in theaters July 2008); Barbara Kopple's "Bearing Witness" and the Tribeca 2007 film "Alexis Arquette: She's My Brother."

2009 Cinema Eye Honors Announced at Silverdocs

Here's some news from the 2008 AFI Silverdocs Film Festival. On Friday, a reception was held to announce the 2nd Annual Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking that will take place in March 2009. (The Film Panel Notetaker attended the very first Cinema Eye Honors this past March.) Friday’s announcement was made by Cinema Eye co-chair AJ Schnack and Danielle DiGiacomo, documentary coordinator for Indiepix, which returns as the partnering sponsor for the awards through 2010 and will once again produce the awards ceremony. Thom Powers, Documentary Programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival, and Schnack, a filmmaker (KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON) and author of the popular nonfiction website All These Wonderful Things, return as award co-chairs.

(Pictured: AJ Schnack & Danielle DiGiacomo)

Here’s more of the announcement:

"Thom Powers and I are extraordinarily pleased to be partnering once more with Indiepix in presenting the Cinema Eye Honors," Schnack said Friday. Indiepix Documentary Coordinator Danielle DiGiacomo added, "Indiepix is thrilled to build upon the amazing success of the first Cinema Eye Honors and are proud to announce our commitment to the Cinema Eye Honors through the first three years of its existence. We look forward to working with Thom and AJ for the next two years."

It was also announced Friday that the 2009 Cinema Eye Honors will add a new award for Outstanding Composing for a Nonfiction Film. Nominations for the 2009 Cinema Eye Honors will be announced in Park City, Utah during the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

In an effort to broaden the eligibility criteria for the 2009 awards to include more films from outside of North America, Powers and Schnack have added IDFA, the influential Amsterdam documentary festival, and Cannes to the list of qualifying festivals. In addition, they have added four new festival programmers to the Cinema Eye Nominating Committee - Ally Derks of IDFA, Heather Croall from Sheffield DocFest, Maxyne Franklin of BritDoc and Meira Blaustein from Woodstock Film Festival. Also joining the nominating committee for 2009 is SXSW Film Festival producer Janet Pierson.

Returning to the nominating committee for 2009 are a cross section of the top documentary festival programmers in North America - Phoebe Brush of Full Frame, Sean Farnel of Hot Docs, Tom Hall of Sarasota Film Festival, David Kwok of Tribeca, Cara Mertes of the Sundance Documentary Film Program, David Nugent of Hamptons Film Festival, Rachel Rosen of the Los Angeles Film Festival, Sky Sitney of Silverdocs, David Wilson of True/False and Brit Withey of Denver Film Festival.

To date, more than 75 feature films have qualified for eligibility for the 2009 awards - a number that matches the total number of eligible films for 2008, including 25 films that are currently screening at Silverdocs:

AMERICAN TEEN
THE BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON)
BULLETPROOF SALESMAN
CORRIDOR #8
DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO A SON ABOUT HIS FATHER
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
THE ENGLISH SURGEON
FORBIDDEN LIES
GONZO: THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. HUNTER S. THOMPSON
THE INFINITE BORDER
KICKING IT
LIFE. SUPPORT. MUSIC.
LUCIO
MAN ON WIRE
MECHANICAL LOVE
MILOSEVIC ON TRIAL
MY MOTHER'S GARDEN
MY WINNIPEG
THE ORDER OF MYTHS
SONG SUNG BLUE
STRANDED, I'VE COME FROM A PLANE THAT CRASHED IN THE MOUNTAINS
THROW DOWN YOUR HEART
TRIAGE: DR. JAMS ORBINSKI'S HUMANITARIAN DILEMMA
TROUBLE THE WATER
UP THE YANGTZE

The inaugural Cinema Eye Honors were held March 17, 2008 at the IFC Center in New York City. Top honors for Outstanding Feature went to Jason Kohn's MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET), which also received Cinema Eye Honors for editing and cinematography. Alex Gibney won the directing prize for TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE. Additional awards went to GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL, THE MONASTERY - MR VIG AND THE NUN, BILLY THE KID, CHICAGO 10 and THE KING OF KONG (A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS).

Full list of currently eligible titles for 2009:
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
AMERICAN TEEN
ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL
AT THE DEATH HOUSE DOOR
BE LIKE OTHERS
THE BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON)
BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER*
THE BLACK LIST
BLOODLINE
BODY OF WAR
BRA BOYS
BULLETPROOF SALESMAN
THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN
CONSTANTINE'S SWORD
CORRIDOR #8
DEAR ZACHARY: A LETTER TO A SON ABOUT HIS FATHER
THE DHAMMA BROTHERS
DINNER WITH THE PRESIDENT: A NATION'S JOURNEY
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
THE ENGLISH SURGEON
EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED
FIGHTING FOR LIFE
THE FIRST SATURDAY IN MAY
FLOW: FOR LOVE OF WATER
FLYING ON ONE ENGINE
FORBIDDEN LIES
FULL BATTLE RATTLE
THE GATES
GIRLS ROCK!
GLASS: A PORTRAIT OF PHILIP IN TWELVE PARTS
GONZO: THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. HUNTER S. THOMPSON
HATS OFF
HER NAME IS SABINE
HOLD ME TIGHT, LET ME GO
IMAGINARY WITNESS: HOLLYWOOD AND THE HOLOCAUST
THE INFINITE BORDER
A JIHAD FOR LOVE
JOY DIVISION
KICKING IT
LIFE. SUPPORT. MUSIC.
LOU REED'S BERLIN
LUCIO
MAN ON WIRE
MECHANICAL LOVE
MILOSEVIC ON TRIAL
THE MOSQUITO PROBLEM (AND OTHER STORIES)
MY MOTHER'S GARDEN
MY WINNIPEG
THE ORDER OF MYTHS
PARADISE
PARADISE - THREE JOURNEYS IN THIS WORLD
PLANET B-BOY
PRAYING WITH LIOR
A PROMISE TO THE DEAD: THE EXILE JOURNEY OF ARIEL DORFMAN
REFUSENIK
ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED
SECRECY
SHINE A LIGHT
SHOOT DOWN
THE SINGING REVOLUTION
SONG SUNG BLUE
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE
STRANDED, I'VE COME FROM A PLANE THAT CRASHED IN THE MOUNTAINS
SURFWISE
STEEP
TEHRAN HAS NO MORE POMEGRANATES!
THROW DOWN YOUR HEART
TRIAGE: DR. JAMES ORBINSKI'S HUMANITARIAN DILEMMA
TROUBLE THE WATER
TRYING TO GET GOOD: THE JAZZ ODYSSEY OF JACK SHELDON
U23D
UP THE YANGTZE
VINCE VAUGHN'S WILD WEST COMEDY SHOW: 30 DAYS & 30 NIGHTS - FROM HOLLYWOOD TO THE HEARTLAND
WAITING FOR HOCKNEY
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN?
WILD BLUE YONDER
YIDDISH THEATER: A LOVE STORY
YOUNG@HEART

Bob Alexander of Indiepix Says Recent Indie Film Industry Restructuring a Positive Move

Indiepix President Bob Alexander weighs in on the shake up of the indpendent film industry over the past ten weeks from the financial crisis faced by ThinkFilm to the sale of Sundance Channel to IFC and the folding of Warner Independent and Picturehouse.

Alexander explains why he feels this restructuring is actually a positive move for independent filmmakers. Read all about it here.

Cinema Eye Honors Roundtable Discussion - March 18, 2008

Last night I attended the inaugural Cinema Eye Honors where awards were handed out for outstanding achievement in nonfiction filmmaking. You can find the complete list of winners here. To my surprise and delight, halfway through the ceremony, co-chair Thom Powers gathered to the stage four directors whose films were nominated for awards that night—Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Darkside), Esther B. Robinson (A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory), Jason Kohn (Manda Bala) and Pernille Rose Grønkjær (The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun) for a roundtable discussion. The one problem I had was that the theater was dark, and I couldn’t really see what I was writing even with the help of my cell phone light, and then when I got home, my hand writing was worse then ever, so I was only able to include below the notes that I was actually able to decipher, but they are very good statements from the four directors. (Note to self—Next year, bring the special Indiepix light pen with me.)

(L to R) Alex Gibney, Esther B. Robinson, Thom Powers, Jason Kohn & Pernille Rose Grønkjær. Photo courtesy of Indiepix.

Powers: You spent years giving money to documentaries as a foundation chick. What’s the transition been like becoming a filmmaker?

Robinson: The arts system doesn’t really have any support in America. There’s an incredible community of filmmakers who have made films like mine. All these films exist on resources of low funding.

Powers: You’ve done well taking on dry subjects like Enron and bringing them to visual life.

Gibney: At the end of the day, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is not about accounting and Taxi to the Darkside is not about interrogation. They’re about people. I’m following the trail of the narrative of the story.

Powers: You spent a lot of time making The Monastery and condensing time. What made you think this was worth a film?

Grønkjær: I was the only one. There was something in my stomach. I wanted to film him (Mr. Vig) more and more. Every time I saw him, I kind of fell in love. It was so magical to be with this guy. This was a fairy tale story. The whole visual side of this man’s universe kept me coming back.

Powers: You worked with Errol Morris before. What was it like working under another director?

Kohn: He was more than my old boss. It was nothing like what you’d imagine.

Powers: Can you reflect on where documentaries are today?

Gibney: There are no rules anymore. You’re not constrained by one kind of mysterious rulebook. There’s a sense of discovery even as you’re observing the world outside.

Robinson: There’s an extraordinary wealth of beauty and surprise. Cinema magic. There are so many producers and directors on the verge of giving up. Producers right now are really taking a hit. How do we support people making them happen?

Grønkjær: So many good documentaries are coming out of Denmark. We have a good support system. I had a discussion with my friend about telling stories. I see myself as a storyteller and not a documentary filmmaker. Some stories are better for documentaries than for fiction. I’m exploring all options.

Kohn: Documentary is not a separate form of filmmaking. It’s just another genre. We’re genre directors.

"Manda Bala," "Billy the Kid," "Taxi to the Darkside" Among Winners of First Cinema Eye Honors

Tuesday night at New York’s IFC Center awards were handed out to the winners of the first ever Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking presented by Indiepix. In case you’re wondering, 'Cinema Eye' is named after the revolutionary group of young filmmakers led by pioneering documentarian Dziga Vertov. The Awards' blue-ribbon selection committee consisted of 12 programmers from North America's top film festivals, co-chaired by A.J. Schnack, Director of Kurt Cobain: About A Son, and Toronto Film Festival Documentary Programmer Thom Powers.

The Manda Bala crew pose for a picture before winning three awards including Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking

Marshall Curry (STREETFIGHT) presented the award for Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature to…Billy The Kid - Jennifer Venditti

Alan Berliner (NOBODY’S BUSINESS, WIDE AWAKE) presented the award for Outstanding Achievement in Graphics and Animation to…Chicago 10 - Animation by Curious Pictures

Ross Kaufman (BORN INTO BROTHELS) presented the award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography to… Manda Bala - Heloísa Passos

Sam Pollard (JUNGLE FEVER, CLOCKERS, EYES ON THE PRIZE II) presented the award for Outstanding Achievement in Editing to Manda Bala – Doug Abel

Robert Drew (PRIMARY) presented the award for Outstanding Achievement in Producing to… Ghosts Of Cite Soleil - Seth Kanegis, Tomas Radoor & Mikael Rieks

Alex Gibney (TAXI TO THE DARKSIDE, ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM) presented The Audience Choice Prize to…The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters - Director - Seth Gordon

Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg (THE TRIALS OF DARRYL HUNT and THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK) presented the award for Outstanding Achievement in an International Feature to…The Monastery - Mr. Vig & the Nun, Director - Pernille Rose Grønkjær, Producer - Sigrid Dyekjær

Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky (BROTHER'S KEEPER, PARADISE LOST: THE CHILDHOOD MURDERS AT ROBIN HOOD HILLS, METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER) presented the award for Outstanding Achievement in Direction to…Taxi To The Dark Side - Alex Gibney

Barbara Kopple (HARLAN COUNTY USA, AMERICAN DREAM, SHUT UP AND SING) presented the award for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking to…
Manda Bala

Stay tuned to The Film Panel Notetaker for notes from the surprising director roundtable discussion that took place at the half-way point during the ceremony.

Cinema Eye Honors Presenters Announced

Indiepix announced today the lineup of presenters for the Cinema Eye Honors taking place Tuesday night at New York's IFC Center.

The full list of awards and presenters follows:

Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature – Marshall Curry (STREETFIGHT)

Outstanding Achievement in Graphics and Animation – Alan Berliner (NOBODY’S BUSINESS, WIDE AWAKE)

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography – Ross Kaufman (BORN INTO BROTHELS)

Outstanding Achievement in Editing – Sam Pollard (JUNGLE FEVER, CLOCKERS, EYES ON THE PRIZE II)

Outstanding Achievement in Production – Robert Drew (PRIMARY)

Audience Choice Award – Alex Gibney (TAXI TO THE DARKSIDE, ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM)

Outstanding Achievement in an International Feature – Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg (THE TRIALS OF DARRYL HUNT and THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK)

Outstanding Achievement in Direction – Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky (BROTHER'S KEEPER, PARADISE LOST: THE CHILDHOOD MURDERS AT ROBIN HOOD HILLS, METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER)

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking – Barbara Kopple (HARLAN COUNTY USA, AMERICAN DREAM, SHUT UP AND SING)

The Film Panel Notetaker will be at the Cinema Eye Honors covering the night's events. Stay tuned!

Online Audience Voting Open For Cinema Eye Nonfiction Filmmaking Awards

The Cinema Eye Nonfiction Filmmaking Awards are only a few weeks away, but in the mean time, voting for the Audience Award is now open. You have till March 10 to vote. Here's all the details from Indiepix:

New York, US - 3 March, 2008 - IndiePixfilms, the Internet-based distributor of independent films, has opened the online voting for the Audience Choice Award at the upcoming 'Cinema Eye' Nonfiction Filmmaking Awards - the first ever awards that honor excellence in nonfiction filmmaking. Film enthusiasts from across the globe can now vote for their favourite nonfiction film from the nine nominations - see below - ahead of the awards which will be presented at the inaugural Cinema Eye Awards at the IFC Center Cinema in New York on March 18. Among the nine nominations for the award are Michael Moore's 'Sicko' and 'Into Great Silence' directed by Philip Gröning.

Until March 10, voters can find out more about each nominated title, including a synopsis and extended trailer of the film at http://www.cinemaeyeawards.com/awards/audience.html. Leading Film Festivals, including Boston IFF, LA Film Festival and Big Sky Film Festival, will be collaborating with IndiePix to achieve the biggest ever outreach into the independent film community that targets over 300,000 online voters.

In the words of Bob Alexander, President of IndiePix: "By teaming up with Film Festivals across the US, we have been able to reach out to literally hundreds of thousands of independent film fans who really are the heart and soul of the independent film community. The Audience Choice Award will be decided by votes cast by these independent film fans as well as the film-going public from across the world. Because of this, I believe the winner will feel especially honored, as it will be the only award of the night which solely reflects the opinion of the film-loving public."

In association with Netflix, the largest online DVD rental service, voters can "add to my queue" to rent the film from Netflix, or alternatively "buy this film", through IndiePix. In addition, IndiePix is also offering an industry leading streaming feature with the highest quality picture and sound available through BroadRamp, the fully-interactive multimedia content delivery system - with no requirements for a special player.

"The participation of Netflix and Broadramp provides the all important interaction between the voting public and the nominated films. The simplicity involved in renting, streaming or buying any one of these films through the Cinema Eye website is fantastic and it is technological advances like this which will continue to strengthen the independent film industry and help filmmakers achieve the recognition they deserve," added Bob Alexander.

The nine nominations for the Audience Choice Prize are:

• Deep Water - Directors - Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell
• In The Shadow Of The Moon - Director - David Sington
• Into Great Silence - Director - Philip Gröning
• Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten - Director - Julien Temple
• The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters - Director - Seth Gordon
• Manufactured Landscapes - Director - Jennifer Baichwal
• No End In Sight - Director - Charles Ferguson
• Sicko - Director - Michael Moore

"Off the Grid: Life On The Mesa" Opens In Select Markets On Feb. 8

Here's the latest news from IndiePix. This looks like a haunting documentary. I can't wait to see it:


ACCLAIMED INDIE DOC “OFF THE GRID: LIFE ON THE MESA”OPENS THEATRICALLY IN SELECT MARKETS



NEW YORK, NY – IndiePix announced the theatrical premiere of the festival hit “Off the Grid”. The film will open on Friday, February 8 at the Hoff Theater in College Park, MD and at the Guild Cinema in Albuquerque, NM. These screenings will be followed by a nationwide theatrical release and television premiere on Sundance Channel's “The Green”. “The independent spirit of 'Off the Grid' makes this film an ideal match for IndiePix and our expansion into the theatrical market,” says Bob Alexander, CEO of IndiePix.

About Off the Grid

Twenty-Five miles from town, a million miles from mainstream society, a loose-knit community of eco-pioneers, teenage runaways, war veterans and drop-outs, live on the fringe and off the grid, struggling to survive with little food, less water and no electricity, as they cling to their unique vision of the American dream. As word about the Mesa spreads to the outside world, the community experiences growth and begins to attract new elements. A group of young people with anarchical tendencies, calling themselves “the nowhere kids,” claim responsibility for stealing food from houses, including that of a single mother. The community grapples with how to establish rule and avoid violence in the absence of of governmental interference.

Among it's many awards to date, “Off the Grid” was awarded the Michael Moore Award for Best Documentary Film. John Anderson of Variety found the film “stunning... the characters come to vivid life” and Michael Lerman of IndieWIRE writes: “A look at the American Southwest that will send chills down your spine.” “Off the Grid” has screened at Film Society of Lincoln Center's Independents Night, MoMA, Best of Slamndance Documentary Showcase 2007 at IFC Center, AFI/Silverdocs, Miami IFF, True/False, Sarasota and Raindance among others.

Watch the trailer at IndiePix.

About IndiePixIndiePix is a distributor that delivers a highly-curated collection of the best independent films from around the world. Offering a hand-picked catalog of over 3,000 independent film gems - arthouse, foreign, and documentary - the IndiePix team selects the best titles from the international festival circuit. Avenues for distribution include IndiePix' patented Download-to-Own technology, delivery of DVD by mail, and theatrical.

Key Links
Off the GridFilm Website: http://indiepixfilms.com/film/3392
IndiePixIndiePix Home Page http://indiepixfilms.com/

'Cinema Eye' Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking Nominations Announced

'Cinema Eye' Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking Nominations Announced

More news on the 2008 Awards for Excellence in Nonfiction Filmmaking Announced, now called the 'Cinema Eye' Awards (named after the revolutionary group of young filmmakers led by pioneering documentarian Dziga Vertov). Nominations were announced yesterday during the Sundance Film Festival. Congratulations to all the nominees. Into Great Silence and Manda Bala (Send A Bullet) lead with six nominations each and five nominations for Lake Of Fire. IndiePix also announced the Audience Choice Award nominees. The awards ceremony will take place on March 18 at New York's IFC Center.

The Awards' Blue-ribbon committee of 12 programmers from North America's top Film Festivals, co-chaired by A.J. Schnack, Director of Kurt Cobain: About A Son, and Toronto Film Festival Documentary Programmer, Thom Powers, selected the nominees by voting for five films each, in preferential order, from a list of 76 eligible films.

And the nominees are:

Outstanding Achievement in an International Feature
Ghosts Of Cite Soleil, Director - Asger LethProducers - Seth Kanegis, Tomas Radoor and Mikael Rieks
Into Great Silence, Director - Philip GröningProducers - Philip Gröning, Elda Guidinetti, Andres Pfaffli & Michael Weber
Manufactured Landscapes, Director - Jennifer BaichwalProducers - Jennifer Baichwal, Daniel Iron & Nick de Pencier
The Monastery - Mr. Vig & the Nun, Director - Pernille Rose GrønkjærProducer - Sigrid Dyekjær
Please Vote For Me, Director - Weijun ChenProducer - Don Edkins

Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature
Billy The Kid - Jennifer Venditti
Manda Bala (Send A Bullet) - Jason Kohn
The Monastery - Mr. Vig and the Nun - Pernille Rose Gronkjær
No End In Sight - Charles Ferguson
A Walk Into The Sea: Danny Williams And The Warhol Factory - Esther B. Robinson

Outstanding Achievement in Direction
Into Great Silence - Philip Gröning
Lake Of Fire - Tony Kaye
Manda Bala (Send A Bullet) - Jason Kohn
Taxi To The Dark Side - Alex GibneyZoo - Robinson Devor

Outstanding Achievement in Producing
Blindsight - Sybil Robson Orr
Chicago 10 - Brett Morgan & Graydon Carter
Ghosts Of Cite Soleil - Seth Kanegis, Tomas Radoor & Mikael Rieks
Into Great Silence - Philip Gröning, Elda Guidinetti, Andres Pfaffli & Michael Weber
Lake Of Fire - Tony Kaye
Manda Bala - Joey Frank, Jared Goldman & Jason Kohn

Outstanding Achievement in Editing
Crazy Love - David Zieff
Flying: Confessions Of A Free Woman - Niels Pagh Andersen
Ghosts Of Cite Soleil - Adam Nielsen
Lake Of Fire - Peter GoddardManda Bala - Doug Abel, Jenny Golden & Andy Grieve
No End In Sight - Chad Beck and Cindy Lee

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Into Great Silence - Philip Gröning
Lake Of Fire - Tony KayeManda Bala - Heloisa Passos
Manufactured Landscapes - Peter MettlerZoo - Sean Kirby

Outstanding Achievement in Graphics and Animation
Chicago 10 - Animation by Curious Pictures
Helvetica - Motions Graphics by Trollbäck & Co.
The Prisoner Or: How I Planned To Kill Tony Blair - Graphic Design by Petra Epperlein
The Unforeseen - Motion Graphics by Jef SewellSuper Amigos - Animation by David Quesnelle

The Audience Choice Prize
Deep Water - Directors - Louise Osmond and Jerry Rothwell
In The Shadow Of The Moon - Director - David Sington
Into Great Silence - Director - Philip Gröning
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten - Director - Julien Temple
The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters - Director - Seth Gordon
Manufactured Landscapes - Director - Jennifer Baichwal
No End In Sight - Director - Charles Ferguson
Sicko - Director - Michael Moore

Visit the Nonfiction Awards web site - http://www.indiepixfilms.com/awards?ref=iba for more information about the Awards for Excellence in Nonfiction Filmmaking and the voting process.

"Gonzo Music Diaries, NYC" - Jan. 10, 2008

Gonzo Music Diaries, NYC

Anthology Film Archives

January 10, 2008

(Gonzo Music Diaries, NYC director Roy Szuper)

Last night at Anthology Film Archives, Indiepix presented a free screening of Roy Szuper's documentary Gonzo Music Diaries, NYC, about the organizing of the First Annual Williamsburg Music Festival that took place a few days before the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York. Jason Tyrell of Indiepix introduced Szuper, who then introduced the film, thanking everyone who help make the film. He said it was a labor of love for a lot of people who worked for free. The documentary follows three friends, Szuper himself, plus music fanatic Concert Joe and punk rocker Tony Petrozza as they embark on creating a music festival as a protest against the forthcoming Republican National Convention. The film also mixes interviews with street musicians, who eventually become a part of the music festival, as well as legendary New York icons including the late Hilly Kristal, founder of CBGB's. Gonzo Music Diaries, NYC is currently available on DVD. Buy it here.

Indiepix and NetworkedPlanet Launch World’s First Knowledge-Based Navigation Database For Independent Film

Indiepix and NetworkedPlanet Launch World’s First Knowledge-Based
Navigation Database For Independent Film

Today, I listened in on a press conference given by Indiepix and NetworkedPlanet where they announced the launch of Discovery, “the first knowledge-based navigation of the world’s largest database for independent films.” On the call was Bob Alexander, Indiepix President, and Kal Ahmed, Founder of Networked Planet. Some examples of films in this new system are Jennifer Venditti's Billy the Kid and Michael Tully's Cocaine Angel. Below is a press release about this new venture sent to me today with all the details.

New York, US and Oxford, UK - October 17, 2007- IndiePix, the ultimate resource for independent film fans and filmmakers, and NetworkedPlanet, the leader in topic mapped file management and search systems, today announce the launch and availability of the world's largest intelligent database of curated independent films that uses state-of-the-art web technology to power the service. Underlying the presentation of over 3,000 titles, Discovery enables film lovers to discover and explore the world's best films from independent filmmakers, as well as order and download films of interest on the IndiePix website (www.IndiepixFilms.com).

Discovery is a revolutionary, intelligent navigation system. It allows the IndiePix team of film experts to manage information about a film and to add information based on their expertise and the system creates relevant, content-based links between films. The graphical display based on this process is designed specifically to expand user choices by helping create intelligent pathways through the large and growing world of independent film.

“The process expands choices in ways that are unexpected and opens up paths for exploring IndiePix's rapidly growing catalogue of film titles,” says Bob Alexander, president, IndiePix. "There are a variety of so-called ‘recommendation engines’ that suggest films a consumer may like, but we suggest choices that are related to a consumer’s starting point. “

The Discovery process is powered by NetworkedPlanet's TMCore information management engine, a topic mapping system that identifies, calculates, and manages the relationships among the films in the database in an enterprise database. In the IndiePix implementation, the TMCore engine is managing well over 200,000 relationships among 3,000 titles, and the number of relationships expands exponentially as new films are added.

“TM Core is a server platform for enterprise knowledge and information management applications; it stores and manages 'topic maps' of the entire content of the IndiePix website. This map is then the basis for driving the Discovery display,” says Kal Ahmed, co-founder, NetworkedPlanet. “TM Core delivers a detailed index of information resources across systems via a single unified information portal, and IndiePix’s implementation led to the development of special algorithms to weigh and manage the data as part of the display process.”

The Discovery process can be launched from the IndiePix website at www.indiepix.net/discovery.

A flash presentation summarizing the Discovery process from a users point of view will be available soon on the corporate information page at the IndiePix website at www.indiepix.net/info/press.

Brooklyn Independent - "Johnny Berlin" & "Ten Souls Rising"

Brooklyn Independent - Johnny Berlin & Ten Souls Rising
June 4, 2007

Monday night, I attended the Brooklyn Independent Cinema Series in Park Slope and saw the documentary Johnny Berlin directed by Dominic DeJoseph, which was preceded by the short Ten Souls Rising directed by Emily Rosdeitcher.

About Johnny Berlin:
This documentary follows Jon Hyrns, a porter aboard a refurbished 1930s luxury train, on a week-long trip down the West Coast from Seattle to Los Angeles. While going about his business making beds and cleaning toilets, he expounds upon his life as a struggling writer while holding down a workday job. Simultaneously funny and dark, the film is ultimately an intimate, offbeat, and humorous portrait of mid-life crisis presented as a monologue.

FYI, Johnny Berlin is available on DVD through Amazon.com or the distributor Indiepix.net at the following link: http://johnnyberlin.indiepix.net/.

Here is the full expanded screening schedule for JOHNNY BERLIN on The Documentary Channel for June:

--Tuesday 6/12 at 3 am CST / 4 am EST *please note that the actual premiere is on Saturday the 16th. Due to the film playing on our PBS affiliate in NY on the 18th, we have to schedule a late-night play as they pick up our feed manually for play-back the following week.

--Saturday, 6/16 at 8 p CST / 9 p EST. (official premiere*) and again at12:30 a CST / 1:30 a EST

--Monday, 6/18 at 7 p CST / 8 p EST and again at 1 a CST / 2 a EST

--Sunday, 6/24 at 7 p CST / 8 p EST and again at 12 a CST / 1 a EST

--Wednesday, 6/27 at 6 p CST / 7 p EST and again at 10:15 p CST / 11:15 p EST

The Documentary Channel is currently available on the following carriers- Nationwide: DISH Network 197, Nashville: Comcast Digital 241/Charter Digital 176, New York: NYCTV 25, and Denver: KBDI PBS Channel 12.

About Ten Souls Rising:
Eight New Yorkers and two French tourists become intimately acquainted when they get trapped together in an elevator in a New York City skyscraper. When the electricians’ union and the mechanics’ union reach an impasse over who has authority to fix the elevator, the passengers take matters into their own hands and use their imagination to save themselves.