Thursday, December 19, 2013

The 15 Highest Grossing Indie Documentaries of 2013 (A Running List)

"20 Feet From Stardom"
Here's a chart of 2013's the highest grossing indie documentaries, led by Morgan Neville's "20 Feet From Stardom," which was released by RADiUS-TWC (and is now the distributor's highest grossing film ever). We only specify "indie" documentaries for one reason: One Direction, whose Morgan Spurlock directed studio film "This is Us" was not tracked by Indiewire's box office charts, which only includes films that open in limited release. Though 1D fans be calmed: "This Is Us" is indeed the highest grossing documentary of 2013 (and one of the top 10 of all time).
The list below tracks films as of December 17, 2013.  It will be updated on a weekly basis, and only includes North American grosses for documentaries that opened in 2013. So far, 6 docs have crossed the $1 million mark. Last year, 8 docs ended up hitting that mark.

Check out the list below:
"Blackfish"
1. 20 Feet From Stardom (RADiUS) - $4,794,407
2. The Gatekeepers (Sony Pictures Classics) -$2,415,727*
3. Blackfish (Magnolia) - $2,073,582
4. Girl Rising (Gathr Films) - $1,620,901
5. Stories We Tell (Roadside Attractions) - $1,600,145
6. Inequality For All (RADiUS) - $1,187,354
7. Generation Iron (The Vladar Company) - $849,521
8. 56 Up (First Run) - $701,278
9. Muscle Shoals (Magnolia) - $656,575
10. Salinger (The Weinstein Company) - $583,633
11. Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's (eOne) - $518,342
12. The Act of Killing (Drafthouse) - $456,890
13. Sound City (Vairance) - $421,187
14. Dirty Wars (IFC) - $371,245
15. Koch (Zeitgeist) - $342,941

*-Had an Oscar qualifying run in 2012, but was released in 2013.
From: http://www.indiewire.com/article/the-10-highest-grossing-documenatries-of-2013-a-running-list
List of World's Top Film Festivals - for shorts!

From: http://www.raindance.org/worlds-top-short-film-festivals/

Short filmmaking is in the midst of a renaissance because of the revenue potential offered by IPTV and initiatives like www.raindance.tv.
Screening at a festival is a sure-fire way to start creating a buzz around your film and your career. You are also likely to bump into short-film buyers eager for content for the dozens of fledgling websites desperate for movies. Short films are much easier to see on the web or on a mobile telephone than features (at the moment, at least)
Troll down this list, and click on the links and look at each festivals programming to see if your film would fit. And google them to see if there any satisfied filmmakers talking about the festival of your choice.
Finally, happy hunting. Don’t forget that Raindance Film Festival, now Britain’s largest independent film festival, loves short films, and ware open for submissions. Raindance is also a Oscar qualifying festival for short films.
The Raindance Team

The Top 5 Must-Submits

USA

• AFI Fest 
• Los Angeles Film Festival 
• Tribeca Film Festival
• SXSW: South By Southwest Film Festival 
• Telluride Film Festival
• Seattle International Film Festival 
• San Francisco International Film Festival 
• Slamdance Film Festival 
• Chicago International Film Festival 
• Austin Film Festival 
• St. Louis International Film Festival 
• Cinequest Film Festival 
• Atlanta Film Festival 
• Santa Barbara International Film Festival 
• Rhode Island International Film Festival 
• Florida Film Festival 
• Nashville Film Festival 
• Hamptons International Film Festival 
• USA Film Festival – for American shorts only
• Los Angeles International Short Film Festival 
• Chicago International Children’s Film Festival 
• Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival 
• Ann Arbor Film Festival 
• Athens International Film Festival 
• Black Maria Film Festival 
• New Directors/New Films Festival 
• Gen Art Film Festival – for American shorts only
• Heartland Film Festival 
• Starz Denver International Film Festival 
• Mill Valley Film Festival 
• Woodstock Film Festival 
• Hawaii International Film Festival 
• San Diego Film Festival 
• Cleveland International Film Festival 
• Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival 
• Philadelphia Film Festival 
• New Orleans Film Festival 
• Stony Brook Film Festival 
• CineVegas International Film Festival• Bumbershoot 1 Reel Film Festival

Canada

Australia

Brazil

Argentina

Chile

Colombia

Bermuda

Japan

South Africa

UK

Ireland

Germany

Spain

Italy

Switzerland

France

Greece

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Poland

Czech Republic

Belgium

 Denmark

The Netherlands

Sweden

Finland

Norway

• Grimstad Norwegian Short Film Festival – international shorts by invitation only

Friday, December 13, 2013

Kossakovsky RULES for documentary



Don’t film if you can bear to live without filming

Don’t film if you want to SAY something, film only if you want to SHOW something, or if you want PEOPLE to see something

Don’t film if you already know your message before filming

Film when you HATE and LOVE at the same time

Don’t use your brain during filming - just film using your instincts

Don’t force people to repeat an action or words…

Shots are the basics of cinema, cinema was created out of ONE shot, shots must provide the viewers with new impressions

Story is important, but perception is even more important

Try to remain human especially when editing your films (every decision in documentary is an ethical one)

Don’t follow my rules, follow your rules