Indie filmmakers tackle the distribution problem
You’re an independent filmmaker who has just finished a film. It’s 30 minutes long, you assembled a hard-working crew, wrote the script yourself, and even invested in a few impressive special effects.
Now things get tricky. You have to get it into the public. You have to get feedback, and more importantly, get people to learn your name. But making DVDs can be costly, and not everyone wants to upload their videos to the web either.
It’s a problem that faces every independent filmmaker at some point in the early stages of their career. What are you to do?
Take it outside
John Matthews, the communications director for the Center For Art Tapes (CFAT) in Halifax, knows what it’s like to get his work out into the community. An independent artist, Matthews hosts outdoor screenings from his home on Creighton Street through the summer. He’srun the event for three years now, after taking over from another artist friend.
“If you really want to get your work shown, you don’t have to go through institutions or galleries, though that’s the obvious route,” says Matthews. “If you have some kind of common sense, you can make your own screen and borrow or rent a projector. And people are quite supportive - if they know it’s going to a good cause, people will offer you spaces and equipment.”
The Creighton Street Roxy is that principle put into practice. It is primarily a way for local film fans to connect outside of the various co-operatives or on-going projects. Though the work shown is primarily older films (”obscure Westerns” and noirs, Matthews explains), the organizers still make a point of hosting local work when they can, by including artist shorts before the main features or showing documentaries on behalf of Halifax-based awareness groups. Matthews curated a show for home-grown music videos as part of this year’s Halifax Independent Filmmaker’s Festival.
And it’s popular, as far as community gatherings for artists go.
“At first it was pretty much word of mouth,” says Matthews. “I guess, the more we did them, the more popular we became. At the height of it about two years ago, we’d get 60 or 70 people showing up. We had a hot dog stand, we constructed little benches. We eventually ran into trouble though; with all the success, the landlord was getting kind of uncomfortable with all the people hanging around. So we had to scale it back a little.”
The DIY approach is one that Matthews, as an independent artist, strongly recommends. Some of the other options, he says, might not yield the same results.
“I think that’s the way to go now. The whole system of galleries and official screenings can be very difficult to break into.”
“But in terms of local screenings, I’d suggest to just do it yourself, because nobody else is going to do it for you.”
Visit our Slideshows page to see photos from the Creighton Street Roxy, narrated by John Matthews.