DO INDEPENDENT FILMS MATTER?

INDIE FILMS OFFER FRESH PERSPECTIVES BUT THE INDUSTRY CONTINUES TO REDEFINE WHAT “SUCCESS” MEANS

B Y P AT R I C I A A . F I N N E R A N

In today’s always-on media world, do you ever feel surrounded by choices that you don’t have time to make? The democratization of media brought on by the digital revolution – affordable cameras, laptop editing systems – means that anyone can be a filmmaker. Film (and its digital progeny) is fast becoming the most powerful medium in shaping human understanding of the world: but what of the literally endless content? There is value in all that content chaos: freedom of expression is a pillar of our democracy. It supports what former Vice President Al Gore has called the ‘marketplace of ideas’; the civic dialogue ensures the health of our democratic institutions (One could also argue that the value of independent media grows in importance with vertical integration of media conglomerates). The very vastness of the Internet presents this challenge: what’s worth paying attention to? Your time is limited and valuable, yet you need something to help you separate the wheat from the chaff. Just as quality journalism makes sense of the news, film festivals separate the silver from the dross of independent film. Film festivals provide a curatorial function that helps you, the audience, make efficient choices about your media consumption. Last year’s War/Dance, (which screened at SILVERDOCS) won numerous Festival awards, an Academy Award nomination, and has helped raise awareness about the plight

of the Acholi children affected by the war in Uganda. Unfortunately it has not broken any records at the box-office for Washington area filmmakers Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine. If measured by ongoing impact and affect on raising awareness for the children of Uganda, this film could be classified as a blockbuster. The new challenge is to measure social return on investment. Documentary film in particular has become an accepted forum to raise awareness about social issues and tell stories that the mainstream media neglects. Of course, independent films aren’t all about social change. Many engage and entertain audiences without addressing politics. Al Maysles’ The Gates traces the development of the artist Christo’s plan to install hundreds of orange gates in Central Park. It is about the power of an artist’s vision to bring people together. These days, independent filmmakers must be as creative with outreach as they are with their filmmaking; their distribution vision must extend far beyond the hoped-for theatrical release and sale to U.S. television. Distributors can no longer rely on a newspaper ad and movie listing to drive traffic to the local cinema. Now, festival screenings, a savvy Internet campaign that includes a social networking strategy, and even partnerships with non-profits organizations are necessary to finding and engaging audiences. For each of these films, film festival play provided press attention that has helped support theatrical releases and raised public awareness for the ideas explored in the films. A film can literally change the world by telling a story that matters in such a compelling way that an audience is inspired to take action. Film festivals remain the first, and often the primary, public presentation of independent films. There, audiences can find films that capture complex human stories that are eminently worthy of their time. And you, the audience, can experience them together – in a community setting where discussions and live interactions are welcome, a 21st century version of the ancient Greek agora. Here in Washington, SILVERDOCS, FilmFest D.C., and the Environmental Film Festival, among others, offer a panoply of choices of films from around the globe. (The AFI Silver offers these kind of choices yearround). In a town where politics dominate, festivals offer you an instant opportunity to exert your inner independent.