Guerrilla Filmmaking

SCREWING HOLLYWOOD. Exclusive interview with Jim Gillian, creator of the Brave New Theaters

Brave New Theaters (BNT) is the first distribution company powered by you and your network. Yes, there's no misunderstanding: you have always dreamed about opening your film in hundreds of screens internationally right? Well, BNT can give you the tools that you need to make this happen, and thanks to the generosity of Jim Gillian, creator of this great initiative, those tools are totally FREE!

Incredible? Maybe, but it's a reality. When I asked Jim what's in it for him, he answered without any hesitation. "For me? oh! I just want to screw Hollywood," and he's doing it.   When nobody wanted to talk about the war in Iraq he decided to self promote Robert Greenwald's film Uncovered.  He reached activists all over the country, and people who were interested in watching the film.  The result: a broad self-distribution and The Brave New Theaters.

This experience was repeated a couple of years later when nobody in Hollywood wanted to distribute his film Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price.  Walmart owns 40% of DVD sales in America, and, obviously, Hollywood wouldn't dare get involved.  Taking matters into his own hands, Jim turned to The Brave New Theaters for distribution.  This decision definitely payed off, with Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price screened throughout America with its apogee at 7,000 screenings in a week.

This interview is pure dynamite, and will open your mind to a new reality. Enjoy it!

Additional information about the Brave New Theaters in the next page.

IFP FILM WEEK COVERING: Connect with your Audience. Exclusive Interview with Charles Choi & Tom Hicks, Founders of caachi.com

Charles Choi and Tom Hicks are entrepreneurs with a background in computer engineering, radio and theater.

About a little more than a year ago they launched caachi.com a place that allows independent filmmakers to sell their undistributed films to a wider audience.

Now, what makes caachi different from any other online distributor?, something called the Vidget, a video widget that allows, pretty much everybody to become a sales agent for any good film.

Let's face it, for years we had been watching short films for free on youtube, after some of those films you totally feel that you would be willing to pay something because the film was really good, right?, in the other hand there's a lot of horrible pieces, you feel they owe you money for the waste of time. Now with the Vidget you can avoid those terrible films, you just see which films your friends are supporting, you know your friends' taste, so if they are displaying the Vidget of any particular film is because that film is interesting! you can even ask them if is worth to buy... so you buy it, you loved it and you display the Vidget of that film too. You become part of that filmmaker's audience while you see something that make you happy, everybody wins! Plain and simple, is digital word of mouth or another form of viral marketing. Do you want to know how the Vidget would save independent filmmaking?

In this interview we talked about the future, and the future is to cut the middle man (The Big Distributors) and take the wheel of your success getting directly to your audience, well, caachi is a great way to start building that audience.

The Mini Interview

BECOME AN EXHIBITOR: Join the revolution, The Brave New Theaters

I am still in shock for this magnificent idea, I'm still processing how a guerrilla film can open in thousands of screens outside the system, and the answer is right there in front of our eyes: the people.

I need to interview these guys, I'm working on that, but in the meantime you can watch the video or reading The Pitch.

With the platform of The Brave New Theaters (TBNT), you can become an exhibitor, you can host a film party for you and your 8 friends in your living room, or you can go to your closest library and ask the director if they would be interested in projecting a movie for the community around your neighborhood.

Well, a lot of people did that, actually more than 7,000 so far. Right now, filmmakers have the chance to take destiny in their own hands thanks to this innovative way of distribution.

Stay tune I will bring more in depth information about  TBNT soon.

YOU ARE A GUERRILLA FILMMAKER! you just need to realize it

The Balloon Project: Berlin from Disposable Film Festival on Vimeo.

Do you have a cellphone that takes video? Do you own a point and shoot camera? How many concerts had you taped with your camera or your phone without permission? You see? you were stealing shots, you are a Guerrilla Filmmaker, specifically a Disposable Filmmaker

In 2006, Julio Rojas, one of the most prolific Chilean screenwriters, created the movement Film and Run, basically  life is your set:  you take a script, any device that can record video, a few actors and regular citizens (non-actors) as supporting characters, of course, without them knowing it... Imagine the concept of a candid camera but applied to narrative films.

Did you miss going to the Drive-in? Create your own Guerrilla one

I really love the experience of watching a movie outdoors, but the amount of Drive-in around the world decrease every year, however, Bryan Kennedy became a Film Vigilante and decided to grab his car, a projector, an inverter and a FM Transmitter to create a Guerrilla Drive-in.

Right now this idea evolve in an international network of Guerrilla Drive-in called MobMov (Mobile Movie). It is an outbreak, a good one, that’s spreading everywhere: United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Singapore, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Philippines, New Zealand, Mexico, Latvia, Italy, Indonesia, India, Hungary, Holland, Haiti, Germany, France, Denmark, Costa Rica, Colombia, Canada, Bulgaria, Brazil, Australia and Argentina.

So if you don’t see your country, action! and if you see your area join up this fantastic idea.

Here I leave you some FAQ’s about MobMov.