For filmmakers it is the best of times and worst of times. The tools are more accessible but the market has become saturated....From Here to Awesome is an attempt to answer some of the largest issues facing filmmakers today - discovery, distribution and sustainability.
From Here to Awesome is a "new" film festival -- both in the sense that it has just launched and in its aims and approach. I encourage all filmmakers using film festivals as a gateway to larger distribution efforts (theatrical, DVD release, etc) to check it out.
Billed as a discovery and distribution festival, FHTA has been dreamt up by three filmmakers with unassailable DIY credibility: Lance Weiler (Head Trauma, The Last Broadcast), Arin Crumley (Four-Eyed Monsters) and M dot Strange (We Are the Strange). Their ethos and aesthetic run through the festival, from the way that they plan to use existing web community portals (YouTube, MySpace, etc) to conduct the submission and selection process, to the festival's filmmaker-friendly guidelines (e.g., no entry fee, all rights remain with filmmakers, etc).
Submissions are open (as of yesterday); the deadline for submissions is March 7.
In all, it's an ambitious undertaking, one that seems to be nothing less than a reinvention of the film festival. Here's wishing them -- and the filmmakers that submit -- the best of luck.