Caveh Cancelled in Cali

In case you missed the drama (all 24 hours of it) Caveh Zahedi's I Am A Sex Addict was pulled from Landmark Theaters just days before it was set for its West Coast premiere (via IFC First Take). The film was pulled by Mark Cuban (owner of Landmark Theaters). While one might have flashbacks of Ted Turner going moral (e.g., delaying Cronenberg's Crash), the reasons are pettier. Details, including a comments from Cuban himself, found here. Crazy stuff. The drama ended (I hope) on Tuesday afternoon. David Hudson of GreenCine reports the fallout.

My $0.02 analysis: Score one for film blogging. Via his blog, Caveh is able to get the word out quickly about the problem. On a philosophical level, the little guy gets his voice heard just as loudly as the big guy. (Though perhaps Cuban thinks of himself as the little guy when compared with Comcast?) On a practical level, Caveh's able to secure a new theater... fast. He finds out from IFC about the cancellation on yesterday and by 6:30pm (eastern time) the next day, Caveh has a new theater lined up. While, as David Hudson notes, the stakes have been high, this kind of success for a film that is one step-above self-distributed is quite a victory. We're not talking about Star Wars VI. The film in question is entitled I Am A Sex Addict.

End analysis.

Meanwhile, in less dramatic news, I Am A Sex Addict will premiere in New York on April 12 at the IFC theater. I'm guessing that that screening will go off without a hitch. An interview with Caveh will run here on April 12 to coincide with the NY opening.

ADDENDUM:

Predictably, Scott Kirsner and Anthony Kaufman have smart things to say about the situation.

Ken Burns' Anger, or: Connecting the Dots between AIVF, Showtime, and Smithsonian

Over the last couple of weeks the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers (AIVF) has only raised $11,000 of the $75,000 they need to weather their current financial crisis. Things could turn around but, as it stands, it's looking dark. There are arguments, of course, that AIVF has outlived its relevance:

- AIVF has long provided useful resources and information to independent filmmakers. Now, with the internet, such information is easily (and freely) available to anyone.

- AIVF created (or at least aimed to create) networks of filmmakers. Now, with the explosion of film festivals around the country and internet discussion forums (plus newer developments like IndieWIRE's IndieLoop) filmmakers can connect without needing organizational support.

Shouldn't we be happy that we don't need an organization to supply these things anymore? I think so.

Still, one vital way that the Association of Independent Film & Videomakers has distinguished itself amidst a crowded landscape of film, video, and media arts non-profit organizations has been through its public advocacy work. (For example, AIVF was instrumental in the creation of ITVS.) I'm concerned that this is where AIVF's death -- if it indeed dies -- will be felt most strongly.

For example, I am reminded of the importance of AIVF's advocacy work when I recently read about the Smithsonian's exclusive licensing of its archives to Showtime. Anthony Kaufman covers the story on his blog, and offers a way to protest. Ken Burns (quoted in the NY Times) sums the situation up:

I find this deal terrifying...It feels like the Smithsonian has essentially optioned America's attic to one company, and to have access to that attic, we would have to be signed off with, and perhaps co-opted by, that entity.

Of course, in healthier days AIVF -- because of its non-profit status, because it is a national member organization, because it represents all types of filmmakers -- would be uniquely qualified to lobby against this selling off of America's cultural resources to the highest bidder. AIVF has done this work in the past, and it would probably be very effective at reversing, or at least drawing substantial critical inquiries, into the deal. Yet AIVF's current financial crisis is preventing them from doing so.

How will the cultural landscape change if/when AIVF ceases to exist? Is it possible that some new advocacy group can be formed if AIVF shuts its doors? The only certainty is that this won't be the last time that someone attempts to make public cultural resources exclusive to a for-profit corporation.

For now, if the Smithsonian-Showtime deal makes you angry (or you simply want to know more), read this fine post at Daily Kos. If you want to help save AIVF, click here.

ADDENDUM: Eugene Hernandez writes about an AIVF discussion that went down last night in New York. I was at that meeting. It was a good conversation, and it led me to further refine my opinons on the AIVF situation...hence my posting today. Though some other people at that meeting possibly share my views, my writing (as usual) only speaks for me.

Fair Use, Pt II: Ctr for Social Media

Agnes Varnum from the Center for Social Media has reminded me of another important resource for filmmakers dealing with issues of public domain, copyright, and fair use. It's the Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use. Download it here. Agnes describes the Statement as "a short handbook that articulates certain circumstances in documentary making when it is appropriate to claim fair use for copyrighted material."

In her comment on this blog, Agnes adds, "I'm going to be at several fests over the next few months on panels about the issue and helping doc makers understand how to make better use of fair use. It's a small step, but an important one. We already have a lot of movement on the gatekeeper side to adopt the principles at work in the handbook."

She'll be at the Nashville Film Festival (one of my favorites) in April. Check out Agnes' blog, in addition to the Center's website, for more info and other dates.

Open Letter to An Entertainment Marketing Firm

Dear (name withheld): I have recently received multiple emails from you asking me to promote a new television series, which features beautiful young people touring an exotic location with cameras rolling.

When I received your first email, which offered me content from the series so that I could cover it on my website I thought, obviously, you had emailed the wrong person. I chose not to reply. Now you've emailed a second time, again asking me to promote your show, so I thought I'd at least let you know why I didn't write back the first time.

Though this website may, at times, promote films, books, and the like, I choose these works myself; they're not suggested to me by press releases.

Furthermore, the works I discuss are often critically or popularly neglected. I aim to bring more attention to them by writing about them. Your show, which will receive loads of promotion on television, does not need my voice.

Finally, if you had read the reasons I started this website, you would know that this website is not meant to be a shill for "reality entertainment" in which corporate-sponsored American twenty-somethings tour the globe, as the press release states, to "broaden cultural awareness." Robert Flaherty, a pioneer of self-reliant filmmaking, typically spent a year or more in the location where he was going to make a documentary before he ever picked up a camera. Now that's cultural awareness.

Last but not least, my name is Paul. Not Pharrell.

Free Comic for Filmmakers

A reader of this blog (thanks, Jon) alerted me to one of the coolest works of edutainment I've seen in a long, long time. The work in question is Tales from the Public Domain: Bound By Law?, and it's a graphic novel (published by Duke University's Center for the Study of Public Domain) that explores and explains copyright, "fair use", licensing and other tricky, sticky issues that inevitably arise when you're making a documentary. If those topics usually make your eyes glaze over, look no further. Granted, as a graphic novel, Bound by Law's anecdotes about licensing problems in docs like Sing Faster and Mad Hot Ballroom can't compete with the storylines of, say, V for Vendetta or Watchmen, but I was genuinely impressed with the quality of the art and writing. Plus, how many other graphic novels are going to help save you money and keep you out of court when you make your next documentary?

The cost? A mere $5.95 for the book, or free as a digital copy.

Evolve or Die: Nonprofits in the Time of Cyberspace

Brian Newman's "first person" piece on indiewire is worth a read. In the essay, Brian asks some tough questions about non-profit organizations (like AIVF) set up to support filmmakers. Below are some excerpts, which I hope will encourage you to read the whole thing:

What filmmakers... need are a community in which to connect, advocacy for policies that affect them, good information they can use, money to make their work, and new ways to distribute it. These can all be found or developed online, and these centers haven't made the shift. When people try to save AIVF, they are really trying to save the concept of the organization, because these organizations often stopped serving their members real needs long ago....

And later:

...If you want any of these organizations to survive, get involved now -- whether through money or just ideas, because otherwise I predict 2006 will be the end of the nonprofit media movement; and if it dies, our culture and our society will be worse for it.

Brian's most recent blog posting about having an impact with film is a nice companion piece to the indiewire essay.

AIVF : S.O.S.

I've been a member of the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers for years, and while my membership has lapsed a few times, I've always come back to the fold because the resources they make available to their members have always been a great help. Now the tables are turned and AIVF needs help (i.e., money). Bad. They've let all but two full-time paid staff go. And my sources have told me that if AIVF doesn't raise some substantial cash (around $75,000) in the next few weeks the organization might be closing its doors for good.

Losing AIVF would be a major loss for the independent filmmaking community so, before I elaborate on the details, here's the link for donating:

CLICK TO HELP

Now for the details...

First, if you're new to independent filmmaking, AIVF is the organization behind The Independent, one of the few magazines for filmmakers. Its back pages -- listings of calls for work and funding opportunities -- are a great resource. Besides publishing The Independent, AIVF sponsors lectures and discussions, has a resource library, and provides its members with discounts (on things like insurance, car rentals, and legal services).

Anyway, when I heard about the crisis I wondered why things had gotten to this point, and how AIVF is solving the problem?

I've been asking around, and here's what I've been able to find out:

How has it gotten to this point? As anyone who's worked in the non-profit sector can tell you, a Board of Directors is often loaded with wealthy supporters of the organization. These individuals help support it directly (i.e., give money) and/or support it by raising money for the organization. Well, AIVF is in trouble because most people on the BoD are filmmakers. Independent filmmakers. That is to say, they don't have money. And if they're able to raise money, they're raising it for their own projects. Hey, I don't blame them -- but you can see how this has turned into a problem.

What are they doing to solve the problem? First, a Transitional Board of Directors has been set up. Assuming enough money is raised to get them through the crisis, they will implement a strategy that is laid out in their recent Open Letter to the AIVF Community. (Sorry, can't seem to find this on their website, but it's in the most current issue of The Independent. If you go to the current AIVF splash page you will get the gist of it.)

In addition to the changes proposed in the letter, it looks like a new mostly non-filmmaker Board of Directors (read: people connected to money) will be assembled. Simultaneously, a "Members Action Force" (or something like it) will be created. This sounds as if it will be like the Board of old -- they'll mostly be filmmakers and they'll make sure AIVF is serving its members by staying true to its mission. These sound like smart decisions that will make AIVF a more stable and better-organized, um, organization.

 

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So what can you do to help? Well, they need money, so give money if you can, even if it's only like $10 or $20. If you're not a member, join. If you can't donate money, at least spread the word to some people you know that do have money. More than anything, if this concerns you, spread the word.

I am the first to admit that neither AIVF, nor The Independent, is perfect. I have occassionally griped to AIVF that its New York members get more attention, when the media-makers that need the most assistance are those that are working regionally. They've been listening, though. I've heard some of their plans for making it a truly national organization, and I'm convinced they're taking the right steps. But they have to make it through the next few weeks first.

I want to see that happen, so I'm chipping in $100. That's not a lot, but it's what I can give and I definitely owe them one. I first read about the Aperture Film Grant in The Independent and, without the Aperture grant, Gina, An Actress, Age 29 would have been a very different, and probably poorer (literally), production. Instead, I made the film I set out to make, and some nice things happened with it. In a way, it all started with AIVF.

So consider helping them out by joining, re-joining, or giving a much-needed donation. If there are changes you'd like to see, now's a good time to let them know. I encourage you to do it while you're handing them a check. Think it over.

Tax Tips

While everyone else was in Austin for the launch of South by Southwest last week, I was traveling through Delaware, Virginia, and North Carolina. You might call it South by Southeast. I have lots to report -- professional developments, an interview with the guy behind one of my new favorite films of the past couple of years, and other good stuff -- but I'm not letting myself write about this stuff until I do my taxes. Ugh. So, in the interests of procrastination, I have decided to share some tax tips.

Trust me, I know hardly anything about taxes, but I find that the little I know is still more than many of my filmmaker friends. In the interests of getting back a decently-sized (and entirely legal) refund from Uncle Sam, I stopped filing 1040's and started learning about hardcore X-treme tax filing in 1999. I've never looked back.

NOTE: As should be painfully clear, I'm not a professional tax advisor. This is just one idiot's piece of advice, so all the legal disclaimers apply. If you end up getting audited or, worse, sharing a cell in the slammer with Kenneth Lay it is not my fault.

Step 1: Choose your path.

The way I see it, the path towards filing taxes as an artist is either a) learn the US tax code intimately or b) find an accountant. If, like me, you choose "B", move to Step 2. If "A" is more appealing, you are even more self-reliantly inclined than I am. I encourage you to consider a career as a CPA.

Step 2: Find a good accountant.

Not just any accountant will do. You should hunt around for one that meets your specific needs. Start by asking your artist friends (filmmakers or otherwise) if they have an accountant. See who's happy with theirs, and what the accountant is charging. If you can get a few names, it makes sense to interview them. What you're looking for:

Honesty: This is priority one. You want this person to save you money, but not at the risk of going to jail. You don't even want to be audited. Repeat: This is priority one.

Experience with artists: You want someone who understands your expenses, your income, and your (potential) deductions. The accountant doesn't have to have experience with filmmakers. If they do work for painters, musicians, and so on, that's probably fine.

Local: You don't have to live in the same city as this person, but it probably makes sense to live in the same state since you want someone that understands your state tax code (if your state collects income tax) as well as the federal tax code.

Affordable: Some friends in New York have accountants that charge around $500. That might be the going rate in New York, but I can say that my Pennsylvania-based accountant -- who, it must be said, is a god among men -- charges quite a bit less.

Step 3: Learn from (and obey) your accountant.
Once you choose an accountant, you should have a nice, long conversation about two topics.

First, you need to learn about what sorts of records s/he wants you to keep. Equipment and software purchases, for example, are an obvious filmmaking-related deduction. So is filmmaking-related travel. So get the full list from your accountant about what is and isn't kosher. I have a good idea of this stuff, but I'm not going to tell you because you should hear it from a professional.

Secondly, you should ask the accountant how he or she prefers you to keep those records. Basically, the idea here is that YOU keep the records and then THEY figure out how to organize those records into a tax filing. (If they're keeping your records for you, well, you can expect to pay a lot more.) Different accountants will ask you to do different things in terms of itemizing your expenses, your income, and so on. Some might want Quicken files, some might want an itemized list in Excel. You get the picture. Figure out the simplest solution that works for both of you, and make sure you ask about anything that confuses you.

Step 4: Keep the accountant happy.

Since you're now outsourcing the work to someone else, remember that you can't wait until April 15 to get your papers in order. Get all your stuff together in February, or early March at the latest so that your accountant can get everything done in time. Remember, if they're a good accountant, they're going to be SLAMMED in March and April because they're doing taxes for dozens if not hundreds of people. Keep the accountant happy: They're working for you, and they're working with your money.

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A final tip: This tip was passed along by my accountant, and I'm passing it along to you.

One way to keep record-keeping fairly simple is to charge all of your film-related expenses to a single credit card. This serves a dual function as long as you pay off the bill at the end of each month. First, charging and paying off each month helps builds up your credit rating. Secondly, since your monthly credit card statements serve as an itemization of your film-related expeneses going through those records and elaborating on them at the end of the year could conceiveably constitute the bulk of your tax preparation. Cool!

Ok. Enough procrastinating. Time to dig out the files.