Research

There is so much information on the Internet these days, it can be overwhelming. And, while young filmmakers could certainly look up this information themselves, most of them don’t. So this is your opportunity to appear brilliant, informed and absolutely invaluable to your stakeholders.

Generally speaking, check out information-heavy sites that provide young filmmakers with the kind of peer-driven information and comment they might find useful. This includes information on everything from scriptwriting to distribution, as well as some great ideas for marketing and promotion. In particular, there is an absolute dearth of information on how to actually get funding for an indie film, so when you find something of interest, capture it and distribute it. Blogs are an excellent way of doing this.

There are also programs all over the world that support indigenous, independent production. A few examples include Sundance Institute, a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford, that actively advances the work of independent storytellers in film and theater, the Maisha Film Lab, a non-profit training initiative for emerging East African in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda that was founded by Mira Near and the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP), a professional membership organization that addresses the needs of Latino independent producers and promotes the advancement and development of Latino film and media arts.