By Austin Burbridge

BY AUSTIN BURBRIDGE. SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA (CINEMA MINIMA) — Despite a remarkably difficult moment for sales, independently-financed movies are finding distribution at the 2008 American Film Market. Devin Carter of Koan reports sales in several territories for its fantasy-adventure DRAGON HUNTER. On the strength of this good news, “We are already preparing a sequel,” Mr Carter remarked with a grin, adding that his firm would be putting its resources into satisfying demand for fantasy — family drama and comedy may get short shrift in the coming production cycle.

Ian Brady and Stephen Salter — principals of UK independent production and financing company Foundation Films — report that its finished film THE CREW by Adrian Vitoria will be distributed in the United Kingdom by Momentum Pictures; and that it has begun to close international deals; the first of which will be signed today 2008 November 9 Sunday, for Australia.

Daniel Lesœur reports intense interest in Eurociné’s latest film — now in production — Jiří Barta’s animated feature IN THE ATTIC. He also brings to the market Eurociné’s incredibly deep — and remarkably wide — catalogue of classics and cult films spanning action, horror, family, and erotic genres.

The 14th Kolkata Film Festival in Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal, India will take place 2008 November 10-17. Veteran journalist and movie maker — and Cinema Minima Correspondent — Suddhasatya Ghosh will report the “New World Cinema” section of the Festival for Cinema Minima readers.

BY AUSTIN BURBRIDGE. SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA (CINEMA MINIMA) — The 2008 American Film Market offers plenty of movies for sale, but very few buyers. Independent movie producers have enjoyed easy credit and cash, while big business’ stranglehold on media has nearly eliminated the possibility of independent distribution.

This marks the climax of a trend: Banks and capitalists — in the recent free-market orgasm of cheap credit and surplus cash — had pumped money into independent film production. Independent producers — always grateful for funds regardless of source — took the money and made movies. Many, many movies.

Unfortunately, movie makers had failed to consult distributors beforehand, about the prospects for putting their entertainments before audiences.

Distributors have been suffering another — less favorable — trend, also driven by the triumph of the free market over government regulation. Big media corporations — with the connivance of American politicians — have executed a kind of pincer movement to throttle independent distribution of motion-picture entertainment.

In America in the 1990s, rules to promote competition were eliminated. Big business was permitted to consolidate, to eliminate competition, thereby to control every aspect of cinema from production, to distribution, to exhibition. Today, only a handful of companies control most ways to see a movie, whether in theaters, by broadcast, cable, or DVD — in effect, a cartel.

Now — with enthusiastic participation by the Motion Picture Association of America — American big business is on the verge of eliminating open and competitive access to the Internet by independent companies. The practical effect would be that media companies — which own local cable/Internet monopolies throughout America — would decide what Web sites and which Internet services its subscribers would be permitted to use; and according to the amount they would be willing to pay. The Independent Film & Television Alliance — which organizes the American Film Market — opposes this, in favor of Net Neutrality.

Worldwide, the demand has slackened for independently-financed movies. Multinational media corporations lobby governments internationally, that the same deregulation by which they have come to control media in USA should be enacted everywhere in the name of free trade — taking advantage of popular superstition that globalization is inevitable.

Without a level playing field for competition, independently-financed motion pictures will find few ways to reach audiences.

BY AUSTIN BURBRIDGE. LOS ANGELES (CINEMA MINIMA) — The remarkable independent feature, DONOVAN SLACKS by Kivmars Bowling will have its East Coast USA premiere at the Queens International Film Festival in the borough of Queens in New York City 2008 November 8 Saturday 12:30 PM.

Logline: When Donovan Slacks, a 1920s hospital patient, (re)discovers the terrible secret of his past, his world collapses. Determined to break free and win the woman he loves, the man silenced all his life leads an uprising against the government.

The film — which stars Ashley Penrose — has been made with high style in meticulously observed period design; and in color which resembles the look of films of the period shot on two-color Technicolor or bichrome film.

The production was shot on Super 8 film. It looks gorgeous — the promise of Super 8 as a serious choice for movie makers is realized in this remarkable motion picture entertainment. DONOVAN SLACKS marks recent trends of young movie makers turning to film — and to Super 8.

Director’s comment: 1928 and a man who has been raised all is life to believe he has a debilitating bone condition discovers, completely by chance, that it’s all a fiction. A lie. Munchhausen by proxy. Every structure he ever knew and every idea he had about himself is annihilated, he becomes an unmarked sheet of paper. And in this emptiness he sets about writing his own rules, drafting himself afresh. He becomes the leader in a local fishermen’s dispute with the government and somehow persuades them to found their own country and fight to the bitter end. Is he thinking clearly for the first time in his life, unfettered? Or is he gripped by a mania? And how does that logic or that mania get transmitted to a whole group of people? The surreality of a revolution or an uprising. The logical mania, the suspension of disbelief that makes a whole group of people, despite the odds, decide to put up barricades and fight come what may. Donovan Slacks’ personal revolution leads to a political one, with one driving the other. It might be called a pessimistic ending, but it’s also uplifting, because for a brief period he and they have really lived, they created their own rules.

BY AUSTIN BURBRIDGE. LOS ANGELES (CINEMA MINIMA) — Flickr’s Microdocs Group focuses on very short motion-picture documentary and portraiture; especially unedited, direct-from-the-camera improvisation. This Flickr group is hosted by Dean Terry. He directed SUBIDVIDED, a documentary about life in American bourgeois suburbs. Professor Terry is a founder of MobileLab, and Director of Emerging Media at University of Texas at Dallas. Recently picture-sharing Web site Flickr has added motion pictures to the kinds of files — hitherto only “still” photos — its members can post and share. [Flickr]

BY AUSTIN BURBRIDGE. LOS ANGELES (CINEMA MINIMA) — The Ikodot is a viewfinder which fits in the “hot shoe” flash mount of a camera. This accessory is appropriate for compact digital cameras. Many recent digital cameras do not have viewfinder eyepieces — only LCD displays, for example, the Lumix DMC-LX3 or the Leica Digilux DLUX-4. The Ikodot accessory finder is a simple frame made out of metal wire, with pins for sighting. As a “reference device” it allows you to accurately aim your camera, and to frame your shots without needing to peer one-eyed through a viewfinder: You can keep both eyes open, just above the camera, and focused on your subject for an unimpeded sense of potential action, play of light, and compositional dynamics. The Ikodot is intended for users of lenses within the long-normal to wide-angle range of focal lengths. By following a simple method the Ikodot will work for several lenses. It will work on just about any format hand-held camera with an accessory shoe. It is terrific for eyeglass-wearers. Price: US$99. For more information contact <fritz@ikodot.com>. [Ikodot]

• Until now, Cinema Minima has not paid attention to “still” cameras. However, now that such devices can make movies — and now that movie makers are using them to make movies — they will be included in Cinema Minima’s coverage.
• The Ikodot Web site is rendered entirely as Flash animation, and without helpful “meta data” description: It is invisible to search engines. Typing keywords such as viewfinder, or finder, or any other, obvious descriptor will not find it in Google or Yahoo! or any other search engine. Fortunately, the device is listed in Andrew Nemeng’s excellent Leica FAQ, and now, here.

The first, most crucial step in making a film is finding the funds to do it. Let Louise Levison, who wrote the innovative business plan for THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, show you how.

Whether you’re planning a feature, a short, a documentary, or a large-format film, Filmmakers and Financing: Business Plans for Independents teaches you how to create a business plan that can be presented to a potential investor.

In jargon-free plain language, the author leads you through every step. Each chapter concentrates on a different section of your business plan, including the industry, marketing, financing, and distribution.

There are supplementary exercises and spreadsheets on the included CD workbook, so you’ll get comfortable crunching the numbers — no math degree required! The latest, fifth edition contains completely revised and updated industry data, updated information on the market for short films, as well as a new chapter on nontraditional films such as documentaries. Highlights:

• A step-by-step approach to creating a business plan that will attract investor financing for a project
• A new chapter on non-traditional films such as documentaries
• Bonus CD-ROM

Buy Filmmakers & Financing: Business Plans for Independents now online at the Writers Store. [Movie Money]