Filmmaking for Change

This week, we're excited to have a special guest who wears multiple hats in the impact film space.  Michael Kuehnert has directed films and created numerous Impact Campaigns for filmmakers, leading acquisitions for documentary distributor The Video Project.

Welcome back the Filmmaking for Change podcast. This week, we’re excited to have film producer & Cinematographer, Mike Esposito, share his words of wisdom on social impact filmmaking, as he and his team prepares to bring their Award winning documentary – The Rebound – into the world. Mike shares the backstory on how this project become a reality, how they hit their stride on the festival circuit and how their grassroots campaign is affecting viewers across the country. For more information on the film, to see the trailer and join their mailing list so you can get the latest news on their distribution, visit: http://www.reboundthefilm.com/  

"Ideas + Empathy = impact"  is the motto for The Nation of Artists.  We sat down with the Founder and CEO of this innovative company, Elliot Kotek to learn more about how they work with a broad range of parters to leverage the power of story to create change. The social impact space continues to expand and Elliot is connecting a lot of dots - branded storytelling, innovation and impact.      

We’re excited to dive into film production today, with a very prolific film producer, master builder, Gill Holland.   Show Notes You wear a lot of hats, and are continue to be very respected in film and music world.  Tell us more about your workflow, and how your film and music roles intersect. You've managed to have a successful career, living on the indie side of Hollywood, before we jump into your current work, give us a few highlights from projects over the years.  A story or two, lessons learned (emerging filmmakers want to learn from these podcasts) So you have two films that have been playing the fest circuit, that will soon be seen by audiences, on their platform or choice I assume.  7 Splinters in Tim  is one of them.  Tell us more about this project and how/when our listeners can see it? Beauty Mark is another film of yours recently acquired for distribution.  Give us some background on how you got involved in that project. Since this is clearly in the Cause Cinema space, and knowing it is based on a true story, was there a mission to just share this important story, or was there an intention to create a call to action or movement? You can find Gill via http://www.sonablast.com/

We’re excited to continue our exploration of distribution – in this modern digital world, and we’re pleased to be joined by the Head of Global Sales & Licensing at Filmhub, Roger Jackson. Show Notes:  1. Tells us more about Film Hub and your mission as a company. 2. I'm sure it's on your website, but is there a straight forward rev share model you can explain...filmmaker split? 3. Are you active in the Acquisition space, or do most films come to you?  and general Sales strategy 4. What if a filmmaker wants Netflix and/or iTunes, do you submit everything or essentially curate what you believe they will want? 5. Would you say overall, this is a very exciting time for independent filmmakers, with so many distribution outlets?  Or that we need to narrow the Platform playing field, and/or support more curation tools? Learn more at FilmmakingforChange.com  

We’re excited to dig into film Distribution today, and pleased to be joined by Richard Castro (COO & VP, Distribution & Acquisitions) of Cinema Libre, a leader in the social impact space. Cinema Libre supports projects on a mission, distributing more than 200 films over the past 15 years.  While many of  their films are acquisitions from  the film festival arena, they do have a production division and provide post production services. For more on Filmmaking for Change, click here. For more on Cinema Libre, click here.

We enjoyed our conversation with filmmaker Robin Hauser, who is just finishing up her 3rd documentary entitled Bias, after two critically acclaimed, award-winning projects (Running for Jim and Code: Debugging the Gender Gap).  We're seeing a theme here, Mind the Gap! Bio: Robin has spoken about the importance of increased diversity in computer programming and on behalf of women’s rights at Watermark, Conference for Women, Mobile World Congress, SXSW Interactive, AT&T Foundry FutureCast, Dell Women Entrepreneur Network and Women 2.0. As Director of CODE, Robin has been featured in national publications: USA Today, Wired, Forbes, Fortune, The New Yorker, just to name a few.  Robin is recipient of the 2016 National Political Women’s Caucus President’s Award. Topics: What made you decide to move into filmmaking?  And at what point did you know you wanted to make social impact movies? Origins for Running for Jim? What were some of the key things you learned on your first project that you knew you would do differently on the next one?   At what point, and was it during the Running for Jim process, did you come up with the idea for Code?  And share the goals for the project and what it has meant for you and the community you were trying to impact. There seems to be similar themes in Code and Bias, was that intentional?  “I hope to inspire change in how women and girls see themselves in the industry,” says Robin, “I hope to inspire change in startup culture so they become more welcoming and inviting to women. It can be and make amazing things, we have to bring everybody into this.”   Read full article in the Hollywood Reporter here: To lear more about the film, see trailers or hear other podcasts, visit Cause Cinema.

We’re thrilled to be able to explore Creative Activism today, on many levels, and pleased to have the Founder of Creative Visions, Kathy Eldon join us. Topics discussed: How did the seed of an idea for a production company to “make movies that matter” evolve to the broader organization that is Creative visions today? You have amazing "Programs" with Rock Your World and your Fiscal Sponsorship program and your Creative Activist Program, can you share an overview of each? On the Production side, you were able to make The Journey is the Destination, with a terrific team and cast.  Can you tell us more about production and ultimately the release of the film? Yet another amazing aspect of Creative Visions is bringing people together through Events.  Tell us more about the Spark Change Summit that you are doing with the Skoll Center for Social Impact Entertainment? You have wonderful space that serves as a connection point, and often have open meetings, mixers, happy hours, and terrific mentorship, internship and volunteer programs.  How do our listeners connect with Creative Visions? For more information on Filmmaking for Change, visit: http://www.filmmakingforchange.com/ For more information on Cause Cinema, visit: http://www.causecinema.com/  

Filmmaking for Change had an opportunity to connect with Gruvi.tv Founder & CEO, Ben Johnson.  They are a full stack media agency, using innovative approaches to help companies and filmmakers find their audience. Topics Include: Tell us more about Gruvi.tv and the mission.  And how you work with clients? Can you share more specifically about the changing needs of websites.  How filmmakers need to test more to find target audiences? It's a rapidly changing business, what are some of the new developments you see on the horizon that filmmakers should be thinking about...in terms of connecting to audiences? What is the Gruvi "Audience Calculator" and how would that work for a filmmaker? Can you share specific tips for filmmakers in the production or distribution process? To learn more about Gruvi, click the link below: https://gruvi.tv/

A true outlier, Chris Brown is quite the accomplished filmmaker, having directed award winning narratives and documentaries.  He has recently released his latest gem, The Other Kids.  As you will hear during our conversation, Chris wanted to create his own model, borrowing elements from both genres, creating a hybrid all his own. Fortunately for us, the subject is High School, and the kids are real heroes, as Chris applies his new approach in the cause cinema space. Here are the conversation points: How did you end up on this filmmaking path, and what led to your first movie?  After your documentary, you directed the narrative Fanny, Annie and Danny, which was a huge success on fest circuit, NY Critics pick, etc. Can you share the origins of this project? After working in documentary, and then narrative, what was the thought process that led to The Other Kids, which is quite the hybrid? How did you come up with the style and structure? Knowing you've been down this path a few times, and that indie filmmaking is not the easiest business model to earn a good living...small percentage make the big bucks, but that's not what most of us are after...talk about your expectations and goals going into The Other Kids. Now that you have played all over the world, and there is an emphasis on community screenings, can you talk about this as an element integrated into your distribution strategy. And how audiences can now watch at Flix Premiere.com? For more information on The Other Kids, visit: http://www.theotherkidsmovie.com/ For more information about this podcast, or the book Filmmaking for Change, visit: http://www.filmmakingforchange.com/  

With more independent films being produced, a digital platforms continuing to multiply, distribution can be a daunting journey.  We are joined by Distribber VP Jason Brubaker, who sheds light on the subject, as his company assists filmmakers in crossing that bridge. Topics include: Range of distribution aggregation Distribber covers  Targeting specific SVOD and TVOD platforms Formula for Netflix (SVOD) and Amazon (TVOD) license fees Filmmaker strategy considerations Tips to consider during production and post production.   For more information, visit: http://www.filmmakingforchange.com/   For more information on Distribber, visit: https://www.distribber.com    

We're pleased to talk with Marketing guru Gabriella Mirabelli - co Founder and CEO Anatomy Media.   Gabriella covers many aspects of marketing in this new digital world, including: Film as a Brand The science of Data Building Community The significance of the movie Trailer Social Media For more information on Gabriella, click here to visit Anatomy Media For more information on Filmmaking for Change, click here

Filmmaking is an exciting endeavor, especially if the project can make a difference in the world.  Unfortunately, there are a number of legal issues filmmakers must face, to have the right protection.  Whether it's a simple agreement between partners, licensing music, or negotiating distribution contracts, this paperwork can't be overlooked. Industry veteran, distinguished entertainment attorney and published author Mark Litwak shares his words of wisdom on all the categories above; and for documentary filmmakers, his insights on "fair use" are not to be missed. Click here for more information on Filmmaking for Change or Click here for more information sister company Cause Cinema.