Distribution

As the leaders in online education for film creatives, we're extremely proud to introduce our 2017 Online Film Conference Series. Throughout the year, we'll be announcing events designed to give you timely, applicable information designed to help you succeed in 2017 and beyond. We kick it all off today with our 1st Annual Online Film Finance and Producing Conference!   No planes. No hotels. No expenses. No new wardrobe. No outrageous badge prices. Just you, your computer and you...

I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker around sophomore year in undergrad. I took this class called "Make a Movie" with Billy Field. He threw a camera in our hands and just told us to go make something. Now, the piece we made is something I'll never share, but it helped me to realize I loved filmmaking, and it's something I could do with my life, and be happy.   The best lesson I've learned throughout my films is what it means to be a leader. Yes, you need to have a creative vision, but being on se...

  Nowadays many independent film productions work with collection accounts. Institutional financiers, production partners and international sales agents often require a collection account before committing to a independent film or a TV project.  What is a Collection Account? A collection account is an account opened in the name of an independent, neutral third party collection account manager (the so called CAM), who receives the worldwide revenues generated by the exploitation of a film o...

Last night was a very special one around these parts as our good friend Michel Merkt captured the Golden Globe for producing Best Foreign Film winner, Elle. As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, Michel has not only been a staunch supporter of all we do here at Stage 32, but he has worked with and mentored so many 32'ers through the years.   Michel was kind enough to invite me to the premiere of Elle at the Cannes film festival last year. To be invited to be part of his tribe during this...

I am extremely proud to announce that two members of our global community are nominated for a total of 4 Golden Globes this evening. First up, it’s my dear friend, Michel Merkt. Michel is an enormously accomplished producer who had 8 films at Cannes this year including 4 in competition. Tonight Michel has 3 nominations. In the Best Foreign Film category, Michel is nominated for producing both Paul Verhoeven’s terrific film, ELLE and Maren Ade’s international hit dramedy, TONI ERDMANN, which ha...

In late 2013 I had started working on the script of my short film In Loving Memory. I had already made my first independent short film Disarray in 2012 at the age of 22 and had been working in the business with my father. He was an acclaimed Bengali filmmaker, Anjan Das, who I assisted in his last 3 international award winning features Achin Pakhi, Bedeni and Banshiwala. I was an Associate Director in my dad's last film Ajana Batas.   My father, Anjan Das, critically acclaimed filmmaker &...

The subject line of the email read "I’m so sorry”. It was from one of the Emmy-winning producers I had been working with for several years on my award-wining true crime drama, CONFESSIONS. After multiple rewrites and the involvement of two notable directors, the latest option was expiring and the project had hit a wall. I had been here before – a rocket ride to the one-yard line and the brink of a “go picture” that suddenly gets stalled. October, 2013. I met Joe Burke over a drink, a friend...

Hello 2017!  The New Year is always an exciting time for you as a creative because it's a fresh start and a blank slate to achieve whatever creative goals you have for yourself. For the past four years, one of my favorite things that I get to do is put together our Stage 32 New Years Resolution Series to assist you in achieving your goals.  To help you on your journey, I have brought in some incredibly talented Stage 32 educators to teach about a variety of above the line and below the line...

Do you often intend to check your emails quickly before your day starts and end up sitting with them for longer than you wanted? Do you feel stressed from the massive amount of disorganization in your inbox and are spending more time organizing them than actually working on your goals? You are not alone. Email technology is amazing, I love it, however as much as it can empower us, it can overwhelm us. Staying in control of your emails allows you to save time and focus on other areas of your li...

Independent filmmakers, the most important rules of marketing are start early and keep focused on your target audience and how to monetize those consumers. What is the point of making a movie and no one knowing about it? – Marketing is the key. Marketing is a very important element in the world of film. In fact, studios are marketing machines and focus a great deal of time on marketing. Independent filmmakers should learn from the majors as they truly understand marketing. Although the worl...