IndiePix Studios 2008
Ryan Harrington

This year saw IndiePix firmly expand into production with the newly formed IndiePix Studios, with five diverse and compelling films that are set to premiere this month. I had the pleasure of officially launching IndiePix Studios this past summer and am very excited about introducing our slate of films to audiences at festivals and theatres around the world. Each of the following films has a distinct cinematic vision but all have one thing in common: New York. The state's various cities and back-drops play characters in each of the films.

21 BELOW by Samantha Buck intimately follows a woman as she returns to her hometown of Buffalo, NY to help put the pieces of her sinking family back together. The film is edited by Frank Reyold (IN THE BEDROOM) and Jenny Golden (MANDA BALA) with original music by Peter Salett. We will have our festival premiere this winter.

P-STAR RISING by Gabriel Noble follows a young girl on her rise to hip-hop super-stardom against the back-drop of a very complicated life in Harlem, NY. We have huge hopes for this project and will be finished with post-production in January.

ENTRE NOS by Paola Mendoza and Gloria LaMorte is an inspirational narrative film about a Columbian immigrant and her children struggling to make-ends-meet in Queens, NY. This film was shot entirely on location and features a top-notch performance by Paola Mendoza as Mariana. Check out the film's blog page: http://entrenosfilm.com/blog/

John Yost's THE BRAVE AND THE KIND is also wrapping up it's post-production. The film is a narrative/documentary hybrid that follows the director and his family, whose relaxed, upstate New York lives take a drastic and devastating turn. The project is an innovative example of distribution-during-development.

THE END OF AMERICA by Ricki Stern and Annie Sunberg - see Jason's comments below.


High Points According to Jason

How do I go about wrapping up a year of incredible independent films and almost unbelievable growth here at IndiePix? 2008 was so jam-packed with goodness that it's nearly impossible to sum it all up! I'll do my best, and for all our sakes I'll keep it short, even if many of my faves must by necessity be left on the cutting room floor. Kill your darlings, as the old saying goes.

IndiePix Films - I had the opportunity to work on the distribution of so many great movies this year. Check out MONA and RUMBO A LAS GRANDES LIGAS (ROAD TO THE BIG LEAGUES) -- two films not to be missed. But if I must pick one film to highlight, my heart of hearts belongs to the bruising glitz and trailer-park glamour of all-girl rollerderby, as captured in Bob Ray and Werner Campbell's HELL ON WHEELS. This year IndiePix worked alongside Bob and Werner to expand the film's already rabid audience. We brought HELL to Vegas, where 4,000 derby enthusiasts created a rolling mecca for five days in August's deep desert heat. We shared the film with the derby world at the WFTDA National Championship events. And we launched the DVD in the only proper way, by bringing it back home to Austin, Texas for a screening at the Alamo Drafthouse. HELL ON WHEELS is a bittersweet reminder of what can happen when a group of strong people put their mind towards accomplishing a common goal, as well as what happens when ego gets in the way. Keep an eye out for the film in 2009 as we coordinate screenings with derby leagues all over the world.

Festivals - IndiePix attended dozens of film festivals in 2008, of all shapes and sizes. From the joyful celebration of creativity at True/False, to the overwhelming cinematic excellence of Seattle International, South by Southwest and the New York Int'l Latino Film Fest, to the savvy business acumen of AFM, each fest provided it's own wholly unique take on the best independent film has to offer. But I really need to single out Independent Film Week, hosted by IFP every fall in New York. More a market than a festival, filmmakers get to meet producers and distributors when they are still developing their projects at this not-to-be-missed event. And with the attitudes left firmly checked at the door, IFW was a great place to come together in partnership and collaboration. From project pitches to staged readings, library screenings, and fabulous networking parties, Independent Film Week had it all. Check out their website for more, or get involved in one of IFP's year-round events!

IndiePix and the Issues - For some films, entertainment alone is not the primary goal. Documentaries that focus on major social or world issues are a staple of the IndiePix library, and the heart of independent film. Check out SKID ROW and BLACK GOLD for two riveting examples of social issue documentary. But the one project I must highlight is Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg's THE END OF AMERICA. Based on The New York Times bestseller by Naomi Wolf, the film is a clarion call to all Americans, a reminder that our constitutional rights, and the future of democracy are not guaranteed, but must be protected and nurtured. This year IndiePix co-produced the film through IndiePix Studios, premiered it at the Hamptons Film Festival and overseas at Sheffield Doc/Fest, released an Election Edition DVD in conjunction with various non-profit organizations such as the ACLU, the Centre of Constitutional Rights and the American Freedom Campaign - in time for the largest voter turnout in American history. We open theatrically at the IFC Center (check out www.ifccenter.com for showtimes) this week and will continue with a run at The Facets Theatre in Chicago on December 12. This critically-praised piece electrifies every crowd it plays for, so look for a wider theatrical release and a director's cut 2-disc DVD in January 2009 (just in time for the inauguration!).

So that should give you some idea of the breadth, depth and creativity of the work tackled here at IndiePix in 2008. Be sure to check out Danielle's wrap-up for more on the great films, festivals and events of the year, and show your support for Independent film by checking out these and other great titles in the IndiePix catalogue! 2008 was unexpected and exciting - can't wait for '09!


Favorite Moments for Danielle

CINEMA EYE HONORS - The inaugural and dare I say it, historical, Cinema Eye Honors kicked off with a bang at the IFC Center on March 18th with highlights including an impromptu duet between co-host AJ Schnack and Oscar® winner Barbara Kopple (who presented the award for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Filmmaking) and an impassioned and angry speech by that award's winner, Jason Kohn (MANDA BALA). Press coverage was uniformly great and the support from the nonfiction community enthusiastically vocal. I look forward to next year's incarnation, which aims to expand into a bigger venue, as well as a weekend of panels and talks.

TOOTS LIVES YET AGAIN - IndiePix's acquisition of Kristi Jacobson's award-winning and impossible to dislike documentary TOOTS, a multi-layered and beautifully rendered profile of her granddaughter, the legendary New York restaurateur Toots Shor, continues to be an unqualified success. After a classy premiere at the opening night of the Paley Center's Doc/Fest, which brought out the likes of NBC's Jeffrey Lyons, author and Toots regular Gay Talese, artist and fellow Toots patron LeRoy Neiman, and actor Tony Roberts, the film went on to play to enthusiastic crowds in Los Angeles and Chicago. The film is just getting started though! Highlighted in USA TODAY as a "New on DVD" pick (a 3.5 starred review) , this is sure to be a stocking stuffer this holiday season.

OUR FIRST YEAR AT TRUE/FALSE - True/False, set in the college town of Columbia, Missouri, defied even my grandest expectations as an incredible, nearly perfect film festival. Amazing programming, impassioned audiences, parties with free costumes, David Wilson on a bike, a marching band, and a packed screening of James Marsh's incredible MAN ON WIRE made the few days unforgettable as did my talk at the local women's' college film department. IndiePix is proud to have started a relationship with David Wilson and Paul Sturtz, the inimitable co-founders of True/False, and look forward to a great collaboration for 2009's fest, to take place from February 26th to March 1st.

INDIEPIX PICKS UP DISARM - Brian Liu and Mary Wareham's hard-hitting and visually stunning documentary DISARM, which played at several international festivals and was broadcast on Al-Jazeera, is one of our acquisitions highlights this year. The film, about the global landmine issue, was co-directed and produced by Mary Wareham, a long time demining activist who worked as research coordination at the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize and just co-edited a book "BANNING LANDMINES" with the Nobel Prize winning activist (and subject of DISARM) Jody Williams. Interestingly, Naomi Watts was just cast as Williams in an upcoming biopic about her courageous actions. IndiePix plans to partner with international anti-landmine organizations to maximize the film's impact.

A NEW EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP WITH CINEMA GUILD - Cinema Guild, one of the country's most respected and long-running educational distributors of documentaries, has partnered with IndiePix on selected titles. The first of these, Lucia Small and Ed Pincus' THE AXE IN THE ATTIC, a thought-provoking documentary about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and overall, this country's racial divide, has turned out to be a hit for librarians and institutions. IndiePix will open the film to the retail market in February, and meanwhile, continue to partner with Cinema Guild on selected documentaries, to be announced before the end of the year.


Marketing and Distribution Highlights
Liz Ogilvie

With an ever-increasing back catalogue and a steady influx of high profile acquisitions, IndiePix Films has expanded their marketing and distribution efforts throughout the year. Always working on new and exciting initiatives, we partnered with a premier interactive agency to create targeted viral marketing campaigns that outline national grassroots strategy to generate increased awareness within specialized online groups for each title - perfect for those films that have more than one target audience. This initiative helped increase the audience for our films and will continue.

Without the collaboration of our filmmakers each marketing campaign would be incredibly time consuming, but by building on their contacts they have established throughout the making of their film we are able to tap into the most remarkable resources. One such noteworthy partnership was our attendance at the professional boxing match in Madison Square Garden where our team, along with the director Jason Hutt, handed out postcards and information about the film's release on DVD ORTHODOX STANCE to over 16,000 fans. Thankfully, they celebrated as the star of Jason's film, Dmitry Salita kept his near perfect record intact, by beating his component Derrick Campos.

With sell through and rental DVD business down, retail distribution may seem old school, but its still an integral part of DVD distribution. We are pleased to be working with a new and vastly experienced sales rep who will be focusing on selling our titles to the wholesalers who in turn sells to the retail stores across the country.