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Film Profile: Future Weather

After a well-received premiere recently at the Tribeca Film Festival, the film Future Weather is poised to be a success for filmmakers Jenny Deller (writer/director/producer) and Kristin Fairweather (producer), and it seems a deserving end to a long journey.

The story of Future Weather is something of a journey as well, telling the story of an unstable home in the Midwest and the teen girl, Laduree (Perla Haney-Jardine), who uses nature and science as an escape from the hardships she faces. After being abandoned by her mother, Laduree decides to make it on her own while trying to keep up the appearance of normality in the face of Greta (Amy Madigan), her Grandmother.

The film was built from the ground up starting in 2006 and was only possible through a combination of individual investors, non-profits, and contest wins that have been helping to push the film along. As a semi-finalist in the Netflix FIND Your Voice competition, and the winner of the Showtime Tony Cox Screenwriting Award at the Nantucket Film Festival they were afforded the opportunity to open some doors and work with the people who would help them complete the film shooting in 2010. Unfortunately, the process of making a successful film doesn’t end with the last take, so with their Tribeca premiere, they launched a Kickstarter campaign for help funding the distribution and marketing costs that can propel them to the next level.

I usually dedicate these film profiles to films that have already accomplished their crowdfunding goals, but have decided to make an exception for this one. As of this writing, the amount pledged is at $35,926 of their $40,000 goal, with about 40 hours to go… and here’s to hoping they get there! Check it out and see what you think, otherwise, good luck and congratulations to Jenny, Kristin, and the rest of the cast and crew of Future Weather for a job well done!

The preceding was from Viynl Foote production associate Dave Lenio, bringing you film related goodness every Monday for The Independent Collective.

Film Profile: Lynch Three

On any list of the greatest filmmakers of the modern era, there are a few names that are universally agreed upon for inclusion, probably a few universally agreed upon for exclusion… and then David Lynch. Love him or hate him, his productions (including Eraserhead, Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, and Mulholland Drive) have a unique ability to generate speculation and discussion that is practically unrivaled.

As polarizing as the man and his films can be, there is no question that as a filmmaker/sculptor/artist, he generates interest. This interest is what drew Jason S. to begin working with David back in 2004. After following Lynch on camera for around 6 months, they were able to produce two films, simple known as Lynch One and Lynch Two. The first was a feature length documentary, while the second was a featurette included on the DVD of Inland Empire. Now Jason is back and using Kickstarter to fund Lynch Three.

While the previous projects were more of an abstract look into the creation process and day-to-day life, Lynch Three is meant to be a more biographical film including elements from David’s background, childhood experiences, and life before becoming a filmmaker. It should make for an interesting portrait of a man who’s dedicated his life to art in various forms. The project set out on Kickstarter with a modest funding goal of $30,000 and blew that number away. At drive end on April 11, the pledged amount was $179,554… nearly six times their goal! Congratulations to Jason S. and crew for a successful drive, and good luck with the rest of production!

The preceding was from Viynl Foote production associate Dave Lenio, bringing you film related goodness every Monday for The Independent Collective.

Film Profile: The Happy Film

I’m introducing this next film pretty early, as it is still in production, but after discovering it, I found it intriguing enough to warrant a bit of exploration. The film is called The Happy Film and is being jointly made by Hillman Curtis and Stefan Sagmeister after a successful funding campaign through Kickstarter. It is a film about trying to find the happiness that the whole world seems to seek, and an examination of three of the most commonly accepted methods of obtaining it.

Stefan Sagmeister is an acclaimed designer and is not only the co-director, but also the subject of this experiment as the cameras follow him on a journey through the three different “happiness systems”, which are meditation, cognitive therapy, and pharmaceuticals. He will spend three months dedicated to each method and assess the results. The official Kickstarter page also notes that the production team will be working closely with a group of health professionals to properly assess and ensure Sagmeister’s well being both prior to, and throughout, the course of the experiments.

They initially set out to raise $50,000 for this film and at the end of the campaign last October, they beat their goal by over $5,000. While it is still in production, it definitely seems to be something worth keeping an eye out for. Congratulations to the cast and crew on their crowdfunding success, and good luck with the journey to happiness!

The preceding was from Viynl Foote production associate Dave Lenio, bringing you film related goodness every Monday for The Independent Collective.

Film Profile: Now, Forager

Writing for this blog has opened up into a variety of subjects, but I can’t forget where I started… and that was discussing and discovering crowd-funded film success stories. So occasionally I will be featuring a film profile of a completed independent film that is either partially or fully crowd-funded, starting this week with the film Now, Forager: A Film About Love and Fungi.

The film was shot in full digital HD and stars Jason Cortlund, who also wrote and co-directed the production. The story follows a husband and wife team who make their (small) living by foraging for mushrooms from woodland areas and selling them door-to-door to the upscale restaurants of New York City. The film spans an entire year and highlights the risks and rewards of living a life dependant on seasons, weather, circumstance, and the largely unforeseen.

The film set out to raise $3,000.00 on Kickstarter and ended their pledge drive with a total of $6,360.00. Upon the films completion it premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and recently had its North American premiere at New Directors/New Films in New York City, presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art. Congratulations to Jason and the rest of the cast and crew, great job!

The preceding was from Viynl Foote production associate Dave Lenio, bringing you film related goodness every Monday for The Independent Collective.

A New Cut of Tiny Dancer