• Film Festival Hacks Podcast with Alex Ferrari and Chris Holland

  • By: IFH Podcast Network
  • Podcast

Film Festival Hacks Podcast with Alex Ferrari and Chris Holland

By: IFH Podcast Network
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  • Summary

  • Film Festival Hacks Podcast pulls back the curtain on the mysterious world of film festivals and explores the festival circuit from both sides of the badge. Hosts Alex Ferrari (www.indiefilmhustle.com) is an award-winning​ filmmaker with nearly 600 international film festivals under his belt. He's joined by Chris Holland (www.filmfestivalsecrets.com), author of Film Festival Secrets: A Handbook for Independent Filmmakers who has worked closely with more than 200 film festivals including Sundance, AFI Fest, and SXSW.
    © IFH Industries, Inc.
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Art Social Sciences
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Episodes
  • How Much Revenue Can A $100K Indie Film REALLY Generate

    How Much Revenue Can A $100K Indie Film REALLY Generate
    Feb 27 2023
    Total Transparency: How Much Revenue a $100K REALLY Film Generates with Liz Manashil
    Have you ever wondered how much revenue a real indie film can make in the marketplace? Wouldn't you like to see the real and raw numbers for a nontheatrical film with no major film festival premieres? Today's guest has been brave enough to do just that. Filmmaker Liz Manashil decided to open up the accounting books on her debut feature film Bread and Butter, starring SNL's Bobby Moynihan and Lauren Lapkus. 
    Liz Manashil earned her B.A. in Film and Media Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, and her M.F.A. from USC's School of Cinematic Arts. Post graduation, Liz spent several years as a film critic for the PBS/Hulu series JUST SEEN IT (which she also helped produce and direct). Overlapping this, Liz worked with distribution guru Peter Broderick.
    Her debut feature, Bread and Butter, was called “an absolute must-watch for women everywhere” by HelloGiggles. It was released by The Orchard and can be seen on VOD nearly everywhere (including Hulu!). Liz is currently in pre-production on her next feature film, SPEED OF LIFE, and lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Laura Palmer, and her partner, Sean Wright. She is the Manager of Sundance Institute’s Creative Distribution Initiative.
    Here's the breakdown (taken from her amazing article on Moviemaker Magazine:
    Our film, Bread and Butter, is a digital success. A digital success you’ve never heard of.
    Let’s break it down.

    Our film cost $100,000 to make
    We grossed $96,000 a little bit more than a year into our release (and we’re still making deals)
    Our distributor did have a marketing spend but we invested in no other resources outside of that (other than me running our social media campaigns and newsletter)
    We got two airline deals, two SVOD deals, and decent promotion of transactional and cable VOD
    We’re operating in the black with the distributor’s marketing spend and heading toward eventual recoupment in terms of our expenses

    In an age where people debate the utility of making independent feature films, there is hope.
    I had a ball speaking to Liz and we get into the weeds on traditional distribution and self-distribution. If you want to sell you film in the marketplace perk up your ears and take some notes. Enjoy my conversation with Liz Manashil.
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • How I Made Over $90,000 Selling My Short Film + Video Tutorials

    How I Made Over $90,000 Selling My Short Film + Video Tutorials
    Feb 20 2023
    So I directed a small action short film a few years back called "BROKEN." I shot the film on MiniDV Tape (yes I'm old) on the Panasonic DVX 100a, the indie film workhorse of its day. My team and I filmed it in West Palm Beach Florida (not exactly the Mecca of the film industry) and it starred only local, non named actors. 
    Now once the filming was over I marketed the living hell out of that little short. It went on to screen at over 250 international film festivals, win countless awards and be covered by over 300 news outlets. That little film had a life of it's own. I even got a review of legendary film critic Roger Ebert:

    "BROKEN is essentially a demonstration of the mastery of horror imagery and techniques. Effective and professional." - Roger Ebert

    Now you must be asking, 
    "But Alex how the hell did you make money with it?" 
    Well, I knew that no one would pay real money for a 20 minute short film, shot on MiniDV, with no name actors and from a first time director to boot. So I planned to create a guerrilla indie film school with over 3 hours of footage, tutorials, commentaries and more. 
    For the whole story take a listen.
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    18 mins
  • Joshua Caldwell – The Art Of The $6000 Feature Film

    Joshua Caldwell – The Art Of The $6000 Feature Film
    Feb 13 2023
    The Art of the $6000 Feature Film with Joshua Caldwell
    I had the pleasure of meeting Joshua Caldwell, a brother in "indie filmmaking" arms. He directed a $6000 feature film called LAYOVER, which World Premiered at the 2014 Seattle International Film Festival where it was nominated for the New American Cinema Award.
    The story of how he made the film was education, rebellious and funny. Many things he said mirrored my experience making This is Meg. Josh really has a great philosophy about making films and content. Check out the trailer below to see what a $6000 feature film in today's world looks like.

    If you are going to make a feature film in the near future you need to listen to this podcast. It will change how you think about making indie films. Below, I also included a talk the Josh Caldwell did at the Seattle International Film Festival that is AWESOME! After you listen to the podcast watch the video below.
    Right click here to download the MP3Download on iTunes Direct

    Joshua Caldwell - The $6000 LAYOVER: Rethinking Indie Film
    Director Joshua Caldwell discusses making his debut feature film, LAYOVER, for only $6000 and how filmmakers need to rethink their role in the ever shifting paradigm of independent filmmaking.

    Here's a bit more about Joshua Caldwell:
    Joshua Caldwell is an accomplished director, writer, producer, and MTV Movie Award winner. He has worked with a number of high-profile producers, including CSI: creator Anthony E. Zuiker, for whom he produced CYBERGEDDON, the online global motion picture event for Yahoo!, and directed all of the film’s ancillary content for its immersive website.
    His award-winning short film DIG, starring Mark Margolis of BREAKING BAD, was featured in numerous film festivals, and his latest short RESIGNATION screened at Comic-Con.



    Slamdance Workshop Discussed on the Show
    Join Blackmagic Design, Slamdance Grand Jury Award winner Andrew McPhillips, and filmmaker and host of Indie Film Hustle Alex Ferrari on Saturday, January 21 from 2:30pm to 4:30pm at the Filmmaker Lounge in the Treasure Mountain Inn for an in-depth workshop on the tools and techniques essential to the independent filmmaker.


    Andrew McPhillips will discuss lessons learned from shooting his upcoming film “The Doll,” including how to seamlessly switch from production to post. Andrew used an URSA Mini 4.6K to shoot the film, DaVinci Resolve for editing and grading, and Fusion for the VFX. Along with serving as CG Supervisor at SPINVFX, Andrew’s work includes his animated short film “Blood Will Tell” which previously premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and took home top awards at Slamdance.



    Alex Ferrari will discuss how filmmakers can make the most of DaVinci Resolve as a professional editing solution. Alex recently shot, edited and graded his new film “This Is Meg” using Blackmagic Design. He will dive into the ins-and-outs of what filmmakers need to know when editing with Resolve and how it can best fit into their workflows.

    A brief Q&A will follow the presentations along with raffles for prizes, including a Micro Cinema Camera, DaVinci Resolve Studio and Fusion Studio!
    Join Blackmagic Design afterward from 5:00pm to 7:00pm for a happy hour in the Filmmaker Lounge during which attendees can ask questions, demo gear and learn more about Blackmagic Design products for independent filmmakers.

    LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

    Official Website
    Joshua Caldwell - 
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    1 hr and 40 mins

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