Swimming Upstream: A Lifesaving Guide to Short Film Distribution Book

Dedication     ix
Acknowledgments     xi
Preface     xiii
Introduction     xv
Testing the Waters: The Indie Landscape     1
Gore, Penguins, and the Cultural Zeitgeist of Distribution   Jack Foley     5
The Producer's Perspective   Jason Kliot     15
Conversation with Andrew Herwitz     19
Strategizing Specialized Film   William R. Thompson     23
Management Matters   Lawrence Mattis     28
Learning to Float: The Buyers     35
Who Is This For, Anyway?   Ian Bricke     39
Swimming with Dolphins: Shorts Distribution 101   Anna Darrah     42
Who's Gonna Rescue Me if I Start to Drown?   David Russell     49
Life Starts When?   Jenn Chen     53
Taking the Brake Lights Off Your Film   Linda "O." Olszewski     57
Make Your Mark   Joe Amodei     64
So You Want to Sell That Short? Not So Fast...   Shane Smith     67
The Deep End: Exploring All Options     75
Plympton's Dogma   Bill Plympton     80
The Fragile Emotion   Jon Gartenberg     84
Life in Short   Ryan Werner     90
Conversation with Tom Quinn and Carter Pilcher     93
Rudiments of the Short Film   Derek Cianfrance     100
What's a Short Film, Really?   Andrew Lund     106
How I Learned to Swim: Filmmaker Survival Stories     113
Full Circle   Jens Assur     115
Trial and Error in Hollywood   Jessica Sharzer     119
dare to Create   David Brind     122
Mother's Journey   Sian Heder     127
The Long and the Short of It   Ben Odell     130
Conversation with Peter Sollett     134
Losing Your Virginity   Seth Grossman     141
Interdependent   Tiffany Shlain     145
Group Therapy   Joe Turner Lin     147
From Nelson to Gowanus and Back   Ryan Fleck     151
Little Fish, Big Pond: Thinking Globally     155
Shorts Down Under   Katherine Shortland     159
The International Marketplace for Short Films: Now with a Digital Assist   Ralph Ackerman     163
Short Films in Japan   Seigo Tono     167
Magic Little Differences: The European Audience Loves Short Films   Margaret von Schiller     171
How to Make It with a Short Film in the UK and Europe   Elliot Grove     176
No Lifeguard on Duty: Internet and New Technology     183
Conversation with Megan O'Neill     187
Demystifying Mobile Video: The Market Opportunity   Robin Chan     192
Conversation with Jim Bankoff     196
Brave New Virtual World   Jon Griggs     204
Conversation with Bahman Naraghi     213
The Power of Distribution, in the Hands of Filmmakers   David Straus     218
Navigate the Rapids: Film Festivals     223
A Briefing on Shorts   Kathleen McInnis     229
Show 'Em Your Shorts!   Jamie White     235
Conversation with George Eldred     238
Some Serious Funny Business   Kevin Haasarud     244
Conversation with John Polson     248
Your Short Film and the LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender) Film Festival   Kimberly Yutani     253
Conversation with Trevor Groth     258
Waterlogged: My Story     263
Swim Test: The Workbook     271
Index     289
About the Author      304