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Filmmakers stay focused

Tough economy, changing landscape behind scenes at Cleveland fest

By Rich Heldenfels
Beacon Journal popular culture writer

Published on Sunday, Mar 15, 2009

The 33rd Cleveland International Film Festival begins on Thursday, with an ever-growing audience — some of whom turned out in a blizzard a year ago — and ever larger venues.

But it also comes at a challenging time for filmmakers, buffeted by the latest blockbusters at the multiplex and a troubled economy. To get a snapshot of that situation, and where the film festival fits, I e-mailed some questions to several filmmakers with work on view at the festival.

Replies came from Berea resident and University of Akron graduate Mike Wendt,
whose The End of the World As We Knew It (showing March 29) looks at Cleveland radio station WENZ (107.9-FM) in the '90s; Lucasville native Jay Delaney, director of Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie (Friday and March 22), involving a pair of Portsmouth, Ohio, friends, and Denny Tedesco, director of The Wrecking Crew (March 28 and 29), a consideration of the legendary studio musicians in Los Angeles in the '60s. (One was Tedesco's father, guitarist Tommy Tedesco). Answers have been edited.

What is the biggest difference right now between independent films and major-studio productions when it comes to attracting an audience?

Delaney: Let me preface this by saying that the Internet and home video on demand are changing the landscape pretty dramatically right now, and both vehicles seem to help equalize the playing field more. That being said, in my view, one of the biggest differences is that major-studio productions have a built-in system for reaching an audience. These films open on 2,000-3,000 screens across the country; they have massive marketing budgets to draw audiences; and they almost always have major stars. Indie films, on the other hand, typically have either no recognizable name actors or lesser known actors and have small or nonexistent marketing budgets. Most indie films have to follow a more do-it-yourself approach.

Tedesco: I barely have a budget for postage so I don't have a big marketing department like the majors. Sometimes my marketing department can grow to about five people: My wife, my mother, who is 80, and my children, who are 10 and 4 years of age. If I can keep the 10-year-old focused and stamping for 30 minutes, it's 30 minutes I can be looking up new places to send posters to.

Wendt: With indie films, we are usually trying to sell bold, original ideas but we may not necessarily have name actors or large budgets to do so and with major productions they usually feature big name stars and they have plenty of money in advertising. Not to say that major films have nothing new to say, it's just I feel independent filmmakers are free to make more ambitious projects because for many of them this is their one shot to break into the business.
•

How is the current economy affecting independent film and your work in particular?

Tedesco: It's brutal. I truly believe if I had finished a couple of years earlier, I'd be in better position to sell the film. But on the other end, my film wouldn't be the film I made. My motto for 2009 is to keep going and if the door is closed, we'll knock it down, and if the wall is put up, we'll go over it. (You have to have a motto.)

Delaney: In general, the economy hasn't affected my work all that much because I like to stick with low budgets, although my own personal cautiousness has kept me from buying a new video camera. [But] from everything I can tell, distributors seem to be even more cautious right now about acquiring films. When they take on a film, they know that means they'll need to invest their own money in marketing the film, producing the DVD, etc. It's that much harder for a distributor to take the gamble on a particular film. In addition, it's much more difficult these days for many indie filmmakers to even raise the money for production.

Wendt: The current economy seems to be affecting attendance for independent films, especially documentaries theatrically. There were a few great docs that played at last year's festival that were released nationwide like American Teen and Young@Heart and they didn't seem to gross that much during their run. This also seems to trickle down to filmmaking. It hasn't been easy to get freelance work in the last few months, but I am optimistic that soon a tax incentive will be passed here in Ohio so that more work will be available to filmmakers. I have been fortunate to work closely with my professors from the University of Akron — Phil Hoffman and Tom Beck — who were kind enough to allow me to edit the film at WZIP/ZTV. Without their help, I would not have been able to finish this project.
•

How important are film festivals for getting movies to the desired audience?

Tedesco: In my case, I would have no chance unless I had the film festivals. If you make a good film, a festival is a proving ground. You have to be able to show it to a real audience, not just your friends and industry types.

[But] my film deals with musicians. So wherever the film plays, I try to hit 50 music stores, recording studios, schools and record shops within 50 miles. You can make a big difference by being pro-active. I really believe you have to think outside of the festival audience.

Wendt: They are very important because they attract the filmgoer who is passionate about film. The audience of the film festivals can help get the word out about small films. Another thing I like is that [the audience] will full on let you know if they didn't really enjoy the film. Those end up being some of the best conversations because I'm learning from them what they didn't like and they learn from me about different choices.

Delaney: Often film festivals play a very large role in helping filmmakers to get indie films out to audiences with the hope that an industry person or distributor will see the film and take an interest in it. Even for the few indie films that find distribution (we're very pleased that Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie is being released by Oscilloscope Pictures), a very select few of those find as large an audience as major studio productions.
•

How does the Cleveland festival in particular benefit your films? (Have you shown films at it before? When and what, and what was the response?)

Wendt: When we started making this film in 2005, the headlines of Cleveland being the poorest big city in the country were just being discussed. Basically we wanted to make something that made Cleveland look in a positive light. So now that the film is playing in the CIFF we were so happy and thankful. We hope people that watch it come out with positive feelings about the city and the region in general. This is our first festival. [But] if it doesn't get accepted in any other ones that is OK because it is a Cleveland/Northeast Ohio story.

Tedesco: For me it's a special moment to be in Cleveland. Four years ago, we showed 20 minutes of film to an audience at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and it was a tremendous high for us. Hal Blaine, the most recorded rock drummer, was there to experience the standing ovation they gave him. It was at the same time the film festival was just about to open. I was always hoping at some point we would be able to return to the area and finally show the finished product. My dream has come true.

Delaney: This will be my first time screening in the Cleveland Film Festival, and I'm very excited about it, partly because it has such a well-respected name and partly because it's one of the most prestigious venues to screen at in Ohio. Since I am from Ohio and my film is very much an Ohio production, it's very special to me to be screening in the Cleveland Film Festival. It benefits my film by helping to get it out to an Ohio audience and hopefully building more positive word-of-mouth.

 

Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and in the HeldenFiles Online blog at http://heldenfels.ohio.com. He can be reached at 330-996-3582 and rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.

 

The 33rd Cleveland International Film Festival begins on Thursday, with an ever-growing audience — some of whom turned out in a blizzard a year ago — and ever larger venues.

Get the full article here.


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