Filmmaking and distribution (very difficult to accomplish) innovation

Aquí la entrada completa desde Knowledge@Wharton: "No Hollywood Ending: Filmmaker James Kerwin on the Future of Independent Movie Production"

Extracto introductorio:

"Aspiring filmmaker James Kerwin had an image in his mind -- a 1940s-era Lauren Bacall wearing Humphrey Bogart's trench coat and walking through city streets at night. That image was the genesis of his first feature film, Yesterday Was a Lie, a black-and-white noir-style science fiction mystery starring Kipleigh Brown, Chase Masterson (who also served as producer) and John Newton. The independently produced film draws on myriad arcane influences ranging from Jungian psychology to quantum physics.

To fund the film, Kerwin used an approach that is uncommon in motion picture production: He established a tax exempt non-profit organization to raise the roughly $200,000 he needed. He was also fortunate enough to be awarded a grant from Panavision, which supplied most of his equipment.

Yet, as Lance Weiler, another independent filmmaker, previously told Knowledge@Wharton, "the real struggle comes when it's time to distribute" your movie. "Making the film is easy in comparison." If you want your film to be exhibited in a theater or your DVD to be available through the major retail chains, you need to have your film picked up by a major distributor. And working with a well-known one doesn't guarantee you'll generate enough revenue to fund your next project."