EDUCATION:

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• Instructor Profiles

• Conferences

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The Apprentices: March 22 - May 10.  Opening Reception: Saturday, March 22nd at 7:00pm Click Here

2008 Independent Producers Conference: SXMN APR 26!
Presented in partnership with Minneapolis Community & Technical College

South by Southwest has become one of the world's premier film festivals, focusing on new directing talent, some of which will come to Minneapolis to speak at the 2008 IFP MN Producers Conference: South by Minnesota! This diverse assortment of maverick filmmakers makes compellingly edgy films that reach wide audiences. They often wear many hats in the process: writer, producer, director—and in some cases actor. We’ll explore the boundary between choice and necessity in this growing trend in independent filmmaking. We’ll also focus on the ever-evolving world of marketing and distribution, bringing you some of the top sales agents in the business.

Conference Guests include: Georgina Lightning & Christine Walker (2008 SXSW World Premiere Older Than America); Darren Grodsky & Danny Jacobs (2008 SXSW World Premiere Humboldt County); Randy Redroad (2008 SXSW World Premiere IBID); Lorie Marsh (2006 SXSW World Premiere jumping off bridges); David L. Garber of Lantern Lane Entertainment (lanternlane.com), a full-service marketing, distribution and consulting entertainment company; Dan Griffiths, a partner in the international distribution consulting firm Trans-Pacific Media (transpacificmedia.com).

And for the second year the Producers Conference Mentor Session will take place the final hour of the day. Attendees with film projects at any stage can discuss them one-on-one for up to 30 minutes with one of our guest producers for feedback and advice. To apply, email a one-page project description—along with a statement indicating what stage the project is at—to IFP MN Education Director Reilly Tillman at rtillman@ifpmn.org by April 21.

Presenting Sponsors:

Sustaining Sponsors:

SXMN 2008 IFP MN INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS CONFERENCE GUESTS
David L. Garber is the principal officer of Lantern Lane Entertainment, Ltd., where he licenses myriad films and consults on marketing and distribution issues worldwide. Most recent projects include MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING and MONSTER, starring Charlize Theron. Lantern Lane’s theatrical division oversees independent releases and places about 30-50 titles into varying rights license agreements annually.

Dan Griffiths has had a distinguished career in film finance, production and distribution (including international). At Lakeshore International, Griffiths worked on such films as RUNAWAY BRIDE, ARLINGTON ROAD and 200 CIGARETTES. He joined New Regency where he was instrumental in the international distribution of such films as FIGHT CLUB and BIG MAMA’S HOUSE. Since 2002, Griffiths has been a partner in Trans-Pacific Media where he has facilitated partial financing or distribution overseas for countless independent films, including DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, MICHAEL CLAYTON, LA VIE EN ROSE, 3:10 TO YUMA and BRIDGE TO TARIBITHIA.

Darren Grodsky & Danny Jacobs - 2008 South by Southwest World Premiere HUMBOLDT COUNTY marks Grodsky and Jacobs’ feature debut. It is a highly personal project in that several characters are inspired by members of Grodsky's family, who have lived in Humboldt for over two decades and pays extensive homage to their favorite era of American filmmaking: the ‘70s. Contained, character-driven, and truthfully comical and dramatic, HUMBOLDT COUNTY is inspired by a number of masterpieces, including HAROLD & MAUDE, FIVE EASY PIECES and THE GRADUATE.

Georgina Lightning brings a long track record of experience in the film industry as an actor, producer and acting coach on such projects as DREAMKEEPERS, BACKROADS, JOHNNY GREYEYES, CHRISTMAS IN THE CLOUDS, TECUMSEH THE OATH, SMOKE SIGNALS, among countless others. Lightning has also guest starred in episodes of WALKER TEXAS RANGER and WEST WING. Lightning’s directorial debut, OLDER THAN AMERICA, is inspired by individuals who attended the Native Indian boarding schools. She is the cofounder of Tribal Alliance Productions and a longtime advocate of Native Indian advancement in the film industry.

Lorie Marsh co-founded a software development company in the late 1990s and later produced a statewide screenplay competition and performance series for Texas writers called Movie Midwifing in Austin, Texas. She also wrote, produced, and/or directed numerous plays and short films, and line-produced documentaries, including projects by Austin filmmakers Stacy Schoolfield, and Kat Candler. The trio formed a production company in late 2003, Storie Productions, and Marsh and Schoolfield produced Candler’s next short, PILOT & OLO, and then her second feature, JUMPING OFF BRIDGES, which premiered at South by Southwest in 2006.

Randy Redroad began his career making films and music in the early ‘90s and wrote, directed and edited three award winning shorts, including HAIRCUTS HURT and HIGH HORSE, winner of the Grand Prize at Festival De Amiens, France. In the summer of 1994, Redroad was chosen as the first ever Native American participant in the legendary Sundance Filmmaker's Lab and also received the prestigious Rockefeller Fellowship. Redroad's feature film debut, THE DOE BOY, premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Sundance/NHK International Filmmaker's Award. The film collected fourteen other festival awards and a nomination for the IFP/Gotham Open Palm Award for Outstanding Directorial Debut. His 2006 film, 133 SKYWAY, a poetic portrait of an urban street musician, was on the festival circuit. Redroad has credits as Writer, Producer and Editor on the movie IBID, which just had its world premiere at the 2008 South by Southwest Film Festival.

Christine Walker is an award-winning producer whose projects include FACTOTUM (starring Matt Dillon and Lily Taylor), which premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Walker also Line Produced AMERCAN SPLENDOR, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and the International Critics Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Walker's awards and recognitions include: Producer’s Guild of America Diversity Award, Independent Spirit Award Nominee for Motorola Producer of the Year, the MN Blockbuster Film Fund Award, and the Sundance Producer’s Institute Fellowship Award. She produced Georgina Lightning’s OLDER THAN AMERICA, which had its world premiere at the 2008 South by Southwest Film Festival.

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Independent Producers Conference:
In partnership with Minneapolis Community and Technical College, IFP MN launched the Independent Producers Conference in 2000 to encourage and support the creation of independent films outside of Los Angeles and New York City, something which is absolutely vital to the future of independent American cinema. Because the struggle to develop and maintain film activity in the Midwest is constant and demands education from and interaction with the greater film industry, IFP MN invites some of the nation’s top independent film producers to share their experiences, encouragement and maverick vision with our community.

Guest producers such as Craig Rice, Christine Vachon, Patrick Coyle, Zach Mortensen, Susan Stover, Matthew Greenfield, Scott Macaulay, Effie Brown, Gill Holland, Susan Froemke, Diana Williams, David Eberhardt, Matt Ehling, Melody Gilbert, Ali Selim, James Bigham, Christine Kunewa Walker and Joel Viertel have shared their expertise on a wide range of topics, including the role of a producer, the producer-director relationship, financing, casting, shooting on a microbudget, shooting on location, marketing/distribution, producing documentaries and more.

Screenwriting Conference:
In 2003 IFP MN launched the Screenwriting Conference, also in partnership with Minneapolis Community and Technical College and its Screenwriting Program Chair, Hafed Bouassida. The conference was designed to focus on the art and business of screenwriting and geared toward emerging screenwriters in the Midwest. The mission each year is to concentrate on a singular aspect of the complex process of screenwriting. The topics covered in past conferences include adaptation, writing for television, comedy and horror writing. Our guest writers have included David Grant, Shawn Lawrence Otto, the team of Patrick Clifton and Beth Rigazio, Michael Maupin, Jon Springer, Lance Weiler and Greg Beal of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Program.

Our next Screenwriting Conference is scheduled for Fall 2008.

When the Director Speaks, We Listen:
Whenever possible, IFP MN will host an event for a visiting director, who may appear at a preview screening of a new film to benefit IFP or present an in-depth case study on the making of a film. Our guest directors have included John Sayles, Barbara Kopple, David Cronenberg, Chris Smith and Sarah Price, Phil Morrison, Sarah Pillsbury, Niels Mueller and Vincent Gallo. Most recently, Writer/Director Ali Selim discussed the production of the award-winning Sweet Land along with Producer James Bigham and lead actor Tim Guinee.

2007 MEDIA SUMMIT CONFERENCE.

“Refocus: Transforming the Future of Media in Minnesota

In Spring of 2007, leaders of the Minnesota film and media community convened to discuss ways to strengthen the state’s economic infrastructure and create a vibrant film and new media industry through education, non-profit organizations, production (feature and commercial), exhibition and the digital revolution.

Special guests included:

Media visionary Brian Newman (ReNew Media, NYC)
Authors John and Janet Pierson (Austin, Texas)
Director of Production Richard Saiz (ITVS)
Film & Video Program Dean Bruce Sheridan (Columbia University Chicago)
Producer Laura Ivey (Odd Lot Entertainment)
Programmer Mike Maggiore (New York Film Forum)

Funding was generously prov\ded by The McKnight Foundation, Bush Foundation and The Jerome Foundation, with additional support from Minneapolis Community and Technical College.

Videos of the summit sesions are available for download and web streaming.  Please note, file sizes are large and will take a little bit to download so please be patient.

Digital Relocation:
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Education in Media:
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Leadership:
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For Profit Funding:
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Upcoming Events:

NEW! FRESH FILMMAKERS PRODUCTION GRANT Guidelines Now Available Online!

Deadline: August 19th, 2008

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2008 McKnight Screenwriting Fellowship finalists announced!

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2008 MNTV Call for Entries: Guidelines Now Available Online! Deadline: June 19th, 2008

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