bela tarr and the AFM

so, it's been a few days from the trip out to l.a., and i've needed almost every bit of free time to recover from the trip. i'm not very good with jet-lag, and i've had a really tough time figuring out what time it is, pretty much as soon as i stepped on the plane. when people ask me how was it, i pretty much respond with, "it was a rough trip." being in santa monica was cool, and there were parts of the trip that were really cool. but the market itself was rough, and not a really fun experience. but i learned a hell of a whole lot from the trip, and it was good for me to get out there and really experience what it's like. and i'm happy to share my experiences and thoughts about the market to anyone out there who's curious about what it's like.

(i wrote the following few paragraphs while waiting at the gate at LAX for my flight back home):

the past few days of attending the American Film Market could be literally summed up in one word: insane. it's hard to describe the how crazy the market has been for the past few days. but because the market is what it is, i wasn't able to vlog about it, which i initially thought i would have the time to do. the sheer number of filmmakers and screenwriters and distributors and buyers and sales agents, it's hard to believe that they all can be at the same place at the same time making million dollar deals to the latest teen slasher flick. but as with any convention type atmosphere, it's difficult to get your worked noticed.

i was able to meet quite a number of people of various levels of experience and professions and the lot. lots of business cards exchanged, and i was fortunate enough to meet with several potential distributors. it's hard to say if anything will result from these meetings - even though i think i make pretty good movies, my pitch isn't always on target. but i'm learning, and that's important.

there seems to be this general conservative attitude to all studios and distributors. the bottom line is that they're in the business of making money. the film itself is not important - the box office is. this attitude has a serious negative backlash to any filmmaker struggling to get their work seen, and i'd like to say that the general feeling i got from most of the people i met at the market was that of a very cynical attitude toward the industry and hollywood. i was able to find commraderie with other east coast filmmakers, either those based in new york or the like. the east coast/west coast attitude was clear to me, and in a way, it helped me re-enforce what type of film PRAXIS is, and what it represents.

PRAXIS is not a specific genre piece. when i describe the work to some as arthouse/experimental, i generally got a blank look on people's faces. but as soon as i mention kurosawa, kubrick, and david lynch, it all of a sudden makes sense. while when i described the project to anyone from the east coast, they totally get it. tho, i did meet a few 'old school' hollywood film people, ones who've been in the town for more than thirty years, making movies back in the early sixties and seventies. they were very cool to talk to, and they were surprised that i should mention names like kubrick and kurosawa. one told me that he was pitching an idea to a distributor, and mentioned 'the french connection', and the distributor had no idea what he was talking about. sad as it is, this is what the industry is, and what it has become.

in a lot of ways, it's a little early for me to attend the market with PRAXIS - the film was only completed this past june, and still needs a good two years of playing at the festivals. after that, then it would a good time to come to the market. but there's also a possibility that one of the distributors that i met with might really get into it, and it can all go from there. ya never know...




on a lighter note, i recently had a friend tell me his thoughts about PRAXIS. i sent him a screener a while back, and he finally let me know what he thought of the film. even though he didn't get it, he compared it to the work of hungarian filmmaker bela tarr. i was thrilled at the comparison. quite honestly, if i could achieve even one tiny bit of the same filmmaking ideals and experimentation that bela tarr has done, i would be incredibly happy.

between bela tarr and the AFM, me and paul have decided to shift the whole marketing and focus of PRAXIS to more european markets and festivals that cater to more experimental/arthouse films. i think reaching out to more of a european audiences versus an american audience may help PRAXIS do better, and really get to people. someone at the market told me that teen slasher flicks and/or huge action or horror gore flicks don't really do well in europe. rather, the artsy dramatic intellectual films do really well. PRAXIS definitely challenges the intellect. so, let's see if this new direction will work.

if anything, the American Film Market experience has totally re-enforced the whole reason of why i make films, and to stick to that mentality. i've always been very punk-rock about this, and maybe that's the approach that the marketing for PRAXIS needs to go. the work needs to get seen by any means necessary. it may not be for everyone, and that's okay. but if and audience can get into it, it can be a totally amazing experience.

so, i'm glad to be home, and i'm glad to be back on the east coast. and, as always, it's back to work...