7 Movies to Watch for Artists Sunday This Weekend

The Madlab Post has joined artists and organizations from coast to coast for Artists Sunday, the world’s largest art event dedicated to encouraging the public to buy something special, unique and handcrafted this holiday season – from paintings, sculptures, and pottery to multimedia works, textiles, music, photography and more. 

Artists Sunday is bringing 500 communities around the country together for the fourth time in a movement to recognize the importance of art in our lives and its impact on the local economy.

“It’s a day to fill our lives with beauty, creativity, and joy,” says Christopher V. Sherman, an aerial photographer, videographer and entrepreneur who loves experimenting with cameras and digital software tools. 

What We're Doing This Holiday Season 

There's a lot going on...to start, on Sundays I will be introducing you to several indie film directors, writers and producers who you can support by renting, streaming or buying their films and other merchandise. You can also support many of them by attending the festivals where their films are screening. 

Documentaries to Watch this Weekend...

See extra footage from the documentary Reinventing Freedom directed by Robert J Moore and Eleftherios Koutinas when you rent it to stream from a computer, TV, or mobile device! Reinventing Freedom tells the incredible journey of resilience, redemption, and triumph from homelessness and years behind bars to global recognition. 

Interdisciplinary Artist Anitra Nelson directed, wrote, produced, narrated, and did photography seen in her documentary film Beyond Money: Yenomon -- lively thought experiment of a postcapitalist world without money — a world satisfying everyone’s basic needs, living within Earth’s limits and offering power to people. The documentary is based on a chapter of Nelson’s book Beyond Money: A Postcapitalist Strategy, drawing on activists engaged in a fight for a money-free society.

In her book, Nelson aims to deepen our understanding of how money is the driver of political power, environmental destruction and social inequality today, arguing that it has to be abolished rather than repurposed to achieve a postcapitalist future. Beyond Money: A Postcapitalist Strategy is available as a Paperback and Ebook. 

Historical & Romantic Drama Movies to Watch this Weekend...

Listen to the Soundtrack of the The Astronot by Pennan BraeA reclusive wishful astronaut strives to overcome his fear of loss during the space race of the 1960s in The Astronot by screenwriter, actor, co-producer & music composer Pennan Brae and Co-Producer/Director Tim Cash. This historical drama film is available to stream on Amazon Prime in the U.S. and UK. 

A singer-songwriter named Sarah Jane moves to London to make it in the music industry, where an industry executive named Russel D leads her down a path that is difficult for her to return from in Purple Beatz written and directed by Lola Atkins. Set in the underground drum and bass scene of 90's London, this coming-of-age romantic drama is available to stream on Tubi, Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, Apple TV, Google Movies and YouTube. 

Comedy Movies to Watch this Weekend...

When a gym bag goes missing, the lives of a ride share driver and a slap fighter intertwine in the comedy Slapped Straight by David Anderson & Raynel Almonte of Luminary Figures Group. You can directly support the artists who created this project by renting the film for 48 hours, or buying it for unlimited streaming. You can also get your very own Slapped Straight gym bag and SFC (Smack Fighting Championship) T-Shirt to match your movie night viewing of this story about a man who gave up on life until he gets slapped into a new perspective by a fighter named Hothands who gives him the courage to face his fears.  

Science Fiction Movies to Watch this Weekend

The Art-house Sci-Fi Drama Foreclosure by Maki recently made its VOD debut and is now available for rent on Gumroad, where you can watch this movie about alien colonization, the desire to live forever and a global Armageddon. Foreclosure re-imagines footage from a 1960s post-apocalyptic Italian horror film based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel, I Am Legend. 

Horror Movies to Watch this Weekend...

NOW AVAILABLE on Amazon: Stream the horror film Many Keys - The Heartbreak Monologue by Mike Messier, for Artists SundayHeartbreak welcomes her new friends to "this odd reality" in the horror film, Many Keys - The Heartbreak Monologue by producer, writer and director Mike Messier.

The film features a monologue extracted from Messier ‘s novel/feature film screenplay, A Distance from Avalon - When the Dying and the Dead Reunite.

 Many Keys - The Heartbreak Monologue is available on Amazon. 

The Madlab Post will be highlighting and promoting the giving of art-focused items and experiences for the holidays.

“Every artist that you invest in, whether it's buying something to hang on your wall, or something for your kitchen, or something that you wear, or jewelry, that's going back into the local economy,” says Sherman. 

Another way you can support Artists Sunday is by making a holiday wish-list and encouraging your loved ones to gift you items from local artists and makers. Then send your list to your friends and family. Be sure to include your favorite movies from the list above and upcoming spotlights here on The Madlab Post! 

What fills your life with beauty, creativity, and joy?

Which of these films would you like to watch first?

Show Me the MONEY! Indie Producers Making It Happen #atozchallenge #indiefilm #distribution

'THE APPLE PUSHERS,' directed by Mary Mazzio, examines such hot-button issues as food access, the obesity crisis, immigration, entrepreneurship, and what it really takes to achieve the American Dream. There is a crisis among independent filmmakers and many of us don’t even realize it. We have what I would call the starving-artist syndrome and something is definitely wrong with that picture.

We're too passive about valuing our work. At the same time, we must also be realistic about what we have and what it's worth and use this knowledge to out-work those who are making money (in the arts as well as most all other industries) while we wait on the sidelines for a fairy godmother to rescue us with distribution deals and/or a big fat check, investing in our next movie.

Camille Landau and Tiare White, filmmakers and authors of WHAT THEY DON'T TEACH YOU AT FILM SCHOOL, suggests that there are many more ways to make money than through film. I can attest to their point because making movies has certainly cost (and continues to cost) me more money than it's brought me. Part of that is my fault. Part of that is our culture of "free" (and stealing) where everybody expects to get their entertainment without giving anything to the makers of said work. But a huge part of it is that it’s just the nature of the business -- at least where independent filmmaking is concerned. What I gain in creative freedom, I lose in fiscal capacity.

Make no mistake about this -- I still want the money, but for different reasons than I once had. Earning revenue from my work would afford me the ability to do several things:

• To make more movies.
• To make better movies.
• To do work that I enjoy without having to supplement it with less-than-desirable work to put food on the table.
• To be able to present/showcase my movies in their best light.
• To support causes that I believe in. 

Scilla Andreen's production of an IndieFlix commercial.Contrary to what we may believe about art and money -- either due to ignorance or negligence in looking beyond the surface -- many independent filmmakers are able to earn money for their work. Co-Directors Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky earned well over six figures with their documentary “INDIEGAME: THE MOVIE.”

Vermont based “NORTHERN BORDERS” director Jay Craven also brought in thousands of dollars from his movies and Zeke Zelker became a master of the $10,000 screening for his drama “InSEARCHOf.” So, what’s wrong with the rest of us? Why are we constantly broke and settling for opportunities to gain exposure over seeking out earnings for our work? Filmmakers “don’t know anything different; it has been our conditioning,” says Scilla Andreen of IndieFlix – a service like Netflix that provides unlimited streaming of independent films, anywhere in the world.

Scilla Andreen, CEO of IndieFlix, one of the largest and fastest-growing aggregators of independent film.“I was the same – I’m a filmmaker. I was just grateful to get exposure; are you kidding?!! My movie was going to be on the shelf at Blockbuster -- that’s HUGE! Did I make any money? NO.

Being on iTunes only, are you going to make enough money to live? NO. Being on Netflix only? – People think when you’re movie is on Netflix, 30 million people are going to watch it; are you buying a new house? A new car? No, I got $10,000 for my movie and they’re going to pay me out over eight quarters; 120 days after the quarter ends, in fact, is when the check comes; and there’s no interest on that, and my movie costs $100,000 to make or $750,000 to make or $3 million to make – and I got $10,000 from Netflix for my independent movie, which hasn’t even made a dent in my [investor’s pocket]”. - Scilla Andreen

Through IndieFlix, Andreen facilitates the kind of monetary returns that filmmakers aren’t used to seeing -- taking action on solving the gap between art and commerce. All the while, documentary film director Mary Mazzio conditioned herself for results early on – as a former Olympic rowing athlete who later left a lucrative career in law to make movies. “My athletic background gave me perseverance and discipline, which means thinking about who your audience is and what the strategy is; so you’re not making a movie just because you want to make it, but you’re making a movie that you think can find an audience – and when you find an audience, then there’s revenue. Being a young lawyer also gave me the skills to think strategically and like a businessperson,” says this CEO of production company 50 Eggs, Inc. that has successfully sold several of her films on DVD.

'TEN9EIGHT' director Maggie Mazzio with LeRoy McIntosh, Sadeek Morrison, Christopher Graham and Jerry BarryMazzio, whose acclaimed film “TEN9EIGHT” garnered a historic partnership with AMC Theaters, emphasizes the importance of filmmakers thinking through all aspects of our projects.

She adds “How am I going to market this? Who’s going to watch it? How do I get them into theaters? How do I get them to buy the DVD? Why do they want to buy the DVD? – If you think of all those issues and you address them upfront, then you’re likelihood of success is going to be that much greater.” Andreen also strongly recommends doing the homework before even making your movie, as the most efficient thing that filmmakers can do when their ready to distribute their film. “Have a marketing strategy and start building a fan base early on so that by the time you actually are ready to distribute your movie, [there are] people who want to see it. You don’t want to have to start from scratch,” says Andreen.

IndieFlix CEO Scilla Andreen, cutting out the middlemen!Having researched distribution, this Emmy nominee warns filmmakers to not give up all our rights to someone who is promising all this money for our movies. “I firmly believe that it’s important in today’s landscape. It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a village to distribute a movie. I prefer hybrid, split-rights deals to get content out there and – of course, it depends on the movie – but if a distribution company turns up with a deal and big fat advance that will cover the cost of your movie, you might want to do that, but don’t be afraid to self-distribute and work with multiple platforms. It’s not called “self-distribution” anymore; it is the way of the world.” – Scilla Andreen

As Mazzio preps her latest film “UNDERWATER DREAMS,” about undocumented Mexican immigrants who compete against MIT students in a robotics competition sponsored by NASA, she understands the advantages of using numerous outlets; bringing in multiple sources of income for her work – an important move given the bleak future of DVDs.

Director Mary Mazzio and Cinematographer Richard Klug during production of 'Underwater Dreams.'“Over time, it’s really going to go the way of the dinosaur but right now the on demand stuff usually [caters to] the personal consumer market, so schools are still using DVD,” says this Georgetown Law school graduate who thinks filmmakers selling DVDs would fare better pursuing the educational market.

“We have ‘THE APPLE PUSHERS’ on DVD but it’s also on iTunes, Netflix and might be on Hulu now – we have a distributor for that and they organize public screenings around it,” allowing her to tap into several markets at once.

As film festival submission fees, shipping expenses, packaging rates, promotional materials and the cost for deliverables start to add up and I continue wondering whether festivals (and movies themselves, for that matter) have any real benefits for me, I know that starving is a choice; and I’m not interested in it. The time has come for independent filmmakers to stop settling for less, stop waiting for permission and quit whining about what we don’t like about our current situations. We could stand to learn a thing or two from go-getters like Scilla Andreen and Mary Mazzio. We must challenge ourselves to step our game up, just like these two women in film who refuse to scrape by for pennies. 

What would YOU attribute to the common disconnect between art and commerce?

Does society play a role in perpetuating the starving artist mentality?

How do YOU watch movies these days (theater, DVD, TV, Netflix, iTunes, On-Demand, etc.)?

Read yesterday's post What's Love Got to do with it? A Closer Look at Making Movies.

Monday Movie Meme - Lost in Translation

Have you’ve ever watched a foreign film with subtitles so puzzling that you feel like you’d be better off seeing this movie in its native language? If so, the theme of this week’s Monday Movie Meme is for you and those of us who have had to find our own way -- through the actions and moving lips in films from other lands: Lost in Translation.

Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies you’ve watched that contain frustrating subtitles. They might even be so bad that you felt a headache coming on, just trying to follow long in the story playing out on screen. Some subtitles are incomplete or do not make any sense. Others are displayed in an ineligible font or color that causes strain on the eyes. Whatever the case, you wished more attention to detail was put toward this seemingly minor, yet oh-so-important, aspect of a movie.

Here are my selections for this week’s Lost in Translation theme.

The Girl who played with Fire

I developed a headache while trying to watch this movie due to the faulty subtitles. Solution – turn on the English dub track! That was easy enough, except for the fact that I could not seem to turn the subtitles off, so I had two choices – watch “The Girl who played with Fire” with subtitles only, even though they disappear mid-sentence while the characters are visibly still talking on screen. Or, I can activate this movie’s English dub track and then sit back and watch while the English that I’m hearing on screen doesn’t match up to the subtitles. What the heck?! Did they outsource both versions to two completely different companies, or what?

What I found most interesting, however, is that after I returned this confusing piece of junk back to the library where I borrowed it from, the DVD rental that I picked up from Blockbuster was just fine – so fine that I didn’t even need to watch it with an English dub. I was able to watch it with fully completed subtitles. The lesson in this viewing experience: Be weary of getting foreign films from libraries.

Bliss (Mutluluk)

Yeah, this movie has been on my radar a lot lately and is the (loosely) inspiration for this week’s meme. The subtitles are thin, yellow and too damn small. I had to get up and stand in front of the television several times throughout this movie, just so I could read what the characters were saying.

Good thing that “Bliss” was otherwise a well-made film and had a tight story going for it. Although this is one of few foreign films that I would watch again, it is highly unlikely that I will do so, given the fact that its subtitling size needs to be bumped up a notch or two – or three!

Oldboy

After learning about this popular South Korean mystery drama, I rented the DVD, only to learn that its subtitles do not match up to the action and verbal communication being displayed on screen.

So, I refused to continue to watch “Oldboy” at that time and today it remains among the films I hit the “stop” button on, turning off after only just a few scenes in. Considering what happened with “The Girl who played with Fire” where I had to obtain the same movie twice from different services, I’m now wondering of this “Oldboy” subtitle mix-up was a case of a shoddy DVD source. As the November 27^th release of the “Oldboy” remake approaches, I also wonder if I should even bother watching the Korean one; why bother playing subtitle roulette when I can watch an all-English version without all this native/foreign translation drama?!

What foreign films have YOU watched that contained faulty subtitles, making it difficult for you to interpret, or enjoy, the movie?