ATLFF '14 Hit LIMO RIDE is On the Road to Distribution—And You Can Help!

Atlanta Film Festival alumni Gideon Kennedy and Marcus Rosentrater are taking the next step in distributing their film "Limo Ride!" Not only is their film amazing, but they have a kick-ass Kickstarter to promote their project. The campaign is not to produce the movie (it’s already done, crazy! Not to mention it had its world premiere at the 2014 ATLFF), it is to distribute the film and backers get a copy of "Limo Ride" just by donating! 

Care to know more? "Limo Ride" follows ten friends re-accounting a tale of well-mannered debauchery. The reenactment of their 24-hour excursion through possession, trespassing, kidnapping, assault, intoxication and indecency, ultimately being stranded in the middle of nowhere is too good to be a lie, and you will want to be a part of it.  Make these Georgia/Alabama filmmakers’ dream a reality and back the experimental documentary comedy and travel with them from Mobile, Alabama to the annual Polar Bear Plunge at the Gulf Coast. 

Help Us Raise #40Kin40days to Bring Filmmakers to Atlanta for ATLFF '16!

It is our 3rd year running a Kickstarter campaign, but its our 40th birthday, so we have to do it bigger than ever! Help us raise money for our travel budget so that all filmmakers can attend next year's festival.

We need #40Kin40days to meet our goal, or we don't get a dime of it. This is an ambitious goal, but you have helped us drastically exceed our goal in the last two years, so we are confident that by December 15, we will be on our way to a successful 40th ATLFF!

Memberships to the Atlanta Film Society are tied to Atlanta Film Festival passes, so if you buy a pass through the Kickstarter campaign, you get membership to ATLFS through December 31, 2016. If you had a pass to ATLFF '15, your membership expires at the end of this year, so renew now by purchasing through Kickstarter!

You can also become one of our Founding Patrons by giving at levels from $1,000 to $10,000.

Please visit, give and share this link: atlantafilmfestival.com/fund

The Bureau of Creative Works Spotlights 12 Indie Filmmakers—Including ATLFF Alum!

12 independent filmmakers, 12 original short films.

The BUREAU of CREATIVE WORKS is a year long film experiment. We will give 12 independent filmmakers a small budget to produce 12 original short films. In joining The BUREAU, you become an integral part of a community of film-enthusiasts, and, most importantly, a community that doesn't simply curate the hard-work of artists after-the-fact, but instead, directly contributes to the earliest stages of creative work. 

As filmmakers and film enthusiasts, we share a responsibility to not only create and encourage quality films, but to provide a sustainable environment where filmmakers will feel supported and have access to the tools that they need to experiment and share their stories. 

Quality films don't happen in a vacuum, they require a supportive and collaborative environment.

One of the 12 filmmakers is ATLFF '14 Narrative Feature Jury Award-winner Leah Myerhoff ("I Believe in Unicorns"). Two more spots are open in the BUREAU, maybe they can be Atlanta filmmakers!

Support these ATLFF Alumni through their Crowdfunding Campaigns!

One of our favorite things about hosting an annual film festival is keeping up with the filmmakers that grace us with their beautiful work! Help these filmmakers from ATLFF '14 and '15 continue their projects or start new ones! 

Italian filmmaker Vincenzo Cosentino lit up Atlanta during ATLFF '14. He wants to take his film, "Handy," into cinemas everywhere. Jared Callahan, who lives in Atlanta, won all of us over at ATLFF '15 with "Janey Makes a Play." He is raising money for distribution and to put finishing touches on the film. Short filmmakers Daniel Moshel (ATLFF '14) and Brian Lonano (ATLFF '14 and '15) are looking to raise funds for their next projects!

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Vincenzo Cosentino
"Handy" (ATLFF '14)

Vincenzo Cosentino is an Italian filmmaker hailing from Sicily who completed his first, self-produced feature film named "Handy," starring Franco Nero. Now, he needs our helping hand. A goal of $30,000 dollars will allow him to release the movie in cinemas. He wants to bring a new and fresh image of Italy with this movie, and to bring people together.

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Jared Callahan
"Janey Makes a Play" (ATLFF '15)

"Janey Makes a Play" follows a dynamic 90-year-old playwright as she produces and directs her new original community theatre production for the small town in which she lives. They already hit their goal of $12,000 with 11 days to go so they have moved on to stretch goals! This project, and the needs listed in the video (licensing fees, insurance, festival costs, publicity, etc.) actually cost more than the first goal of 12K. Your contributions will still help cover the finishing costs of the movie AND the filmmakers will support students from Rio Vista pursuing the arts. If they hit $20,000, they can travel to festivals and send the director to a national conference for drama teachers for promotion. If they hit $30,000, they can release this current director's cut of the movie, including every archival clip and song. 

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Daniel Moshel
"MeTube" (ATLFF '14)

Daniel Moshel's first short, "MeTube" was a viral sensation (not the kind you report to the doctor) and has reached over 1.6 Million Views on YouTube!  It was an homage to all the amazingly silly and talented people that create videos from their living rooms every single day around the world. "MeTube 2" is all set to be bigger, bolder and better than the first! This time, they've got an opera house on our side—the Bayerische Staatsoper!
 

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Brian Lonano
"Welcome to Dignity Pastures" (ATLFF '14), "CROW HAND!!!" (ATLFF '15)

"Gwilliam" will be Brian Lonano's tenth short film, all of which are low budget and use practical effects like miniatures, puppets and fake blood.  "Gwilliam" will test your stomach's endurance and challenge your sexual functioning for weeks after viewing.  What could be so disturbing you ask?  Let's just say that it's a love story.  A terrible, terrible love story between man and goblin (that's right, I said goblin) that will leave you shaking your head in disgust and laughing at the same time.

Trying to fund your film? Join us at Eat, Drink, & B-Indie next Tuesday!

This month, ATLFF will launch its second annual Kickstarter campaign, focused on bringing more filmmakers to town for the 2015 festival.

This month's Eat, Drink, & B-Indie presented by Stella Artois is all about crowdfunding. Whether you are considering Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Seed&Spark or some other crowdfunding website for your film—or if you are a frequent backer—join us as we discuss the different platforms and the dos and don'ts of campaigning. We will have a panel of experienced crowdfunders who will give you tips and tricks based on their campaigns for organizations like Dad's Garage and ATLFF and films like "AKA Blondie" and "Little Cabbage."

Join us on the third Tuesday of every month at Manuel's Tavern for Eat, Drink, & B-Indie presented by Stella Artois! The first 40 (age appropriate) attendees will receive a ticket good for a free Stella Artois.

Tuesday, November 18
7:30 PM
Manuel's Tavern

#FestivalCollective Spotlight On: ATLFF 2012's “Pisces of an Unconscious Mind”

Director Gleb Osatinski’s experimental short film Pisces of an Unconscious Mind explores the psychological struggle to resolve the monotony of reality with the obscurity of unreality. Osatinski acknowledges that the film is based loosely on his own life, and in fact attributes the original script to a dream he once had.  

Pisces of an Unconscious Mind represents Osatinski’s debut as a filmmaker; before following his lifelong passion for film and storytelling, he lead a 16-year career on Wall Street in New York City. Originally from Kharkov, Ukraine, Osatinski immigrated to the United States in 1994 following the fall of the Soviet Union. While living in Russia, he graduated with a Master’s in Physics.

While the fantasy of movies and cartoons captivated Osatinski from early childhood, he points to his background in Physics as the foundation for his understanding of successful filmmaking techniques. Perhaps within this personal intersection of the scientific world and the creative one lies the crux of Pisces of an Unconscious Mind as a reflection of Osatinski’s own internal struggles.

Excitingly, Osatinski’s next film will be shot right here in Atlanta. A Sci-Fi short written by a collaboration of scientists and filmmakers, The Quantified Self will tell the story of a family that relies on technology in order to optimize their health and success, complicating their relationships with one-another. Imoto Harney, one of the ATLFF’s own event photographers, is the film’s producer. You can find out more and help support the project on its Kickstarter page.  

You can now watch Pisces of an Unconscious Mind on Film Festival Collective presented by Xfinity. 

Backers Jury gives 2014 ATLFF Filmmaker to Watch Award to "The Bravest, The Boldest"

The polls are closed, the votes have been tallied, and the backers jury has decided: Moon Molson's: The Bravest, The Boldest is the winner of the 2014 ATLFF Filmmaker To Watch Award. As part of the award, Molson will receive a travel stipend to come to Atlanta and accept the award at the Awards Brunch on Saturday April 5.

The Bravest, The Boldest, will screen as part of Drama Shorts 1 at 7 Stages Theatre on Sunday, March 30 at 3:45 PM. The film follows a woman around her apartment building as she tries to avoid the Army Casualty Notification Officers who have obviously come there to bring her some bad news.

Molson checked in from across the internet to thank the jury.

A special message for our members (and those who might like to be members)

Today we're sending out a message to our members encouraging them to renew their memberships for 2014 as part of our Kickstarter campaign. This post contains additional information in long form that we didn't think was appropriate to dump into our members' inboxes. If you're not a member,  you're welcome to check it out to see what we're up to. Our members get year-round invitations to advance screenings and other perks, as well as all-you-can-watch movies at the annual Festival in the Spring.

Hello members! The holidays are here and there's lots going on, but please take a moment to review the handy Q&A below regarding your membership to the Atlanta Film Festival and our Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to bring more filmmakers to Atlanta during the 2014 festival.

My membership to ATLFF? I thought that expired / I don't remember signing up.

If you got an email asking you to renew, you're a member of the Atlanta Film Festival. We may have extended your membership or added one to your purchase of a Pass to the festival in 2013 without you realizing it. Hopefully you've been enjoying the privileges of membership, including the advance screenings we've invited you to and the upcoming members-only holiday party.

What's this about fundraising? Kick-what?

Kickstarter is a tool for online fundraising. It uses an all-or-nothing fundraising model to encourage fundraisers to create a realistic campaign, and to offer rewards that will incentivize potential backers to pledge money to the campaign. Many independent filmmakers have used Kickstarter to help pay to make their movies. It's a great tool when used properly.

We're using Kickstarter to supplement our travel budget for visiting filmmakers. A recent decline in travel sponsorship left us with fewer and fewer dollars to support visiting artists, despite the fact that you, the audience, tell us that meeting filmmakers is your favorite aspect of the festival.

We've set a realistic goal of raising $13,000 by December 22nd. Included in the reward structure are festival passes and memberships, so you can renew your membership through 2014, pick up your festival Pass, and support our Kickstarter campaign all in one transaction.
 

I wasn't planning on buying my pass and renewing my membership until closer to the festival in March. Why should I do it now?

• Unless you've already renewed in recent months, chances are your membership expires soon. Renewing now will grant you full membership benefits through the end of 2014 as well as all-you-can-watch access to movies at the 2014 Festival in March & April.
• Renewing through the campaign earmarks those funds for filmmaker travel -- you'll know that your money goes directly to support visiting artists. That also means more cool people you'll get to meet at the festival when you attend.
• There are perks we're offering through the Kickstarter campaign that you won't be able to get later, including participation in the Backers Jury and an invitation to the Backers Mixer. There are even some upper-level rewards like film concierge service (the programming staff will help you pick movies to see at the festival). 
• Because of the all-or-nothing nature of Kickstarter, your renewal will help us meet our goal. That will ensure that the festival will get to keep the funds we've already raised. (About $4500 so far.)
• If you're interested in Kickstarter for a campaign of your own, you'll want to tune in to our backers-only updates with exclusive Kickstarter strategy tips based on our own experiences.
• Maybe you can talk someone into giving you a 2014 membership as a gift. :)

I don't want to do this online. Can I pledge to the Kickstarter campaign at the holiday party?

Yes, but you'll still need to create a Kickstarter account. We'll have computers at the party and we'll walk you through the process. Then it's high-fives all around for a job well done!
 

I think I already renewed my membership. Can you check that for me?

Check your email (the one that probably led you here) - your membership expiration date should be there. If you can't find it, email membership@atlantafilmfestival.com
 

I can't do this right now, but I will renew my membership in the new year. Is that OK?

Of course it is. We realize that now isn't the right time for everyone. When you're ready to renew, you can check out our Passes page for all the details on the different Passes and what you get. Every Pass comes with a 2014 membership.
 

I have a question you didn't cover here. Can I get some help?

Sure thing! Just email membership@atlantafilmfestival.com and we'll do what we can to help.

Check out the Kickstarter project now and renew your membership.

Podcast: Crowdfunding with Sundance Institute's Joseph Beyer

Use the player above or download the full episode here. You can also subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. 

Episode #15, in which ATLFF Marketing & Operations Director Chris Holland talks crowdfunding with Joseph Beyer, Director of Digital Initiatives for the Sundance Film Festival & Institute. As one of the founders of Sundance's Artist Services program, Beyer has worked with Kickstarter on the successful funding of more than 90 crowdfunding campaigns, raising more than 2.8 million dollars since 2011. Joe now faces his biggest challenge in his first personal crowdfunding campaign — and because of the nature of the project, he can't use Kickstarter as his platform. Tune in for an informative and personal look at the technical, strategic, and emotional aspects of fundraising online.

Links mentioned in this episode include:

• Joe Beyer's "Save Rex Ranch" Fundraising Project on Rally
• ATLFF "Bring Artists to ATL" Kickstarter Campaign
• Sundance Artist Services
• Ondi Timoner's "Total Disruption" Kickstarter Campaign