WORKSHOP: SELLING OUT
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2:30 PM WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
Making your way as an artist has always been a dodgy proposition. If you're any good, temptations arise to coax you down the devil's path to commercial projects and that huge cancer to important groundbreaking art, fed and fattened artists. How does the Northwest filmmaker balance dedication to the art with the passion for bigger projects and a little financial comfort? In this sea of filmmaking fellowship, why do some filmmakers continue to ditch the Northwest for bigger markets? In the age of telecommuting, is that really necessary any more? Join us for a frank discussion-moderated by Warren Etheredge-with several Northwest filmmakers experiencing various degrees of temptation. Learn from their stories how you too can sell out- maybe you can even do it without compromising.
FREE ADMISSION

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 4:00PM WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
HOSTED BY WARREN ETHEREDGE So worked your ass off and bled a little but your film isn't exactly burning up the festival circuit. Is it you? Is it them? Is it something that might be easily fixed? You may have had plenty of unsolicited advice to go along with the rejection letters, but how about some straightforward advice from a pro? Today, we've invited Seattle film guru Warren Etheredge back to the Festival to take a look at the first five minutes or so of brave filmmakers' films and offer his (brutally honest) insight, delivered, with his trademark wit and good will. If you are interested in baring your cinematic soul, sign up by contacting thomas@nwfilm.org. First come, first served as time allows In addition to curating, organizing and hosting all events for The Warren Report, Warren Etheredge is the President and Head of Development for LOCKSPRING PICTURES, served as the Curator for the 1 Reel Film Festival at Seattle's Bumbershoot and is one of the founding faculty of The Film School in Seattle.

Following the workshop, stay for a special screening of Etheredge's television show, The Warren Report. In the episode, titled DO ME, Warren talks about the titillating and controversial subject of sexual addiction with witty alleged experts like Dan Savage, filmmaker Caveh Zahedi, and Dr. Pepper Schwartz We should mention the obvious, that this show contains frank talk about adult situations.
FREE ADMISSION

FINANCING AND PRODUCING THE SUCCESSFUL DOCUMENTARY
SATURDAY + SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17 & 18 10AM-5PM
NWFC SCHOOL OF FILM - SW 9TH & SALMON
INSTRUCTOR: MITCHELL BLOCK Documentary mediamaking is flourishing in the Northwest, as the many noteworthy films playing in this year’s Northwest Film & Video Festival (and many other regional venues) will attest. This two-day seminar focuses on how the art and the business of documentary filmmaking can be successfully combined so that filmmakers can create works that are both meaningful and make money. What are the documentary financing, distribution and marketing options available to independents? What themes and types of documentary projects are most attractive to funders and business partners? How can Northwest documentary mediamakers get beyond working for free (or nearly so) to earning a living in their chosen area of expertise?

Through case studies, numerous handouts and lively discussion, the seminar will show how the right idea or project can progress from no or low budget, to one in which the filmmaker benefits both artistically and financially. Being an “artist” and being a paid “professional” in film can and should go hand and hand.

Specific topics include:
•Packaging a project to attract funding and festivals
•Where to find public sector funding (government grants, public television stations, PBS and CPB, foundations, non-profits)
•Where to find private sector funding (cable and other broadcast entities, global pre-sales, venture capitalists, private placements and offerings, for-profits)
•Crafting effective proposals and business plans
•Where to go to get hard data
•Pitching and selling
•Designing an exit strategy
•Finding your balance on the art/commerce continuum

Ideas for projects at any stage of production may be shared for evaluation as part of the class, as time allows. Filmmakers of all experience levels are welcome. Included in the cost of the seminar is a Festival Pass to the 34th Annual Northwest Film & Video Festival (see insert). Particpants are encouraged to attend festival documentary screenings in advance of the seminar.
2 SESSIONS
TUITION: $195 (INCLUDES FESTIVAL PASS)
To Register, please call Pam Minty, NWFC Registrar at (503) 221-1156 x25

MITCHELL BLOCK, president of Direct Cinema Limited (www.directcinema.com) in Los Angeles, has handled the distribution and marketing of hundreds of documentary, live action, and animated shorts films. 23 have won Oscars and 60 have received Academy Award nominations. He has served as a consultant on short films worldwide, and since 1998, has consulted on short and feature nonfiction projects for HBO/Cinemax. Block is currently an Executive-Producer on the 10-hour documentary series CARRIER and the companion documentary feature which he conceived and co-created. It will air on PBS in 2008. He was Executive Producer on the 2001 Oscar-winning film BIG MAMA, for HBO. Block’s “Guide to Documentary Film Distribution,” published by International Documentary Association, is the classic resource in the field. An Emmy award-winning writer/editor, he has been teaching independent producing at USC’s School of Cinema-Television on an adjunct basis since 1979.

THANKS TO COMCAST FOR HELPING TO MAKE THIS SEMINAR POSSIBLE.