FROM HERE TO AWESOME

Showcase is annouced

We’re pleased to announce the From Here to Awesome 2008 Showcase. Special thanks to all who submitted to the fest and big thanks to all the volunteers who have helped to make the fest possible. We’re going to be making some exciting announcements in the coming weeks. In the meantime we’ve just re-launched www.fromheretoawesome.com with all the showcase films. The films will hit outlets on July 26th which is also the kick off to the fest and the date for DIY DAYS LA.

Variety covered the fest today - From Here to Awesome: Alternative Film Fest

Amid a tough economic climate for indie films, Lance Weiler, a guru of the open-source DIY indie film movement, is launching on July 26 a new-model open-source film fest, From Here to Awesome.

Melding social networking and viral Web marketing, the “discovery and distribution festival” showcases twelve micro-budgeted features selected from 115 submissions via a complex online process…

…From Here to Awesome and sponsor Current TV are also staging a series of live events called DIY Days in Los Angeles, Boston, New York, San Francisco and London where Weiler and other DIY filmmakers including Arin Crumley (Four Eyed Monsters) and M dot Strange (We Are the Strange) will discuss new models of funding, production, distribution and sustainability.

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Festival Update

A quick update:

DIY DAYS
The site for the DIY DAYS events is now live. www.diydays.com stop by and check it out. If you live in LA or SF all the details are set. We’ll be at Under Spring on July 26th in LA and at the 111 Minna Gallery on August 17th in SF.

LINE UP
Next week the showcase will be announced and we’re very excited to share the full lineup. The audience taking control of the programming has resulted in the selection of a diverse group of films from various parts of the world.

IN THE PRESS
FHTA gets some coverage: Digital Content Producer Magazine has a feature article about FHTA in its June issue on newsstands now. Click here to read the online version.

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
Since FHTA is an open source project we are in search of folks who would be willing to help with the festival and the live events. So far the project has people pitching in from various parts of the world.

Here’s what we could use:
If you live in LA or SF we are in search of people to lend a hand with setup, shooting, and recording of the DIY DAYS

Do you have some time to help us spread the word about the festival and live events? We’re in need of some online support to help get the word out.

Always looking for the help in the following areas:
Legal (are you a lawyer or firm willing to provide some time to the festival and filmmakers)
Tech (can you code and do you love film? We are looking for those willing to share their skills)

FHTA update and DIY DAYS

Well the voting process is over and we are currently in a review period. FHTA experienced a large amount of traffic over the last month as the deadline approached. We’ve started to reach out to a number of the top filmmakers and will continue to do so this week. In order for FHTA’s showcased films to reach the widest audience possible they need to meet a number of clearance requirements. Clearance pertains to music rights, talent releases, location releases and all the other fun legal stuff needed to release films within VOD and digital outlets. We’re currently contacting filmmakers and requesting screeners. For more on the topic of clearance and the dreaded delivery process read this primer by producer Tani Cohen which she wrote for the workbookprojec.com

In addition to discovery and distribution, FHTA has a special FREE educational section entitled DIY DAYS. The DIY DAYS events are a joint effort between FHTA and Current TV and will consist of workshops, case studies, panel discussions, and screenings. LA and SF are locked and we’re working on events for Boston and NYC. All the activities will be recorded and “embedding and spreading” of the materials will be encouraged. There will also be some live streaming as well.

DIY DAYS are shaping up here’s a partial list of speakers:

Tommy Pallotta - producer of A Scanner Darkly and Waking Life
Mark Pellington - director of Henry Poole is Here, Arlington Road and Mothman Prophecies
Lance Weiler - The Last Broadcast and Head Trauma
Arin Crumley - Four Eyed Monsters
M dot Strange - We Are the Strange
Saskia Wilson-Brown - Current TV
Jon Reiss - Bomb It
Alex Johnson - digital media strategist / filmmaker
Christy Dena - cross-media strategist and designer
Matt Hanson - filmmaker and founder of A Swarm of Angels
Timo Vuorensola - director of Space Wreck and co-founder of wreckamovie.com

More details coming soon.