INDIE FILM BLOGGER ROAD TRIP

Indie Film Blogger Road Trip - entire movie on Blip.TV

2011-03-23T00:33:00.000-07:00

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Check out the movie at Blip.TV!

- S

About Indie Film Blogger Road Trip

2009-05-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

In the feature length documentary Indie Film Blogger Road Trip independent filmmaker & blogger Sujewa Ekanayake (Date Number One, DIY Filmmaker Sujewa blog) travels to several U.S. East Coast cities in the Summer of 2008 and discusses the thriving world of indie film journalism on the web, related Internet writings & other matters relevant to the indie film community with over a dozen bloggers who write about indie film and or media professionals who rely on indie film blogs to accomplish their daily work. Subjects discussed in the film include: professional development and breakthroughs as film journalists, the intersection of race and indie filmmaking, the role blogs play in keeping indie film fans & writers who do not live in major cities connected to the scene, several takes on the amount of participation by women in both the indie filmmaking world & indie film blogging world, debates regarding the value of blogs when compared to traditional/print media reviews and articles, the effect of digital production on minority filmmaking, several view points on whether the indie film blog world is an actual community in a traditional sense, motivations for blogging about indie films, benefits of blogging about indie films, difficulties involved in being an independent blogger or journalist, questions and many answers regarding whether blogs are ultimately a positive thing or a negative thing for the indie film world, promotional & distribution strategies adopted by makers of independent horror movies, the role blogs play in supporting work done by media production organizations, screening events, film festivals, and museums, what the near future may hold for both indie filmmakers and indie film bloggers.

Indie Film Blogger Road Trip features: Anthony Kaufman (indieWIRE, Village Voice, Anthony Kaufman's blog), Brandon Harris (Cinema Echo Chamber, Hammer to Nail, Spout, Filmmaker Magazine), Stu VanAirsdale (The Reeler, Defamer), Melissa Silverstein (Women and Hollywood), Erica Ginsberg (Docs In Progress, Docs Interactive), Chuck Tryon (The Chutry Experiment, Newcritics, Fayetteville State University), Gabe Wardell (Atlanta Film Festival, Gabe's Declaration of Principles, ATL 365 blog), Paula Martinez (Atlanta Film Festival, Paula's After Thoughts), Tambay Obenson (The Obenson Report, Beautiful Things), Noralil Ryan Fores (ShortEnd Magazine), Armando Valle (Horror 101, Armando Valle blog), KJ Mohr (National Museum of Women in the Arts, My World Bank Lunches), and Brian Geldin (The Film Panel Notetaker). Film was produced, directed, videotaped, edited by Sujewa Ekanayake, and features music by Kevin MacLeod. Indie Film Blogger Road Trip is a warm, multi-faceted, reflective introduction to - and a celebration of - a young, influential 21st century creative community.

Clips & Trailers

2009-05-04T18:00:00.001-07:00

coming soon...

VOD

2009-05-02T12:40:00.001-07:00

coming soon...

DVD

2009-05-01T12:39:00.000-07:00

coming soon...

Screenings

2009-05-01T12:35:00.000-07:00

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World Premiere - 2/17/09 - Anthology Film Archives, NYC

Indie Film Blogger Road Trip now available to view from Atlanta Film Festival's site

2009-04-15T00:50:00.000-07:00

Go here to get all the details or go here to watch the entire film - free from the Atlanta Film Festival's site (once at ATLFF's IFBRT page you'll have to register with B-Side in order to watch the film, but it's a fast & easy registration process). Enjoy!

- Sujewa

Indie Film Blogger Road Trip on Blip.TV - Episode 1: Visiting Obenson & Harris in Brooklyn

2009-04-13T00:13:00.000-07:00

Get the video embed, description here.

Or go directly to the Blip.TV's Indie Film Blogger Road Trip page!

(i am not crazy about how blip's flash conversion is creating some artifacts/blur when subjects move, so, perhaps vimeo or another site will offer better image quality, further research necessary)

- Sujewa

IFBRT director in Atlanta on 4/18 for a discussion on film criticism

2009-03-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

Get all the info. about the Atlanta Film Festival event here.

Distribution update

2009-02-21T13:23:00.001-08:00

The latest re: a film festival participation, another NYC screening, web availability & DVD availability of IFBRT at this post at DIY Filmmaker blog.

IFBRT on Blip.tv starting near mid-2009

2009-02-20T19:19:00.000-08:00

I plan on releasing IFBRT in the form of several episodes (each visiting one or more cities & one or more bloggers) through Blip.tv starting near mid-2009 (at some point in May or June most likely, after a possible 2nd screening in NYC in March or April, & a possible screening/streaming/on-demand presentation in April through/with the Atlanta Film Festival). Here is the IFBRT page on Blip.tv site.

Photos from World Premiere in NYC!

2009-02-20T19:11:00.001-08:00

Go here to see photos from IFBRT's World Premiere at Anthology Film Archives in NYC on 2/17/09.

Notes on IFBRT premiere at One Way Community blog

2009-02-20T19:00:00.000-08:00

Check out a blog post about two audience members' experience at the IFBRT premiere on 2/17 - at One Way Community blog.

World Premiere of Indie Film Blogger Road Trip on 2/17 in NYC!

2009-02-10T20:15:00.000-08:00

Indie Film Blogger Road Trip
World Premiere
Tuesday February 17, 2009
8 PM
Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10003
(map/directions, Subway directions: F & V trains to 2nd Avenue, walk two blocks North on 2nd Avenue to 2nd Street. #6 to Bleecker St., walk one block North on Lafayette, two blocks East on Bond St. (turns into 2nd St.) to 2nd Avenue. Bus directions: M15 to 3rd Street)
* For event info. contact Sujewa Ekanayake at wilddiner@aol.com or
240-354-3394, and get updates regarding the event at:
http://indiefilmbloggersmovie.blogspot.com/
$9 ($6 for Anthology members)
*
Indie Film Blogger Road Trip description:

In the feature length documentary Indie Film Blogger Road Trip independent filmmaker & blogger Sujewa Ekanayake (Date Number One, DIY Filmmaker Sujewa blog) travels to several U.S. East Coast cities in the Summer of 2008 and discusses the thriving world of indie film journalism on the web, related Internet writings & other matters relevant to the indie film community with over a dozen bloggers who write about indie film and or media professionals who rely on indie film blogs to accomplish their daily work. Subjects discussed in the film include: professional development and breakthroughs as film journalists, the intersection of race and indie filmmaking, the role blogs play in keeping indie film fans & writers who do not live in major cities connected to the scene, several takes on the amount of participation by women in both the indie filmmaking world & indie film blogging world, debates regarding the value of blogs when compared to traditional/print media reviews and articles, the effect of digital production on minority filmmaking, several view points on whether the indie film blog world is an actual community in a traditional sense, motivations for blogging about indie films, benefits of blogging about indie films, difficulties involved in being an independent blogger or journalist, questions and many answers regarding whether blogs are ultimately a positive thing or a negative thing for the indie film world, promotional & distribution strategies adopted by makers of independent horror movies, the role blogs play in supporting work done by media production organizations, screening events, film festivals, and museums, what the near future may hold for both indie filmmakers and indie film bloggers.

Indie Film Blogger Road Trip features: Anthony Kaufman (indieWIRE, Village Voice, Anthony Kaufman's blog), Brandon Harris (Cinema Echo Chamber, Hammer to Nail, Spout, Filmmaker Magazine), Stu VanAirsdale (The Reeler, Defamer), Melissa Silverstein (Women and Hollywood), Erica Ginsberg (Docs In Progress, Docs Interactive), Chuck Tryon (The Chutry Experiment, Newcritics, Fayetteville State University), Gabe Wardell (Atlanta Film Festival, Gabe's Declaration of Principles, ATL 365 blog), Paula Martinez (Atlanta Film Festival, Paula's After Thoughts), Tambay Obenson (The Obenson Report, Beautiful Things), Noralil Ryan Fores (ShortEnd Magazine), Armando Valle (Horror 101, Armando Valle blog), KJ Mohr (National Museum of Women in the Arts, My World Bank Lunches), and Brian Geldin (The Film Panel Notetaker). Film was produced, directed, videotaped, edited by Sujewa Ekanayake, and features music by Kevin MacLeod. Indie Film Blogger Road Trip is a warm, multi-faceted, reflective introduction to - and a celebration of - a young, influential 21st century creative community.
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Director & several bloggers featured in the film will attend the screening. There will be a brief Q & A session/discussion following the screening.
::
Media & Event Management Contact: Sujewa Ekanayake (wilddiner@aol.com, 240-354-3394)
*
:. To see the opening 9 minutes of the film visit this YouTube page:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW70Y8My8Kc
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Indie Film Blogger Road Trip website & blog: http://indiefilmbloggersmovie.blogspot.com/
*
*
Indie Film Blogger Road Trip Copyright 2008 Sujewa Ekanayake/Wild Diner Films

Recent mentions of IFBRT & its 2/17 premiere

2009-02-10T16:05:00.000-08:00

(note: this post should be dated 2/15 - but is dated 2/10 keep the 2/17 premiere event announcement as the top post, after 2/17 this post will be moved to the top/its proper place date wise)

Week of Wonders

Black Box Office

The Film Panel Notetaker

more links coming after 2/17

Talking about IFBRT on The Obenson Report podcast

2009-02-10T15:14:00.000-08:00

Check out the 2/9 Mon podcast episode here at The Obenson Report.

IFBRT & Atlanta Film Festival

2009-02-10T15:11:00.001-08:00

Here's the latest on Atlanta Film Festival's plans for Indie Film Blogger Road Trip.

IFBRT director on a podcast Mon 2/9 at 8 PM

2009-02-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

I'll be on The Obenson Report podcast tomorrow - Mon 2/9, at 8 PM - read about it/get the links here.

UPDATE: And here's the official post re: the podcast show at The Obenson Report.

Some film festival directors vs. IFBRT featured blogger Tambay Obenson

2009-02-07T18:30:00.001-08:00

Read about & follow the links to the minor controversy at DIY Filmmaker. Or go directly to this post at The Obenson Report.

Some big & interesting festival related IFBRT news soon

2009-02-05T18:39:00.000-08:00

A fest is planning on doing a few interesting things with IFBRT & hosting an event about film writing - details are still being worked out, but, in a few weeks, I'll have all the info. about this upcoming Spring '09 event. The entire thing is a very exciting idea (the event, & using IFBRT to launch the event) - can't wait/looking forward to it.

- Sujewa

Resist Edison Trust blog mentions Indie Film Blogger Road Trip

2009-02-05T18:36:00.001-08:00

Check out the mention here. Thanks RET blog!

- Sujewa

The Daily mentions IFBRT premiere

2009-02-02T22:03:00.001-08:00

Not only did David Hudson at The Daily blog link to info about the premiere, he posted the awesome poster for it too - check it out. Thanks David!

A 2nd US screening of IFBRT is in the works

2009-01-28T15:46:00.000-08:00

Read about it here. But do plan on coming to the 2/17 screening at Anthology - 'cause that's the World Premiere & it's gonna be a fantabulous event.

Will be on Obenson Report podcast discussing IFBRT on 2/9

2009-01-27T15:46:00.000-08:00

Get all the linkage here & tune in on 2/9.

IFBRT & film festivals

2009-01-24T02:20:00.000-08:00

My current approach to film festivals (effective starting now), re: IFBRT, is:
1 - if a festival is interested in taking a look at IFBRT then they can contact me,
2 - if I think the festival will be useful for IFBRT I will send them a screener DVD,
3 - if the festival wants to program IFBRT then I will pay the submission fee, fill out the paperwork, etc. (unless the submission fee is waived, which would be good)
4 - when IFBRT screens at a fest I will promote the event through my blogs & other available means, and also will try to attend the screening if at all possible

This approach is slightly different than the typical way indie filmmakers deal with festivals. Usually it is a gamble - filmmakers pay the submission fee, fill out the paperwork, mail in a screener DVD & hope that the festival accepts the film. Since I am a DIY/self-distributing filmmaker I do not have to take that route (so far I've produced or co-produced close to 50 screenings of my movies - in Maryland, Washington, D.C., New York City, Seattle - playing the films to over 2000 audience members). And I am totally comfortable with releasing films - both at theatrical screenings & on home use formats - w/out any festival play, if need be.

However, IFBRT would be a good film to screen at festivals, if we can work out a mutually beneficial arrangement, as described at top.

- Sujewa

Kevin B. Lee will introduce the doc on 2/17 :: new poster for the event

2009-01-19T23:27:00.000-08:00

Lee will also moderate the post-screening Q & A. More here.
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Also, pictured above is the new poster for the 2/17 premiere - UPDATED 1/21 at 1:16 AM w/ final version of the poster.
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1:52 PM 1/19 UPDATE: The Obenson Report mentions the 2/17 screening - thanks Tambay!

IFBRT's opening 9 minutes on Internet Archive

2009-01-19T11:47:00.000-08:00

In light of the recent Kevin B. Lee situation, it is probably a good idea to have video clips hosted at several sites, so, I posted the opening 9 minutes at Internet Archive.

Blogger doc premiere mentions from around the web

2009-01-09T18:53:00.000-08:00

Hollywood Is Talking recently mentioned the 2/17 World Premiere of Indie Film Blogger Road Trip. Thanks H.I.T!

The Chutry Experiment mentioned it recently also, thanks Chuck!

Same at One Way Community blog. Thanks Princeton!

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If the event gets mentioned at your blog or site, let me know, will link to it from here. Here's the page with all the info. on the event. Thanks!

- Sujewa

How many indie film blogs & indie film info/news/review/opinion sites are there?

2008-12-26T22:32:00.000-08:00

This was a question that came up often while I was making Indie Film Blogger Road Trip. My guess is that there are several hundred to several thousand sites that I would consider indie film blogs or perform the same function - offer news, opinion, reviews, etc. re: indie film & related matters. So let's take a few days, scan the interwebz, & see if we can figure out how many indie film blogs - roughly - there may be. I am going to limit this list to blogs & sites written in English (since that's what I can read well) and I'll probably skip most blogs & sites set up to promote just one movie - unless such sites also talk about indie film stuff in general. Post your suggestions in the comments section, will check 'em out & add them to the list. I'll probably build the links list until early to mid January.

2/6/09 2:29 AM UPDATE: 133 sites linked, off to promote IFBRT screening & release DNO DVD & make the Brooklyn comedy, will update the list throughout the year as time permits. 1/7/09 3:11 PM UPDATE: adding some new links, will re-number the list later this week. :: 1/1/09 1:35 AM UPDATE: 128 blogs listed & linked! 12/29/08 - 10:57 PM UPDATE: 104 blogs listed & linked (a lot more links - dozens, maybe even hundreds, coming in early January!) Older Updates: 12/26/08, 10:25 PM UPDATE: - Got 69 blogs & sites listed & linked. :: 12/28/08, 12:13 AM UPDATE: - got 85 blogs linked :: 12/28/08, 10:34 PM UPDATE: - 99 blogs listed & linked

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INDIE FILMS BLOGS & BLOGESQUE SITES - A LINKS LIST

a work in progress from late december 2008 to mid january 2009

A
1- Action! Jackson

2 - Ain't It Cool News

3-All About Indie Filmmaking
4 - All These Wonderful Things
5 - Alternative Film Guide

6- anonymous insider
7 - Anthony Kaufman's blog
8 - Arbogast on Film

9-Armando Valle
10 - Around the Block: Doug Block's Doc Blog
11 - The Art of Memory
12 - ArtForum/Film
13 - Atlanta Film Festival Blog
14 - The Auteurs' Notebook

B
15 -B-Scene Films

16 - The Back Row Manifesto
17 - Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film
18 - Beyond Mumblecore

19 - Salon's Beyond the Multiplex
20 - Boredom at Its Boredest
21 - Brian Flemming's Weblog
22 - Bright Lights After Dark
23 - Bright Lights Film Journal

C
24 - Carnivalesque Films blog
25 - The Chutry Experiment
26 - Cinema Echo Chamber
27 - CinemaTech
28 - Cinematical

29-Cinevegas Blog

30-The Circuit
31 - Criterion blog

32- Cynematik

D

33-The Daily [at] IFC.com by David Hudson

34-Davekehr.com
35 - The Documentary Blog

36-Digital Independence
37 - DIY Days
38 - DIY Filmmaker Sujewa
39 - Doc It Out

40 -Docs Interactive

41-A Doc's Journal

42-Docu-Blog/Steve's POV

E
43 -Enzian Theater

44 - Everything Else Is Rim Light

45 - eugonline

F
46 -Film Essent

47 - Film Independent

48 - Film Independent filmmaker blogs

49 -Film of the Month Club
50 - FilmInFocus

51-A Filmmaker's Life
52 - Filmmaker Magazine blog
53 - The Film Panel Notetaker
54 - Friends Are My Art Form

G

55- Gabe's Declaration of Principles

56-Good Small Films
57 - GreenCine Daily

58 -Greg Pak's Film Talk

59 -Guardian Film Blog

H
60 - Hammer To Nail
61- HD For Indies
62 - Hollywood Is Talking

63 -Horror 101

64 -The House Next Door

I
65 - The Independent
66-Independent Film Blog
67-The Independent Eye/IFC blog
68-Indie Features
69-Indie Film Blog
70 - indieWIRE
71 - indieWIRE blogs page

72-iW Insider

73-Info Wants To Be Free
74 - infinicine
75 - The Inside Skinny

76-Invisible Cinema

77-Invisible Woman...Black Cinema At LARGE

J
78-J.D. Ashcraft's Blog

79-Jared Moshe's weblog

80-Jon Reiss News

81-JonathanRosenbaum.com
82-Jurgen & Marcy's Independent Film Blog
83-johnaugust.com

84-JUMP CUTS by James Israel

K

85-King Blog

L

86-Let's Make Better Films

87-Like Anna Karina's Sweater

88-Lincoln Blogs

89-The Lost Boy

M
90-Making Movies In Flyover Country
91- Matt Dentler's Blog

92-Michael in Sao Paulo
93-Movie City Indie
94-Movie Marketing Blog
95-MYFILM "Independent Film News"

N

96-New Breed

97-NewFest - NewBlog

98-New York Movie Reviews - Village Voice

O
99-100 Films

100-The Obenson Report
101-Observations on film art and Film Art

102 - One Way Community

103 -Out of Focus

P

104-Paula's After Thoughts

105-poverty jetSetter

106-Pullquote

Q

R
107-The Rabbi Report
108-The Real Indie Film News Blog

109- Reel Artsy
110- The Reeler

111-Reverse Shot

S

112- The Scandy Factory

113-Screen Rush
114- The Screengrab
115- Self-Reliant Film
116- Shooting Down Pictures
117- Shooting People: Shooting From The Hip
118- ShortEnd Magazine
119 - SoCalFilm Group

120-Some Came Running
121 - Spout
122- Spout blog

123-SpringBoardMedia
124- Steady Diet of Film blog

125-Steven Rosen
126- Still in Motion

T
127 - Truly Free Film
128 - TrustMovies

U
129-The Ugly Betty Blog

V

W
130 -Week of Wonders

131-WendyWIRE

132-Women & Hollywood
133- Workbook Project

X

Y

Z

OTHER - New blogs, & or mostly Hollywood stuff/some indie stuff blogs, etc. - not counted in the indie film blogs list above, but linked (might be of interest to people interested in indie film blogs):

Alejandro Adams

MORE LINKS COMING SOON

And here's the opening 9 minutes & its official description!

2008-12-20T10:23:00.000-08:00

*

In this 9 minute segment from Sujewa Ekanayake's documentary Indie Film Blogger Road Trip we see: Anthony Kaufman talk about the moment when he knew he would "make it" as a professional film journalist, Sujewa Ekanayake introduce the documentary, and Tambay Obenson speak about the community that one becomes a part of by blogging and how that community and blogging has helped him develop his career as a filmmaker. Music by Kevin MacLeod. The full 95 minute documentary will be available at screenings and on DVD in 2009. For more information and news about the project please visit: http://indiefilmbloggersmovie.blogspot.com/
Indie Film Blogger Road Trip was produced, directed, videotaped, and edited by Sujewa Ekanayake. Indie Film Blogger Road Trip Copyright 2008 Sujewa Ekanayake/Wild Diner Films.

Filmmaker Magazine blog, The Chutry Experiment & others mention the 9 minute clip from the doc

2008-12-20T10:15:00.001-08:00

Check out Filmmaker blog's mention here. The clip is also embedded there. Thanks Scott!

Chuck Tryon, who is one of the subjects of the doc, mentioned the clip here. Thanks Chuck!

UPDATE - 9 PM:

GreenCine Daily also mentioned the clip, check it out here. Thanks David!

And Tambay Obenson (one of the bloggers featured in the clip) of The Obenson Report fame mentioned the clip - Thanks Tambay!

UPDATE - 12/21 Sunday:

The Film Panel Notetaker - another blogger featured in the doc - mentions the 9 min. clip. Thanks Brian!

Hollywood Is Talking talked a little bit about the clip at this post. Thanks JB!

One Way Community blog embedded the clip, thanks Princeton!

UPDATE - 12/22 Mon:

Movie City Indie mentions the clip & embeds it - Thanksalot!

Also found out today that All These Wonderful Things blog mentioned the clip in the Nonfiction Headlines section recently. Thanks AJ!

UPDATE - 1/15/09 Thu:

Slant Eye For The Round Eye mentioned the doc & embedded the 9 min. clip back in late December. Thanks S.I.F.T.R.E!

- Sujewa

Opening 9 minutes of Indie Film Blogger Road Trip is up on the web!

2008-12-19T23:39:00.001-08:00

Check out the official description of the clip & the clip itself (from YouTube) at DIY Filmmaker blog. !Happy Holidays everyone!

- Sujewa

ShortEnd Magazine writes about Indie Film Blogger Road Trip

2008-12-09T20:53:00.000-08:00

Check out Noralil Ryan Fores's thoughts about the doc.

Several new & exciting links: IMDb! Spout interview! Obenson & Geldin see the doc!

2008-11-26T00:47:00.000-08:00

Well, maybe a couple of exclamation marks too many in the title of this post, but several new items related to this doc got published on the web the past couple of days:

- Internet Movie Database has a page for Indie Film Blogger Road Trip up now, with links to pages for each of the bloggers - check it out!

- Spout blog interviewed me about my media consumption habits - the doc is mentioned well in the intro - here it is: "His newest film, Indie Film Blogger Road Trip, brings him into the homes and working spaces of 14 film bloggers and is perhaps the first extended meditation on the impact, limitations and peculiarities of the film blogosphere to date."

- Tambay Obenson saw the doc this weekend & mentioned it at a podcast

- Brian "The Film Panel Notetaker" Geldin also saw the doc this weekend & he wrote about it

A big thanks goes out to everyone who took the time to check out the movie & mention it to others, to IMDb, and to Brandon Harris who interviewed me for Spout. It was a busy weekend for IFBRT press & we hope for more of the same in the future.

Updates: another screener to atlanta, The List in the works, watching the doc with bloggers

2008-11-18T23:29:00.000-08:00

- sent off another screener DVD of the doc to Atlanta - this time to Noralil Ryan "ShortEnd Magazine" Fores - so we may read about her thoughts about the doc on the web soon

- am working on creating an INDIE FILM PEOPLE, EVENTS & THINGS MENTIONED & OR DISCUSSED IN INDIE FILM BLOGGER ROAD TRIP list; to keep it short, we'll just refer to this item as The List. I think this list will have both reference (people can look up @ which point in the doc a blog, blogger, or an event is discussed in the doc) & historical value (a list of things that we talked about when we talked about indie film blogs & related matters in summer '08). also promotional value - i'll link to blogs & sites, related articles & posts, from the list. hopefully i'll have this list done soon

- also a tentative doc watching hang out session is scheduled for early Dec. in nyc - for one of the bloggers featured in the doc. i am sure quite a few of these movie watching hang out events will happen in the coming months - will have pics or notes when they do. we almost had one such event happen in late October in Brooklyn, but due to my work/day job schedule & other factors that was cancelled. however, like they say in Lithuania, nov. & december is another story.

Created a Facebook group for this doc

2008-11-18T11:26:00.001-08:00

Check it out here.

Submitted the doc to SXSW, IMDb

2008-11-17T20:31:00.000-08:00

Got an e-mail from Withoutabox today about a partnership thingy they have with IMDb, and after filling out like 20,000 web pages (more like 15 really) - Indie Film Blogger Road Trip was submitted to IMDb - which, if all goes well, should eventually create the slightly amusing situation where bloggers are credited as actors (there wasn't an option to indicate the role of participants more accurately - as interview subjects in a documentary) - or - where bloggers can tell people to look up their acting credit in IMDb. Fun stuff.

Also submitted the movie to SXSW '09 today. If the flick gets in, it would be a great reason to take a trip to Austin. If not, I can still feel good about supporting SXSW - an arts event - a little w/ my submission fee.

More submissions & screener mailings in the coming days.

GreenCine Daily links to Tryon's post about IFBRT

2008-11-17T10:14:00.001-08:00

Check out the GreenCine Daily link on this page.

1st reaction to IFBRT is up!

2008-11-16T22:30:00.000-08:00

Chuck Tryon saw the doc & wrote about it. From the post:

"At the same time, Sujewa is attentive to the various ways that all of his interviewees are invested in blogging as an activity, even if, as Anthony Kaufman confesses at one point, we don’t always like doing it or like what it has done to film and entertainment journalism. Other bloggers complicate the perception that the indie film community is a completely inclusive, utopian space. As Judy Wajcman observes in her excellent book, TechnoFeminism, “networks create not merely insiders, but also outsiders, the partially enrolled, and those who refuse to be enrolled” (42-43). Melissa Silverstein, for example, took the time to challenge the “all boys club” tendency of many blogging communities, while Armando Valle pointed out that indie festivals often have less room for genre pics such as low-budget horror films. To Sujewa’s great credit, he took great care to ensure that he presented a multi-faceted and diverse portrait of the blogging community, while also acknowledging the ways that we sometimes fail to be fully inclusive. In addition to all that, it was certainly fun to see so many of the bloggers I’ve been reading, in some cases, for several years and to get some history of film blogging from people, such as Kaufman and S.T. VanAirsdale, who have (like myself) been practicing the fine art of film blogging for some time."

Read the rest of the post here.

- Sujewa

Screener DVDs on their way to NC & ATL

2008-11-13T15:54:00.000-08:00

Mailed a screener DVD of Indie Film Blogger Road Trip to Chuck Tryon in NC today. Chuck's not only an audience member, he's also one of the subjects of the doc. Should be interesting :)

Also submitted the flick to the Atlanta Film Festival.

More screeners & fest submissions heading out all over America & beyond in the coming days.

- Sujewa

Submitted the doc to Sundance

2008-09-23T12:05:00.001-07:00

Yup, it was done (made the late deadline w/ a little bit of help from the fest - never hurts to ask I guess - Thanks a lot Sundance!!!); my first festival submission in over a decade! I know Sundance is a very tough fest to get into, but I think this film stands a chance/very happy with how it turned out & about what it is (a celebration of a creative community).

Lots more fest submissions coming up.

And when I get caught up on some urgent items I'll create & post a trailer & clips & stills from the doc here at this blog.

- Sujewa

Interviewed at FilmInFocus

2008-09-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

Check it out here, very cool.

- Sujewa

There is a slim chance that the film will be done by 9/22

2008-09-16T21:29:00.001-07:00

9/22 is the deadline for having submissions at Sundance's office for their late deadline for the '09 fest. It might happen; IFBRT might get there before 9/22. If not, this film will be completed & ready to view/ready to submit to other fests before this month is over; a mere 14 days from now. Can you feel the excitement?

- Sujewa

Links to blogs & sites of all the bloggers featured in this doc

2008-08-16T03:54:00.001-07:00

Check them out at my other blog DIY Filmmaker Sujewa.

Meeting The Reeler on Wed AM

2008-08-12T22:17:00.001-07:00

Back in NYC for a couple of interviews with bloggers; first up on Wed; The Reeler - Stu VanAirsdale; check out his site here.

- Sujewa

Quite possibly the final poster for the doc

2008-08-08T23:47:00.000-07:00

Interviewing The Reeler & Anthony Kaufman next week

2008-08-08T15:29:00.001-07:00

One more trip to NYC, next week, to interview Stu VanAirsdale aka The Reeler and Anthony Kaufman for the doc. Those should be the final interviews taped, and editing of the doc will continue next weekend, after the interviews. I expect to have the film completed by the end of this month/August.

- Sujewa

Gabe Wardell on blog confessions

2008-08-04T17:08:00.001-07:00

Atlanta Film Festival's Executive Director & Indie Film Blogger Road Trip subject Gabe Wardell blogs about revealing too much in blogs, and mentions this project. Check it out.

- Sujewa

The "in production" poster for the doc

2008-08-02T23:36:00.000-07:00

End of the road; Silver Spring, MD

2008-08-01T10:37:00.001-07:00

After interviewing the final subject (Erica Ginsberg, in Silver Spring, MD) for principal photography on the doc, I got some coffee & an orange cooler at Silver Spring's Tastee Diner, & took a couple of photos.

- Sujewa

Erica Ginsberg from Docs In Progress & Docs Interactive blog

2008-08-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

Film programmer & blogger KJ Mohr photos link

2008-08-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

At my DIY Filmmaker blog I posted 2 photos of KJ Mohr, who is a part of this doc, and programs films for the National Museum of Women in the Arts; check them out.

- Sujewa

4 photos from last weekend's travels; Brian Geldin, Melissa Silverstein

2008-08-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

Above & below: Brian Geldin, The Film Panel Notetaker blog, Queens, NY

Melissa Silverstein, Women & Hollywood blog, Brooklyn, NY

Photos Copyright 2008 Sujewa Ekanayake

Principal photography completed

2008-07-28T23:10:00.000-07:00

Got 90 some % of the footage I need to create this doc, read about it, in greater detail, at DIY Filmmaker.

And now, off to get started on the editing!

- Sujewa

Silver Spring to Kensington to Brooklyn to Fayetteville to Atlanta to Towson to Queens, then back to Brooklyn, back to Silver Spring to DC

2008-07-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

All the cities mentioned in the title of this post, and in that order, were places where I filmed (and to be filmed in DC tomorrow) interviews with indie film bloggers for this project. This road trip aspect of the project will have to be a key part of the structure of the doc. After tomorrow's interview in DC, I can start cutting this thing. It's gonna be sweet.

Final title of the movie may be Indie Film Blogger Road Trip.

Indie Film Blogger Road Trip

After surfing the internet superhighways and visiting blogs about independent film for several years, filmmaker and blogger Sujewa Ekanayake decides to get on the real highways in summer 2008 and visit the writers behind some of his favorite indie film blogs. The resulting indie film blogger road trip takes us to several cities in the east coast and a couple of boroughs of New York City, and we meet a dozen bloggers; citizens of the new independent film news republic, centers for a new media community. more soon...

Copyright 2008 Sujewa Ekanayake

- Sujewa

Horror 101's Armando Valle

2008-07-25T00:27:00.000-07:00

Possibly the only indie film blogger in Fayetteville

2008-07-25T00:22:00.000-07:00

Chuck Tryon of The Chutry Experiment

Nora in Atlanta

2008-07-24T23:52:00.001-07:00

Couple of indie film bloggers in Brooklyn

2008-07-24T23:41:00.001-07:00

Pictured (top to bottom): Tambay Obenson of The Obenson Report (photo 1 & 2), Brandon Harris of Cinema Echo Chamber (photo 3), Tambay & Brandon (L-R, photo 4)

Blogs of the 1st 12

2008-07-21T22:13:00.001-07:00

A post with links to blogs written by the 1st 12 bloggers interviewed (or will be interviewed by 7/29) for the doc - here.

- Sujewa

How I got started

2008-07-21T21:26:00.000-07:00

While I was working on an intro/narration piece for the doc I had to look up when exactly I started blogging about indie film at present intensity (so far 530 some posts in '08 in DIY Filmmaker Sujewa blog) & focus (mostly indie film - real indie kind - & related stuff, most of the time); turns out it was about 2.5 years ago, read all about it here.

- Sujewa

Filming in Baltimore, NYC, Silver Spring, MD & Washington, DC Thu 7/24 - Mon 7/28

2008-07-20T22:22:00.001-07:00

I have half a dozen or so bloggers to interview in & around this coming weekend in the DC area & NYC. Notes about those interviews after the weekend.

Still need to post photos from the 1st filming trip to NYC & the recent trip to Atlanta. Will try to get those posted before I take off for NYC on Fri.

- Sujewa

Paula Martinez mentions the doc

2008-07-20T22:04:00.000-07:00

At this post at her blog. Paula was interviewed/videotaped for the doc, along with her co-worker Gabe Wardell from the Atlanta Film Festival, about a week ago.

- Sujewa

Film Panel Notetaker mentions ShortEnd podcast re: the doc

2008-07-15T09:05:00.001-07:00

Bloggers in the film writing about other blogs in the film and the making of the film; awesome - a new level of cross-linkage/maybe improving the connections in the indie film blogger community a little too: here's The Film Panel Notetaker's post about my podcast interview with ShortEnd Magazine.

- Sujewa

ShortEnd Magazine's podcast interview re: The Indie Film Bloggers

2008-07-14T20:52:00.000-07:00

When I was in Atlanta this weekend to interview Noralil Ryan Fores, editor of ShortEnd Magazine, for this doc, she interviewed me about the doc & other things, check out the podcast at ShortEnd.

- Sujewa

Chuck Tryon writes about being interviewed for the doc

2008-07-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

Check out Chuck's notes re: participating in The Indie Film Bloggers at The Chutry Experiment.

- Sujewa

Filming in NC, Atlanta, NYC in July

2008-07-04T23:40:00.000-07:00

I've got interview shoots coming up in NC & Atlanta soon, & NYC (for the second time) - in late July. Plus Baltimore at some point in July or early August. By mid-August I expect to be finished w/ the blogger interviews & some of the editing. Hopefully in September this doc will be finished. Then off to festival submissions, setting up screenings, & making DVDs, & looking at all other distribution, exhibition options.

- Sujewa

One indie film blogger's thoughts re: being interviewed for the doc

2008-06-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

Check them out here at The Obenson Report.

- Sujewa

Notes 1 from NYC shoot day 1 - Sunday June 29, 2008

2008-06-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

Check it out here.

- Sujewa

The full title of the doc

2008-06-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

I came up with the full title for this documentary a couple of days ago; here it is:

The Indie Film Bloggers: A Portrait of a Community

One of the creative models for this project is Robert Frank's photo book (w/ text by Jack Kerouac) called The Americans (we will have to see how that idea actually applies to a digital video documentary full or interviews; but nevertheless, that's how things got started). So I think it is appropriate that the word portrait is in the full title of the doc (since these days we think of still photographs when we think of the word portrait - probably, I guess some people would still think of paintings).

What is a community? My off-the-top-of-my-head definition is: a group of people with common values, and or a group of people who share a geographic space. There are many small communities created by common interests within the larger indie film blogger world. And perhaps some bloggers feel that there is actually no indie film blogger community in a traditional sense of the world, and that blogging is mostly just a way to promote yourself & your work. This - the existence or lack of existence of community, and the nature of such if certain individuals believe that there is a community of indie film bloggers - will be a topic that will be discussed in the doc.

I came up with the full title for the doc this past Wednesday - after a day of mostly sleeping & then getting some coffee & food at the Wheaton, MD IHOP late at night/early morning. Something about all night restaurants, bright lights & coffee; I've gotten a lot of good ideas at such places/situations. Go IHOP Wheaton! - I guess :)

- Sujewa

Brandon "Cinema Echo Chamber" Harris is in for the doc, & Armando Valle too

2008-06-26T10:56:00.001-07:00

Will try to interview Brandon this weekend for the doc.

Here's Brandon's blog Cinema Echo Chamber.

Here's an article/interview re: his blog at FilmInFocus.

::

Also, from a few days back, but just getting around to mentioning it now, Baltimore based filmmaker & blogger Armando Valle is interested in being a part of the doc, looking forward to interviewing him this summer.

- Sujewa

6/24 update on the project

2008-06-24T13:23:00.001-07:00

Re: The Obenson Report, etc., here.

- Sujewa

Brian "The Film Panel Notetaker" Geldin will be a part of the doc

2008-06-15T12:48:00.000-07:00

Will be filming Brian when he is in the DC area this coming week for SilverDocs; a "blogger on the road" segment. Then also later in the month at his natural habitat in NYC.

6/17 update: Also will be interviewing Chuck Tryon & Amir Motlagh this summer

- Sujewa

Another post about the doc

2008-06-15T02:54:00.000-07:00

This one, at DIY Filmmaker Sujewa, is about going to Georgia in July to interview ShortEnd Mag's editor, check it out here.

- Sujewa

1st announcement of the movie

2008-06-14T18:34:00.000-07:00

This post at my blog DIY Filmmaker Sujewa is when I first publicly announced the existence of (well, in production) The Indie Film Bloggers doc (although I did talk to a few bloggers about it in the preceding months). If you are so inclined to do so, check out the announcement.

- Sujewa

Contact

2008-06-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

Contact director Sujewa Ekanayake at wilddiner@aol.com.