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Truly Free Film

Independent Documentary Thriving in Brooklyn

Guest post by Steve Holmgren.

We are back to our regular twice weekly events at UnionDocs, a documentary arts space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. UnionDocs’ microcinema continues to be an exciting place to see important nonfiction films: from classics made by the likes of George Stoney, Rosa von Praunhiem, and Pare Lorentz to underseen crtical favorites like October Country and The Carter to boundary-pushing experimental work made by artists like Lynne Sachs, James T. Hong, and Ken Jacobs. In addition, UnionDocs presents panels and lectures, including talks last year on distribution and access (Richard Amromowitz, Todd Sklar, Ashley Sabin) and documentary criticism (Thom Powers, Richard Brody, Lisa Rosman, Ed Halter), as well as nonfiction photography, audio, interactive art, and writing. Always followed by engaging discussions with presenting artists.

We also host a year-long program for twelve emerging artists called the UnionDocs Collaborative. The participants collaborate on interdisciplinary group nonfiction production, and also attend private weekly workshops, sometimes with visiting artists. Between the collaborative, and the artist conversations, UnionDocs is a site for conversations about the future of documentary.

Categories
Truly Free Film

Financing in a Post-Capital Plane: Reflections on Putty Hill’s Kickstarter Campaign

Today’s guest post is from Stephen Holmgren, Putty Hill’s producer.

Last winter, Putty Hill director Matt Porterfield and I met with a small group of friends at Matt’s house for a home-cooked Baltimore dinner. We were there to discuss fundraising ideas for Matt’s pending feature, Metal Gods, which we were determined to shoot over the summer. Matt had been polishing the script for years, and we were having success meeting great teen actors from local auditions. All we needed was some money to shoot and edit the movie.

We were open to working with production companies and investors on a variety of levels– wanting more than anything just to have something completed by our self-imposed September deadline. We had various budget levels, including a best case, worst case, and disaster scenario. We knew that, despite positive industry responses, the reality was that if this movie was going to happen it would most likely have to come from local financial support. We brainstormed a long list of ideas, knowing we needed to reach outside of friends and family, to people who supported the arts. At this point, Kickstarter was in its infancy and
not on our radar.