Though it’s a cliché for a Sundance Film Festival premiere to be called “a labor of love,” never has the term been more apt than with Sembene!, Jason Silverman and Samba Gadjigo’s impassioned biopic of Ousmane Sembène, “the father of African cinema.” Samba Gadjigo is a Senegalese man who credits Sembène’s early writings with helping a teenage Gadjigo find […]
Largely forgotten by history, Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley, Jr. squared off in a series of crackling debates on ABC in 1968, which scored high ratings, got the country talking, and left both men forever scarred. When you read the description of Best of Enemies, which had its world premiere this week in the […]
Charles Poekel‘s debut feature, screening this week at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, offers a melancholic slice-of-life look at a Brooklyn neighborhood holiday staple: the open-24/7 Christmas tree stand. When you live in New York City, there are certain hallmarks that signify the beginning of the holiday season, chief among them the singular smell of […]
“That’s why we do what we do.” — Global D.I.R.T., Haiti, 2010 Five years ago, the already-impoverished island country of Haiti was besieged by a terribly destructive earthquake, killing over 200,000 people and leaving the country in desperation. Basic human necessities such as food, water and shelter were immediately scarce, and even though numerous NGOs and humanitarian groups quickly […]
Social media is a crucial part of crowdfunding, and if you are considering a campaign, it’s important to start creating a community well before your kickoff. In other words, if a campaign launches on a Facebook page with no fans, does it really launch? (One hand clapping? Hello?) Lay the groundwork ahead of time, and […]
Tensions are running high in this exclusive clip from the SXSW favorite Swim Little Fish Swim, opening in NYC and premiering on VOD in the U.S. on September 19. Photo courtesy of Under the Milky Way I recently read an article in which the author debunked the idea of love as a panacea — that […]
10 Social Media Dos and Don’ts for Filmmakers Two weeks ago, I introduced the updated Seed&Spark Social Media Handbook 2.0 and focused on 10 Tips For Crowdfunding Filmmakers. Since then, you’ve thought carefully about which platforms to focus on. You’ve chosen consistent handles, uploaded profile pics and cover photos that reflect your key art, etc. So now what? What […]
Social media is not rocket science, but it takes time to build a broad, dynamic, engaged community. Attracting the right audience takes patience, tenacity and a whole lot of authenticity. Photo courtesy Jason Howie, Creative Commons Community building and awareness are the key tenets of any marketing plan—and if you’re crowdfunding, that means social media […]
Courtesy of FilmBuff What were you doing 20 years ago this week? Well, if you were in the U.S. (and at least, let’s say, 10 years old at the time), you were probably glued to the television, watching the most infamous car chase in history. We didn’t know it then, but we were living in […]
Niko Fischer (Tom Schilling) in A Coffee in Berlin, courtesy of Music Box Films Twenty-something ennui (aka “the slacker”) is not endemic to the United States, as evidenced by German director Jan Ole Gerster‘s debut feature, A Coffee in Berlin. The film—which swept the German Film Academy Awards—follows a day in the life of Niko […]
Formerly VP of Digital Media at Tribeca (where she won two Webby Awards), she is currently a Programmer and the Director of Publications for the Hamptons International Film Festival, and the Program Manager for Science on Screen®, a grant program of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation administered by the Coolidge Corner Theatre.
Kristin works seasonally with other film festivals, including the Provincetown International Film Festival and the Key West Film Festival. Past clients include Montclair Film, German Films, the Maui Film Festival, the Naples International Film Festival, and DOC NYC.