Independent film:: A New Year Re:solution
After an incredible 2012 it is time to look forward at the challenges and opportunities of 2013. The story of this new year is yet to be defined. I have spent the last few days thinking about what is to come. I am excited for it. I am more than a little scared by it. Most of all, I have been thinking about how to make the new year important—how to create a unique meaning for the course of this year. What directions do I most want to grow in? How do I want to focus my energy and my quickly evaporating time? The answer I came to has grown from thoughts and inspirations that have been germinating over the last few months, both on amazing trips and quiet nights watching speeches.
Last year, I learned something incredibly important about independent film. We aren’t in competition. That isn’t the point. We all have the opportunity to create the independent film community that we want to take part in. Everyone reading this site has something that they can offer to this progress. By establishing a new dynamic of co-learners and co-teachers we can enrich our films. And those films can inspire us further as we create our future projects. We have been taught that this is a scarcity market—if someone else wins, we’ve lost. I think we can do more than that.
Let’s make this a space to share our insights and enlighten each other. In 2013, my resolution is to develop a dialogue centered on the opportunities and challenges of independent film. I will spend my year researching new ideas, new solutions, and new perspectives from talented, innovative people working to make independent film better. We will have on-going posts for this series presenting articles from various filmmakers, as well as my own remarks.
I am looking forward to exploring these topics and finding solutions with you, with all of us learning and creating together.
Benjamin Wiessner appreciates a well-placed em dash. He still listens to that song by Petey Pablo and he believes in the untapped culinary power of country ham. He values sensible footwear. He always keeps a tent in his trunk. He was raised to witness the emancipatory power of storytelling. These are all source texts for his aesthetics. He is an editor here at Exit Strata. He also works with the film collective ornana.
